Gabriel is missing from most of Emily in Paris season 5 — but what caused Lucas Bravo‘s onscreen absence?
Netflix released season 5 on Thursday, December 18, with Gabriel briefly visiting Rome before returning to Paris. He became frustrated by his restaurant and ultimately took a new job opportunity that required him to work on a boat far from everyone else. Later in the season, Gabriel resurfaced briefly to offer Emily (Lily Collins) some advice before leaving again in what appeared to be a goodbye scene.
“We want to go on a journey,” director and executive producer Andrew Fleming exclusively told Us Weekly. “At no point was Luke ever leaving the show permanently.”
Fleming clarified why Bravo, 37, wasn’t around as much as usual. “He did have a commitment. He had a movie that he was doing,” he noted. “So we worked around that.”
In the final scene of the season, viewers see Gabriel writing a letter to Emily where he made his feelings for her known. He invited her to visit him in Greece, which left the hit Netflix series on a cliffhanger about the fan-favorite couple’s future.
“He’s important. He’s part of the DNA of the show,” Fleming explained to Us. “When he and Emily are in a scene together, something undefinable happens. They have this chemistry. They do. There’s just something about the two of them that’s very watchable.”
He continued: “Looking ahead, they’re part of each other’s journey. Who is to say who Emily is going to end up with, but Emily and Gabriel are going to interact with each other. Stuff is going to happen [but] I really can’t say anything about what’s going to happen next season.”
Bravo has captivated audiences as Gabriel since Emily in Paris premiered in 2020. The show follows an American named Emily (Collins) who moves to Paris for a job and ends up in numerous love triangles with Gabriel.
Fans were previously worried about Gabriel’s future on the show after Bravo teased his absence in promotional material.
“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 joked about his fate on screen, adding, “I don’t know. I’m not in it.”
More recently, Bravo got brutally honest about certain “objectifying” interactions with Emily in Paris fans.
During a December episode of the “Chicks in the Office” podcast, Bravo reflected on his experience being recognized in public, saying, “People don’t freak out over me. It’s an idea we have with fame and everything but I think what you project is what you get. If you don’t invite people in — with your social media for example — then when I run into people on the street, they are very respectful.”
Bravo noted that most of his run-ins with fans have been pleasant.
“They connect with my work and they recognize me but they talk to me like you would talk to a person you don’t know,” he explained. “That makes a huge difference because then I am not overexposing myself on socials. There is no freaking out.”
Bravo was asked if he was ever treated as if he is his character, to which he replied, “No but sometimes there’s that thing that people do that I really [don’t enjoy].” He clarified that “respect is very important” to him when meeting people.
“You should always treat people with respect no matter what you are going through,” he shared. “Some people don’t do it on purpose but they point at me and say, ‘Emily in Paris’ in the middle of the street. They startle me and I am like, ‘What am I? Who am I? What is my name?’”
Bravo concluded: “I don’t want to be the guy who asks them what my name is but it is a bit objectifying.”
Emily in Paris is currently streaming on Netflix.
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