By Avery Ballmann | Staff Writer
Season trois of Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” is full of vibrant outfits, spicy relationships, backstabbing business ventures and, unfortunately, a confusing plot line. This season keeps up pace with the nature of the show of it being a light-hearted comedy, but as usual leaves the audience with a cliffhanger and some unanswered questions.
Emily, played by Lily Collins, enters this season with the answer to the question we were all asking — to follow Sylvie Grataeu (Philippine Leroy-Baulieu) to her new agency or stay with Madeline (Kate Walsh) in Chicago? She obviously chooses Sylvie since that means staying in Paris, but with this comes new rivalries within the business.
Fashion icons Pierre Cadault (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) and Gregory Dupree (Jeremy O. Harris) face-off again in the way they do it best: a fashion show. I have always enjoyed this rivalry. However, the corny banter can become overdone, so I think the writers did a nice job in giving them a cameo and not a main component of the season.
The show took a refreshing turn by developing the side characters’ stories, such as Mindy Chen, played by Ashley Park, and Gabriel, played by Lucas Bravo. Mindy was able to land a gig at a local jazz club, which gave her more screen-time for singing. She also develops a new relationship, which causes problems for Emily’s business. I am not too fond of this boyfriend, but it does create entertaining tension. Gabriel gets his chance in the spotlight by having increased focus on his restaurant endeavors. In this season, he dreams of earning a Michelin Star, the Grammy’s of food. I appreciated the depth to this character since he is so closely tied with Emily.
A major critique I have with “Emily in Paris” is the spotty plot line. Characters such as Mindy’s ex-boyfriend Benoit (Kevin Dias) disappear and reappear throughout the show. I know that is the point of side characters, but Benoit was replaced too quickly without any explanation. Another mysterious relationship is Sylvie’s boyfriend; one episode they’re together and the next Sylvie is back with her husband. Maybe I lost the story in translation because they spoke in French, but it still didn’t make sense because her boyfriend was never mentioned again.
This mysterious relationship plot hole also happens with Camille (Emilie Razat) and her affair with the artist, a huge discrepancy that is not highlighted nearly enough in the show. Again, I know Camille is a side character, but side characters should not have these crazy things happen to them without explanation. Since Camille is with Gabriel, who is still in love with Emily, the cheating should have been showcased more heavily.
The reason why I enjoy this series is how each of the characters are woven into Emily’s life, such as how her job mixes with her friends and her coworkers become involved in her personal life. I would argue that this season overstepped by making Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) caught in the crossfire of Emily’s love life. Emily’s relationships are unreasonably rocky because she and her friends see her being with Gabriel. I think this season would be much more interesting if Emily were able to fully develop her relationship with Alfie. If you watch the last episode, that is not the direction the writers decided to take.
Despite the discrepancies, I always enjoy “Emily in Paris” because it’s entertaining and the culture of France is seen through the lens of a bright-eyed, workaholic American. The writers do a wonderful job of incorporating the language, food, fashion and lifestyle of the French. There is no set release date for season four, though in the past Netflix has released new seasons each December.
