Emily in Paris Recap: Kiss and Make Up

by

To be honest, I spent most of this episode trying to work out how much time had passed since the last one. Everyone was acting so strangely, it was hard to make sense of anything without knowing where we were in the timeline. As a novelist who just finished a time travel book (you can pre-order it now!), I know timelines can be tricky, but this episode was still surprisingly confusing. Let’s dive in!

Emily discovers Alfie and Mindy’s secret one night, and the next day, she learns Gabriel is leaving on a billionaire’s yacht. The episode starts the following morning, meaning at least a full day has passed since the discovery. However, Mindy seems to have been trying to apologize to Emily for much longer – perhaps a week or so. Emily then goes for a run, refusing to discuss things with Mindy, claiming everything is alright.

Mindy finally catches up with Emily, wearing very high platforms, to address the situation. It’s clear a lot of time has passed since what happened at the Heatherton Hotel, as Mindy seems completely worn out. She shouts at Emily to just be angry with her, admitting it was foolish to keep her relationship with Alfie a secret. Emily, feeling cornered, responds that she shares everything with Mindy, even letting her stay in her apartment. She then dramatically asks how she can ever trust Mindy again, which Mindy rightly points out is a bit childish. Mindy decides to give Emily some space, so she goes to stay with Julien and leaves Emily flowers with a note – a surprisingly mature move!

So, Emily arrives at work, and everyone acts like it’s the very next day. Luc even comments on her strength for coming in, which doesn’t make sense because the day after the yacht conversation with Gabriel already happened in the previous episode. Then, Emily leads a difficult meeting with Antoine and Alfie to discuss finding replacement chefs for Gabriel, who is already on the yacht.

It seems Gabriel has been gone for much longer than a week. It’s hard to believe he’d abandon his highly-rated restaurant without giving proper notice – surely his contract requires at least two weeks, if not more. Given his relationship with Antoine, it’s unlikely they’d informally overlook any contractual obligations. And leaving Paris – dealing with his apartment lease, subletting, or whatever arrangements were needed – would have taken time. Alfie even says things have been chaotic since Gabriel left, suggesting a significant amount of time has passed. The restaurant has a capable sous chef who can manage things when Gabriel is briefly away for Emily, so this absence must be considerably longer than usual.

Then, Emily unexpectedly confronts Alfie about his relationship with Mindy, and it’s shocking to realize he had no idea she knew! It doesn’t make sense that Mindy wouldn’t have told him right away that Emily was aware. Alfie genuinely seems sorry, and Emily clarifies she would have been supportive if they had just been honest with her – which is exactly what I’ve been saying! Alfie claims it was just a brief holiday romance, but now isn’t the time to keep up the lies, either to himself or to others.

Another key point from the meeting is Antoine’s strong attachment to the “Le Chef Hot” brand, and his insistence that Gabriel’s replacement be physically attractive. It’s strange because Antoine isn’t focused on the business side – he’s the perfumer, a creative person – yet he’s acting like a cold, calculating CEO who sees people as disposable and believes he deserves as much credit for the Michelin star as the chef who earned it. This goes beyond simple plot convenience; it’s frustrating because the writers seem to be making characters act out of character just to move the story forward. It’s as if they don’t realize we’ve been watching this show for years and know these characters well!

Sylvie is stepping up as a true leader, taking the lead on a crucial meeting with L’Oréal herself. She’s envisioning a young American woman living in Paris as the face of a new lipstick, and to make that happen, she needs Emily’s help with Instagram. (It’s surprisingly available!) Emily already has a large following of over 200,000 people. Sylvie’s sarcastic comment on Emily’s Instagram story – simply calling it “Riveting” – is a highlight. The show then throws in an uninteresting story about Sylvie’s past, seemingly to highlight how much Emily values her friendship with Mindy. Emily also doesn’t bother to explain to Sylvie how Instagram works, specifically that people can see who views their stories – a pretty important detail for a newcomer! This whole situation makes Sylvie seem immature and unlike her usual self, and it’s frustrating because it feels like a lazy writing choice.

Emily’s dressed up for a night out – I loved her velvet and lace top – and ends up at an American pub. She orders a Pabst Blue Ribbon (why not just say PBR?) and, predictably, meets a cute American guy. I knew she wouldn’t last an episode without getting involved with someone! It’s Friends trivia night, and both Emily and her new date, Jake, are surprisingly knowledgeable about the show. Emily spoils her stylish look by changing into a huge Central Perk t-shirt, which she wins as a prize. Jake, who works at the American Embassy, invites Emily to a Fourth of July party. This doesn’t help me figure out when this episode takes place, but it does make Emily’s outfit seem silly – velvet in July? Also, it’s unbelievable she didn’t realize he was talking about the city of Sofia, not a person! It was awkward to watch.

Okay, so Mindy’s outfit was…a choice. She wore a sparkly, fringed top that looked a little like a villainous showgirl. But the real problem is Nico. After months of being awful to Mindy – constantly criticizing her, undermining her, and even being mean to her friends – he suddenly declares his love? He says she’s all he needs, which is just unbelievable. And now he claims to be broke? Seriously? He comes from a wealthy family, so that doesn’t make sense. It’s frustrating because the show is already creating real, interesting conflict between Mindy and Alfie, so this feels unnecessary and forced.

On the morning of the 4th, Emily discovers Alfie’s underwear in her laundry, confirming their relationship wasn’t just a casual vacation romance. Emily copes by wearing outrageously large sleeves. Luc tells Emily that Julien welcomed Mindy as if she were a lost child. Emily feels especially betrayed because Mindy and Alfie not only lied, but they lied about the fact that they were lying. Sylvie arrives at the L’Oréal meeting in a stunning white dress, though the hemline seems a bit risky. Sylvie’s presentation essentially revolves around Emily’s romantic life, disguised with pseudonyms for her boyfriends. The line, “We’ll see our spirited American kiss her way through Paris and never leave a mark,” is a pointed jab that Sylvie doesn’t seem to pick up on. It’s amusing to me because it’s clearly implying Emily is shallow and easily dismissed, and the presentation essentially equates her to being a ‘slut’ and forgettable.

Emily was really upset, but Sylvie defended the ad, saying it was meant to be inspiring and enjoyable for their target audience. Sylvie also pointed out that all the photos used were actually taken from Emily’s own Instagram account. Emily felt Sylvie was implying she was overly focused on boys, and ironically, Emily immediately left work to pursue someone she had just met.

Seriously, those heels must be awful to wear all day, especially trying to navigate a grassy outdoor party. Wouldn’t flats be a more sensible choice? I definitely wouldn’t have known what to wear – my usual 4th of July outfit is just shorts and a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt. Amidst classic American fun like cornhole and hot dogs, Miley Cyrus’s song ‘Party in the USA’ is playing, even though she’s said she won’t be performing it anytime soon because things aren’t feeling very celebratory right now.

Jake shows Emily around the Embassy, including the basement canteen stocked with American snacks you can’t find overseas – things like Pop-Tarts and Easy Mac! It’s a sweet moment, though it feels a bit like an ad for Reese’s Puffs. It makes you wonder what everyone would grab from that canteen. Their tour is cut short when Ambassador Jennings calls them upstairs to watch fireworks. This sparks a realization in Emily: she’s homesick. It’s hard to fully buy this, though, since we’ve rarely heard her mention any friends back home, aside from her ex-boyfriend Doug. Emily feels a genuine connection with someone, and Jake assumes she’s talking about him. But when he tries to kiss her, she awkwardly explains she meant someone else and that she’s not looking for a relationship right now. He’s understandably annoyed, and honestly, it’s a reasonable reaction.

Mindy’s attempting to fill Julien in on the drama with Nico, but he’s completely uninterested, which is honestly refreshing. Then, Emily shows up and makes a dramatic apology by throwing croissants at the window, followed by an announcement that she’s met someone new. Mindy immediately declares she and Nico are getting back together – seriously, just stay single! It’s frustrating to watch these two women; I wish they could have a conversation about something other than men. While it’s good they’ve stopped arguing, it’s hard to get excited about their truce considering we don’t even know how long they were fighting in the first place. On a completely different note, it’s clear Julien can get Mindy out the door in a flash if he needs to.

While Loki is busy with his main adventure, Sylvie gets caught up in a somewhat silly side story. She reconnects with Yvette, someone she previously wronged, but it turns out Sylvie was the one who had an affair with Yvette’s husband before her wedding – a detail Sylvie conveniently forgot! Surprisingly, Yvette is very forgiving, brushing it off as youthful indiscretion, saying everyone makes mistakes in their twenties.

Sylvie was frustrated to learn that L’Oréal rejected their idea, saying it didn’t strongly promote female empowerment. Emily felt the same way. This sparked a new idea: a lipstick that lasts as long as a true friendship! Sylvie immediately called L’Oréal with the revised pitch. The resulting commercial featured look-alikes of Emily and Mindy, though the actress playing Emily delivered her lines with very little emotion. Ultimately, Emily was happy to be reunited with what she loves most: her friend Mindy and the world of marketing.

Read More

2025-12-19 02:57