A cliched second season, the extension of a fairly good season 1. Why can’t we have something new when it comes to talking about romance, with more depth and emotions? “Mismatched,” a Netflix original, is a coming-of-age romantic drama based on the book of the same name by Sandhya Menon. Season 2 of the show was released on October 14th, October 2022, after a successful season 1. Season 1 was all about introducing the characters: the students, their backdrops, and the teachers. Dimple, coming from a middle-class family, aims to gain fame in the world of technology. Rishi, on the other hand, is a sweet 18-year-old boy from the royal lineage who is a romantic at heart and is looking for a perfect match for himself. The season maneuvered around them and other characters, namely, Harsh, Celina, Simran, Krish, Anmol, Namrata, and Zeenat, who have their own set of problems and issues to which they are trying to find a solution. Season 1 ends with Dimple winning her gaming competition, but the app that she developed for the course has been leaked. Dimple and Rishi fall out post the leak of her app. Dimple ends up kissing Harsh.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In ‘Mismatched’ Season 2?
Dimple wakes up with a hangover and a memory of her kissing Harsh. Harsh informs her that it was she who kissed him first, and Dimple is now worried about the consequences of it. Harsh, being the good guy, backs off and starts being a friend and helps her out with finding out who was the person responsible for the leaked app. They both start spending a lot of time together. Rishi, on the other hand, is busy with his grandmother’s 70th birthday when he comes to know that his mother intends to marry again. As the marriage preparations start, Rishi meets his would-be stepfather’s assistant, Sanskriti, and they hit it off.
On the other hand, Celina is all confused about the showdown that happened with Namrata, where she accidentally revealed Namrata’s sexuality. Namrata comes back to college after the humiliation she faces but finds herself attracted to an ex-student, Ayesha Duggirala. Meanwhile, Anmol is asked to consult a therapist to deal with his anger issues, which he does halfheartedly. As the students head to Ajmer TechFest Blitzkrg, Nandita Nahata, Dimple’s idol, attends the tech fest and announces her new institute, and she is looking to bring in talented and intelligent students from this course. What happens after the tech fest at Ajmer forms the story of “Mismatched.” Here’s us taking you through the ending of the show and explaining it.
‘Mismatched’ Ending Explained: Who Does Dimple Choose? Harsh Or Rishi?
As the students head to the tech fest, plenty of events transpire. Anmol comes across a prototype device that might help him walk again. During the fest, Harsh and Dimple fall in love with one another, and on the other hand, Rishi and Sanskriti find each other getting attracted. As their love grows, so does their passion for the course. Harsh keeps helping Dimple to find out who leaked Dimple’s app. Anmol, through regular therapy, starts realizing that the reason behind his anger is he himself. He owns it and starts trusting his close-knit circle.
Anmol soon comes to know that Krish and Simran pushed Celina to steal Dimple’s app for easy cash. His anger makes him reveal Krish’s infidelity to Simran. Simran, who herself is dealing with self-consciousness and body issues, breaks up with Krish, but not before Krish calls her fake. Thanks to Celina’s encouragement, Simran finally starts eating and acknowledges her faults through her social media pages. At Rishi’s mother’s wedding, Harsh must make the difficult decision of whether to drop a semester at Berkeley or join the college right away. He soon realizes Dimple still loves Rishi, and that makes it easy for him to make a final decision. Dimple also learns of Celina stealing the app from her laptop and giving it away to Krish and Simran, which shatters her emotionally. Dimple and Harsh, Sanskriti, and Rishi soon break up on amicable terms. Rishi and Dimple soon start to date again.
Nandita visits their college one day unannounced, much to lecturer Sid Sinha’s annoyance; she announces that she will be choosing five students from this course for her new institute. Rishi and Dimple arrive late for the interview but somehow manage to convince Nandita to interview them. Nandita is more impressed with Rishi than with Dimple. Meanwhile, Namrata’s parents come to know of her sexuality, and her father locks her up and takes away her phone and wallet since he comes to know of her plan of running away from home. Celina helps Namrata get away from her home. Rishi and Dimple briefly break up after the interview but soon reconcile when they both realize they can choose a career and still be in love and stay together. Nandita soon announces her chosen four for her institute, which sadly doesn’t include Dimple. She becomes heartbroken but is happy for Rishi.
Writers Gazal Dhaliwal, Sunayana Kumari, Vaibhav Edke, Neha Hooda, and Aarsh Vora wrote the ending “Mismatched” in a done and dusted manner, something which is not new or refreshing. In terms of screenplay, the writers bring nothing new to the table. The show just emphasizes love and romance; a lot of other aspects get ignored, like friendship, platonic relationships, and queer relationships. The focus of “Mismatched” is so much on Rishi and Dimple; the directors and writers completely forgot Celina, Zeenat, Siddharth, and Anmol’s arc. There is just no screen time given to talk about their likes, dislikes, and attractions. What about Harsh when he reaches America? Was that the only arc given to him? The entire show began with the idea that students should make a useful app for the public, but by the end of it, all of it was forgotten. No demo or workability is mentioned in the latter part of the second season. The screenplay, though, is adapted from a book, and the writing needed a lot of polishing. Many storylines are going on at the same time in these eight episodic shows, but most of them become convoluted and overwhelming. “Mismatched” had so much potential to showcase queer romance, but that again became a lost opportunity.
Conclusion
Despite a stretched screenplay, the performances of all the actors were good, especially Taaruk Raina, who plays the forever-angry Anmol Malhotra. The rest of the cast does a good job of keeping the audience hooked on to the show through their performances. “Mismatched” is a decent college romance that was deeply affected by its editing. The eight episodic shows could have been reduced to six episodes because plenty of plot lines were stretched, unnecessarily included, and did not make sense. The romance was overwhelming, the voiceovers felt all over the place, and the screenplay went from one place to another, making jumps without connecting them to the previous scene or plot line. The show makers could have made the screenplay of “Mismatched” smarter and crispier. Each episode could have been completed within 25 minutes. “Mismatched” overall is a decent watch that you can binge on a lazy Sunday as you prepare for a dreadful Monday.
