Is Emily In Paris Still Addictive Or Just Beautifully Ridiculous?

I'm about to spill tea, and you guessed it right- what can be better to gossip about than Emily In Paris and its endeavour into Rome in the fifth season. Not going to lie, I binge-watched the entire series after returning from a tiring work day precisely to drown in the waters of escapism. And if I am being completely honest here, it does a pretty good job in making me shut my brain off and not think about anything else.

Though I agree there were some parts I wished were not so stretched out, and yes, maybe the shallowness and glitz and glam could have been a little more subtle to add a touch of relatability.

But here is a question that ponders in my mind- does every show need to be more realistic in its nurture when its essence is to be a feel-good drama that makes you forget your existential worries for a while?

As we go into this review, I try to navigate the two perspectives that the show holds together in its evolution of being both too shallow yet completely alluring.

Emily in Paris: Escapism, Not Existentialism

​One of the most heard criticisms about the show I have heard is that it is too glossy, too fluffy, too glam, too flamboyant, making it all too unrelatable.

But you might want to stop and ponder, did Emily In Paris ever brand itself as a serious and heavy tragic show that talks about saving lives? It never vowed to deliver depth, darkness, mortality, or thought-provoking notions. 

It promised Paris, romance, extravagance, fashion, and yes, a sense of wistful escapism. One that was delivered with lightness, not a sense of a serious air, and that I would call a clear vision in aligning the essence of the show. 

It does not mean to prompt you to think deeper or emotionally take you on a ride to exhaustion. I honestly put on this show to not see what the reality is, already doing enough of which is seriousness.

The audience does not watch Emily in Paris to get into their heads and put on their thinking hats; they usually watch it to forget about their worries for a while, to put their phones on Do Not Disturb and not check their to-do lists, and watch the show to enjoy with a glass of champagne.

 And the creator, Darren Star, understands that innately. Expecting Emily In Paris to be a serious and realistic drama is like expecting champagne to taste like an old malt. It is evaluating the show by the wrong standards.

If you see their outfits, Emily does not dress like a native Parisian. Mindy does not dress like someone who has lived in Paris for years. No one in their right mind would dress like that regularly unless they pose for the paparazzi or are going for a Karan Johar lunch every day.

It was definitely based on an intent to make us step into a world of fantasy. Outfits scream the air of luxury, costumes are walking moodboards, worlds that feel too unreal, clashing with reality, often feeling too ridiculous at times.

All of these points point to the outlandish idea of Paris, one that transports you into the worlds of imaginative luxury and not a serious film. It might be shallow in its execution, but the deliberate storytelling helps it hit the bullseye.

When the Chaos Softens, the Cracks Appear

Disclaimer: Spoilers Ahead

Yet even within escapism, narrative cohesion matters, and that’s where the cracks begin to show. Here is where you begin to see the loopholes that exist.

The season is noticeably slower than the earlier ones. It had a quiet sense of allure that encompassed lesser drama, which felt less chaotic. The most reckoning moments were internal and less explosive, but I felt that made the show less engaging.

For me, Emily in Paris is all about the chaos, which felt quite missing. Emily’s breakup in the Rome chapter with Marcello stems from conflicting visions of love and independence.

It is Paris and her independence that she loves dearly, and that is what she wants her life to be. The final moments of emotional exchange between them feel palpable, depicting the messiness of relationships and life. Mindy’s character arc is quite enthralling, but her angle with Alfie feels forced to me. 

What starts as an unserious hookup encounter turns into something deeper, something meaningful, and it turns into something real. Their relationship feels overstretched and unnecessary, forcing their way out of guilt for the loyalty they both have for Emily.

The arc feels like a tussle between them, testing their waters and apparently doing the right thing, which eventually loses its spark midway.

Mindy then returns to Nicholas- yes, the one who had problems with her career and tried to sabotage it in the previous season.

By the end of the series, he proposes to her, and she says yes because everything appears perfect on paper, but then she meets Alfie, and old feelings stir up.

It honestly makes the entire dynamic questionable from the start, making me wonder whether it is done for the sake of introducing a new, controversial angle to the show.

​I watched all the episodes in one sitting, and if there is one thing I cannot deny, it perfectly aligns with its brand's essence of being an escape, one that makes you forget checking your messages incessantly.

Some scenes served fashion, some made me wish I had the life Emily had living in Paris, some made me want to scratch my head in disappointment, and others helped me smile at their schematic flow.

So if you are looking for an escape, one that dives in the shallow pool of fashion and marketing with its glitz, glamour, love, and romanticism, I would recommend binge-watching this show.

I mean, if a show is delivering its brand’s promise, giving us an imaginative world away from our mundane lives, standing on its ground, one cannot complain much. C'est la vie!

Authored by Hridya Sharma, freelance writer | Views expressed by the author are their own.