I was not exactly rushing to binge on the new season of Emily in Paris, but I could not resist. I had to see how much more drama Emily could stir up. Spoiler alert: it’s moving to Rome.
Remember when Emily was an “influencer,” constantly posting selfies by the Eiffel Tower and eating croissants? Well, season four forgot. Instead, we are bombarded with a hundred side plots, none of which we could keep track of. It is like they crammed every possible dramatic trope into each scene but forgot the original premise of the show – an American who gets her dream job in Paris. Rather, we follow Emily’s love affairs in Paris with a side of her actual life.
The Plot… Is It There?
By the end of the season, I was not sure of what actually happened. Instead of focusing on Emily’s life in Paris, the show is drowning in chaotic subplots. Camille’s pregnancy scare (which turns out to be a false positive), Mindy suddenly getting picked to represent France in Eurovision, Emily’s boss Sylvie accusing an industry leader of sexual assault, and Laurent, Sylvie’s husband, having a 20-year-old daughter, Genevieve, who comes to live in Paris. Amidst all this chaos, the most frustrating part — Emily’s messy love life.
For several episodes, I had to suffer through Gabriel—one of Emily’s many love interests — whining about why they could not be together. Then, out of nowhere in the final episode, he completely shifts gears and chases Emily to Rome, refusing to let her move on with a new love interest— a selfish move on his part. His character’s regression is disappointing and highlights the writers’ inability to craft a coherent storyline. The constant back-and-forth between Emily’s love interests leaves no room for any actual relationships to develop. It is all superficial and rushed, reflecting the show’s overall inability to follow through on any meaningful storyline.
Emily’s Fashion Fiasco
On top of the weak storyline, Emily’s fashion choices remain disappointingly stagnant this season. Given that the location plays a vital part in the show, I expected Emily’s style to evolve by adapting more to French culture or to take some inspiration from Parisian fashion. Instead, Emily’s style is stuck with the same bold, over-the-top, mismatched outfits that feel more like costumes than fashion statements. There’s no hint of the effortless sophistication that defines Parisian style— it is as if her character is determined to stand apart from everything around her.
Genevieve, who only appears in the show a few times, manages to undergo a full French makeover and seemingly integrates into the culture within weeks of her arrival. Meanwhile, Emily seems to be stuck in her loud, eccentric wardrobe, resisting embracing the culture around her despite having lived in Paris for the past four seasons. While the show romanticizes Paris, Emily’s wardrobe remains a perfect reflection of her views towards the city — an exaggerated fantasy, disconnected from reality.
However, this will not be a problem as it looks like we will not be seeing much of Emily actually in Paris next season. The final episode reveals that she will be moving to Rome to help expand the marketing agency. So what happened to Emily in Paris? The show is reaching for every new, dramatic move possible and not actually allowing Emily’s life to settle in Paris, another mistake on the creators’ part.
All this being said, Emily in Paris has never claimed to be anything different than what it is, a background show you forget about the minute it is over. And so, I somehow ended up watching the entire season, and I am ashamed to admit I will be watching season five. This might be because there are no better options or because we crave a show so disastrous it distracts us from our own messy lives. Regardless of the reason, Emily in Paris is doing something right with its “so bad it’s good” charm to keep people coming back.
Featured Image from Deadline, Courtesy of Netflix (Stephanie Branchu), 2024. https://deadline.com/gallery/emily-in-paris-season-4-first-look-photos/eip_unit_01025r/
