Emily in Paris, Season 4, Episode 3: Love is a Masquerade
Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) has Love in her head. (But really, when doesn’t she?) Our leading actress of Emily in Paris Season 4 is surrounded by attractive men, from the muscular joggers and sharp-tongued police officers she sees on her daily run, to her former lovers Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), both of whom are back under her spell (and in her shower too – but more on that in one minute).
In season 4, episode 3 of “Emily in Paris,” entitled “Masquerade,” the Mademoiselle finally has to choose between her two attractive admirers.
Not ideal living conditions
Gabriel stops by Emily’s house while she’s out, but he’s not actually there to see her – he has to use her shower. His own bathroom is actually pretty full at the moment, as both Camille (Camille Razat) and Sofia (Melia Kreiling) are staying with him; a strange sort of “summer camp,” Emily notes.
Of course, Mindy (Ashley Park) doesn’t tell Emily that her very naked ex is in the showerso Em unknowingly comes back from her run to not only gossip about Gabriel’s unconventional sleeping arrangements – the mother of his child and her lover are in his bed while he’s taken the couch – but also to gush about all the handsome men she’s seen while jogging. Realizing she’s forgotten how to be single now that neither Gabriel nor Alfie are romantically in the picture, the Frenchman finally comes clean and confirms that she’s not dating Alfie, despite the kiss he saw at Roland-Garros. Understandably, Emily is appalled by the whole seedy situation.
Later, when Emily and Mindy go out to dinner together, the latter jokes that she did a favor by leaving a naked, soapy Gabriel in her shower for Emily to find. But Emily says that due to Gabriel’s soon-to-be father status and the delicate situation with Alfie – during a meeting to plan the launch of Maison Lavaux’s latest perfume, he scathingly questioned her idea of a “Heartbreak Ball”-themed masquerade ball – she’s now “so far” from both of them. Sure.
Sylvie stands up for what is right
Sylvie Grateau (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) is still pursued by this The World reporter to share her impressions of what it was like working as a female subordinate for JVMA boss Louis de Léon (Pierre Deny). She is torn about whether or not to take part in the investigative piece, especially since he is investing in the new yacht club that her husband Laurent G (Arnaud Binard) is opening. She tells Laurent of her concerns: “I don’t think they have a story without me.”
At the masked ball at Maison Lavaux, we learn that Sylvie did the right thing after all and sat down with the reporter. She wanted to hold men like Louis accountable for their actions, even though it would undoubtedly hurt her husband’s business. After reconciling with Julien (Samuel Arnold) at the Heartbreak Ball, she shows him the article and warns him against working for a company like JVMA.
She also runs into Mindy and thanks her for telling Emily about the secret brand and starting the investigation into Louis. Realizing what chaos this will mean for Nicolas de Léon (Paul Forman), Mindy rushes to him. He is furious about the article and claims that people have been trying to ruin the family business for years, but Mindy confesses that she believes the rumors to be true. “Sometimes our fathers disappoint us,” she tells him, promising to be by his side throughout the media scandal as long as he is “on the right side.”
Emily’s true feelings are revealed
Looking like a fancy hamburger—and even crazier because she’s not the only one at the Heartbreak Ball wearing the eye-catching black-and-white striped ensemble—Emily meets Gabriel while waiting for her taxi to the masquerade ball. He tells her that all his “complicated” stuff (i.e. Camille, Sofia, the baby, etc.) shouldn’t come between them. His feelings for her haven’t changed; have hers? But they could only work if we were two different people, she tells him.
When he later surprises her at an event at Maison Lavaux – at the invitation of Antoine Lambert (William Abadie) – he jokingly pretends to be someone else entirely: David Guetta. (No, not a DJ.) She plays along, playing Irish math teacher Anna O’Leary (“Please don’t make me imitate the accent”).
But Emily also meets Alfie at the ball, who apologizes for making her life difficult with the idea of the masked ball. Earlier in the episode, a conversation with Camille reminded Alfie that Emily didn’t immediately resume her relationship with Gabriel after their breakup, which seems to give the Brit hope – he asks Emily to dance and they spend a fun, flirtatious time together.
So it’s understandable that Mrs. Cooper is torn when she meets Mindy at the party. Both men mean so much to her for different reasons and now she has to choose. But who has really won her heart?
It looks like Gabriel is the answer, because Emily seeks him out to dance, but as herself, not as David and Anna. “Sometimes I wish there was no one else. Just us,” she tells him, to which he replies, “Why can’t that be?” And it might be, after Alfie accidentally declares his love for Emily’s masquerade doppelgänger and the real Emily leaves the party hand in hand with Gabriel. It seems as though he is officially and embarrassingly withdrawing completely from this long-term love triangle.
Emily rides leisurely with Gabriel in a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Paris, explaining that the night feels like a fantasy. “It feels too good to be true,” she tells him. The real world will no doubt complicate things between them, but for now, “Why don’t we forget about reality for one night and just stay in the fantasy?” he asks, sealing it with a kiss.
All five episodes of Emily in Paris Season 4, Part 1 is now available to stream on Netflix.
