“Emily in Paris” showrunner answers burning questions about major season 4 plot twists — and that lube scene

Plus, what it all means for part 2, which streams on Netflix Sept. 12.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Emily in Paris season 4 part 1.

Oh là là: From breakups, to makeups, to big job shakeups, part 1 of Emily in Paris season 4 had it all.

First things first: After airing out all of the lies, secrets, and grievances between herself, Alfie, and Gabriel, Emily finally has a moment — at a masquerade ball, no less — to choose between the two suitors, and seemingly chooses Gabriel. Alfie confesses his true feelings to a woman dressed like Emily, but later realizes his masked mistake when he sees the real Emily and Gabriel together, and leaves the ball in a huff of rejection.

All season long, Camille's pregnancy complicates things for both Gabriel and Emily's fledgling relationship and Camille's relationship with Sofia, the latter of whom eventually leaves her to go back to Greece. By the end of part 1, though, that complication evaporates when Camille learns that she was, in fact, never pregnant to begin with, having had a false-positive test. Gabriel throws a party when he learns that he was never actually up for a Michelin star (turns out Luc's girlfriend, Marianne, was lying about still being a Michelin inspector), and Camille has the opportunity to reveal that baby news, but chooses to keep it to herself.

On the work side of things, Mindy and the band are prepping for Eurovision, and Mindy's relationship with Nicolas is put to the test when his dad gets embroiled in a #MeToo scandal, which is exposed by none other than his former employee, Sylvie. Julien leaves Sylvie and the team, but eventually makes his way back into the fold by part 1's end. Oh, and Agence Grateau gets a skincare client, whom they later learn is actually using lube in their product — because of course they are.

Related: Emily in Paris season 4 preview teases Emily's major choice between Gabriel and Alfie

Ahead, Emily in Paris showrunner Darren Star breaks down all of part 1's biggest moments and teases what it could all mean for part 2, which debuts on Netflix Sept. 12.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First things first — most important question of the day — did you actually use lube on everyone's faces in the skincare scene? What was it?

DARREN STAR: Oh my God, I don't remember. But that was actually a storyline that went around for a while that we finally got to do, and I thought it was so, so much fun. No, I don't think it was actually lube, but I will tell you though, that we filmed it at Galeries Lafayette, where they actually were selling lube. They had a whole section of sexual lubricant, at Galeries Lafayette, so, there you go. But I'm certain it was not that, it was just something very slick and shiny.

This season had a masquerade ball, which is just so absolutely perfect for Emily in Paris. Be honest, how long were you wanting to do a masquerade and why did it take so long to do?

It's something that's been bouncing around for a long time, it's true. And we had the opportunity to do it in the Baccarat mansion, which is so beautiful. It's such a classic, historical French idea of the masquerade ball in a chateau that, yes, we wanted to find the right time and the right reason to do it. And all the stars aligned with Baccarat as well [this season].

Related: Emily in Paris is the very silly show we need right now: Review

On a more serious note, the biggest reveal from part 1 is that Camille learns she was never pregnant. When you first drafted the pregnancy storyline back in season 3, did you always know this was where it was headed?

We talked about it a lot. We went through a lot of iterations of it, and ultimately this felt like the most Emily in Paris version of the story. And also just we wanted to carry the stakes of it as long as possible, and we certainly did the research to make sure we had it all backed up, which we did.

We see Gabriel celebrate the fact he's not up for a Michelin star — does he not want that anymore, or was he just blowing off steam?

I think at that point it was really just feeling the pressure was off after everything and swallowing that awful disappointment and turning it around to something — like, okay, great, I don't have to carry this sort of pretentious pastry chef [persona] and deal with the pressures involved. I think he felt like he, through the whole first episodes, was just trying to jump through so many hoops to try to get this sort of external validation.

Alfie disappears in those final few episodes after learning that Emily is back with Gabriel — where did he get off to?

Alfie, I will just say, comes back in part 2. He's not gone. I'll tease that.

Tell me about Sylvie's big #MeToo moment and what that means for her moving forward.

The seeds were planted last season when she had lunch with him and referenced it. And I felt like that was something that Sylvie was willing to sweep under the rug as part of her past. But I think when she realized that it wasn't the past, that it was something that was still ongoing and affecting other people, that she had a responsibility to make her voice heard. And I don't think it's something she was jumping up and down to do it right away, either. I think it really was something that she had to reconcile with and also understand what the cost would be to her personally and professionally. And it has a cost.

Related: Emily in Paris showrunner breaks down season 3 twists and Eurovision hopes for season 4

Part 1 seemed to pave the way for Gabriel and Emily to finally be together. How can we expect their relationship to develop in part 2, now that the baby is no longer a factor?

It's complicated. They do get a wonderful moment by episode 5, where they really express their feelings and we really see where they're at. But I think the relationship, it has complications. And also I think that as any relationship gets past that initial major infatuation period, there's some reality to it that sort of hits them.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.