Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series Master Of None ended its second season on a cryptic note; here’s what the season 2 finale was all about. Co-created by Ansari and his Parks and Recreation colleague Alan Yang, Master Of None is a comedy-drama that premiered on Netflix in 2015. The series stars Ansari as Dev Shah, a 30-something actor living in New York while navigating his romantic and professional lives with his cultural identity as a second-generation Indian American.
The first season of Master Of None was praised for its unique and funny observations on life and love and scored Ansari and Yang a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode “Parents.” The critical acclaim continued with Master of None season 2 which saw Dev sojourn to Italy where he learned the art of pasta-making and met new love interest Francesca (To Rome With Love’s Alessandra Mastronardi) before returning to New York.
When Francesca visited the Big Apple she and Dev’s relationship blossomed into a will they, won’t they friendship - complicated by the fact she had just gotten engaged to long-term boyfriend Pino (John Wick: Chapter 2’s Riccardo Scamarcio). After spending a lot of time together the pair confessed their feelings to each other as Francesca was set to return to her life in Italy, but was clearly torn between Dev and Pino. At the end of Master Of None’s season 2 finale “Buona Notte,” it looked as though Francesca had made the decision to stay in New York with Dev but things may not have been exactly as they seemed.
The Master Of None season 2 ending was deliberately cryptic. The final scene of “Buona Notte” saw Francesca lying in bed wide awake next to Dev while snow falls outside, seemingly having ditched Pino, as the two share an ambiguous look. The scene is suspiciously similar to one from previous episode “Amarsi Un Po” in which Francesca stayed at Dev’s during a snowstorm, although there are a few differences, most notably that they’re wearing different clothes and Francesca’s engagement ring is absent. Viewers weren’t quite sure what to make of the scene; was it merely a daydream of Francesca’s imagining what her life with Dev would look like or proof she had decided to stay in New York? And if it’s the latter, did the look of trepidation they shared mean they’d made a mistake?
According to Aziz Ansari, the ending is open to interpretation. How viewers interpret the Master Of None season 2 ending says a lot about their outlook on love. Hopeless romantics are probably more likely to say Francesca stayed with Dev while cynics would be more inclined to interpret the scene as fantasy. The realists out there might read the scene as proof Francesca did indeed choose Dev but is uncertain she made the right decision. Unfortunately, we won’t know for sure until – and if – Master Of None season 3 happens.
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