Emily in Paris – Masquerade

By: Mariah Thomas

Emily (Lily Collins) finds herself wanting to explore being single. She returns home from a run to gush to Mindy (Ashley Park) about how many attractive men she saw. What Emily doesn’t know is Mindy is long gone and she is actually speaking to Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) in the shower. Cami (Camille Razat) and Sofia are staying with him as they figure out their living situation, so he popped into shower. Gabriel is amused by Emily’s ramblings. Back at the office Emily has to once again work with Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) as his boss is a big client of Sylvie’s (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) company. A launch party for a new Heartbreak perfume is being discussed. The theme? Masquerade. Alfie expresses his distaste for the launch party concept and Emily explains, “When you’re wearing a mask, you can pretend to be someone else if you want to. Someone who isn’t heartbreaking.” Alfie runs into Cami on his way out of the office and she apologizes. She used what happened between Gabriel and Emily as a way to get out of a speedy wedding. In the aftermath, she sees how many people it hurt. Alfie states, “Despite what they say, they have feelings for each other, and I won’t stand in the way of that.” Cami, who with an amused look on her face replies, “They have been free to get together for a while now and they haven’t. So, what does that tell you?” In that moment, Alfie takes in what that really means and seems to reflect on his behavior towards Emily since the breakup.

Sylvie continues to struggle with knowing the difference she could make speaking to the journalist about Louis (Pierre Deny). Working with him previously, she had a crude experience and knowing that behavior continues tugs at her. Louis is aware to an extent of a story brewing, so he has dangled investing in Sylvie’s husband’s club over her head. It would be big for both of them but of course would come at the cost of her silence. She expresses her concerns to her husband and lets him in a little on her past experience with Louis.

Luc (Bruno Gouery), Emily and Julien (Samuel Arnold) meet for lunch. Here we get to see how their friendship is stronger than any work drama. Emily and Julien have a heart-to-heart moment on any discrepancies about Julien’s departure. She encourages him to come to the ball to apologize to Sylvie.

Gabriel approaches Emily as she waits for her ride to the masquerade ball. He tells her he is unable to make it. Before she heads off he says, “My feelings for you have not changed. Have yours?” She tells him the only way she thinks they could work is if they were two different people.

Emily finds her doppelganger at the ball – same short hair, same masquerade mask, same dress, and same red lip. Alfie spots the real Emily and apologizes for his recent behavior. There is a change in his demeanor towards her and it is clear that Cami’s earlier question changed his perspective. He asks Emily to dance and the two discuss how this fragrance both are working on is predicted to do well. In this case, Alfie would be staying in Paris. Duty calls and Emily is there to work. She is sent off by Sylvie to tend to the party. In her search to complete the task, she runs into Gabriel. Her earlier statement of how they would work if they were two different people stuck with Gabriel, so he parades around as someone else. When Emily asks about the restaurant, he expresses confusion and says his name is David. Emily plays into his act telling him her name is Anna. She returns to her task at hand and runs into Mindy entering the party. The pair speak for a second and Emily says, “Turns out the masks go on and the true feelings come out.” In a clever Netflix joke, their conversation is interrupted by the creaking of the photo op carriage. Mindy says, “Someone’s living out their horny Bridgerton fantasies.”

Sylvie receives a thank you text from the journalist with a preview of the article before it goes live. As she exits the party, she runs into Mindy and thanks her for telling Emily about the brand closet. Knowing this is something that still goes on pushed Sylvie to speak out against Louis. Mindy is unaware of how crucial that information was and, on one hand, she is dating Louis’s son and on the other she knows how wrong his actions are.

Emily has made her choice. The camera pans to both Alfie and Gabriel a final time before revealing she seeks out Gabriel. The pair dance and a brilliant shot flashes of them dancing alone, despite being in a crowded room – further showcasing their true feelings. You cannot help but feel bad for Alfie as he spots Emily’s doppelganger and expresses his feelings and kisses her. The moment he sees it is not Emily, he sees her walk outside with Gabriel.

In the final minutes of the episode, Julien approaches Sylvie. He asks her to dance and begins to apologize profusely for how he left. She immediately stops him and says “We’re good. You’re family, the door is always open.” She lets him see the article preview on JVMA before he officially joins the company. Sylvie leaves the party with a new elegance to her and you can see the weight lifted off her shoulders. The final scene of the episode shows Emily and Gabriel making out in the back of the carriage as it rides off into the night.