Emily in Paris Season-Premiere Recap: Sweet Smell of Success

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I have a complicated relationship with Emily in Paris. I used to feel like the show ignored my complaints, but now it feels like it actively responds to them. I’ll ask a simple question – like Emily’s age – and an entire episode will be dedicated to answering it. I’ve even pleaded for Emily to face consequences for being frustrating, and the next season starts with her being publicly criticized. Despite all this, I still wonder: why is a show supposedly about a young woman’s self-discovery in Paris so focused on everything but that, and so lacking in any real exploration of intimacy?

I’m grateful to my TV for always being a great listener – I secretly enjoy being watched by my devices! The season kicks off with Emily in the arms of her new love interest, Marcello, and his very first line is, “Come back to bed.” Yes! This is a fantastic start!

If you need a refresher on what happened last season, don’t worry! I’ve created a newsletter with a full recap to get you up to speed. At its core, Emily in Paris is about an American woman whose main focus is creating content for social media—and she usually has a boyfriend or two. The central question of the show is whether she’ll choose love or her career. While there are often multiple romantic interests, they always take a backseat to Emily’s drive to turn her life into marketable content and “branded experiences.”

For example, Emily refuses Marcello’s suggestion to continue cuddling in bed, explaining she’s running late for work. Marcello playfully suggests they can resume later, closer to lunchtime. He’s the son of Antonia, who owns a very exclusive and private cashmere brand. This is a problem for Emily, because her agency, Agence Grateau, needs to land the Muratori family as a client – a task she and Sylvie have six months to accomplish, as established in the previous season’s finale. This connection means Marcello is essentially her client, giving him a lot of influence, and also that he’s incredibly wealthy and likely doesn’t understand the need to work for a living like most people.

Let’s switch gears from Emily and focus on Sylvie, a woman who always seems to have everything under control – she’s who I aspire to be! Right now, she’s enjoying a lavish breakfast with her Italian lover, who is not her husband. She recently left her husband in Paris because he wasn’t giving her enough attention, hoping he’ll realize what he’s lost. Sylvie claims she needs to return to Paris for work, but assures everyone she’s perfectly fine – she has a husband in Paris and a lover in Rome! That’s a lifestyle I could definitely embrace. Her boyfriend inspires her to take on some new local clients so they can spend more time together. So, Sylvie calls Luc and asks him to work with Bianca Bavazza, who runs a coffee company.

This episode seems entirely dedicated to addressing claims that the show is overly reserved. As a result, nearly everyone at Agence Grateau is shown having a romantic encounter with a client or someone they hope will become one—we even see Luc in bed with Bianca. At the same time, Julien is receiving leopard-print underwear from a young man at Dolce & Gabbana, hinting at a future relationship.

Okay, so Mindy’s back! Last season ended with her going to China for Chinese Pop Star, but now she’s landed back in Europe… and the outfit. Oh, the outfit! It’s this bright, almost neon green dress with these HUGE, puffy shoulders – seriously, it reminded me of Princess Diana’s wedding dress, but… greener. And a matching green hat! Plus, ruffles around the hem that looked suspiciously like Romaine lettuce. She actually wore this on a plane! It’s just… a choice. And get this – she turned down a contract to stay on Pop Star because she’d rather… judge people in person? Honestly, as far as I can tell, she’s always supposed to be pinching pennies, so this whole thing is just wonderfully bizarre. Her life is a constant source of entertainment, I swear!

Emily is also dressed in green, and it seems like almost everyone in this episode is too – I wonder if that’s a hint about something! People are also talking about her new, shorter haircut; it’s a definite improvement over her curly hair from the first season, though some think it’s a bit harsh. She’s also wearing huge platform shoes to work, which is odd considering Rome’s cobblestone streets! During a team meeting at Agence Grateau, it becomes obvious that everyone is having affairs with their clients. It’s funny to remember the drama when Madeline first arrived from Chicago and pointed out how problematic mixing business with pleasure was. That seems so naive now! I personally think building your entire business around your employees’ relationships with clients is risky, but what do I know?

Antoine and Alfie travel to the Paris office, but it’s deserted – everyone else is in Rome. They have a video call to discuss how badly Antoine’s baby perfume idea failed, which feels like a repeat of the Shay Mitchell facemask situation. He’s stuck with a lot of unused fragrance. Meanwhile, in Rome, Emily and Sylvie are sharing a smaller office space and learning to work together, beginning with a no-smoking rule indoors.

Emily heads to lunch with Marcello’s mother, sporting stylish sunglasses. Marcello subtly criticizes her shoes – a definite relationship misstep! Watching the whole thing from a distance, looking suspicious, is Gabriel, my arch-enemy. Luckily, Sylvie intervenes, encouraging Gabriel not to give up on Emily. The show then gives us its signature slow-motion shots of delicious food. And honestly, Gabriel’s tan is looking a bit much.

Emily claims she’s good at dealing with challenging people, especially Marcello’s mother, who’s clearly been avoiding her, but I’m not convinced she’s as capable as she thinks. She needs a brilliant idea to turn things around, but she doesn’t have one. Marcello likely doesn’t mind any of this, though – he’s wealthy and doesn’t seem to have much invested in these projects. Honestly, I find that appealing in a man.

So, the plan is to go truffle hunting with Marcello’s entire family – his mother, Livia, and Francesca – which means Emily’s embarrassment about her shoes is complete. It’s strange he didn’t tell her who else would be there! I loved her quick response of “I really don’t!” to his silly comment about surprises. Honestly, who enjoys surprises as an adult? His attempt to fix things is to offer to buy her new shoes tomorrow, but he’s really overdoing it with the smooth talk. Seriously, he’s acting like he’s trying to be incredibly seductive, and he’s doing it in front of his sisters! It’s just odd.

I was cracking up watching Antoina try to avoid Emily’s questions – her line about not dealing with work ‘while making risotto’ was gold! Eventually, she admitted the truth: Agence Grateau is basically just stalling until JVMA loses interest in about six months. Then, she can go back to doing things her way – and honestly, she’s perfectly happy keeping production low because she believes it protects the quality. She really values being unique and doesn’t want to become just another big chain. It’s so clear the grown-ups on this show are the only ones who understand what’s really going on, while everyone else is totally missing the point!

Sylvie is out enjoying the nightlife with her Italian boyfriend, wearing a stunning purple dress, when she unexpectedly bumps into her friend, Minnie Driver! If you haven’t seen the show Starstruck, you really should – it’s perfect for the holidays, and Minnie is fantastic as a sharp-tongued showbiz agent. Minnie’s character, Princess Jane, is hilarious and everything she says is brilliant. She reveals she met her own Italian boyfriend after her third marriage, then immediately invites Sylvie out for a girls’ night. Jane playfully encourages Sylvie’s affair, suggesting Italy is the perfect place to have some fun and then make a fresh start: “Have fun Saturday night, confess Sunday morning, clean slate.” Interestingly, this idea of impulsive behavior and consequences also came up in the Martin Scorsese documentary I’ve been watching on Apple TV – it’s amazing how everything connects!

Early on, this show constantly reminded us that Paris was all about romance and happiness. Now, it’s doing the same thing with Rome. Princess Jane declares, “Rome is a city of secrets,” and warns Sylvie that Antonia isn’t one to follow through on anything – which we already knew. But never mind that! Princess Jane is throwing Sylvie a lavish welcome party at the palace to introduce her to everyone important. How wonderful!

The next day, Sylvie wore a striking red one-shoulder dress to work. Meanwhile, Antoine surprisingly sent a box of his new baby perfume to his colleagues in Rome, with instructions to throw it in the Tiber River. Emily, however, had an idea and texted Alfie, asking him to convince Antoine to go to Rome. It seems like she could have simply messaged Antoine herself, but Emily often complicates things.

Everyone in Paris seems to be at the same restaurant on the main street. Gabriel’s been asked to cut costs, surprisingly, right after receiving a Michelin star. Mindy, looking fabulous, joins the guys for a complimentary lunch, just to see Gigi. Meanwhile, Alfie announces he’s broken up with his girlfriend, who we never see.

Mindy reminds everyone that she broke up with Nico because he was controlling and unkind, and she tells Alfie she feared Gabriel would travel to Rome to sabotage Emily’s relationship. But honestly, if she was that worried, why did she initially push him to go after Emily? Alfie, seemingly forgetting he once called Emily “the greatest girl in the world” and urged Gabriel to win her back, now claims Gabriel simply wants Emily to be happy. Seriously?! Just when I started to enjoy their friendship, they got a little too close and acknowledged their attraction, ending that possibility. It feels like there are only five people on the entire show, and they’re all destined to date each other. Gen, whose main purpose seems to be creating drama, watches this potential romance unfold. And I’m sure she’ll handle the situation with total tact and respect… not likely!

It’s party time at the palazzo! Sylvie’s red cape dress is stunning, and Emily is looking great too, especially with those earrings and her eye makeup. The party has a photo backdrop, and in a funny moment, Princess Jane – who introduces herself as ‘Princess Gianna’ – confesses to Sylvie that she and her prince can’t even afford the palazzo, and are renting an Airbnb on the top floor. She only offers to help Sylvie if she gets something in return, which is a surprisingly fair deal. The whole scene, especially the toast with Peroni beer, is wonderfully quirky and feels a bit like The Truman Show.

Emily has a bold plan: use Antoine’s baby perfume as a unique scent for Muratori. She’s been thinking about it for a day and a half and tries to offer Antoine some advice, but he dismisses her, telling her not to tell him how to interact with women. Then, incredibly, he immediately uses the perfume to flirt with Antonia, asking her to dance so she can experience the scent! Honestly, the show is much more engaging when it focuses on the adults – the storylines with the younger characters just aren’t working, but these grown-ups definitely know how to create drama and have a good time.

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2025-12-18 12:56