Kanika Kumar
Darren Star’s ‘Emily in Paris’ focuses on Emily Cooper’s (Lily Collins) fantastical adventures as an American in Paris. Working as a marketing executive at Savoir, a French company owned by the US-based Gilbert Group, Emily meets a bunch of fascinating people who expose her to the French way of life. As she adjusts to her new surroundings, Emily begins to develop feelings for her downstairs neighbor, a handsome chef named Gabriel (Lucas Bravo).
Of course, fans have been wanting Emily and Gabriel to date right from season 1; in fact, the scene where the former tries to open the latter’s house door, mistaking it for her own apartment, is the perfect meet-cute. Sadly, fate is not kind to our excitable American marketer and charming French chef. The presence of Camille (Camille Razat), Gabriel’s good-hearted girlfriend, stops Emily from pursuing him. However, after the two break up, Emily and Gabriel spend a passionate night together before his shift to Normandy.
When Gabriel decides to stay back in Paris, things get decidedly complicated. In season 2 of the Netflix show, we see this messy love triangle get messier. Camille is understandably mad at her ex-boyfriend and Emily is unsure of what to do. Friendships at put at stake, pans are dumped in the toilet, and jealousy frequently rears its ugly head. In the finale, Emily has a heartwarming conversation with Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) but soon runs to Gabriel to confess her true feelings. So, do Emily and Gabriel finally end up together? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Do Emily and Gabriel End Up Together?
In the very first episode of the second season, we see that things are awkward between Emily and Gabriel. Having spent the night together, the two now have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Understandably, Emily, who is close to Camille, doesn’t want to betray her friend by dating her ex-boyfriend. On the other hand, Gabriel thinks it’s important for them to confront their feelings. The fact that Savoir is in charge of the marketing for Gabriel’s Antoine Lambert-backed restaurant, Chez Lavaux, means that Emily will have to, unfortunately, interact with her love interest in a professional capacity as well.
When Emily is about to go to St. Tropez with Mathieu Cadault, Gabriel calls her and says, “I can’t believe the girl I stayed in Paris for doesn’t want to be with me.” Emily tells him that she can’t be with him, despite her feelings, because she doesn’t want to hurt Camille. However, Mathieu overhears her conversation and tells her to go to St. Tropez on her own, since she’s clearly in love with someone else.
In episode 3, Camille finds out about Gabriel and Emily when she sees his special omelet pan at the latter’s apartment. She dumps the pan in the toilet, accuses Emily of being a fake friend at her birthday dinner, and storms off. Thus, for a while, Emily determinedly avoids Gabriel. However, in episode 5, when Emily goes to Chez Lavaux to get some behind-the-scenes footage of Gabriel cooking, sparks fly and the two end up passionately making out.
Later, Emily meets Camille, who forgives her for sleeping with her ex-boyfriend. However, she does ask Emily to agree to a pact stating that neither of them will date Gabriel. The pact seems to be Camille’s mother Louise’s idea, as she desperately wants her daughter to date the charming chef again. Emily hesitatingly agrees to never date Gabriel. Afterward, when Emily does see Gabriel, she explains that she can’t be with him because Paris is nothing but a year-long fantasy for her — she’ll eventually return to Chicago, so she doesn’t see the point in starting a relationship in a city she won’t live in.
Soon, Emily starts dating Alfie; on the other hand, Gabriel and Camille become friends again. However, it’s very obvious that Gabriel is jealous of Alfie. Meanwhile, Emily is at once delighted and saddened by Camille and Gabriel’s healed relationship which seems to be progressing towards a romance again. In fact, at Camille’s family’s château, Emily ends up feeling like the third wheel when she sits with Camille and Gabriel. In the season finale, Emily faces chaos at work when Sylvie, Julien, and Luc quit Savoir due to Madeline. Later, Alfie comforts her and asks her whether she would like to pursue a long-distance relationship with him since he’s going back to London. Emily happily agrees.
However, afterward, during a conversation with Mindy, Emily realizes that she has been suppressing her true feelings all along. This is made apparent when she accidentally says that she’s “in love with her friend’s boyfriend.” Mindy encourages her to tell Gabriel about her real feelings. Thus, Emily rushes to his apartment. As soon as Gabriel opens the door, Emily confesses that Paris isn’t just a detour for her anymore and that Alfie isn’t the reason why she’s avoiding a relationship with him.
However, Emily then hears Camille’s voice and sees that her friend is unpacking her bags. Camille, unaware of what Emily just said, comes over to the door and cheerfully talks about how she is now back with Gabriel; we find out that he asked her to move in with him. Meanwhile, Gabriel stands with tears in his eyes, clearly upset over the whole situation.
Emily congratulates the couple and leaves the building. Crying, she then calls Sylvie and says that she’s made her decision about her job. So, at this point, Emily does not end up with Gabriel because he is dating Camille again. However, it is obvious that he went back to Camille only because he thinks Emily is serious about Alfie. Additionally, he has no idea about Camille and Emily’s pact. Thus, even though Emily and Gabriel are in love with each other, they cannot be together. Emily promised Alfie that she would be with him, and Gabriel is now in a live-in relationship with Camille.
Things are certainly going to get romantically messy for Emily and Gabriel. It is likely that Emily will stay away from Gabriel for a bit whilst he focuses on Camille out of guilt. Plus, Emily might even grow to genuinely appreciate Alfie. Although we believe that Emily and Gabriel will eventually end up together, it seems as though a number of challenges will crop up on the romantic road of this presently star-crossed pair.
Read More: Does Emily Stay in Paris or Go Back to Chicago? Does Emily Choose Sylvie or Madeline?
