EMILY IN PARIS & ENOLA HOLMES

“Emily in Paris” hooks viewers with addicting plot line and romantic setting

BY ROSALIE DEGENHART assistant editor

“Emily in Paris,” a new Netflix original series, has all the components of a well-crafted TV show. It has romance, comedy, drama and worthwhile characters set in the extraordinary city of Paris. Emily Cooper, the show’s namesake, is the ultimate Heather. She has a successful job, moves to Paris for that job, wears the cutest and most unforgettable clothing, and meets the handsomest men in the city of love. She is bold, creative, and her love for her job makes you eager to see what she’ll accomplish next.

Moving from Chicago to Paris, Emily’s job is to give an American perspective on how to promote the luxurious French marketing firm, Savoir, through social media; she is in charge of coming up with creative and modern ways to promote products. Her vivacity makes her likable to the friends she makes in Paris, Camille, Mindy, Gabriel and work friends Julien and Luc, but her boss at Savoir, Sylvie, is not a fan with Emily’s presence and doesn’t want her American input. Eventually, stubborn Sylvie learns to tolerate Emily as Emily’s social media strategies build up the success of Savoir.

Through the span of ten episodes, Emily comes in contact with a variety of people. When she first arrives in Paris, she meets her neighbor named Gabriel, who lives on the floor below her apartment. Gabriel and Emily have obvious romantic tension when they first meet, and I shipped them immediately because they looked so cute together. Then, Emily meets

Mindy, a nanny who moved from China to escape her family’s predestined future. Mindy is brutally honest, but extremely funny, and acts as Emily’s moral compass and gives her advice on how to persevere through the new, intimidating French society and culture. Camille is Emily’s kindest, happiest and most loving friend and character in the entire show, and I couldn’t help but love her. Emily and Camille are the ultimate dynamic duo, but something creates a silent drift between them that remains a central problem throughout the show. The personalities of the characters and their relationships with Emily are so entertaining they make you want to watch it all in one night, like I did, because it is addicting to see what unfolds in the relationships.

All of the characters in “Emily in Paris” are casted perfectly. Lily Collins plays Emily with sophistication, sass, and style. Her beauty and generosity off screen is shown in her role as Emily; casting Collins was the best choice, for her superb acting brought the show to life. Julien and Luc, played by Samuel Arnold and Bruno G, are quirky with their witty and comical qualities. Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu plays Sylvie with the exact amount of sternness and disagreeableness that keeps Emily’s job complicated. Lucas Bravo plays Gabriel with charm and sweetness, qualities that make Emily (and the viewers) fall for him more and more as the series progresses. Overall, all of the characters contribute a unique aspect to the show that keeps it interesting to the viewers.

Though the character romances and drama kept me really hooked on the series, the luxury of the Paris life was intriguing. The charming cafes and fashionable clothing made me long for a European vacation during this pandemic. The show was modern with Emily’s job as a social media promoter, and she’s around such rich people that it’s almost too good to be true. I mean, her job is a dream; she works in Paris, eats delicious food at luxurious restaurants, meets the most handsome men, and posts on Instagram to make a living. Not to mention, she has an instagram account called “Emily in Paris” that goes viral. Her life is irresistible. This is a series that should be on everyone’s Netflix list. It has drama, romance, and comedy, everything needed for a balanced TV show.

“Enola Holmes” offers new young adult take on “Sherlock Holmes” BY TREVOR FRAHM reporter

Sherlock Holmes has always been one of my favorite fictional characters and because of this I went into “Enola Holmes” with relatively high expectations. Being released on Netflix at the end of September “Enola Holmes,” following the titular character of Enola the younger sister to the already famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

The movie aims to be a young adult take on a Sherlock like story. The result left me disappointed in most regards due to the movie, for the most part, not resembling even the atmosphere of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. That being said the movie is not without its own merits albeit hidden behind bad pacing and a convoluted plot.

Though being convoluted is often used advantageously in mystery movies “Enola Holmes” is not your standard mystery. Instead of following one central mystery, the movie follows two largely unrelated ones, the disappearance of Enola’s mother and an attempted political assassination.

The two overarching mysteries of the movie have different starting points, conclusions, and motivate Enola in different ways. The first mystery has very little importance to the plot outside of an inciting incident for Enola because even when solved it didn’t end with a satisfying conclusion. And since it takes up a solid half of the movie it takes away from the other half of the movie that has a very separated plot and characters.

Despite the fact that the plot is unarguably cluttered, the movie had an interesting and unique character. Enola can sometimes come off as annoying, like when she breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience whilst the world moves on without noticing, but through the great acting of Millie Bobby Brown she comes through as genuinely lik-

able.

Furthermore Enola Holmes never feels like just a younger female Sherlock, but her own character with her strengths and weaknesses. Enola doesn’t have the experience that Sherlock has in detective work and they have noticeable different ways of solving the same mysteries.

Ultimately, “Enola Holmes” is no Sherlock, but it didn’t have to be. The sloppy pacing keeps it from being a recommendation for everyone, but it’s a fun enough young adult film. With its initial release being on Netflix it makes for a nice movie night. If you’re watching for Henry Cavil’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, you’re better off looking up clips online.

INSIDER PICKS

BEST APP Among Us

This game has broken the internet, and rightfully so. Players work together as a crew on a spaceship, with one or more imposters among them. The imposter’s goal is to kill off the crew without getting caught, and the crew’s goal is to complete all their tasks. This game is very entertaining and exciting, as players are on the edge of their seats at all times.

BEST FOLLOW

@wawawiwacomics This Instagram account posts wholesome comics every day. This account is almost guaranteed to brighten up anyone’s day with its cheesy but lovable content.

BEST TWEETS

“Can we please just revert back to the wild west, but like the way its portrayed in

Clint Eastwood movies” junior Cooper Vickers

@pikachoochie

“From working at dq a lot tells you about a person by what they order. If you order a large blizzard I automatically hate you.” junior Bri Rusin

@ bri_rusin