Emily in Paris Season 5 Questions Answered After the Proposal, Final Twist

Season 5 of Emily in Paris they pushed the boundaries – and surprised audiences with shocking twists on screen.

During a special interview with Us Weeklydirector Andy Fleming broke down the big scenes of the new season, which premiered on Thursday, December 18. As the latest installment took the cast from Paris to Rome to Venice, more scenes were filmed out of order than before.

“It is my job to remind the actors where we have been, where they came from and where they are going.” That’s my responsibility,” Fleming noted. “We shot a lot out of order for various reasons and it just worked out for me. But every scene is great.”

The Netflix series, which debuted in 2020, originally focused on Emily’s (Lily Collins) from the US to France, and the challenges that come with that. Emily subsequently finds herself caught in a love triangle (Lucas Bravo) between Gabriel and Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), but the situation changed drastically by the time season 5 came to an end.

Emily and Gabriel’s attempt to give their love a chance ended as quickly as it began. He then continued with Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) but that experienced its ups and downs. Alfie, on the other hand, finds an unexpected connection with Mindy (Ashley Park).

“[With the relationships on the show, I just look at each scene independently,” Fleming explained. “I’m really trying to bring out the layers because all of their relationships are so complicated. What I’m always trying to do is keep in mind where they’ve been on the journey.”

He continued: “There’s a lot of kind of reacquainting everybody with the timeline of their relationships because it is complicated.”

Keep scrolling for the biggest insight into season 5:

How ‘Emily in Paris’ Compares to ‘Emily in Rome’

“The show really is about Emily’s relationship with Paris. So she kind of has to discover what Paris means to her by going other places,” Fleming shared. “She’s always going to come back to Paris. But we did a lot in Italy. We did four episodes in Rome and then five in Paris and then one in Venice. So half of the season took place outside of France, which was kind of a lot for us.”

Emily found herself at a crossroads throughout the season.

“She’s wondering if this is going to be her new life. Work is always a challenge but Rome is very much about romance,” he continued. “Also, Marcello plays a big part in this season, and Eugenio is amazing. We gave him a lot more to do this season and he’s really so good at it. He really stepped up massively and really dove into this character.”

Finding Ways to Elevate Emily’s Fashion

It wouldn’t be Emily in Paris without the main character’s attire getting its own moment.

“Her look is very different than previous seasons. It isn’t about one splashy look. It’s about her dressing in a more sophisticated, more European way. She’s trying to really feel herself and grow up a little bit emotionally — but also in terms of her the way she’s dressing,” Fleming noted. “She’s having a Posh Spice moment and that’s really what’s happening. It looks good on her.”

How the Pope News Affected Season 5

While Emily in Paris was filming season 5, Rome was adjusting to the death of Pope Francis before Pope Leo XIV was chosen as his successor.

“It was amazing to be there when that was happening. We were there through the whole gamut. We were there when the previous Pope died when the conclave was formed, when he got elected and when he was consecrated as the new Pope,” the executive producer recalled. “We were there — really there — for the whole process. It was amazing. So many people came to the city. It got very congested but Rome was already congested. It was much more exciting and interesting than any kind of problem for us.”

Bringing Mindy’s Musical Moments to Life

“I would say that was maybe the biggest challenge — the musical moment with Mindy singing ‘Espresso’ because with the boat, we shot that in one location. When she’s stepping off the boat, we shot that in a second location. When she’s walking into the party, that was a third location,” Fleming shared. “It was a matter of choreographing that number. But we were shooting those three things on three different days in three different places. So it was there was a lot to keep track of.”

The Technicality of Emily’s Horseback Riding Date

According to Fleming, Emily’s date with Marcello included “stunt doubles and these amazing horses that have worked in movies.”

Related: What to Know About ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 5

Emily in Paris shook things up by having their main character leave France — but what comes next? The Netflix series, which debuted in 2020, originally centered around Emily’s move from the U.S. to France, and the challenges that come with that. Emily (Lily Collins) subsequently found herself caught in a love triangle (Lucas Bravo) […]

Creates a July 4th date for Emily and Jake

There was also the launch of Bryan GreenbergJake is known as an American who works at the Embassy in Paris. Emily got to celebrate the 4th of July in style – with a detour that led the pair to visit their American snack bar.

“There were a lot of cool people who read for that part, but Bryan was funny and good-looking and had something very American,” Fleming said. “I visited the American Embassy in France and I saw things and I was inspired. We were creating our own and that market was our creation. It was a huge task to get a lot of American products in this small set. We created that set – I don’t even know how many hundreds of products – but it took months and months of calling each company and sending something. The art department really succeeded in that situation.

Water Sequence Problems

Marcello’s effort to put together his first fashion show took a lot of work behind the scenes.

“That was the most complicated sequence we’ve ever done in a show. You can’t just go in and flood a piazza in Venice, they won’t let you. We had to find a place where we could build a water reservoir in just one part of the piazza. The real route for it, that was real water,” said the director. “But some of it is digital. That’s a whole other challenge. But I will say that more work went into that sequence than any other sequence in all five seasons of the show.”

How Mindy’s Proposal Happened in Season 5

“That was the challenge that day with the four characters and the proposal and the lucky reversal in the gondola. I was really nervous about it but it went really well,” Fleming told us. “What we did was we put this camera in the gondola and put the actors in. They just went on their own.”

He concluded: “I had a small monitor and I would run alongside it. But I think they liked it because they were independent from us. They had to be on time all the time. But it was quite a process.”