Emily in Paris and Sex and the City share many similarities: Outrageous outfits that regular people wouldn’t be caught wearing casually on the street, a protagonist working an everyday job yet affording to live lavishly in some of the world’s most expensive cities, and eye-rolling, hair-pulling romances flying more red flags than the Paris Commune. Oh, and both series come from the same creator, Darren Star. But here’s how they could be so much different.
The Netflix series premiered over two decades after the iconic HBO show ended, yet we can’t help but wonder — did Sex and the City walk so Emily in Paris could run? So far, the answer is an absolute, resounding, screaming from-the-top-of-the-Empire-State-Building no. Although they both have their good parts — both series tell comfort stories celebrating amazing friendships, for example — but the romance is still not what we’d like to see in 2024.
Love triangles are a thing of the past, and they never really worked. Sure, the late 2000s had their peak with fandoms separated into well-defined, profoundly loyal, and very loud groups campaigning for their favorite ship; whether it was Twilight‘s Team Jacob vs Team Edward or The Vampire Diaries‘ Damon vs Stefan. Yet, before all of that, it was the whole discussion between Carrie and Aidan and Mr. Big, something that, unfortunately, Emily in Paris replicated time and time again.
Emily could do what Carrie never managed — get over her Big
Emily Cooper relocated to Paris, France, from Chicago in season 1, where she met a charming chef, Gabriel, with whom she fell in love. Fate didn’t allow them to be together because of various obstacles, and she eventually met Alfie in season 2, a perfect, healthy choice she didn’t fully want… Aidan, is that you? After several hardships, Emily and Gabriel finally got together in season 4, but, alas, their official love story was intense, loved-filled, but short-lived. As Gabriel is currently in the past now that Emily has found yet another love interest — Marcello from Italy — Emily in Paris has the best opportunity to prove it’s not just a Sex and the City ripoff.
Carrie and Mr. Big’s relationship was toxic throughout its entirety. Carrie was too immature for Big, or not elegant enough, or cultured enough, and they could never make it work in the six-season series and its subsequent two films. Fate has it that the two of them did end up together — a relationship that was finally official in Paris, too. Its revival series, And Just Like That…, proved the two lived happily ever after… until Big’s death in season 1, episode 1. But Emily is her own person, and the series has an amazing opportunity to be modern.
Rom-coms are known for their eye-rolling, drama-filled scenarios that keep the two main characters — obviously meant to be together — apart for multiple reasons. However, they usually end up together. As Emily in Paris set up Gabriel as Emily’s endgame since the series’ beginning, the new shift in season 4 gives it a new opportunity. With her new relocation to Rome — hello, Emily in Rome — the series has a chance to prove something that’s quite unheard of in the romance genre — moving on.
Life rarely happens the way it does in romance books, films, or television, and we often switch partners and find out the loves of our lives are better people, waving fewer red flags. The second part of Emily in Paris introduces Marcello, a brand-new love interest and Aidan 2.0 who has screamed “green flag” since rescuing her on top of the mountain and making his interest obvious immediately.
While we all wish for our fairytale ending, real life is different. Emily in Paris season 5 can become more meta, and acknowledge that the dreams we have and the romance we’re shown isn’t real life, and prove that life doesn’t always begin and end with the same couple. Emily making a shift from Gabriel to Marcello as her endgame would advance the rom-com game as we know it, into a fresh new era.