Last week, while being second time lucky with Covid-19, I binge watched Emily in Paris. For desi hearts like us in India, it is the American version of Kangana Ranaut's Queen, only more intense and extravagant. Shot in beautiful locations in France, the premise of the series is quite exciting. Emily re-locates to Paris for work, makes close friends very quickly, meets exceptionally good-looking men who like and woo her, all her posts as a marketing professional go viral, and whatever blunders she makes, don't really last long. Absolutely amazing, right? But is this realistic? Who cares in the OTT world!

Extremely excited, I started watching the series trying to imagine a life that I secretly desire, through Emily's character. However, with each episode, she became annoying. By the end of Season 2, I started hating her, subconsciously enjoyed her little defeats. But why? Then I realized her characteristics, and how I would have hated her if she was in my office.

Trait 1 : Sycophancy

Emily is a classic sycophant in office. While she is Madeline's (the senior executive of the company) favourite in America, she tries her best to become Sylvie's (her boss in Paris) favourite too. Despite being constantly humiliated and shunned by Sylvie, she continues to support and praise her at several occasions.

Trait 2: Weekend Spoiler

She repeatedly claims how she loves to work. She keeps glorifying how work, even during the weekends, makes her life so interesting. Even if the boss signals not to work during weekends, she is more than happy giving away all time for the sake of the organization.

Trait 3: Perfectionist

While she enjoys working, she also comes to office dressed well. She looks smart, slim and pretty. That's alright, but she manages to go for a jog, every single day, despite the amount of stress in her life. She gets up on time, exercises, dresses well, and comes on time for every occasion with the best mood and the most positive attitude. Can you imagine sitting next to this person everyday?

Trait 4: Passive-Aggressive

While trying to show that she is helping, she sabotages a colleague's presentation making the most significant points. In all this, she tries to portray that she is supporting, but never does it without making noise. So, the company gets clients for the accounts someone else handles, but she practically shares the credit.

Trait 5: Centre of Attraction

Every man in the room falls for her - her neighbour, her friend's brother, the main client, the other client's manager, and even the classmate. Practically, every man she meets wants to be with her. While this is okay, one would hate her for all the attention she gets.

Trait 6 : Practical

While she is completely confused about chef Gabriel throughout the series, she is only slightly affected when Mathieu leaves her alone on the train. Instead, the trip planned and funded by Mathieu is converted into a girls' trip. Although she is not directly responsible for this conversion, she is almost fine with it. One will hate her for having so much fun, without any humiliation or feministic values or self-respect poking one in the eye.

Trait 7 : Asking Favours

Throughout the series, she is continuously confusing all the guys around her. Whom does she really love? Nobody knows! But she is okay getting favours from everyone. Whether it's a weekend trip or a huge order for cakes to be delivered overnight, she knows how to get the most from her list of friend-zoned guys. One will hate her for not being able to use people and connections like her.

Trait 8 : Good at Work

Any post that she makes online, will go viral. She finds her way out of any tricky situation. She keeps clicking pictures all day, and puts all the information online through her accounts. She doesn't hesitate to ask favours from people whom she ditched or hurt. She seems perfect for the corporate culture. So, the boss will constantly remind all the office members about her efficiency and spirit.

While Emily makes an extravagant promise of an interesting journey in the beautiful settings of France, she ends up delivering a sneak-peek into contemporary, real characters around us and inside us. Probably, the hatred is because it would be wonderful to be like Emily - extremely selfish, unapologetically practical, beautiful and proper all the time, every single man's fantasy, devoid of brains that make you think, and emotions that mess you up. Mostly dumb and dheeth, but fun!

P.S. Hope you enjoyed reading. Let me know if you know an English word that exactly means 'dheeth'. Thank You.