Emily, Emily, Emily, qu’est que c’est? Emily in Paris is back for yet another round of will-they-won’t-they and you shouldn’t expect any real answers in a hurry. Emily (Lily Collins) is torn between Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), leaving her tangled up in a weird…uhh…love pentagon…alongside Camille (Camille Razat) and her unfinished business with Sofia (Melia Kreiling). Not to mention there’s the added complication of Camille and Gabriel’s baby! Ooh la la, Emily sure does get herself into some hot messes and the main plot plays out like a soap opera, with more revelations and bizarre character choices thrown around like confetti.
At Agence Grateau, for once Emily isn’t the only one causing scandals. Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) is faced with a decision that might affect both her career and her relationship, in one of the most intriguing subplots so far. Meanwhile, Julien (Samuel Arnold) isn’t happy with how his career is going and decides to take matters into his own hands. As for Luc (Bruno Gouery), well, he’s having a bon rendez-vous with his not-so-secret Michelin star-judge girlfriend. Julien and Luc remain the most entertaining and endearing pair who inject some comic relief to the often tiresome back-and-forth of the main love story.
Elsewhere in the city, Mindy (Ashley Park) and her band are on their way to Eurovision and they soon find out the journey isn’t all glitz & glam. But Mindy has more important things to deal with when some curveballs threaten her and Nico (Paul Forman)—and you’ll cheer for her for knowing her worth. Ashley Park provides some much-needed sparkle to this season and I hope to see even more of her in Part 2.
Emily in Paris is a show I typically love to hate—but the first half of this season doesn’t achieve the same schadenfreude I’m usually excited for. If I’m being honest, the series has been re-hashing the same story for a while now; S4 retreads old ground already flattened by last season’s stilettos. The pop culture jokes and continued jabs at French culture don’t help, either, as they swing between hit and miss.
There are a few interesting moments that I look forward to being explored more in the second half of the season but the reliance on tired tropes and repetitive storylines makes it feel disjointed and not as engaging as usual (whether good or bad). And while there are some attempts to hold Emily accountable (or so she claims), the season instead tries harder than ever to make us root for her to get everything she wants. In doing so, it tosses everyone else and their arcs aside in her favor. C’est la vie, I guess.
Mon amie, Sherin, adds, “After almost 4 seasons, I’ve discovered the cheat code for enjoying Emily in Paris, it’s recognizing while Emily is a hero in her own mind, she’s the villain in this story. That revelation est joyeux.”
S4 Part 1 isn’t quite the delulu drama I hoped for—but hey, I hope, like so many of Emily’s campaigns, she manages to save it in some ridiculous manner at the last minute in Part 2.
