Emily In Paris Season 2 Transforms Allies Into The Show's True Villains
Matthew Barrera Emily In Paris season 2 turns allies into villains, with the characters of Camille and Madeline being set up to have a huge impact on season 3.
In Emily In Paris season 2, the show reveals its true villains and they are former allies of the titular character. Emily In Paris follows Lily Collins' Emily Cooper, a Chicago transplant who finds herself working at a Parisian marketing firm after her boss, Madeline Wheeler (Kate Walsh), gets pregnant. Of the many characters in Emily In Paris, Walsh's Madeline was sidelined the most throughout season 1 and the beginning of season 2, communicating with Emily primarily over the phone and helping her adjust to her new life in the City of Light.
Although Emily may have had a tough go at it adjusting at Savoir, finding friends was easy for the bubbly marketing exec. From Mindy, the heiress turned nanny turned street-side singer, to Camille, Emily quickly found friends in Paris. Camille proved to be one of her closest even though Emily had a romantic fling with her boyfriend Gabriel before they met. It was Emily's romance with Gabriel that became a point of contention in her relationship with Camille, culminating in one of the more scandalous, but sidelined plots in Emily In Paris season 2. Despite having nothing but good intentions, Emily's actions inadvertently turned Camille and Madeline, two of her closest allies, into the villains of the show.
After Camille finds out about Emily and Gabriel's romantic fling, the two eventually mend their relationship, promising each other that they wouldn't be with Gabriel for the sake of their friendship. Camille reneges on this promise and the show slyly hints that this was her intention all along. Additionally, although Madeline comes into Savoir with good intentions, she ultimately ends up tearing the firm apart with her American corporate-mindedness and the show sets up both of them to be the villain-esque figures of Emily In Paris season 3.
Why Gabriel chose Camille at the end of Emily In Paris season 2 is clear - Emily had made it clear to him all along that she didn't want to betray her friend's trust. Camille, however, manipulated Emily into a promise that she never intended to keep. This will likely play out in a potential Emily In Paris season 3, with Emily and Gabriel once again having to resist the temptation to be together for the sake of Camille. Whether Camille is an active villain or passive villain remains to be seen - she mostly operated slyly in Emily In Paris season 2 so it's possible she could continue like that.
Kate Walsh's Madeline Wheeler, on the other hand, is being set up as the show's most overt villain since Sylvie's introduction in season 1. After being introduced in season 1, Emily In Paris seemed to forget about the storyline involving Madeline, but season 2 revealed that she could be a major adversary when it comes to Sylvie leaving Savoir and taking all of its clients and employees with them. While Madeline operates with a semblance of some sort of American obliviousness, she still single-handedly ends up dismantling the marketing firm she went to Paris to assist. While perhaps more funny than it is outright villainous, Emily In Paris clearly wants people to see Madeline, and Camille, as villains rather than allies going forward.
