She’s back!
The first five episodes of Emily in Paris have dropped and they are good. Not that we ever thought that Emily in Paris would disappoint in any way. The show has managed to break boundaries and stay at the top of its game because it does something so very well – it makes you invested in the characters.
This season is no different.
Emily in Paris picks up basically right where it left off, except there isn’t a character that hasn’t changed. Everyone in the show has been affected by what happened at the wedding and that is evident. Some have found their strength, some have found their annoyance, some silence, and some a new way of doing things.
But they’ve all found their own version of heartache. It just is a matter of how they are going to make it through.
Where as when you watch these first five episodes you think that you are getting answers, that’s just not Emily in Paris. I think that we all know (being fans of the show) that everything is ever changing. What you end up with is this moment of questioning what you want from these characters at each and every turn. But what you get in return for the roller coaster of emotions that you will be thankful for.
I will stand by the statement that a good show makes you feel and question and scream and cry. It sends you on a journey.
Season 4 of Emily in Paris is going to do just that. Lets break it down –
First Impressions
The thing with Emily in Paris is that it is one of my favorite shows on television or streaming. The show is sometimes very far fetched and I do understand that. However, if you separate yourself from reality of life and just enjoy a show for what it is, what you’re left with is pure enjoyment.
And I enjoyed this season of Emily in Paris.
These five episodes aren’t what I expected, but I walked away feeling happy and angry. There was a complex amount of emotions coming out of me and I appreciated that. I appreciated that I was shocked, surprised, and in a weird way relieved.
The first impression that I have is that there is never an episode of Emily in Paris. that doesn’t set up the next one perfectly. That can’t be a bad thing, right? What I will say though is that while this season wasn’t perfect and left me with some gripes, no show is.
My first impression is why aren’t we talking more about Eurovision? What happens with the TikTok? Why is there not more Alfie? I felt as thought there were storylines that were opened and then they just fell off. Now, I have only seen episodes 1-5 and so who knows what will happen.
However, I am hung up on the plot holes and the fact that it feels like they fell. It made something feel like it was missing. So, well, I do want to give them the benefit of the doubt, first impression, I was feeling a little bit like I want to talk to someone about WHY.
Favorite Episode
Episode 1. Yes, I loved the first episode of the season – Break Point. I loved it because of the little nuances that were in the episode. There was so much of the episode that was played out through little nuances, looks, and there were so many surprises.
I felt like with this episode your feelings on ever character will change. You’ll be confused by why your emotions are changing, but they will. That’s a sign of being invested, so I don’t think that is a bad thing. In the episode I grew to love Mindy even more, heartbroken for Alfie, sympathized with Sylvie, laughed with Luc, hate Nicolas, thought Julien was a bit of a diva, and rolled my eyes at Gabriel. But that’s the sign of a good episode. It’s a good episode because it managed to make you invested in every character.
It made you want to feel more. It made you want to figure out how you could live without these characters for so long.
We’ve waited for the return of Emily in Paris and it’s rare that it can come back with such a bang. But this show did. The first episode reminded me why I love this show so very much and why I feel such a connection to these characters.
Least Favorite Episode
This is a hard one, but if I am going to have to choose – it’s going to be Episode 4, The Grey Area. Why? Well, because I felt like they were trying to make a big change in who Emily is and it was infuriating because Emily is who she is.
TBH, I was so over Camille and Sofia living with Gabriel in this episode, that I felt like she was trying to change to keep a man and that just doesn’t and didn’t feel like who Emily is. She’s strong, resilient, and she’s independent. She doesn’t need to give up everything that she wants and hold in her feelings. Yes, relationships are complicated, that is true.
But they don’t have to be as complicated as they are. We’ve got Emily bending over backwards for Gabriel, but what is he doing for her? Sex on a roof? She deserves more.
EPISODE RANKING (FROM LEAST FAVORITE TO MOST FAVORITE)
- Episode 4 – THE GREY AREA
- Episode 2 – LOVE ON THE RUN
- Episode 5 – TROMPE L’OEIL
- Episode 3 – MASQUERADE
- Episode 1 – BREAK POINT
Favorite Character
These five episodes – my favorite characters are Sylvie and Mindy. Yes, I am shocked too. Look, I love Emily. Everyone loves Emily. I just feel like choosing Emily would be a cop out and taking the easy way out.
For me – Mindy has grown more than anyone on this show. She’s following her dreams and making sure that she works hard. She’s on the side of doing what is right versus doing what is easy. She stands up for herself. She makes sure that people know that she can’t be messed with.
Mindy is supportive of people and doesn’t want to ever be a victim. And that is something that she has in common with Sylvie.
Sylvie is my hero in these episodes, because she can’t be bought. She’s going to tell what happened to her in order to make sure that the people that she loves aren’t hurt. What she’s doing can’t be easy, but it is something that I think shows her strength.
Sylvie has thought that she has to pave her own way – that she had to grow and do everything on her own terms. She’s held so much in and she’s never had to do everything on her own. But it is her opening up about her sexual harassment that shows just how strong she is. I was proud of her for not letting anyone buy her silence. She’s a trailblazer.
Least Favorite Character
Gabriel seems to always want his cake and to eat it to. He’s so oblivious to what he’s doing and how it is affecting everyone around him. It wasn’t until this season that I realized just how many people are rallying around him and trying to make everything for him okay, but what is he really doing for others around him? Cooking them free meals?
I felt like this season, Gabriel was more worried about his feelings than what was best and right. It was as if when Emily told him that they would have to be two different people for them to work out, he goes to make sure that she knows that he thinks that they can be. But what he did was selfish. He didn’t do it for anything but to try and show Emily that he didn’t respect her feelings.
Then there’s Camille. She is just all over the place. She threw Emily under the bus, thinking that it would bail her out of trouble. But the thing is, Camille needs to take responsibility for herself and her actions. It just doesn’t seem like something that she’s capable of doing.
Because even when she comes back to Paris and Sofia shows up, Camille remains selfish. She doesn’t want to move away from Gabriel, she doesn’t want to try to compromise with her girlfriend, she doesn’t want to lessen the hold she has on Gabriel.
Camille has hurt everyone, and it doesn’t seem to phase her that she does things that only benefit Camille.
Overall Thoughts
Emily in Paris remains must binge television for a reason – it’s really f***ing good!
We’ve waited for a bit for this season because as we all know, there was a strike. Waiting was hard, but waiting seems to be worth it, because what we’ve gotten is a deeply emotional season that seems to be the best season yet. A bold statement, I know. But it’s one that I will firmly stand behind.
Lily Collins continues to shine as Emily Cooper, an ex-pat that is finding her way in Paris. Emily has settled into her job, she has friends, and she’s made an impression. The thing is though, Emily doesn’t seem to know how to keep her mouth shut, which is causing a lot of issues in her life.
Yet, Emily is over that. She’s trying to find a balance between what people think that she should be and who she is. In the process she’s finding out what she’s willing to change about herself and who and what matters to her. There is something about Collins that is able to take the complexity of who Emily is and make it seem so simple. Collins makes Emily relatable. Well except Emily’s love life, cause that’s just drama and none of that is really all that relatable (at least to me).
During this season, as we watch Emily make her choices, you can’t help but feel for all of the people that she interacts with. Probably my favorite relationship on the screen is between Emily and Mindy. The thing about these two is that it doesn’t matter what happens, they are ride or dies. They will be there for each other. I do believe that a lot of that has to do with the fact that Ashley Park and Lily Collins have a solid friendship off the screen.
Seeing Mindy grow and chase everything that she wants to do, makes me want to do the same. Mindy is chasing down her spot on Eurovision, having a complicated relationship with Nicolas, missing her family, and all the time, she’s there for Emily. Mindy could return home and be taken care of, she doesn’t want to just be someone that her father supports and has control over. She wants to be a person that makes her own name and stands on the side of what is right.
And Park does such a good job of portraying that. She’s got such a presence on the screen that you can’t help but applaud her character. The way that Mindy stands up to Nicolas in the first episode, I screamed at the television and applauded her. That’s because Parks portrayal of Mindy makes you want Mindy as your BFF. She’s such a strong actress that when she is on the screen, you can’t help but be captivated by her performances.
Now, where as I would at one point argue that Emily in Paris is a coming of age story (and yes you can come of age at any age), I would these episodes argue that it is a story of people trying to figure out who and what they love. I would say that it’s about the secrets that we keep and how those secrets not only can hurt us, but others.
Take Alfie for instance. His life was ripped apart by the secrets that everyone was keeping from him. You could tell that he loves Emily and he’s heartbroken. The way that Lucien Laviscount convinces you of Alfie’s heartbreak at the boxing center, the tennis match, the ball… I felt for him. It was his portrayal this season that made me let all my friends know that I was firmly Team Alfie.
But that’s also in part because I hated the way that Gabriel was written. Maybe I don’t understand French men (well any man to be honest), but I felt as though Gabriel was spending this season thus far trying to have his cake and eat it too. He didn’t seem to realize how much he wasn’t respecting other peoples feelings and was just caught up in his own.
And in words I never thought that I would say, Sylvie is my shero. She’s spent her life working to get ahead so that she would make her own path, but she finds that can take different forms. Her time at JVMA was one that she doesn’t like to talk about, but when she must revisit it, she does. Sylvie walks towards the lions den, because she knows that in doing so she’s the right thing.
I don’t want to talk too much about what Sylvie does because I feel it is better watched. It is important that it is watched.
You can’t help but walk away from this drop of episodes invested. It’s not even the cliffhanger that will have you wanting more – its every moment of every episode. There are a lot of questions that I need answers too and I think you will too.
