- Does Emily's escapism in Paris still work?
Here's the translated text, keeping the length and markdown formatting the same:
It's over with love. Emily swears to her best friend Mindy after another dating disaster that she will now focus fully on work. After all, Emily Cooper, American marketing expert, came to Paris to work for a luxury products advertising agency. Being single in the City of Love made it challenging to stay focused at work. After a failed ménage à trois, a canceled wedding, and some broken hearts, Emily has had enough of romance. It's time to get back to work, as they say in America.
Welcome to the fourth season of Netflix's hit "Emily in Paris". Lily Collins' character continues to navigate the Parisian work and love life in outrageous outfits that wouldn't fit in her mini-apartment's closet. She's still smitten with sexy chef Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), but he's now expecting a baby with Emily's "frenemy" Camille (Camille Razat). And ex-boyfriend Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) doesn't want to be just a rebound.
This is a problem because one of Emily's advertising clients wants a social media stunt featuring the two as a loving couple. Boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) is still not thrilled that Emily's personal chaos keeps putting her business in awkward situations: "You're staging your entire private life for the public – and now it's affecting my business!"
In the new episodes, Emily tries to charm her way out of absurd situations, as usual. That's the principle of the series created by "Sex and the City" creator Darren Starr: Emily is a character nobody can stay mad at for long. She's always full of energy and turns every challenge into a "challenge" she can overcome with charm, persistence, and a good idea. That's how the previous seasons of "Emily in Paris" were structured: The heroine is busy averting disasters she's caused, often through a careless social media post. The hurdles she jumps over become higher throughout the season.
This escapism effect was well-received when the series started in 2020, as a cheerful, over-the-top Corona comfort. Watching the cheerful American start a new life in an artificially colorful and clean Paris was like a trip to an entertaining parallel world.
But after three seasons, the series can't rest on that anymore. To keep the audience engaged, it needs more than an extravagant costume parade in front of impressive backdrops.
Merde! The heroine in "Emily in Paris" still speaks only rudimentary French after 30 episodes.
In Season Four, Emily's luck leads her to the tennis stadium of Roland Garros, where the French Open takes place. It's impressive and a sight to behold. However, after more than 30 episodes, jokes about Emily's rudimentary French, which still hasn't progressed beyond "merci" and "merde", have worn thin. To liven up the story, reality makes its way into Paris. The series' main audience, people in their thirties, will likely relate to the themes of job frustration, housing struggles in the city, and in-law issues. Emily's colleague Lucien feels overwhelmed by the Instagram juggernaut and wants to quit. Pregnant Camille refuses to move to the suburbs. ESC hopeful Mindy has a new boyfriend who wants to mold her into a society lady. Throughout the new episodes, there's a sense of disorientation that comes from life not turning out as expected on one's vision board. Even the usually cheerful Emily loses her cool and ends up in Claude Monet's garden pond after an argument. All this is experienced in the glossy version, with Mindy and Emily discussing their problems at a stylish, Instagram-ready dinner. But the message of Season Four is clear: Even the world of Emily in Paris isn't just about Sancerre brunches and viral Instagram videos, but also real problems. The showrunners even attempt a #MeToo storyline, with Sylvie, the tough agency boss, reminded of an experience with power abuse when an investigative journalist wants to talk to her about the CEO of a major luxury company. Unfortunately, we don't learn much more, and the hints dissolve as quickly as they appear, seemingly to avoid disrupting the series' glittering atmosphere. That's the problem with "Emily in Paris": All conflicts are briefly touched upon while strolling, and none are convincingly resolved. The show can't commit to the reality check it has set for itself. The characters' problems should bring them closer to the audience, but how can they when all the dramas are conveniently resolved by the next product placement storyline? This contradiction is unsustainable. Even the most frivolous guilty pleasure needs room for big emotions. The audience wants to empathize and sympathize, but the show doesn't give them the time. The massive hype around "Emily in Paris" long ago overshadowed the actual series. The initial overflowing charm that masked many dramatic weaknesses is gone; even the chemistry between the main characters has faded. The show now feels too much like a casual scroll through Instagram: Pretty here and there, a bit too much advertising, and lacking moments that truly move us. Netflix is holding back the last five episodes of Season Four until September 12. It's unlikely the series between kitsch and champagne will improve. After the first half of the season, curiosity is certainly limited. Yet, Emily and her colleagues at "Savoir" advertising agency know better. They often say that to sell a product, advertising must evoke an emotion.
- Despite the upcoming release of the remaining episodes of Season Four on Netflix, the show's overreliance on product placement and superficial conflicts has resulted in a decrease in viewer engagement and emotional connection.
- Emily, now in the fourth season of her Netflix series, still struggles with her rudimentary French, a factor that was once amusing but now seems repetitive and detracts from the overall narrative.
