Big Girls Don’t Cry summary and ending explained

Big Girls Don’t Cry follows the lives of the students at Vandana Valley Girls School, known for its stringent rules and regulations. The series is now streaming on Prime Video.

Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers

Plot summary

Vandana Valley Girls School is a prestigious institution run by Principal Anita Verma. It’s the Diamond Jubilee year of the school.

For the past 75 years, the students of VVGS have changed societies, the country, and the world. It has a legacy that the school’s students inherit, and Anita Verma expects the students to live up to it.

Joining this school this year is Kavya Yadav, a scholarship student who doesn’t have the privileges other students at this school do.

As Kavya attempts to find her place, she seeks to join the group of Noor Hassan, Jayshree Chhetry, also known as JC, Roohi Ahuja, Leah Jospeh, also known as Ludo, and Anandita Rawat, also known as Pluggy.

Noor Hassan is the school’s Junior Captain and is full of dreams and ambitions. She looks forward to an illustrious career and likes to do everything by the book.

Jayshree Chhetry, as in JC, is a princess, and Roohi is her best friend. When Roohi found herself alone because her parents were always fighting, it was JC who was there for her. In turn, they formed an unbreakable bond.

Leah Joseph is the captain of the school’s basketball team. Lastly, Pluggy is a student who has failed twice. She shares her fake sex stories with students, even though she has never gotten intimate with anyone.

Kavya joins the gang when she assists them in winning the school’s shed, which is in the woods.

Even though being with this mischievous group of rebels has some drawbacks for Kavya, she is glad to have friends who are there for her.

Elsewhere, Dia Malik, a serial rulebreaker, finds a purpose at school when she joins the school’s play, which is being helmed by the new drama teacher, Aliya Lamba, a VVGS alumni.

Even though Verma doesn’t trust Dia, Aliya takes on Dia’s full responsibility after acknowledging the talent Dia has for writing and speaking up.

Things start falling apart at VVGS when Vidushi Mendiratta, a fellow student, is suspended and Ludo is de-badged from her basketball captaincy.

Ludo refrains from speaking out about what happened, but rumors circle the campus that she and Vidushi have a thing.

The truth of the matter is that Verma made these decisions because Vidushi and Ludo kissed on campus.

Ludo fights back the rumors by getting along with a boy from Wood Oak High School instead of coming out to her friends and her family.

Amidst all of this, Roohi attempts to help her best friend, JC, hook up with a boy named Veer Kapadia.

Roohi is well aware that JC’s grandmother is looking for a husband for JC, and Roohi doesn’t want JC to settle down with the man of her grandmother’s choice.

Roohi writes to Veer on behalf of JC. When JC meets Veer, she starts liking his company. However, Veer doesn’t feel the same connection with JC.

He finds his connection with Roohi and eventually figures out that Roohi has been writing to him. He likes Roohi over JC and gives his necktie to her, expressing his interest in her.

JC begins doubting when Veer stops sending her letters. Roohi meets Veer to warn him not to ruin the sisterhood she shares with JC. However, the two kiss, making things worse.

Roohi receives a thank you letter from Veer, which JC picks up. A sense of doubt is instilled in JC’s mind. Roohi eventually confesses the truth to JC. However, it ruins the bond they share.

Noor, on the other hand, is planning to drop her last name. She keeps a distance from her parents, especially her father, who is always part of the protests.

In reality, Noor has examined the records and discovered that individuals with similar names to hers often face barriers to accessing opportunities for advancement.

When Noor confronts Ludo and asks her to own who she is, Ludo reminds Noor how she herself is not owning her own culture and her own identity.

On Founder’s Day, Dia speaks out at the wrong time during their play. She doesn’t adhere to the changes that have been made to the play by Verma.

She goes with the original script, which is against patriarchy, disappointing the guests who donate to the school and disappointing Verma in turn. All of this results in Aliya’s firing—the person who took on Dia’s responsibility.

Lastly, being involved with her new friends in various adventures results in the revokement of Kavya’s scholarship.

To make matters worse, her mother pays a surprise visit to the school, and her friends learn that she has been lying about her mother being in London.

Kavya’s mother leaves disheartened upon learning that her child is no longer who she was; this school has changed her completely.

Roohi hears her parents calling her a mistake. With JC not with her, Roohi feels more alone than ever.

Anita Verma lets Roohi into her house and comforts her. She even calls her friends. However, none of them share the bond they used to have.

The gang’s priority is honesty, but Kavya, who is being called out for not telling them that she is a scholarship student, reminds them how each one of them has lied.

Pluggy acts like she is a sex expert; Noor lies about her last name; Roohi lies to her best friend; and Ludo struggles to come to terms with her sexual orientation. The broken gang starts navigating their lives individually at VVGS.

Ending explained:

Noor fights to make it fair

Vidushi returns to the school. The first thing she does is talk to Ludo. After getting suspended, Vidushi opened up to her family, and they accepted her with open arms.

Vidushi now knows that what she and Ludo did was not wrong. She attempts to convince Ludo of the same, but Ludo keeps pushing her away.

For being spotted with Ludo again, VVGS punishes Vidushi again by putting her in the isolation ward.

This time around, Vidushi’s friend, Manjoree, decides to stand up for her friend. She seeks Noor’s help. Being a Junior Captain, Noor has some authority, but she refrains from helping her.

Slowly, all the students at VVGS show support for Vidushi in the most grand manner. Noor starts questioning herself and her decisions when her younger sister, Naz, points out that she is no longer the Noor she used to be.

During a student council meeting discussing Vidushi’s matter, the words of her sister and father revolve in Noor’s mind. She reminds the school of the meaning of the statue of Aunt Vidhi that is placed at their school.

The statue states, “Know yourself.” Noor expresses that Vidushi did what VVGS represents—she found herself. Now, instead of celebrating her, they are punishing her.

Noor walks out after condemning the school for not accepting other identities, forcing them to follow their rules so the students are easier to control, and not making the best use of student council to solve students’ problems.

Ludo’s decision

During the end of the semester party, Noor is announced as the School Captain, while Ludo becomes the Sports Captain of VVGS.

Noor owns who she is by requesting Verma to announce her full name: Noor Hassan. Following that, Noor and the students of VVGS put their plan into motion.

A Pride Parade at VVGS takes place. Noor takes full responsibility for it, but Verma doesn’t de-badge her for this.

Noor gives her friend Ludo a hand. However, Ludo ultimately decides to walk away while the Pride Parade continues.

Dia and Aliya reconcile

Dia regrets being responsible for Aliya’s firing. Dia goes looking for Aliya to apologize to her and finds her at a railway station.

Dia was obsessed with changing the system and fighting patriarchy. Aliya explains to her that she wasn’t wrong, but her timing was.

With the example of Savitribai Phule, who opened the first girl’s school in India, Aliya reminds Dia how privileged she is to study at VVGS, which is way more than most girls will ever get.

Dia and Aliya apologize to each other. Aliya also thanks Dia. It’s because of Dia that Aliya is going to follow her heart and do her play. The two hug and rejoice.

The fate of Kavya, Pluggy, Roohi and JC

Kavya writes a letter to her mother, admitting that she lost herself and promising that she will pick herself up.

At the end of the semester, Kavya learns that she isn’t going anywhere. Her mother has paid the fees for the next semester. Kavya and her mother reconcile outside the school.

Throughout the series, the gang helps Pluggy finally have sex with a boy. Pluggy botches a golden chance that she gets.

To make sure she is ready for the next opportunity she gets, Pluggy rehearses with her home friend, Asad, who ends up having feelings for Pluggy.

Pluggy pushes him away quietly, but when she does sleep with the boy she likes, it feels like she is missing something. Now Asad wants nothing to do with her.

Lastly, sick of hearing her parents argue all the time, Roohi leaves their car and asks JC to take her along with her. The two run towards the woods, away from their families.

Verma’s dreams come at a cost

Anita Verma spends the entire show dreaming of building a science block for the school in memory of her daughter, who passed away due to some sickness.

Verma receives a cheque from Mittal Industries. Verma’s dream of having that science block comes true, but it seems like Mr. Mittal of Mittal Industries may not be as kind or pleasant as he portrays himself to be.

Mr. Mittal of Mittal Industries is looking to replace Verma with a new principal.


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Rahul Shinde
Rahul Shinde
Rahul is an editor on The Envoy Web who is working from Mumbai. You will find him obsessing over the genres of horror, thriller, sitcoms, and musicals—a weird combination right there. It's either something spooky or a comfort watch.

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