There are certain rules about Emily In Paris that can never be broken. One, much as they might try to trick you with a jet-setting plot, the girl’s gotta stay in Paris. (It’s in the title!) Two, much as they might try to trick you by introducing other beautiful foreign men, girl’s gotta stay pining after Gabriel. “Do you know what I saw on my run? Hot. Men. Everywhere,” Emily pronounces in a new trailer for part one of the fourth season, premiering on Netflix on August 15. “I guess I’ve just been so focused on Gabriel and Alfie that I forgot what it feels like to be single.” Then she spends the entire trailer focused on, well, Gabriel and Alfie. “After the dramatic events of Camille (Camille Razat) and Gabriel’s (Lucas Bravo) misbegotten wedding, Emily (Lily Collins) is reeling: She has strong feelings for two men, but now Gabriel’s expecting a baby with his ex, and Alfie’s (Lucien Laviscount) worst fears about her and Gabriel have been confirmed,” reads a synopsis from Netflix. “At work, Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) is forced to confront a thorny dilemma from her past for the sake of her marriage, and the Agence Grateau team navigates personnel shakeups. Mindy (Ashley Park) and the band prepare for Eurovision, but when funds run dry, they’re forced to get thrifty. Emily and Gabriel’s chemistry is undeniable as they work together towards a Michelin star, but two big secrets threaten to undo everything they’ve dreamed of.” This trailer wants us to believe that Emily is going to change her meddling, clueless-American ways: “I’ve been living in the gray area all my life, but I didn’t picture you embracing it,” Sylvie says to her approvingly. Yet it’s incredibly difficult to believe that Emily is capable of change when she’s still stuck in the same “It’s Complicated” situationship as she was back in the first season. The trailer also wants us to believe that Emily is finally going to make a decision between her two handsome love interests but, you know… we’ll believe it when we see it. One thing we can agree upon is that if there was any show that didn’t need to be split into two parts, it’s Emily In Paris. Of course, we at The A.V. Club have been staunchly against Netflix’s strategy of dropping seasons in “parts” in general. It’s a cheap new trick from the streamer to string along subscribers, and in almost every case it’s just a nuisance for the audience. Emily In Paris, in particular, is the quintessential breezy binge watch, but now fans will have to wait until September 12 for the second half of the season. At least she does, indeed, look chic.
