Television

Emily in Paris Review: Sexy or Sexist?

If Emily thought working in Paris would be drama-free, she had another thing coming. 

Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 2 and Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 3 found our titular lead embroiled in some gnarly situations. 

But at least she and Doug are finally over. Beyond his good looks, he lacked personality and didn’t fully support Emily working in Paris. 

The fact that he had to purchase a passport proves that he doesn’t venture much further than Chicago. Emily is a fiery young woman who speaks her mind, so it’s somewhat surprising she stayed with him for so long. 

Maybe I’m biased because Gabriel lives in Paris, but he and Emily seem like a much better match. 

There was an instant attraction between them, and their chemistry has been undeniable. Even Mindy, someone who has known Emily for a few days, picked up on it. 

The issue plaguing Emily and Gabriel, however, is that they don’t know much about each other. Aside from the obvious about their jobs, their meetings have been awkward. 

The good news is that it’s because they can feel the attraction between them, but they need to choose wisely how to act on their feelings. 

Emily may only be set to live in Paris for a year, but what if the relationship falls apart and she needs to live above him in that terribly old building. 

Sure, the building is beautiful, but from Emily busting the electricity with her vibrator to her shower breaking down, it’s clear the building needs a lot of maintenance. 

Emily’s bad hair day was embarrassing because Sylvia and her co-workers love to make her the butt of their jokes. It’s getting tiring, but we’re starting to understand why Sylvie is jealous of our American transplant. 

Emily is young, beautiful, and fiercely opinionated. Sylvie likes to speak her mind, but she seems to pick and choose her battles. 

Sylvie being Antoine’s mistress, was hardly surprising. She didn’t want Emily anywhere near him, much less comment on anything about the campaign. 

Sylvie wants Emily to stay in her lane, but Emily’s lane has hardly been defined. She’s been sent to Paris to give an American perspective on the advertising campaigns. 

Without thinking about it, Emily is trying to do the job to the best of her ability, and Antoine sending the skimpy underwear to the office for her is only further going to cause problems. 

Sylvie will be concerned that Antoine is trading her in for Emily, but could this signal a change in Sylvie? Might she start to speak her mind to the higher-ups, or will she continue to pick and choose those battles?

The sexy or sexist debate was interesting because Emily’s comments were perfectly valid, and it was the closest thing she got to performing the job she was sent there to do. 

While Savoir’s campaign might have been appealing to some, Emily’s reservations about how it would be perceived in America made a lot of sense. 

It’s not uncommon for advertising campaigns to appear tone-deaf when they are sent to other countries, and while people may not have taken issue with perfume ad, it could have resulted in a big issue for the brand going forward. 

I especially liked the way Emily took her concerns to Sylvie, largely because it confirmed that Sylvie would not take Emily’s concerns on board. 

Sylvie’s issue is that she doesn’t want Emily to get any praise, and it’s showing. 

I’m unsure how Emily will handle what’s happening with Antoine, but all eyes will be on her because of the lingerie. Antoine sending the garments to the office, of all places, was surprising. 

Office settings allow for people to be in close proximity of one another, but people talk, and anything travels around the building quickly. 

Stories tend to grow arms and legs the more they are told, and a scandal involving Emily and Antoine could be just what Sylvie needs to get Emily ousted from the company. 

Well, ousting her would be a bit much, but making Emily uncomfortable to the point she quits would be a major victory in Sylvie’s eyes. 

Mindy is quickly becoming a standout character. She’s being used sparingly and learning the truth about her past made for some exciting moments. 

There had to be more to her ditching her home country to be an Au Pair, and Emily is nice enough not to probe for those answers, but we need them. 

Emily in Paris is moving along at a nice place. We’re learning things on a need-to-know basis, while the series continues to touch on the subjects you would expect from a Darren Star series. 

What do you think of Emily’s sentiments on the campaign? Were you surprised to learn that Antoine and Sylvie were in a secret relationship?

Who do you want Emily to be with? Are you surprised Doug dumped her? Mindy is a bit of an open book. Are you enjoying the character?

Hit the comments below, Emily in Paris Fanatics. 

Emily in Paris Season 1 is streaming globally on Netflix. 

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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