Emily is still in Paris
And she still can't speak French!
*This post contains spoilers*
Previously on Emily in Paris (2020): Mindy may or may not be in a toxic relationship. Gabriel started planning for his future and hustled for a Michelin star. Camille cheated on her hot chef boyfriend with sexy Greek artist Sofia. Silvie reconnects with her husband Laurent but is devastated when he reveals he’s going into business with her ex-boss and abuser, Louis de Leon. Our protagonist Emily gets dumped by Alfie at Gabriel and Camille’s almost-wedding.
Oh, and Gabriel and Camille had unprotected sex.
This show is so stupid and ridiculous and I fucking love it. It’s objectively awful but it brings me so much joy. I can’t even bring you valuable critique or analysis because this show is fundamentally just not intelligent or nuanced.
Emily is such a unique character. If she wasn’t fictional and worked at my office I think I would struggle not to punch her in the face every single day. We have no idea who she used to be before her plane landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle from Chicago, and creator Darren Star absolutely does not care enough to show us. I think the hosts of
said it best when they concluded that Emily is “a woman with no back story and no trauma simply enjoys herself in Paris… what’s wonderful about Emily is that she exists but we have no idea why she’s like that.”In a video essay, Alice Cappelle argues that the show operates within a paradigm of class-blindness. She points out that films and television shows based in Paris are often set in the wealthier arrondissements (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th), ignoring the very real issue of income inequality and perpetuating the stereotype that Paris is a glamorous city of love.
Sure, the characters exist in a Paris that’s romanticised and unrealistic. But that’s exactly the world Emily in Paris is choosing to explore. It has no interest showcasing the lives of immigrants or people working minimum wage. What it is interested in showing us is a Paris accessible only to a certain type of American woman — one whose livelihoods (and visa) is paid for by their employer, one who has a trust fund, and one who works in an industry that prides itself in who you know, not what you know. The show also wants let us feel like we’re escaping our real lives for an evening or two.
I’m certainly not French, so I can’t speak to the show’s accuracy in depicting Parisian life. But having briefly lived and worked in New York, what I can attest to is that women like Emily do exist. They are beautiful, ambitious, have (interesting) style and just haven’t experienced life outside of America yet.1 I used to be envious of them, once, of their naivety and ease in which they navigate the world.
I’m still not exactly sure how my career panned out the way it did, but like Emily, I am also a marketing girlie. Having worked in the industry for almost five years, there is some truth to the glitz and glamour depicted within the universe of Emily in Paris. Brands do give you a lot of free stuff, you’re always being schmoozed in some swanky rooftop bar and yet somehow I’m always on making a fool of myself while scrambling to capture content for social media.
There are so many situations in this show that are unfathomable and don’t happen to anyone in real life, especially in Emily’s work life. But the scene in episode one of everybody clapping to the AMI digital screen ads in the stadium was actually fucking crazy. I refuse to believe that Parisians, or anyone from anywhere for that matter, cares that much about video ads. I actually work in advertising for a living and it’s a good day if even one person bothers to Google our website after staring at our ads on the London Underground.
But the shining star of this show is no doubt Ashley Park. She’s wonderful. Season three was her season and season four is no different. Her acting is so effortless and she lights up every scene she’s in. I genuinely believe Mindy is in Paris right now, singing her heart out at jazz clubs in her highest pair of heels.
Because of Park, one of the best things to watch onscreen is Emily and Mindy’s friendship. It actually feels real.2 Their dialogue feels authentic and true, like things my girlies and I actually say to each other in real life. And Mindy’s such a good friend! Even while crying her eyes out on Emily’s couch she still manages to ask Emily how she’s handling the Gabriel-Camille-Sofia housing situation. It’s so sweet.
For me, Mindy and Emily’s friendship is the true love story of Emily in Paris.
Speaking of love, is anyone else getting a bit sick of Emily and Gabriel? Just be together or move on, man.
During second half of the season, Emily travels to Rome to explore her new relationship with Marcello and take the first vacation she’s been on in a year. I for one, love Marcello for Emily. With him, I feel like she’s finally learning how to prioritise her own wellbeing and romantic life over her job, something she’s always historically struggled to do. Marcello is just so unbothered, and importantly, doesn’t have an unhealthy attachment to his sociopathic ex-girlfriend.3
I was also living for all the The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) references. The musical number, throwing coins in the Trevi fountain, the walking-and-talking gelato sequence? I don’t think you all understand how much I need to be on a vespa with a sexy Italian man right now.4
Kudos to you, Darren Star, because I didn’t actually think the writers would have the guts to take Emily out of Paris. The various romantic and professional links Sylvie has to Rome they’ve been teasing for the past two seasons will definitely make the story arc in season five a little more believable.5
There is still so much that remains unresolved, like is Camille really going to adopt a child and is Sofia gone for good? But I can’t wait to see what the Emily in Paris gang is up to next year, when everyone’s splitting their time between Rome and Paris. This season was such a joy to watch. Emily in Paris is pure shut-your-brain-off television and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
One last thing — can someone find me the denim bomber jacket Gabriel was wearing during his last scenes of the season? I’ll definitely need it when I’m racing around the streets of Rome on a vespa. Merci beaucoup!
The only reason to move to New York City is to make having lived there in a past life your entire personality trait.
Probably because it is! Lily Collins and Ashley Park have been best friends since filming season one together in Paris.
Yes, Gabriel and Camille, I’m looking at you.
To the sexy Italians reading this post, call me!
The cast and crew clearly just want to be on an all expenses paid trip to Rome for six months and who can blame them?