Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review: Soapy, Soulless, Shallow Yet Immensely Watchable

Emily in Paris on Netflix continues to be the most GenZ-coded show…like ever. Season 4 part 1 opens with a TikToker named Timothee recapping the last three seasons in the form of a drama video. It will instantly remind you of viral TikToks explaining/breaking down the feuds between pop-stars, celebrities and following it up with multiple parts. In one scene, a make-up client explains “matte is out, glass is in”. Everyone is obsessed with hyaluronic acid; outfits are high couture and they quite literally sell for thousands of euros (looking at you, Mindy).

Beneath the gloss and the glam, lies…nothing. Absolutely nothing meaningful or substantial. Just pointless shopping trips, extravagant closets and overused GenZ lingo. This critic understands that not every show is here to move mountains. Harmless fun every once in a while works well. But shouldn’t the characters (especially protagonists) be worth rooting for at the very least? What happens when even after four seasons, there is barely any character development or noticeable change in the protagonist?

Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1: Plot 

Emily in Paris season 4 opens with Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) navigating her recent break-up with Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), who co-starred with her in an ad for AMI—the hot air balloon commercial where the two kiss each other. Emily and Alfie have broken up, but AMI has plastered the ad with their faces across the town—making life difficult for Alfie.

Emily tries to manage the crisis as Julien (Samuel Arnold) is poached by JVMA, much to Sylvie’s (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) dismay as she must manage operations with Emily and Luc (Bruno Gouery). Meanwhile, Mindy (Ashley Park) is preparing for her Eurovision participation but she has no money. She isn’t keen on gig economy or “selling feet pics” so she seeks help from her rich boyfriend Nicolas (Paul Forman).

Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1: Writing And Direction 

The first two episodes of season 4 are relatively slow. From the third episode (titled ‘Masquerade’) the action picks up and culminates in a finale where two ex-lovers reunite in a scene that will make you roll your eyes to the back of your head. Emily and Alfie break up, Sofia and Camille separate (the former wants to raise a child in Greece). Emily and Gabriele (Lucas Bravo) reunite but for some reason, you don’t really care.

That’s the problem with Emily in Paris—at no point are you emotionally invested in the characters. One of them could legit die in a car accident and you’d barely bat an eyelid. What does that say about the show? Why isn’t the writing sound enough to build intrigue and generate curiosity? The show is immensely watchable still—it is easy on the eyes and at 30 minute episodes, it isn’t too long or overbearing. But why don’t the stakes feel high enough?
 Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1: Performances 

As Gabriele competes with his souffle-making colleague and tries to get his restaurant a Michelin star, Luc’s girlfriend Marianne is exposed as a fraud star inspector. The fault in Gabriele’s stars forces him to share an apartment with his ex-girlfriend and her fiance, as Emily continues to remain a character that is difficult to root for. While Lily Collins herself plays the role quite well, the writing doesn’t let Emily shine. After all, she is the titular character, isn't she?

Emily In Paris is not really a show as much as it is a glossy magazine (in a video format), selling us as aspirational lifestyle—girls wearing couture, trying Korean beauty trends, vacationing in Greece. How are they managing to stay afloat during inflation and a housing crisis? How do they survive the harsh European winters? Why doesn’t the show tell us about the real challenges of living a Parisian life, which includes the risk of being robbed on the street?

Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1: What Works, What Doesn’t  

What the show does get right is the many GenZ references. At one point, Emily talks about the GenZ sobriety movement where the young lot is avoiding alcohol consumption or as Sylvie says “they aren’t drinking and they won’t shut up about it”. There are references to gig economy, and corporate co-dependence being a ‘disease’ so the show gets full marks for knowing all the burning issues GenZ is grappling with.

If only the writers had written characters (and the overall plot) with a little more depth, Emily in Paris would be a bingeable show. As of now, it continues to be a soap-opera-esque, shallow telenovela with little redeeming qualities.

Star rating: 2 / 5 stars

Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix.