This article contains spoilers for “Emily in Paris” Season 4.
“Emily in Paris” is back with all of its absurd, campy charm — such as it is.
The show’s love triangle has metastasized into a love pentagon. There is a Eurovision plotline. There is a #MeToo plotline. And there is a character whose whole personality is “hot chef.” On top of it all, there’s a tense scene at Claude Monet’s water lily pond. The driving narrative question, of course, is, still, who Emily will date.
The first half of Season 4 was released on Netflix, and members of the Styles desk gathered to discuss the show, the characters and the battiest looks.
Callie Holtermann Zut alors! The show has returned with several cardigans I would not wish upon my worst enemy.
Madison Malone Kircher Stripes around the world are currently forming a class-action lawsuit against this season of the show.
Louis Lucero II Still, there are silhouettes and shrugs that have never before been seen in a workplace. Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) continues to innovate, no matter what anyone else wishes.
CH Emily wears an outfit to a masquerade ball that I can truly only describe as “Hamburglar.”
Katie Van Syckle And there were two of them!
LL I can’t be the only one to have gotten top notes of Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle (in addition to a base of McDonald’s I.P.)
KVS Grégory Elliott Duprée, portrayed by the playwright Jeremy O. Harris, is still one of the most entertaining characters, and the pants he produced this season were fantastic.
MMK And also one of the more whimsical costuming moments of the season. This is what I am here for. Penis pants!
In seriousness, this is the level of ridiculous that makes this show a treat despite minimal stakes and diminishing returns. I hope the second half of the season has more to offer.
CH The trick of this show is not to ask too many questions.
LL Such as: At what point does Emily’s indifference to the Parisian way of life begin to constitute hostility to a foreign power? Jogging, sipping out of a mug the size of a church bell … the crimes stack up quite quickly in Season 4.
MMK Or why can’t these hot, young people just open up their relationship? Is Mindy Chen, played by Ashley Park, still living on Emily’s couch?
LL JVMA, the show’s thinly veiled LVMH — Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy — equivalent, also consumes a lot of oxygen on Season 4. Access to its brand closet is even offered as an olive branch to a body-shamed Mindy. That particular story line reflected the show’s peculiar politics: indignation at having one’s body policed can be allayed with a shopping spree?
CH It’s a bit of a paradox: At times, you feel the writers straining to raise the stakes. But to offer any real resolution would feel out of step with the rest of the show’s frippery.
MMK I watched it all in a single sitting but I found myself using my phone significantly more while watching this season than in past.
CH To me, the beating heart of this show is Luc (Bruno Gouery), Emily’s frazzled colleague who lives on a houseboat and is romantically involved with the woman who supposedly gives out Michelin stars. He is the show at its best: inexplicable, chaotic, entertaining.
MMK The field trip to Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny was a particular favorite for me. I gasped a little when Emily and Camille inevitably wound up going for a fully clothed dip in the pond. Those poor water lilies.
LL I’m sure you were as amused as I was by Camille’s choice of rowboat-volunteering attire.
MMK That is indeed what I wear to volunteer doing what I presume is a lot of grounds work. Crisp white button-up, just perfect for pruning and hoeing.
LL Their return to Paris in head-to-toe Claude Monet museum merch was a nice sight gag.
KVS How much do you think it will cost for Mindy and her bandmates to prepare for Eurovision?
LL I’d bet more than one pre-worn skirt suit, which Mindy sold.
MMK I thought it was very cute that Mindy and the band acted like 3,000 euros was going to go far!
LL Her Eurovision delusions don’t stop at the cost, either: I’m thinking specifically of the matching printed suit jacket and pleated miniskirt she wore to an Important Eurovision Business Meeting, topped off with a pink sailor hat.
Dress for the gig you want to be able to finance!
Callie Holtermann, Madison Malone Kircher Louis Lucero II Katie Van Syckle contributed reporting.
