Sometimes, I need a break from the fantastic shows that TV has given me in the last ten years. I need a break from the fantasy shows like Game of Thrones, or the amazing Amazon original series like The Boys. And, sometimes, that comes in the form of a show like the Netflix hit Emily in Paris, and I’ll admit - this show is my guilty pleasure. By far.
That being said, I know that there are several things in Emily in Paris that just don’t make sense, from Emily’s age being a bit unclear to many other moments. While I am looking forward to Emily in Paris Season 2, I think it’s a good time to talk about certain moments in Emily in Paris Season 1 that just don’t make sense.
That Real-Estate Agent In The First Episode
This is one of my biggest pet-peeves from the show, right out from the beginning of Emily in Paris. The moment Emily gets that amazing apartment in Paris (which, by the way, in and of itself, would be impossible for someone with her kind of job to get in a city like Paris with a view as great as she had), that real estate agent is flirting with her - instantly.
Not only is that incredibly unprofessional, but super pervy. The guy is literally trying to show her around the apartment and is asking her out on a date like that? I can appreciate how Emily turned him down very quickly since she was dating someone at the time, but it’s still a super weird moment. Also, why would he do this in any professional environment? This is his job we're talking about, and he's going to ruin his reputation by flirting with a client - a client who could report that to his boss. It just doesn't make sense.
Why Did Her “Supportive” Boyfriend Suddenly Break Up With Emily?
At the very beginning of the series, when Emily first tells her boyfriend that she is going to make the trip to Paris, knowing it was going to be a huge thing for her career if she did so, her boyfriend seemed to be supportive. But, literally not even two full episodes later, he’s all “what about my needs?”
I’m sorry, didn’t you just say not that long ago that you were totally okay with Emily going to Paris? You even seemed excited for her, and now you’re saying that you just want her to come back and abandon this amazing opportunity? I’m sorry, sir, but that is not okay, and makes zero sense. I think I’d believe it more if this was a couple of months into Emily working in Paris, and they had tried the whole long-distance thing more, but this feels like a literal week after, and seems very flip-floppy of him. While he wasn’t a huge addition to the Emily in Paris cast, it's still off-putting.
Emily Seems To Influence Social Media Effortlessly - Which Doesn’t Make Sense At All For the Plot
Look, I get it, Emily in Emily in Paris is very good at social media. It’s her job - but the fact that this girl starts out influencing like she’s already super famous is borderline comical. Again, I would believe it more if maybe she had started taking over Savoir’s Instagram page and only influenced from there, but she starts a random account on Instagram as a no-name no one knows.
And, what happens? She gets thousands of followers - instantly. All because she’s posted a couple pictures of croissants and a selfie? Good lord. I feel like some of the writers for this didn’t look into how long it truly takes to become an actual influencer. It’s never that easy, and it makes her look like some superstar when in reality, it’s just not realistic.
The French Stereotypes Are Way Too Much In Emily In Paris
You know, when I first heard the comments about the French stereotypes in Emily in Paris, I didn’t think that it was going to be bad. Sometimes, shows lean into stereotypes when they really have nothing else to comment on, which isn't good, but usually it's not for the whole show. But, then I rewatched the series, and realized that the criticisms that Emily in Paris has been facing regarding stereotypes are very true. They're everywhere in this show.
Emily in Paris takes French stereotypes and really leans into them, saying all they want to do is sleep around and do nothing all day, working simply just so they can have a paycheck, when Emily is the “real” hardworking one. That’s a terrible way to paint basically a whole entire nation of people. It’s even capitalized on when Sylvie, Emily’s boss, is sleeping with a client. It doesn’t ever stop, and that’s what makes it so hard to watch again.
Emily Never Adapts To Her Surroundings - She Makes Everyone Else Adapt To Her
I think one of the biggest things that kind of made me think of this article was seeing Emily in the city in general. In Emily in Paris, she never really adapts to being in Paris - she sort of makes everyone adapt to her. We maybe see her take one French class, but other than that, she really doesn’t make much of an effort to adjust to this entirely different country, with a completely different culture from hers.
Whenever she gets in trouble, it’s always, “well it’s not my culture, so I shouldn’t be at fault,” when in reality, she should be apologizing for her behavior. For example, when Mindy tries to explain why no one ever sends food back, Emily gets all upset and says that if it’s not what she ordered, she wants to get it done correctly. While I can agree with wanting your order correct, when you’re in a different environment, it’s best to go with the flow as much as possible.
Why Is Everyone Speaking English In Paris?
For real. We are in France. Why is everyone speaking English? I can see why there would be people who speak English at a company for the sake of networking, but when there are company meetings in Emily in Paris where everyone is from the country, why would everyone be speaking English and not French? Why would they just conform for Emily’s sake?
I honestly thought Emily in Paris would have gone the way of Outlander or any other show and used with the language of the country. As a viewer, as much as I do enjoy seeing how a fashion company would work, it takes me out of the moment when native French speakers who work in France speak nothing but English. Speaking French would have worked better.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I can now continue to look forward to Season 2 of Emily in Paris - maybe watch some shows like Emily in Paris in the meantime. Regardless, whether you liked how Emily acted in Paris or not, I think we can all agree on one thing that did make sense - Camille has amazing style.
