The sign of a good character is that they are always growing and changing. You can look at their journey and you know that over time they’ve become more than they were when you met them. It can be big things or it can be little things. But it is just a plethra of moments that have changed them from the person that you knew into the person that they are meant to be.
Emily in Paris has those characters.
Now look, I would love to think that Emily has grown as much as this episode tried to make her seem as she had, but we she’s just not that person. She’s not a big swings, no inhibitions kind of person. She needs boundaries and a structure in her life and in her relationships.
And that’s part of the reason that this episode has me believing one thing – Gabriel isn’t forever. He’s for right now. This is good news for me, because watching their relationship is painful. I am just not into any part of it and I personally think that Gabriel is acting like a selfish jerk.
But here we are and these two are trying to take things out of the carriage.
COCK BLOCK
Gabriel and Emily want to have sex – which hey, hormones, attraction and all. We get it. But as they go into Emily’s, thinking they have the place to themselves, Mindy is there. She was supposed to be at Nicolas’, but they fought.
For the first time so far this season I see a hint of maybe Gabriel is redeemable, as he excuses himself, letting the two besties talk. I am not saying that Gabriel is a bad person – he’s not. But what is happening over and over again – in my opinion – is that he’s being utterly selfish.
But besties, lets talk about the besties. The way that Mindy and Emily are on the screen makes me believe in their friendship even more. It’s like you can’t fake that kind of friendship and so Ashley Park and Lily Collin‘s real life relationship comes across on the screen.
Nicolas is mad at Mindy. They fought. I get that we’re dealing with his father here, but when your Dad is wrong – HE IS WRONG. He wanted Mindy to be photographed with his family at a charity event and she doesn’t want to do that. She doesn’t want to be complacent. And so he asked her if by him taking a pic with his Dad, she thought he was being that. She told him that it didn’t help.
And it doesn’t. She was being honest.
Mindy isn’t a “cock block” even though she calls herself one. If we’re being honest, I do think that one of the best things about this season is that the show is making sure that we get to know more about everyone else’s lives. Yes, it’s been that way before, but not on the level that it has been this season. It’s been endearing to see it.
THREE PEOPLE
Sofia and Emily – I don’t know how they do it. Both are walking a fine line across the board when it comes to Gabriel and Camile. Camile is proving over and over again that she’s not over Gabriel and I feel like she’s thinking that she made a mistake at the altar.
I don’t really think that is what it is though. I think that Camile doesn’t like to not have everything that she wants. She’s threatened by Emily.
See, Sofia and Camile are looking for apartments, but Camile is finding issues with every single apartment. It’s evident to anyone watching that it’s not the apartment that is the issue. It’s having to be away from Gabriel that is the issue. As long as she’s living with him – she can keep him and Emily apart.
I said what I said and I am standing by it.
But when Emily hears that they will be there longer, she breaks and tells the super that there are three people in the apartment. One really can’t blame her. I would have done it a long time ago.
What we do find out later is that Gabriel also snitched. And this is one of those moments where I can find some redemption in him so I ain’t even mad about that. I think that him and Emily should have had a talk about it before either one of them did it – but here we are.
I do know that it infuriates me when we find out that the super showed Camile and Sofia an apartment right across the hall and that ends up being the apartment that they take.
You will never be able to convince me that Camile isn’t about trying to keep Gabriel in order to not loose to Emily. I don’t believe it’s because she actually loves him. I think she loves herself the most and everyone else is just collateral damage.
SYLVIE & LAURENT
I will say it time and time again – Sylvie is the hero of this season so far. She’s the character that is changing the most and we do love that for her. But in change, also comes the character not wanting to change. The line is very difficult and hard to navigate.
While Sylvie has to deal with the repercussions of her choice to speak to the newspaper, I am finding myself getting upset over them. I think that she did the right thing, but the amount of people who are acting like it is okay to treat her wrong or back out of working with the agency – not okay.
JVMA of course does pull the funding for the club. No shocker there. Laurent isn’t mad about Sylvie talking or about the funding being pulled. But he is kinda just all sorts of wrong when he is like I better get back to St. Tropez.
Now, I think him being around Sylvie is good for her. She loves being with her husband. She wants him around. Of course she’s not going to show it the way that the rest of us may. Seeing Sylvie put up walls, but also want to be there for her husband and keep him around – I have to admit that my heart just feels for her.
I am also a little angry at him, because he’s treating her like an option vs. his wife. Yes, she never told him about her time JVMA in full, but I am beginning to see why. I also hate that I am looking at her and I feel like she feels bad over it.
And that’s just wrong.
MAMA SAYS
Sylvie doesn’t want to let Laurent down. Which, TBH, I loved seeing. I love the side of her that has started to realize that she doesn’t have to do things all alone. And hey, she does. the thing that she may not want to do – she calls her Mom.
Heloise used to be the Queen of the Night in Paris. She was famous for her affairs, exploits, and just all around good time. She’s not too kind though, even to her daughter. She didn’t like that her daughter participated in the Le Monde interview and seemed to have a lot to say about it.
But when it comes down to it, Heloise lets her daughter use the building that she has for the club. She has stipulations and though we’re not sure what they are, I am pretty sure they aren’t going to be easy.
Though, I think that it’s sweet that Sylvie, who acts like she needs no one, actually does need someone. But even better than that – we get to see why she is the way that she is AND we get to see that she’s willing to sacrifice a lot for the ones that she loves.
FIND ME AT THE CLUB
One thing that I have said and I will say again – I love that Sylvie is loyal AF. She knows that they people who work with her are her family and she loves them. I think that’s why she was so hurt when Julien left to JVMA. He’s been through a lot with her and even gone, his loyalty is important to him.
So much so that he quits when Louis asks for information on Sylvie. There is a line that he’s not going to cross and I love him even more for that. I loved that when he shows up and tells Sylvie she puts him right back to work.
Getting the club put together for opening night is something that is an all hands on deck kind of thing. And it does come together. It comes together because Sylvie and her team are a family that will make sure that everything is pulled off without complication. Well ok, there are a lot of complications, but that’s also okay.
We love the drama.
MINDY, MINDY… THAT IS COMPLICATED
Mindy and her group performing at the club opening – I love seeing them back on stage. I have been a little frustrated, wondering when we’d see more of them and if we’d hear more about Eurovision. Like what is happening? Not that we learned anything about it here.
What we did get to see is the chemistry between Mindy and Benoit. MAN that was fire. There was a connection between the two of them that I am not sure if it transfers off of the stage.
BUT, that being said, I don’t want them together. I don’t because I like her and Nicolas together. I like that they get each other and that even though they are fighting, they in the end come together. I believe in them.
Nicolas apparently told the board of JVMA that he doesn’t want to work there if his father is in charge. Have to admit at this moment, I thought, that this isn’t going to end well. While I feel that he did the right thing, I am not sure that he did it for the right reasons.
And the show has set up a moment where we think that Benoit and Mindy could end up together. So that being said, are we looking at Nicolas resenting Mindy?
Time will only tell with all these storylines.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Gregory Dupree for Pierre Cadault – watching Nicolas and Julien at the showing, I was laughing. The look on Nicolas face was priceless and I think that if we can’t laugh, we’re missing out on a good one
- Laurent – hate that you made this about you
- Sylvie’s mom is priceless. Especially when she’s in the office
- Emily admitting that she’s not someone who can live in the “gray area” is something I applaud
- You can take the girl out of the midwest, but not the midwest out of the girl
- The shampoo line – I can’t
- Emily’s pitch for the shampoo – I applaud
- Julien – I love you
The first half of season four of Emily in Paris is streaming now on Netflix.
