S02.E10: French Revolution

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

And so it's official that Gabriel is Emily's Mr. Big. He's every bit as bland as Big was, too (as much as I liked Chris Noth as Detective Logan on the Law & Order shows, I didn't much care for him on SATC).

Camille was a snake, but so was Emily, so they're even in that department.

In the USA, Sylvie could not explicitly take Savoir's clients with her, but if they voluntarily chose to fire Savoir and go to her new company, I don't think it'd be illegal for her to take them on (I have a friend who does financial consulting: when his old company was bought out and everyone fired, he remained because two or three of his biggest clients called the new owners and said "If he goes, I go"). I will admit to having no idea what French law would say about any of this.

It does make sense for Sylvie to ask Emily to stay on. In addition to the show telling us what a great advertising person she is, it would also be helpful to have an American on-staff who could explain to American clients what's what in French (and European) advertising.

Mindy remains the only really likeable character (although the restaurant owner and Emily's coworker with the mad scientist hair aren't terrible). Emily remains a twit, Sylvie remains dour, and most of the other characters are self-absorbed Eurotrash stereotypes.

 

[Michichick]

On 12/25/2021 at 6:24 PM, Snow Fairy said:

So did Camille "forget" about the no-Gabriel pact or she did it to Emily on purpose? 

It was definitely on purpose. Camille saying “we wanted to tell you, but it just happened” came across as a dig at Emily for “just happening” to sleep with Gabriel and not tell Camille.

[aghst]

On 1/29/2022 at 10:23 PM, Michichick said:

It was definitely on purpose. Camille saying “we wanted to tell you, but it just happened” came across as a dig at Emily for “just happening” to sleep with Gabriel and not tell Camille.

But wasn't Emily going to do the same thing, tell him she wanted him?

 

[aghst]

On 12/29/2021 at 8:17 AM, iMonrey said:

Both Emily and Camille look pretty desperate and pathetic chasing after Gabriel but Camille is the worse of the two. She has to know she's his second choice, and the fact that he would ask her to move in after Emily turned him down doesn't look good on him, either. But since Camille broke the pact she made that neither she nor Emily would get together with him, it looks like Emily is now free to start things up with him again eventually. I hope she's not so dense that she can't see how Camille played her. 

I don't remember season 1 that much.  But weren't Camille and Gabriel serious and then they fell out when he didn't want to take her parents' money?

So in that moment, he and Emily hooked up.

As for Gabriel, it seemed to him that Emily and Alfie were serious so he moved on.  Camille still carried a torch and he figured Emily was gone or would be in months.

 

Obviously the whole thing about the Savoir crew breaking away is just a plot device so that Emily doesn't leave Paris.  So the actual mechanics of Sylvie's new company aren't that important, just that they want Emily to work for them.

Also Emily falling in love is just a sappy, romantic comedy trope, again another reason Emily remains in Paris, for however many more seasons they do the show.

 

Kind of surprised that there's such hate for Emily the character.  Or is it for the actress?

Are the fashion crimes that bad?  Or is it the wide-eyed American who's still a bumpkin for the sophisticated French?  

I don't know if it's great acting but she conveys the wonder and joy of her job and life in Paris.  Yes it's the wide-eyed thing whereas many other Americans would try to fake it and try to fit in or adapt to the aloofness and snobbery that she first encountered.

She eventually wins over her co workers as well as her social circle because she's not calculating, just genuine when she seems excited about almost every client Savoir gets or happy for her friends.

How often do people have to fake enthusiasm around co workers or friends?  Emily doesn't do that so her joy is infectious.

Lily Collin's always-smiling face and the scenery porn are what makes the show appealing.  It doesn't have emotional depth or compelling plots but it's fun and entertaining.

[Michichick]

13 hours ago, aghst said:

But wasn't Emily going to do the same thing, tell him she wanted him?

 

Yes, she was. Both Emily and Camille wanted to break the pact.

[Shermie]

18 hours ago, aghst said:

Kind of surprised that there's such hate for Emily the character.  Or is it for the actress?

Are the fashion crimes that bad?  Or is it the wide-eyed American who's still a bumpkin for the sophisticated French?  

Oh, I don’t think people hate Emily. I think maybe she is annoying in her forcefulness, plus that she’s written to always swoop in and save the day every time there’s a problem, like some sort of marketing savant. While Emily might have fresh ideas and youthful enthusiasm, it would be more realistic if some of her ideas were complete failures.

As for her fashion, sometimes it’s a bit much. I don’t object to the bright colours and patterns as much as some do, but some of her outfits or pieces are a LOT. And I wonder where she keeps all those clothes in that tiny apartment that she now shares with Mindy, who also has an absurd amount of clothes. At least on SATC, they showed that Carrie had a huge closet for all her clothes. Old European apartments aren’t known for their bountiful storage.

[Door County Cherry]

18 hours ago, aghst said:

Are the fashion crimes that bad?  Or is it the wide-eyed American who's still a bumpkin for the sophisticated French?  

It's the fact that she's the "ugly American" in so many ways.  All the men want her.  If they're gay, they want to befriend her.  The office has to speak English because she can't speak French.  Her banal social media posts are held up as brilliant.  She does stupid things that we're supposed to see as charming.  

She not only didn't tell Camille about her sleeping with Gabriel but then she outright lied about the status of his feelings--giving her false hope. 

So it's not her fashion.  It's the Mary Sueness of her. 

[ninjago]

In their zeal to make Emily a wide-eyed prodigy, Sylvie has been shown to be mean to the point of unprofessional, unable to manage the agency financially, unwilling to do the hard parts of client management and an outdated dinosaur when it comes to marketing.  Why are we supposed to think she is justified in her outrage or competent to start a new agency, let alone be on her side?

Also, I get that Madeline is a gauche slob, but it was Antoine's wife who first brought up work at the party.

Edited February 11, 2022 by ninjago

[aghst]

Savoir seems to make enough money.

Sylvie lived in a palace in the center of Paris.  Did you see the wide shot of the fake Peleton bike in a large room with huge windows?

The employees seem to be happy.

Only thing lacking is AC in the Savoir offices.

Madeline just wanted Savoir to extract maximum fees from clients, because that would probably make her look good, get her promotions and bigger bonuses.

 

 

[KatWay]

I'm rooting for Emily and Gabriel idc, they're both very similar, slightly flaky people who like to go with the flow and get on well. I got the feeling Camille and Gabriel were more comfortable than deeply in love even before Emily happened, cause while Camille seemed upset about the break-up she didn't seem truly devastated either. And when her mom asked her if she wanted Gabriel back, she was like...hm, kinda. I think that's where the story will go, they figure out they aren't really in love anymore but by then Emily will have a new serious relationship (or whatever), cue S4.

also Gabriel is boring but he's certainly pretty. And has some charm. I like Alfie but I don't think he and Emily make a lot of sense together. She's too flighty and he's too cynical.

[Hanahope]

I agree that if the clients of Savoir want to fire it to go with another firm that understands their French culture and French people better, Savoir can't do anything about it, unless there's a non-compete clause.  somehow i doubt it, mostly because the show seems to show that the French put more emphasis on relationships than money (which is true in a lot of the country).  and it is nice that Sylvie, Julien and Luc recognize that Emily does have good marketing skills and can help market products to Americans.  I agree that eventually, emily will choose to stay.

but in the short term, maybe she sticks with Madeline for a while because she's pissed that Camille manipulated her and Gabriel fell for it.  so Emily stays in paris with Savoir, tries to see how things work with Alfie and at the end of Season 3, she goes with Sylvie and somehow gets Gabriel back.  maybe she realizes that its better to not have Camille as a friend if she's that manipulative.

I too wondered why we hear nothing about Emily's friends in Chicago.  there was the brief scene where Emily got the birthday package from her mom with the deep dish pizza.  but nothing from friends.  but maybe she was too busy working and any free time was with the worthless boyfriend.

i guess lime green was the color for the season, it was everywhere.

 

 

[methodwriter85]

On 5/17/2022 at 2:24 PM, Hanahope said:

I too wondered why we hear nothing about Emily's friends in Chicago.  there was the brief scene where Emily got the birthday package from her mom with the deep dish pizza.  but nothing from friends.  but maybe she was too busy working and any free time was with the worthless boyfriend.

I'm assuming they're saving that for an episode where Emily gets visited by a former sorority sister who turns out to be the ultimate Karen and a Special Lesson to Make Emily realize how much Europe has rubbed off on her in a good way.

On 1/30/2022 at 1:23 AM, Michichick said:

It was definitely on purpose. Camille saying “we wanted to tell you, but it just happened” came across as a dig at Emily for “just happening” to sleep with Gabriel and not tell Camille.

When Camille made that pact by "forgiving" Emily, she had a gleam in her eye that reminded me so much of Regina George that you knew it had to be fake.

Edited June 26, 2022 by methodwriter85

[CattyK]

On 12/28/2021 at 11:48 AM, SlovakPrincess said:

Finally:  that fashion show was an atrocity.  That was a song and dance number in fake costume hoop skirts, not a fashion show with actual clothes.  W in the actual F.  

Julien was rocking that pink suit.  Oh, and wardrobe got one last shot at Camille - that black blouse was hideous. 

I just finished watching season two last night.  Apologies to all for such a late post, but I have to say this somewhere—-the “fashion” show was a ridiculous travesty.  Atrocity is a good word for it. As an opening entertainment before bringing out some actual clothes, it would be okay, and maybe that’s what was intended, but it left me wanting to see actual clothes.  I watch this show for the clothes (of all the characters), the scenery, the pretty  men, in that order.  I feel cheated that a “fashion show” was nothing more than this.  

But I did enjoy the clothes in the season, Mindy and Emily are always over the top but they have some great pieces.  Julien does have some great clothes too.  Mindy is my favorite character, and Alfie is growing on me.  I’m very much over the Emily-Gabriele thing but I guess the show will continue to drag that out.