The third season of Emily in Paris on Netflix offers an impressive coup d’état. No coup… Because, you know, pigeons.
If you have not yet viewed Season 3, Episode 3, “Coup D’état,” you may wish to stop reading to prevent spoilers. If you’re caught up on Sylvie’s complex plan to get her old Savoir office back, then continue reading to hear actor Kate Walsh analyze one of the show’s most hilarious scenes. The event did involve pigeons. The pigeons were indeed real.
“The pigeons were psychotic. We had one trained and one untrained pigeon. Who believes they can operate with pigeons? Not me, Walsh quipped to Decider during a Zoom interview.
In this episode, Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) befriends her former building manager, Henri, in an attempt to get Emily (Lily Collins) and Madeline (Walsh) out of her old office space. So that Emily and Madeline will leave the office, he agrees to treat them “like vermin.” He raises the temperature to an intolerable level and unleashes a pigeon, sending Emily and Madeline into a spin.
Prior to Madeline’s key Zoom meeting with Chicago Gilbert Group officials, the pigeon is expelled from the room after a spirited struggle. But when Madeline phones in to the video chat, she learns she still has the cat filter active from Emily’s pet food advertising pitch and cannot remove it.
While Madeline anxiously attempts to avoid becoming a cartoon kitten, the pigeon returns to wreak havoc on her phone call. After yelling for Emily, using the F-word, and hurling perfectly fine croissants across the room to deal with the turmoil, Madeline’s call ends abruptly, and she is humiliated.
According to promotional materials for Emily in Paris, “the pigeon catastrophe scenario in the Savoir office was inspired by a similar incident that occurred in the writers’ room during Season 1.” And of course, the cat filter gaffe was inspired by the viral video of real-life Texas attorney Rod Ponton, who joined a video chat with a cat filter activated and was unable to disengage it. As the pigeon terrorizes their workspace, Collins and Walsh demonstrate a mastery of physical comedy by screaming, squirming, shooing, and attempting to maintain composure. Walsh stated that filming the scene was just as entertaining as seeing it.
“Alright, the pigeons and the cat filter…
You remember during COVID the cat filter, which was a popular meme. When I originally read the script, I was excited, but I also wondered, “Will this work?” Because it was so amusing in real life with that elderly gentleman, and because it was so hysterical, I’m concerned that this won’t be as funny. But that was so hilarious! “I had a great time filming it,” Walsh remarked.
Momentarily, you may question if that frenzied pigeon is computer-generated. But no. Walsh and Collins utilized actual birds to ensure the authenticity of the scene. “The pigeons were psychotic. We had one trained and one untrained pigeon. Who believes they can operate with pigeons? Not me, laughed Walsh. “But we leaned in, and so did those pigeons. They delivered it. “The pigeons delivered it.”
Walsh continued by stating that she and Collins had “a great time” filming the unique sequence, despite being truly terrified at times. “It was a lot of fun. And Lily was a lot of fun. “It was quite natural, and I believe we both screamed pretty realistically when the wild animal entered the set,” she explained.
The third season of Emily in Paris is now available on Netflix.
»Kate Walsh Analyzes the Funniest Madeline Scene in ‘Emily in Paris’: “The Pigeons Were Insane”«