During its 100th episode, which also acted as a fall finale, The Mindy Project left us with yet another cliffhanger: a huge Ben/Mindy fight and possible breakup. Ben feels hurt that Mindy seems ashamed that he is “just a nurse,” while Mindy believes Ben isn’t living up to his potential. Whether Ben will officially dump Mindy for “not being good enough for her” is still up in the air since we will—unfortunately—have to wait until after the holidays to find out if Mindy is a single pringle again.
Despite the dramatic ending to the episode, Mindy Kaling celebrated her 100th episode in true fashion: a return of the exes! That’s right—some of our favorite flashes from the past returned this week including Jamie (B.J. Novak), the pretentious author, and Casey (Anders Holms), the pastor-turned-DJ-turned-shoe-mogul. After the devasting Danny and Mindy breakup last season and the stressful Jody/Danny/Mindy love triangle earlier this season, it was refreshing to revisit some of Mindy’s more lighthearted relationships. From the utterly forgettable (anyone remember that Mindy and Jeremy used to hook up?) to the totally dream-worthy (Graham practically invented the man bun), The Mindy Project has given us plenty of eye candy and romance to watch.
Here are all of Mindy’s exes—at least the more serious ones—ranked. Let us know if you agree with our list!
17. Josh
Josh is one of a few exes we see make a return this week, although he’s probably one of the most forgettable love interests from Mindy’s past. Josh appears in the first season (so pre-Danny), and even he admits he doesn’t remember most of his and Mindy’s relationship. To be fair, he was “high all the time,” but either way, we don’t miss him at all.
16. Dennis
Although we all love a good Office reunion, Dennis was just a big old bore. But his fall down the stairs will stay in our memories forever.
15. Drew
Drew was Mindy’s first serious relationship after Danny, so we’re grateful he helped her get over him. But the long-distance thing just wasn’t going to work. Plus, he was clearly not invested in hanging out with baby Leo, so Mindy had to kick him to the curb.
14. Neel
Neel and Mindy didn’t have a ton of chemistry, but he helped her explore her Indian heritage and culture, which is pretty cool! Even if he did call her a “coconut.”
13. Adam
Adam also would have been pretty forgettable, except for the fact that he revealed his occupation as a prostitute at Danny’s dinner party. Oops. He was cute though!
12. Graham
Graham was obviously SO not right for Mindy. She even told this skater boy that “her brain gets angry when he talks.” However, he was so wonderfully attractive that we were all willing to overlook his flaws.
11. Jamie
There’s no doubt that Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak have chemistry on- and off-screen, but Jamie was so obviously in love with his best friend that his relationship with Mindy was destined to go nowhere. However, it was great seeing him reappear this week after being dumped by the girl he left Mindy for. He’s now a pretentious “historo-thriller” author who instigates the Ben/Mindy fight with a drunken move on Mindy at a party. He may be funny, but definitely not Mindy-worthy.
10. Jody
Jody is a complicated one since he’s so new and still in Mindy’s life on the reg. Although he managed to grow as a person since we first encountered him and, not gonna lie, the scruffy beard and Southern charm helped a lot, he and Mindy just didn’t have a lot of chemistry, and his traditional views and womanizing ways just didn’t fly for us.
9. Jason
Jason is the sophisticated and adorable guy you want, but in the end he just disappoints. He judges Mindy the entire relationship for her tastes, and his snobbery breaks them up. He does get points for offering to play One Direction during sex, which is totally romantic, right?
8. Brendan
Brendan was like the less-charismatic version of Danny. Hot? Yes. A jerk? Also, yes. But he and Mindy had amazing chemistry, and their witty back-and-forth kept things spicy and fun. Ultimately his homeopathic ways and inability to commit led to us seeing less and less of the midwife.
7. Tom
Who doesn’t love a dorky Bill Hader? Tom and Mindy dated before the show even began, so they definitely had a history. He was a sweet guy, but after he married another woman and she later left him, he turned into a somewhat pitiful character.
6. Jeremy
So Jeremy was just a hookup buddy all the way back in season one, but out of the men from Mindy’s past, he’s definitely one of the better ones. He used to be a bit of a womanizer, but we love the goofiness and British charm that he’s developed throughout the show. They’re definitely not meant for each other, so we’re glad the show “forgot” they ever hooked up and now they can just stay friends.
5. Sam
Seth Rogen playing Sam made him one of Mindy’s most lovable, funny and laidback boyfriends of all time. A long-lost crush from childhood summer camp, Sam reconnects with Mindy for one day, and they have a totally rom-com-worthy experience. If Sam hadn’t been in the Army and shipped off, he and Mindy could have definitely blossomed into something more serious. #BringBackSam!
4. Cliff
Cliff was definitely one of Mindy’s longer relationships and for good reason. Cliff was responsible, had a good job and was an all-around great guy. He had two problems, though: 1) his fear of divorce kept him from fully trusting Mindy and 2) Danny’s obvious jealousy. Cliff could have been a good match for Mindy, but he didn’t hold a candle to Danny in the end.
3. Casey
Considering Casey and Mindy were engaged at one point, he’s definitely one of her more serious relationships. He was fun, kind, generous and definitely the coolest pastor in the world. He and Mindy encouraged each other and made each other better people, even if she was reluctant to go all the way to Haiti for volunteer work. However, he ended up being even too crazy for Mindy, who needs someone to level her out. After becoming a DJ and then a shoe mogul, and then returning last season with a mess of awful tattoos (pizza rat, really?), we can definitely say we miss the old Casey.
2. Ben
Okay, so Ben is kind of a huge bore. Since he emerged at the beginning of the season, voiding Mindy’s decision to stay single for a while, he simply hasn’t provided the kind of charisma and chemistry that we normally see in a Mindy Project romance. But he is probably Mindy’s most responsible and level-headed boyfriend; he’s also a single parent, works in the same field and handles most of her crazy antics with patience. If he sticks around (after that huge fight, who knows!), hopefully we will see more of his funny side to determine if he’s “the one.”
1. Danny
There’s no denying that Danny has his issues, and after the way he treated Mindy in the last season, we can’t say we miss him all that much. But there’s also no denying that no relationship has had the intensity, passion, love and spark that’s between Mindy and Danny. Before he went off to California and ruined his relationship with Mindy, he was the jerk we loved to hate, the guy who was always there to comfort Mindy and a sexy-as-hell dancer. Mindy and Danny are officially over, which is good, but it remains to be seen if she’ll find a relationship with the same connection that she had with Danny Castellano.