With a dazzling Parisian backdrop and no shortage of drama, season two of Netflix original “Emily in Paris” was an entertaining winter watch. I wouldn’t necessarily call it substantive television, but it certainly was an enjoyable romantic comedy.

“Emily in Paris” follows American marketing executive, Emily, as she moves to work at her company’s French office. There, she experiences new cultural dynamics, tumultuous romances and endearing friendships. 

Early on, it became evident that the second season was not going to be as good as the first. Where season one’s drama was captivating, if a bit over-the-top, in season two, it was annoying. Plotlines that I had found interesting began to feel dull. However, later in the season, the drama picked up and I started to enjoy the show more.

It was easy to become invested in the cute romantic dynamics in the show. Additionally, the subtle comedic elements were fantastic and a few scenes had me cracking up. It was great mindless fluff.

The setting of the show served as great eye candy. As someone who is minorly obsessed with the city of Paris, it was fun to live vicariously through Emily as she lived there. There was upscale fashion, mouth-watering food and lush scenery.

This season introduced a few new subplots. It showed Emily taking a French class and the various entanglements that she had with her classmates, which added dimension in the sense that it displayed more international perspectives on Paris. Additionally, this season went more in-depth in the connection between the Chicago and Paris offices of Emily’s company, which was somewhat interesting. 

There was one more subplot that I did not know how to feel about. One of the characters, Mindy, joined a band of street artists. In general, it was fun to watch, but there was an element of LGBTQ+ erasure that did not sit well with me. When Mindy first joined the band and raved about how much she loved it, one of the adjectives that she used was “gay.” In general, I’m fine with this, but it set a false expectation that there would be more queer representation in the show.

In the end, one of the two male and supposedly queer characters dated a woman, and they made it clear that he was straight and not under the bisexual umbrella. This would be fine if there was more queer representation, but I can count all of the queer-coded characters in the show on one hand and none of them receive substantial screen time.

In the end, I enjoyed this season. It is exactly what you would expect from a romantic drama, with the idyllic romance “Jane the Virgin” and the lightheartedness of “Gilmore Girls.” I would recommend “Emily in Paris”, but don’t expect to be surprised by the plot twists or intellectually stimulated.