Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Pardon Her French
Paul Dailly
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You don't want to be remembered as the girl who said no to Paris.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you can watch The Hills online to find out.
Emily in Paris Season 1 Episode 1 threw Emily into the deep end as she was given a split-second decision to move to a new country, and it made for some great TV.
Armed with a hot neighbor, wonderful fashion, and beautiful view, Emily was ready to take on the world.
Unfortunately for her, her skills were not wanted in this new establishment, but were they needed?
It was very reminiscent of Ugly Betty Season 1 Episode 1, in which Betty arrived to work at a fashion magazine with less than stellar fashion.
Here, Emily arrived in France to do a job, but couldn't speak the native tongue.
While it would be easy to call Emily arrogant for arriving in Paris and not being able to communicate with her co-workers in their native language, we need to remember that she was given a gift she didn't know she was getting.
Technology has advanced to the point that you can talk to anyone with the use of a cell phone, so of course Emily was not going to say no to this opportunity.
Madeline: I am here to prove that a Masters in French does not go to waste.
Emily: This is going to be amazing for you.
Madeline being pregnant came out of nowhere, but the moment she smelled the perfume, it was obvious where the storyline was going.
This also means that Kate Walsh is not along with us for the ride to Paris, but maybe she could be a part of the narrative down the line.
Emily's first meeting with her co-workers went about as well as could be expected. Given the way Julien looked at Emily, it was obvious he and Sylvie didn't expect their American transplant so soon.
Emily's infectious smile was too much for such a workplace, but it left me with the sense that cultures will clash at every turn.
While it's good that Emily had some big ideas for the social media engagement, her language barrier stopped her from implementing any worthy changes at every turn.
I have been dreaming of moving to Paris forever, you know. I mean French men, they love older women. Look at their president. He's young. He's hot. He married his schoolteacher.
Madeline
Sylvie was unimpressed with Emily's addition to the firm, largely because she felt that her company was moving along swimmingly without someone coming in to call the shots.
Sylvie made her feelings known when she cut Emily off, snickered at her attempts to make friends, and was just a hostile person for the sake of it.
Emily could have contacted Madeline for assistance because, well, Madeline's company bought the French marketing firm, and part of the acquisition deal was that an American would be a part of the company going forward.
Everyone in the office ditching Emily at lunch and then referring to her as the hick was par for the course when you consider their feelings towards her.
Emily needs to fight back or she runs the risk of leaving the company before making any positive changes.
The good news is that Emily is a go-getter who doesn't care who gets cut on her way to the top, and that's probably going to cause a lot of problems between her and her co-workers.
At least Emily has Mindy for comfort. Their first meeting could have been executed better, but Mindy appears to be as fun-loving as Emily, so they should be able to carve out a robust friendship.
Emily is going to need some friends to keep her sane if she's going to face so many hurdles in the workplace.
She's in a new country without her boyfriend, her friends, and more importantly, her old life. This is a fresh start for her.
Emily: Is this it?
Roman: It's on the fifth floor. This is the fourth floor.
Emily: I just schlepped up these bags five flights. This is the fifth floor.
Roman: In France, first is ground floor, then the first floor, then the second, and so on.
Emily: That's weird.
Doug, through his limited scenes, was a real bore. There's a fire burning inside Emily to do something different, and Doug seems way too vanilla for her.
Doug was not exactly excited by Emily leaving Chicago for a year, and the only time he seemed concerned about her was when he wanted to have cybersex, so he doesn't value their relationship that much.
Thankfully, Gabriel is just waiting in the wings for Emily, and I'm here for their relationship. Gabriel was attracted to Emily the moment she tried to make her way into his apartment, thinking it was her own.
The series premiere was successful in many aspects. It introduced us to a vibrant world filled with colorful characters and conflicts in less than 30 minutes.
While some of the characters feel overtly French for the sake of it, there's a great show here that has legs to stand on.
It will all come down to how Emily navigates her life now that she's started this new chapter. Will she allow her relationship to fizzle out with Doug?
Will she find a way to fight back against the naysayers? At least she has social media for validation.
Hit the comments with your thoughts on the premiere.
Catch Emily in Paris Season 1 across the globe on Netflix.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
