Emily Cooper is back for another season of Emily in Paris and, while it started off slow, the second installment of her Parisian adventures didn’t disappoint.
Despite being known as a "love-to-hate" show when it premiered in October 2020, it still became Netflix’s top comedy of 2020. So while not many proclaim their love (or even like) for Emily proudly, it’s clear she has quite a few fans — even if they tune in just to criticize her.
So what's new this time around? We dive in…
*be warned: spoilers ahead*
Bonjour St Tropez
One of the biggest selling points of Emily in Paris is the escapism it provides which, let’s face it — has been much needed since the pandemic started. While last time we were treated to plenty of Paris scenery (and continued to get plenty of it in season 2), this time around Emily took us out of Paris and off on a trip to St Tropez.
What was meant to be a romantic getaway with Mathieu Cadaul, turned into a very weird girls’ trip after Mathieu overhears Emily speaking to Gabriel about their steamy night together. What makes the whole situation even more awkward? The fact that Camille joins Emily, desperate to forget about Gabriel and completely unaware that Emily and Gabriel got together behind her back. Ah, chérie…
We confess that Emily’s need to redeem herself, by getting those two back together, without coming clean to Camille first didn’t get us off to a great start, but St Tropez looks gorgeous!
Mindy gets some action…
…figuratively and literally. The zipper Princess is getting her own plotlines — finally! Mindy (Ashley Park) has been a good friend to Emily since they met in season 1, but it was about time she had a bit more going on than providing advice whenever Emily is in some kind of trouble (which could actually be a full-time job, but probably not a very enjoyable — or well paid — one).
So it was good to see Mindy go after her dreams of becoming a singer in Paris, fall in love with Benoit, have a romantic and personal growth setback, and overcome them during a tear-inducing power ballad. Talk about main character energy! Watch out, Emily…
Camille becomes the villain
Even though she was the one being wronged here, Camille (Camille Razat) managed to become the villain of the show in the second season. After trying and failing to get over Gabriel and finding out about his affair with Emily (all because of a frying pan, how fitting for a chef), Camille enters the spotlight with an explosive birthday toast to Emily (a scene topped only by her outfit, my personal favorite in the entire show). Seeing Emily trying to win her friendship back was painful, especially when she attempts to write a letter in French — which also becomes one of the funniest moments of the season. But, after Camille confesses to her mother that she wants Gabriel back, they come up with a plan that starts by convincing Emily to agree to a pact where neither of them gets to have him. Much to Emily’s surprise (who was distracted by someone else), Camille gets her way, and the two move in together. So much for the girls’ pact…
Alfie enters the scene
Remember Emily’s distraction that we mentioned above? It goes by the name of Alfie. The British man who resists learning French, or enjoying anything authentic Paris has to offer, is Emily’s rebound as she tries to convince herself she’s over the chef. It works for a while — especially because Alfie goes from obnoxious Romeo to a sensitive wannabe boyfriend who's keen to try a long-distance relationship when he has to move back to London. In today’s dating scene, that change of heart is hard to resist for any lady — even one who’s still in love with hot chef Gabriel.
Sylvie gets savage
Sylvie was already a fan favorite from season 1, but now she’s really nailed it. Not only did she have a secret hot husband in the south of France running a beach club she helped start (while taking candid pictures of people), she also bagged herself a young photographer hottie, stood up to ageist standards and oh — did we mention she stood up to the American corporate world? The woman is a stiletto-walking legend. It’s truly satisfying seeing her win the last battle (or maybe the first?) against the Gilbert Group — the company that bought Savoir.
Emily finally gets vulnerable
As we said, things start a bit slow in season 2 but start to pick up towards the end of the season and culminate in the final episode — when we finally see Emily get vulnerable.
As Luc says, “Must you control everything, Emily?” It’s been that way throughout the show. Then she finally reaches the realization that sometimes we need to let life run its course and accept that things might turn out differently than we hoped they would. Seeing Emily accept that yes, she used to “want the things she’s supposed to want but doesn’t anymore” seems like the most genuine moment of the entire show. It’s then followed by the heart-breaking discovery that Gabriel is back with Camille. The fact that she might have lost her shot at love with Gabriel doesn’t make it any less inspiring that Emily finally realizes and accepts what she really wants.
