‘Emily In Paris’ Season 2 Review: More Escapism And Ringarde Fashion. But The Same Old Emily. Is This On Purpose?

‘Emily In Paris’ Season 2 Review: More Escapism And Ringarde Fashion. But The Same Old Emily. Is This On Purpose?

Okay, Emily In Paris, I am on to you. Oh boy, am I on to you. You know, I defended the first season so much, because how could I not, with the shitty time we were having in real life and the escapism Emily Cooper’s (Lilly Collins) sojourn à Paris (pronounced as Paa-ree) offered on a plateau d’argent to us. Plus those gorgeous blue eyes of Lucas Bravo, as your friendly neighbourhood chef Gabriel, to immerse ourselves into. But the criticism couldn’t be ignored and I levelled expectations on Season 2 of this Emmy nominated show, created by Darren Star and directed by Andrew Fleming, to work on its shortcomings. Well, it didn’t, and not because it can’t. But because it’s quite the clever tactic that benefits either way, whether you love or hate Emily Cooper.

 

 

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Emily In Paris returns with Lilly Collins (also a producer on the show) and series regulars Philippine Leroy Beaulieu (Sylvie Grateau), Ashley Park (Mindy Chen), Lucas Bravo (Gabriel), Camille Razat (Camille), Samuel Arnold (Julien), Bruno Gouery (Luc), and William Abadie (Antoine Lambert), Jean-Christophe Bouvet (Pierre Cadault), Charles Martins (Mathieu Cadault) and guest star Kate Walsh (Madeline Wheeler). There are new cast members joining this season, with Lucien Laviscount as Alfie, Jeremy O. Harris as Monsieur Grégory Duprée, and Arnaud Binard as Laurent G.

For a quick recap of Season 1, Gabriel and Emily have a passionate night together. And in the morning, she finds out he is not going to Normandy anymore after Antoine Lambert offers to invest in his restaurant. Her friend, the zipper heiress Mindy Chen, bags herself a new gig, pretending to be a drag queen so she can sing at this bar. And in the process, she manages to get herself evicted from her nanny-ing job and home, so she is crashing with Emily in her apartment. And with the stunt that she pulled for designer Pierre Cadault at the Grey Space fashion show, and with getting Camille’s family champagne brand on as clients for her marketing firm, Emily retains her job at Savoir too, with her colleagues Julien and Luc and boss Sylvie warming up to her. 

Oh, did you forget, Em is headed to Saint Tropéz with Mathieu Cadault for the weekend, right after she slept with Gabriel, her friend’s boyfriend?

Also Read: 5 Thoughts I Had About The Emily In Paris Season 2 Trailer: Oui To More Gabriel, More Amour, And More Complications!

Season 2 picks up immediately after Season 1 as if no time has passed, and as if none of the criticism the show received for its debut season even mattered, because it was probably all in French and nobody here has any sense or understands French sensibilities. Or do they? I mean, I still am not sure if the writers just don’t care about improving on the show’s weaknesses and making their lead more likeable or if this is all simply a clever ploy to make you binge if you love it and hate-watch if you don’t! I think a lot of movies and shows have been doing this as a cop-out of sorts, where they make the shortcomings and criticisms they’ve received a part of the characters’ or show’s self-deprecating gag. So people think, “Oh well, that’s clever, they’re rather self-aware.” But I am not sure for how long that gimmick works.

One of the biggest complaints against Emily In Paris has been the lack of depth and meatier roles for its talented supporting cast. I see some of that addressed this season with Ashley Park’s Mindy getting a chunkier bite of the croissant. I love Park’s voice, and every time she sings, I get goosebumps, and I’m glad we’re seeing more of her journey to establishing herself as a musical star. Her final duet performance (don’t wanna spoil it for ya) is really something, and I will be listening to that song quite a lot! I hope we get to meet her parents soon!

I LOVE Philippine Leroy Beaulieu as Sylvie, the sexy nonchalance with which she plays this role, and all that snark. Her character arc was easily my favourite one this season too. Juxtaposed with Emily’s rigid and rather American ideas of love and perfect romance, Sylvie’s fluid French sensibilities around love, sex, marriage, age, and gender are refreshing and empowering. And definitely liberating. I personally find the lack of hot sex in the show appalling, and if that could be amped up a bit, I would be grateful. The finale twist really has me amped up for Season 3 because it’s going to mean more Sylvie, and I’ll toujours want to watch more of her.

Also Read: Emily In Paris Was A Battle Of Escapism vs Realism In My Head. Escapism Won And Je Ne Regrette Rien!

Another welcome development this season was making Emily realise, with a vengeance, just how ridiculous it is, for both her personal and professional commitments, that she doesn’t know French while living in Paris. Considering she is a diligent go-getter in every other sphere, you can easily see that her reason for sucking at French isn’t a lack of talent or conviction, but just her inability to let go of her American-ness and embrace the French ways. She’s still hoping that people around her will adapt to her, as she fakes it till she makes It, instead of the other way round. But some very crucial incidents make her realise she needs to buck up.

However, even with all of these improvements, we’re still on the shallow banks of the Seine, and not exactly delving deep into what makes Emily the kind of person that everyone is willing to accommodate and move mountains for. Things come so easily to Emily that what seemed envious for you, the escape-loving audience at first starts getting a tad annoying eventually. How does she meet the nicest guys who are showing her the time of her life? How is everyone so nice to her? How does she get away dressed like that? (I kid you not, at one point, she was wearing this comical top hat that made her look like the Mad Hatter, and Gabriel just kept looking at her like she was the sun!) And why is there a long queue of men waiting to date her when clearly she has the depth of a saucer? I thought Lucien Laviscount as Alfie was rather sharp, and a nice parallel to the American Emily. As a British guy, his sensibilities seem to meet both France and Emily halfway. And God knows, Emily needs to have some fun and take a break from her obsessive American work ethic. I am really interested in seeing how his and Emily’s relationship progresses, but with the whole Gabriel situation, I don’t know, is it a lost cause?

Her decision to hide her night with Gabriel from Camille feels like a rather stupid idea. But what’s stupider is Gabriel’s inaction in this whole situation. I mean, Camille is his girlfriend first, shouldn’t he be shouldering some of the responsibility, and just be an adult and tell Camille? I get that the French are liberal about affairs and polyamory but I don’t think this is cool either. NGL, I had high hopes that we might get a ménage à trois between her, Gabriel and Camille because that would’ve been both super hot, and a nice initiation of Emily into the French way. Alas, it’s just a bunch of cliché tropes, longing glances, and wasting other people’s time by seeing them even while you’re still in love with another. Pfft!

As someone who worked as a social media exec and continues to dabble in it for work, I find that the show really belittles the vocation, which can I just say, is high-stress and definitely not as easy as Emily makes it look. We see her in Episode 2 just posting on a prestige account without seeking approvals from her boss or her client. She does zero background research on her client’s competition because then she would know that Monsieur Duprée is a rival who just wants to mock Pierre Cadault! I mean, aren’t those the basics of account ownership? I also reeeeallly want to know what she gets paid to afford all that ringarde but still expensive fashion, and spend all that money at places like Saint Tropéz.

Also Read: The Matrix Resurrections Review: An Amusingly Meta First Half Couldn’t Help Me Forget Why This Is A Glitch In The Franchise

Confession time: I still love watching this show. C’est la vie, n’est ce pas?

Despite all of the criticism, Emily In Paris remains one of those shows that offer easy escapism because life’s so la vie en rose for the protagonist and her friends all the time. I have forgotten just how many times I’ve watched the first season, sometimes just as background noise, sometimes to remind me, after a sucky date or stressful workday, that things can be rosy. Plus, the fact that this season chose to not have COVID exist in the show, coupled with the gorgeous ways that it manages to capture France, and make us feel like we’re on a mini-vacay ourselves! I also enjoy the fashion statements made by the other characters, particularly Sylvie, Mindy and Camille, who are often looking très chic, donning some lovely looks from monochrome to vintage couture.

Also Read: Unfolding The Fabulous Fashion Of ‘Emily In Paris’ Season 2! Get Right In

Plus, I will never say no to Lucas Bravo cooking in the kitchen in his chef whites, though I am done with those longing stares he gives Emily, I do want him to be happy!

Most importantly, it is a testament to Lilly Collins’ acting that despite just how annoying her character is, you still remain interested in Emily’s story, and want her to just do better, and be better. I am still trying to figure if this is a well-calculated ploy to make the French hate the show and character, which in some meta way is exactly how the characters in the show feel about Emily. I thought we’d like her a little more this season as she “gets more French by the day,” according to Sylvie, but erm, that didn’t happen. I even read an interview of the show’s costume designer, Marylin Fitoussi, who said she didn’t want there to be all good fashion all the time, and Emily’s own mid-western bold style needs to not be lost so soon while she’s still so American on the inside. So what is the angle here? Or are the makers in on some inside joke we don’t know about?

Verdict

As a sucker for rom-coms and chick-flicks, Emily In Paris, dropping smack in the middle of the holiday season when Netflix and Hallmark’s slate of Christmas movies are like a cup of hot chocolate for the lovelorn soul, is quite perfect timing. I enjoy Emily In Paris with all its faults and follies and fashion. But unlike the characters in the show, who change their needs and habits to fit around Emily, I don’t think I want to change my needs from the show to fit it. I was welcoming in the first season, cutting it some slack, and just having a good time. But maybe it is time to grab that French dictionary, write in some better character development for Emily and the men in her life, and give us something to incroyable, not ringarde.

Emily In Paris Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Jinal Bhatt

A Barbie girl with Oppenheimer humour. Sharp-tongue feminist and pop culture nerd with opinions on movies, shows, books, patriarchy, your boyfriend, everything.

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