Emily in Paris Season 4 Continues to Have Nothing New to Say
After Emily in Paris Season 3 ended with Camille (Camille Rabat) torching her wedding to Gabriel (Lucas Bravo)—revealing his long-burgeoning romance with Emily (Lily Collins) and her attempts to separate them in front of their family, friends, and Emily’s boyfriend Alfie (Lucien Laviscount)—my hopes were high for Season 4. After watching the first five episodes (all of Season 4, Part 1), said hopes are drastically tempered for the remainder of the season. But, my biggest question is this: Does Emily in Paris have any more story to tell?
If you were hoping that Camille finally opening the door for Emily and Gabriel to move forward with their romance relatively guilt-free would make them embrace each other and finally let the slow-burn flame burn, well… don’t expect too much. Not only is there the complication of Camille’s pregnancy and her forever role in Gabriel’s life to contend with, but Emily isn’t sure she wants things to be over with Alfie when we pick up a few days later in the season opener.
Now, this wouldn’t be an issue if it seemed the Emily in Paris team ever truly considered Alfie a real contender for Emily’s heart next to Gabriel, but that clearly has not been the case, so it’s a bit tiresome to see this back-and-forth game continue for yet another season. (Plus, Alfie just deserves better.) For yet another go-around, it feels like we’re rehashing the same old, tired stories. Despite how little time has gone by in this show, we’re four seasons in and need to switch things up.
On that note, Camille remains the most frustrating human being in all of Paris—and this is coming from someone who absolutely adored her in the first season and gave her quite a bit of leeway in the second, even though her actions were inexcusable. Alongside the return of her Season 3 flame Sofia (Melia Kreiling), there’s a new twist in her story that still barely allows Camille to be anything more than the lackluster antagonist in Emily and Gabriel’s love story. There’s so much potential within her complex character, but the writers frustratingly squander it at every turn.
However, the most disappointing part of the first half of Season 4 is the failure to explore, to any satisfactory capacity, the sexual harassment plot revolving around JVMA CEO Louis de Leon (Pierre Deny). Though this could potentially change in the back half of the season, it feels like this was used as a plot device, rather than treated as the serious topic it is. Worse, it wasn’t a device for Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), who was the victim of his actions when she worked for him in her youth, but for her husband Laurent (Arnold Binard), and as a romantic obstacle for Mindy (Ashley Park) and Nicolas (Paul Forman).
Obviously, Emily in Paris, a lighthearted dramedy about finding yourself in the City of Lights, wouldn’t dig too deep into such a twisted topic, but it’s baffling that it was introduced at all. Likewise, the resentment between Julian (Samuel Arnold) and Emily continues to grow, but the way it’s handled doesn’t do Julian any favors (and, in fact, kind of hurts both him and Emily as individual characters).
At the end of the day, we have to appreciate Emily in Paris for what it is. Whether you love it, hate it, or hate to love it, it has proudly marched onward since it premiered and has not changed for anyone. That said, how much more do we need? How much longer can this love story and its ridiculous complications drag out before fans grow weary of waiting a year for Emily and Gabriel to maybe share a kiss and then return to the status quo? While there’s finally some long-awaited development between them this season, it doesn’t feel much different from what we’ve seen before—Camille (or, on occasion, Alfie) coming in between them at every turn.
Given the short episode count and the ever-expanding roster of characters, there’s been such little growth or story progress with those outside of the primary love triangle. Particularly for Mindy, who has had just about zero character development (and only gets by with viewers because she was great when we first met her and has remained as such).
As we approach the end of the fourth season, it feels like there isn’t much more for Emily in Paris to say. They can drag out the Emily and Gabriel romance as long as they like, but, so far, it has done nothing except stunt the story and character growth. However, is there even a show remaining once Emily and Gabriel finally get together for good, considering how much of the story has been about keeping them apart?
On the other hand, the stories that do have potential, like Julian feeling overlooked at work or even Sylvie starting her own marketing agency, have not been handled properly or given the time to be fully fleshed out and deliver on said potential.
Even those who don’t expect anything groundbreaking from the series, as one definitely should not, and just watch for the entertainment factor are likely to be disappointed after the first half of Season 4. (And can we talk about what terrible strategy it is for Netflix to split these seasons into two parts?)
The show that was such a breath of fresh air for embracing the lighter side of life at first has been completely bogged down by retelling different variations of the same story and forgetting that magical aspect it once delivered about starting a new life in Paris. Unless there’s a major change coming after this season, it might be time to say “au revoir” to Emily and company.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
Jay Snow is a freelance writer. He has published many places on the internet. For more of his thoughts on television and to see his other work (or to simply watch him gush again and again over his love for the original Charmed) follow him @snowyjay.
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