Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 4 Part 2 on Netflix, In Which the Lily Collins Hit Moves to Rome

When the first half of the fourth season starring Lily Collins left off in August, Emily and Gabriel had finally found their way to each other. Will the star-crossed lovers stay together for good? The final five episodes of the season have something else in mind.

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Opening Shot: It’s Christmas in Paris, and we find Sylvie in an uncharacteristically cheery mood as she toasts to another successful year for Agence Grateau.

The Gist: Despite all odds, Emily Cooper from Chicago has made a beautiful little expat life for herself in Paris. She’s crushing it at work, and has her pick of European men at her fingertips. In the second half of the fourth season, Emily promptly breaks up with Gabriel, whom she has been circling for the previous three seasons, after a disastrous ski trip. She meets a Roman suitor by chance and is swept up in a romance with him, even after she finds out his family’s fashion label could be a potential client.

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What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The breezy nature of the series is signature Darren Star, who also created Sex and the City and Younger .

Our Take: Fans of the series were likely in two camps by the end of Season 4’s first batch of episodes : either thrilled that she and Gabriel had finally found their way to each other or angry that the Parisian neighbors decided to become the world’s most boring couple. (Can you tell which camp I’m in?)

Gabily (that’s the ship name, I’m declaring it) implodes as quickly as it began: by the end of the Part 2 premiere, Emily and Gabriel are no longer together. It’s a classic move for television: keep the central couple apart until the final moments. But here, it almost feels like a cop out for a relationship that the writers know is boring. Audiences will never get a chance to see how they’d actually be together, which makes it hard to root for that as the end-game. Gabriel’s complicated relationship with his ex-lover Camille will always be a thorn in their side, and even with Camille finally coming clean about her pregnancy, Gabriel can’t let go of their history long enough to allow himself a future.

It’s a good thing, then, that Emily immediately finds a hot new man to sweep her off her feet. Emily has a meet-cute while stranded on the ski mountain with Italian Marcello, and he’s immediately more charming than Gabriel, who has left her to her own devices on the mountain in favor of helping Camille. While he only becomes a major player later in the season, it’s a good reminder that the world Emily lives in will always have room for hot rebounds — even if she has to end the part 2 premiere sad and alone, without even Alfie to fall back on.

The Gabriel storyline also has a shake-up with the introduction of Sylvie’s step-daughter Genevieve who starts working at the agency and has a sly eye for Emily’s ex. But her arrival feels too late, shaking up a relationship that has already ended, and is more of a wasted opportunity than an interesting addition to the season.

Lily Collins is doing some of her best work in this half of the season. It’s very rare that the role of Emily has asked her to do much more than be bubbly and charming, but “Last Christmas” expands her range to include anger and genuine sadness. I felt more endeared to Emily in this batch of episodes, who opens herself back up to love pretty quickly and winds up with exciting personal and professional opportunities by the end of the season. While I’ve always loved her life in Paris, Rome looks good on her.

Sex and Skin: As always, Emily in Paris is open about sex but demure, if you will, in showing it.

Parting Shot: Alfie’s run as a love interest officially ends here: he runs into Emily in the square and reveals that he’s on his way to church for Christmas mass with his girlfriend and her family. She didn’t really plan to reconnect and run back into his arms, but it’s still a blow to Emily’s ego that leaves her devastated and sobbing all alone.

Sleeper Star: We know most of the characters here, so pour one out for Emily’s ugly Christmas sweaters instead — a tradition that she thought she could entice Camille’s posh Parisian family to participate in to no avail, and a reminder of the cultural differences that will always stand in the way of her and Gabriel.

Most Pilot-y Line: : “You wanted French Christmas traditions, and you got the oldest one: sneaking out with the mistress,” Camille’s brother digs at Emily’s precarious position in Gabriel’s life.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The second half of the fourth season introduces new relationships and locales to keep the story fresh.

Radhika Menon ( @menonrad ) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.

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