What Even Happened on Emily in Paris Season 3?

As a longtime fan of French culture and a connoisseur of romantic comedies, I must say that this latest season of Emily in Paris left me with a sense of déjà vu and a tinge of disappointment. Mindy, the character who brought a touch of reality to the whirlwind of glamour and fashion, seems to have lost her way in the burlesque club, much like how I lose my way in a fromagerie when presented with too many cheeses.

Since it’s been a year and half since we joined Emily Cooper on her adventures through Paris, making questionable personal, career, and fashion choices, life has moved fast – especially in Paris. If you’ve momentarily lost touch with where Emily and her friends are at, don’t worry! As your recapper for the show “Emily in Paris”, I’m here to fill you in on everything you need to remember about Emily, her friends and foes, as well as the crucial events of season three. For a more detailed review, feel free to revisit my previous recaps. Let’s catch up!

Say bonjour to Emily! She is having a breakdown.

That’s where season three began, by the way, with a light touch to get things going. However, one could also contend that Emily is always on the verge of a breakdown. I’ve pondered this before, and no doubt will do so again, if perhaps the entire series is some sort of hallucination, and the finale reveals Emily being awakened in a hospital bed, explaining the head injury she sustained that might have caused all we’ve seen so far (perhaps due to a framed poster of the Eiffel Tower falling on her while she slept?).

In my previous statement, Emily found herself in a challenging predicament during season three. She was pulled in multiple directions: towards Madeline, Chicago, and the man we seemingly overlooked, and towards Sylvie, Paris, and her personal development in the new city. Like many of us might do, she juggled two jobs without informing either boss about the double employment, hoping for a smooth resolution. However, this approach led to unemployment. As a coping mechanism under stress, she gave herself a haircut by cutting her own bangs.

RIP Savoir, long live Agence Grateau.

After being pushed out from Savoir due to Madeline’s rigid, corporate American style, Sylvie establishes her own independent agency, later known as Agence Grateau. The Gilbert Group and Madeline discontinued their Paris operations, thus ending Savoir. It amuses me that throughout the entire season, all Madeline managed to do in Paris was destroy the entire office, only to return to the U.S., leaving Emily behind.

In the transition from Savoir to Agence Grateau within this series, there appears to be a flurry of events, yet upon closer inspection, things essentially remain unchanged: Following a short absence, they return to their initial workspaces; after various complications involving Emily, she resumes working for Sylvie; amidst the uproar about whether clients would stay or leave, they manage to hold onto nearly all of their existing clientele and even seem to effortlessly attract new business.

As for the show’s true heroine, Sylvie …

To begin the new season, Sylvie is dating a renowned photographer, Erik, yet she remains legally married to her charismatic restaurant and bar owner husband, Laurent. Occasionally, Laurent stays overnight at Sylvie’s house, which doesn’t sit well with Erik. Consequently, Sylvie finds herself in a situation where she has to choose between the two men, essentially saying goodbye to Erik, as her swift departure towards Laurent is quite remarkable. The show’s casual handling of this transition from Erik to Laurent is truly inspiring; it’s almost as if no time passes under her feet!

Meet the gents of JVMA.

In the current setting, there are some fresh characters to monitor: Nicolas de Léon, who is romantically involved with Mindy, is the offspring of Louis de Léon, who heads JVMA (a company similar to LVMH in Emily in Paris). In her early career days, Sylvie was an employee under Louis at JVMA. However, it remains unclear what kind of inappropriate sexual behavior Louis may have been involved in. Sylvie exploits this information for her business gains but chooses not to inform Laurent, her husband, about these events. This means that Laurent is unaware of the potential trouble he might be causing when he partners with Louis to establish a new yacht club in Paris.

Regarding Nicholas, he attended a Swiss boarding school alongside Mindy, where she allegedly peddled drugs from her dormitory, and he was the school’s most popular heartthrob. By the way, why aren’t we tuning into that fascinating series? (Additionally, the actor-model portraying Nicholas, Paul Forman, is currently in a relationship with Ashley Park.) In the beginning of the season, Mindy dates her bandmate, Benoit, but they part ways due to his jealousy over Nicolas’ attention and her decision to sell their song for a sunscreen commercial. (Though later he admits that his only issue was wanting to submit the song for Eurovision, which he eventually does. I can’t fathom why he values “the Eurovision secret” over “saving the relationship,” but it certainly aligns with his questionable decision-making skills, much like Emily and her friends.) Mindy and Nicholas eventually become a couple, until after some business disagreements, Nicholas declares Emily as his sworn enemy.

Meanwhile, Mindy is singing at a jazz club.

Certainly! Her performances rarely align with or contribute to the storyline; they’re frequently delivered in English, which leaves me puzzled as to why. When the club transitions entirely into burlesque, Mindy – making an action unlike her usual self that I find hard to follow – decides it’s a boundary crossed and resigns.

In other employment news.

It appears that Julien is becoming increasingly frustrated as Emily keeps snatching his clients away, much like a small hawk in a fashionable top. Moreover, it seems that the JVMA agency has shown interest in him. All signs point to Julien not staying at Agence Grateau for much longer, doesn’t it?

FINALLY, someone is having a little fun around here. Welcome to the party, Sofia.

In the series, Sofia is a passionately creative character who harbors feelings for Camille. Camille responds in kind to these emotions. Introducing a more captivating plotline could involve Camille openly dating both Sofia and Gabriel. However, within this show’s narrative, Camille is secretly involved with Gabriel while maintaining a relationship with him, despite their lack of mutual trust or apparent interest.

Unfortunately, Camille’s exciting side story is somewhat spoiled when — guess who? — Emily discovers them kissing with Sofia. Despite everyone urging Emily not to interfere, she surprisingly has managed to keep quiet about it so far. It seems unlikely that she can hold onto this secret for long, especially as the new season progresses. I find it hard to imagine her making it beyond a single or two episodes without revealing it to Gabriel.

Just because Emily forgets about him doesn’t mean we must: an Alfie report.

Antoine employs Alfie as the Chief Financial Officer, maintaining their professional connection despite the anticipated end of their relationship. Their separation spans the entire season, despite instances where it seemed they were having discussions that would lead to a definitive breakup. However, these moments proved to be false high points in Emily’s denial or sociopathy. Alfie expresses reservations about introducing his parents to Emily due to past experiences with women who ended relationships shortly after he made family introductions, and Emily encourages him to do so despite this. She also persuades him to publicly endorse their partnership through an AMI advertising campaign, which features them kissing in a hot-air balloon. However, their relationship doesn’t last long as they split up shortly after going public, confirming that Emily is still emotionally attached to Gabriel.

Gabriel’s daddy issues.

On the unique world of EIP, Gabriel finds himself yearning for two distinct aspirations: earning a Michelin star and becoming a parent. These sudden desires, though, are alarmingly expressed in an unusual and uncanny manner – at one point, he even starts interacting strangely with other people’s children in a park, which undeniably comes off as disconcerting. This is the reality of life on EIP.

In the end, even amidst various challenges, he and Camille decided to get engaged. Later on, following his restaurant’s rebranding with a fresh name, but prior to any noticeable changes in Camille’s physical state due to pregnancy, an engagement party was held that surprisingly turned into a sudden wedding celebration for them.

At their vows, Camille unexpectedly confesses that she is aware their relationship exists merely because she knew Gabriel held feelings for Emily. She clarifies the absurd agreement between her and Emily to avoid dating Gabriel, an action typical of mature, responsible adults. Camille implies that Gabriel and Emily have always been in love. Not surprisingly, this revelation prompts Alfie to leave as well.

In the aftermath of this catastrophic turn of events, Gabriel confides in Emily a private revelation: Camille is expecting a child. This plot twist left me rather disheartened, as I elaborate in my review of the season finale. Essentially, the show seems overly reliant on the trope of “unforeseen, shocking pregnancies” to propel its narrative (with Madeline’s being the initial instance). Is it too much to expect that the lives of female characters can be influenced by events beyond pregnancy or a move to Paris? It seems that, in the world of Emily in Paris, these appear to be the only factors that truly matter to a woman.

2024-08-14 17:54