The actress tells TheWrap how embracing the “grey area” guides Emily’s Episode 3 decision and teases an even more “complicated” Part 2.

Note: This story discusses spoilers for “Emily in Paris” Season 4 Part 1.

After four seasons of anticipation and sparks flying between Emily and Gabriel, “Emily in Paris” gives fans what they want in Season 4, with star Lily Collins saying their fire “finally” gets to burn.

“Five years and four seasons later, you’re finally having the exploration of something that the spark was there from day one between the two characters,” Collins told TheWrap. “You want to continue to have … the complications in the relationships there. You want to continue with the humor, but you also want to show a real love between the two of them that feels unrequited, and then, finally, the fire gets to burn.”

After Camille (Camille Razat) officially ended it with Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) in the “Emily in Paris” Season 3 finale after Camille’s truth-bomb exposed Emily and Gabriel’s feelings for one another, Season 4 sees Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) break up with Emily, and Emily and Gabriel find themselves tip-toeing around each other once again. That is, until Gabriel steps up and makes his move during Episode 3’s masquerade party.

While Alfie had also somewhat opened the door to getting back together, Emily takes a leap and goes with Gabriel in a decision Collins says combines timing and Emily’s acceptance of “the grey area,” which she embraces in both her professional and personal life this season.

“I think she finally understands that maybe the timing is aligning and these feelings are so strong, and she’s had that kind of door open at the end of last season,” Collins said. “It’s not even to say that it’s the end game … It’s honestly her just saying, ‘I would be remiss to not explore these feelings, and let’s try. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, and if it does work, then it does work.’ But like being OK not knowing — that is new for Emily.”

As Emily accepts a dance with Gabriel during the masquerade ball and lets herself lead with her feelings, the crowd around them vanishes in a moment EP and director Andy Fleming says visually manifested the romantic moment between them.

“The … moment of so much longing over such a long period of time, and then suddenly being with that person 100%, it’s very, very romantic,” Fleming told TheWrap. “I loved the way that sequence came out. It was a lot of fun to do that … It was kind of intense — it was a very technical thing. They had to dance a lot for a long time, many takes, but they were great about it.”

Below, Collins reveals her hopes that Emily doesn’t “flip-flop” romantic pursuits and previews an even more “complicated” Part 2 as relationship dynamics between the main trio shift again.

Season 4 picks up after Gabriel and Camille’s disastrous wedding. What is Emily’s game plan for dealing with this fallout and navigating her relationships with Camille, Alfie and Gabriel? 

She really values and respects Camille and her friendship, and once she hears about the baby, her focus is just making sure that Camille is comfortable and feels good about where she’s at, so if that means that Emily takes a step back from exploring feelings, she will but if Camille gives her the go ahead, she may lean into the timing of all of this and actually see what it’s like to express those feelings and live out what she’s only imagined.

With Alfie, she respects him so much and really has a lot of strong feelings for him and he for Emily, but they also respect each other enough to understand that if it’s not what’s supposed to be, then they should let each other make that decision and kind of lean into what’s healthier. I really love how it’s navigated in the first episode; you can see that Alfie really cares for Emily, but he also cares for himself, and he wants to read the he reads the room, and he takes his cue. I think that’s a very strong, bold and vulnerable, beautiful thing to see a man understand and digest that with grace and elegance.

Why does Emily chose to go for it with Gabriel without that formal go ahead from Camille?

It’s about time that Emily makes some version of a choice, and be okay with the repercussions of that choice. We really do see Emily this season pitching the idea of embracing the grey area, but genuinely realizing that the grey area in and of itself is an option. She’s been so used to seeing things as black and white, or just Option A and Option B, and then just living in this uncomfortable in-between, whereas actually the in between is a choice, and you can be okay not knowing what’s going to happen. As soon as she embraces that space she then can be open to an opportunity coming up that feels right to her.

We also find out that Alfie did make a move on someone he thought was Emily. What do you think would’ve happened if Alfie hadn’t gotten her confused? Is this the last we’ll see of Alfie?
It’s not the last we’ll see of Alfie. He works with Emily, so they have to interact as well. I don’t actually know what would have happened if he kissed the right Emily. I feel like, for once, Emily really is dedicated to trying to express these emotions with Gabriel and too much was said to not explore it. I would like to think that Emily makes a decision, sticks to it, instead of flip-flopping so quickly again, I think she’s matured a little bit more than the previous seasons and in that maturity, there’s a new vulnerability that we see in her. If she’s going to finally make that decision to explore things with Gabrielle, I would like to think that she would stick to that, at least with the first few episodes.

How did you balance Emily and Gabriel’s relationship with other parts of the show?

Emily is also killing it at work; there’s things going on with Mindy. There’s so much more with the storylines to explore that you don’t want it to take over the entire thing. You want to make sure that we are finally giving an audience this moment to embrace the two of them together and at the same time honoring the storylines that are separate, like Gabriel and his Michelin star and Emily and work and Emily and Mindy. We just really wanted to make sure that it stayed dynamic, though, and that there was a reality and a vulnerability to the new relationship, and that comes with highs and lows and arguments and beautiful romantic moments and all of the above.

Camille and Sofia also break up by the end of Part 1. How can we expect Camille being single again might impact Emily and Gabriel?

It’s complicated, but I think that communication and honesty are key, and we do talk a lot about communication in the second half. Emily’s becoming more comfortable and feeling more safe in her environments, just by nature of being in Paris longer and knowing these people on a deeper level, and so all of the complications that come definitely require direct communication, and sometimes that’s uncomfortable, but as long as it’s done with an empathy, a grace and a kindness, you — meaning the characters — really can’t be responsible for the reactions. Sometimes the reactions are good, sometimes they’re bad, and I think that we watch them navigate those and sometimes we’re happy for the characters, and sometimes we’re sad for them, and but that’s just life.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“Emily in Paris” Season 4 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 will debut on Sept. 12.