Emily in Paris Season 2 Ted Lasso
Getty Images/Photo collage by Poonam Chauhan

Psst, Haters, Emily Cooper And Ted Lasso Are The Same Person

A passionate defence of Emily in Paris as season 2 hits Netflix

Critics, frequent tweeters and cultured expats in Paris love to hate Emily Cooper. To this group, the title character of Emily in Paris, played by Lily Collins, is as agreeable as a glass of Pinot Noir splattered over a Moleskine. She doesn’t speak French, her American work ethic is insulting to her French colleagues, her experience of Paris is as shallow as an espresso saucer.

One “outraged” Canadian expat in the I’m-more-Paris-than-you-are camp wrote an open letter in Vogue  (sample line: “What has France done to deserve you, Emily?”). Anti-Emily memes took over Twitter. Remember the ink spilled over the show’s Golden Globes and Emmy nominations? Online chatter got so loud that it reached Hollywood: Lily Collins called the reaction “disheartening” in an interview, while promising to “improve” should the series get a second season.

Now, with Emily in Paris season 2 hitting Netflix on December 22, a fan can’t help but wonder, what’s with hating on Emily?

Full disclosure: I am that fan. Emily in Paris was my technicolour double rainbow in the grey abyss of lockdown. Do I like Miss Cooper? Well… I don’t hate her. And if you like Ted Lasso, you shouldn’t either.

Ted Lasso launched in August 2020—just two months before Emily in Paris—to instant acclaim. Men’s Health gobbled the show up as “a living, physical, 10-episode-long good vibe.” The New York Times couldn’t help but fall for “America’s nicest export.” Meanwhile Vanity Fair not only proclaimed the show “just f**king delightful,” it stamped its positive energy “important.”

Ted Lasso Jason Sudeikis
Getty ImagesThe beloved Ted Lasso on the pitch.

People don’t just like the show, they love it, and they idolize Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) for his imperishable optimism. The same people chastising Emily for her sunny unflappability fall over themselves to proclaim Ted the second coming of Mister Rogers. “It’s almost unbearable, but that’s what’s endearing,” declares my typically cynical brother. “I love Ted,” comments a rather grumpy friend. “I just soak up the warmth,” says an associate in the movie business. And my favourite review, compliments of a prickly colleague: “I really like Ted. He doesn’t make other people focus on his sh*t.”

Well, sir, neither does Emily. Actually, if optimism and positivity are what make Ted so loveable, Emily deserves her own sunshine emoji as Pollyanna’s contemporary counterpart. And the similarities between the two characters don’t stop there.

Like Ted, Emily is a peanut-butter-loving mid-Westerner who finds herself in a foreign country where she is unaccustomed to the culture. (Sound familiar, team Ted?) Shortly after each character touches down in their new cities, their respective long-term relationships end. Ted, good man that he is, chooses to set free someone he loves. Emily’s boyfriend gives her an ultimatum: return home or lose him. She chooses the latter. Then there’s the most obvious parallel: Both Emily and Ted have started a new job inexperienced and unprepared, equipped with nothing but a cheery, can-do attitude.

In Ted’s case, a cold reception awaits the Yank stepping in to manage a Premier League team outside of London. The reception gets chiller when it’s apparent that he hasn’t bothered to read up on the terminology, regulations or nuances behind England’s beautiful game. Fortunately for Ted, his long-time sidekick, Coach Beard, has done his homework and is ready to help. Emily—unlucky duck—does not have a Coach Beard. What she does have is a foreign posting thrown at her unexpectedly (after her Chicago boss discovers she’s pregnant), which leaves her no time to learn French, and, in turn, clinches her ostracization as the unseemly American corporate shill. 

Emily In Paris Season 2
Getty ImagesEmily Cooper, the “unseemly American corporate shill” at the office.

Despite their varying circumstances, Emily and Ted share an identical coping mechanism: They cling to optimism and kindness while never quitting and persevering against the odds. The characters are the same; the difference is in audience perception. To the peanut gallery, Emily doesn’t deserve to live in the same atmosphere as Ted—forget sharing award categories.

This creates a dangerous double standard. The unavoidable conclusion is that optimism in a man is not only charming, but radical, as the Peabody Awards jury breathily claimed about Ted, while dismissing optimism in a woman as mislabelled vapidity. One might further interpret Emily’s resolve as arrogance (and the critics do), while congratulating Ted for compensating holes in knowledge with blind determination. 

The incredible lightness of Emily Cooper deserves acceptance. Yes, she needs to experience a little personal growth; I hope season 2 offers her that. But if it doesn’t, my jaw won’t drop. Like the 58 million households around the world that binged the series in the first 28 days of airing (making it Netflix’s most popular comedy series of 2020!), I will suspend reality and be whisked away into a world where a pretty woman can smile and look on the bright side without being considered simple. 

Before Jason Sudeikis fans begin building glitter bombs with my name on them, relax. I like Ted. In fact, he’s my inspiration for ending the bullying of dear Emily.

This holiday season, extend the spirit of giving to Emily in Paris. Hear Emily when she says, “I’m just finding my way” or “I’ve spent my entire life wanting to be liked”—and give her a chance. Take a page from the beloved Ted Lasso: “Be curious, not judgmental.” Ponder Emily’s obsessive over-preparedness. Could it be high-functioning anxiety trying to control outcomes? But above all, suspend reality and give her the benefit of the doubt—as audiences do for Ted. That, and loosen your Gucci double G belt a little and stop suggesting Emily change the way she dresses. Since when is not assimilating considered a flaw?

Happy holidays, Emily—here’s to not being dumped on in 2022!

 

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