Lucas Bravo‘s criticism about his character Gabriel’s story on Emily in Paris has made viewers question the show’s plans for him in season 5.
The Netflix series, which debuted in 2020, originally centered around Emily’s (Lily Collins) move from the U.S. to France, and the challenges that came with that. Emily subsequently found herself caught in a love triangle between Gabriel and Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), but the situation changed significantly by the time season 4 concluded.
Emily and Gabriel’s attempt to give their romance a chance ended quite abruptly. From there, Emily moved on with Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) while Gabriel realized that he wanted to fight for her. Emily, however, moved to Rome and appeared to start a future with Marcello.
Off screen, there were concerns about Gabriel’s story line moving forward after Bravo, 37, said there was a “lack of risk” on the show.
“In season 1, there was a lot of me in him. But as they made him kind of unaware of his surroundings, of the dynamic, always victimizing and always being completely lost in translation and oblivious to anything that is happening around him and being manipulated by everyone, it kind of became not fun for me to shoot,” he told IndieWire in October 2024. “Or to see a character I love so much and brought me so much, being slowly turned into guacamole. I really grew apart from him.”
Bravo even hinted that he might step away from Emily in Paris.
“It makes me question if I want to be part of season 5 — because my contract ends at season 4. I really want to see if Gabriel gets back to his fun, cheeky, playful, alive self,” he continued. “Because three seasons playing melancholic, sad, depressed, and lost is not fun anymore. It’s a comedy, everybody is having fun around me, everybody is jumping around, and I’m just slowly sinking into God knows what.”
The actor, however, signed on for season 5 after Netflix renewed the series. It remains unclear how Bravo’s criticism will — or won’t — be addressed. Keep scrolling for what has been teased about Gabriel’s arc:
Gabriel’s Love Life
Creator Darren Star teased whether Gabriel still has a chance with Emily, telling Deadline in September 2024, “I think Gabriel realized that he doesn’t want to let Emily go so easily, and he might have made a big mistake. They certainly had a big fight and a cooling off period. But I think he realized that, by the end of the season, there’s something that he doesn’t want to let Emily go.”
He continued: “I don’t know what that means. Doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be together instantly or ever. I don’t know, but I think he feels there’s unfinished business with the two of them.”
After Bravo’s public criticism, Star told Deadline in June that the drama is “just a misunderstanding.”
“I think he was never intending not to come back,” he added at the time. “Lucas Bravo is going to be back this season, so we have some interesting, surprising developments in terms of [Emily’s] love life.”
Showing Support for the Season 5 Vision
Bravo, for his part, called season 5 “the best” so far,” telling Parade in April, “I had lunch with Darren a few days back, and he told me a bit without telling me too much. I think fans are going to lose it. It’s the craziest one so far.”
Keeping Us in Suspense
After Bravo was missing from the season 5 trailer, the actor teased what to expect.
“I would love to tell you something,” he told E! News in October. “I like the fact that I’m not in the trailer and that it creates a conversation, and I’m gonna keep the conversation running. I won’t say anything.”
Bravo leaned into the questions about whether this hinted at his fate on the show, adding, “I don’t know. I’m not in it.”
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