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- Étoile premiered all eight episodes of its first season on Prime Video.
- The first season ends with the New York ballet in upheaval as Cheyenne (Lou de Laâge) resents the return of Nicholas (David Haig), who holds the job she was offered.
- Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino answer all our burning questions about the season 1 finale.
Everything was very much not beautiful at the ballet.
The first season of Étoile jeté’d on to Prime Video on Thursday, plunging viewers into the world of professional ballet in New York and Paris. And after a whirlwind of a season, we’re not ready for the curtain to drop without getting some answers.
Cheyenne Toussaint (Lou de Laâge) found herself caught between her new home at the Metropolitan Ballet in New York and her roots in Paris. After accepting Jack Fish’s (Luke Kirby) job offer to be the company’s next artistic director, she watches her dreams fall apart as the company’s former AD, Nicholas Leutwylek (David Haig), makes a miraculous recovery from his stroke.
Prime Video
It doesn’t help that she simultaneously must confront her own mortality after slipping during a performance and that her dance partner and lover, Gael Rodriguez (David Alvarez), broke up with her. So naturally, she chooses to drown her sorrows by hooking up with Jack, even though they both admit to each other that it’s a bad idea (and *surprise* one they’ve tried before).
Meanwhile, Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is furious with Jack for potentially stealing Cheyenne out from under her when they had only agreed to a one-year swap. She’s already in the hot seat with her job as the director of the Paris ballet after a strange opening night that sees American choreographer, Tobias Bell (Gideon Glick), leapt onto the stage to re-choreograph his ballet in the middle of the show.
Philippe Antonello/Prime Video
Seemingly disastrous, the interruption instead goes viral, bringing new audiences to the ballet and potentially saving Geneviève’s job. Her dancers, at least, are happy as Mishi Duplessis (Taïs Vinolo) continues to define herself apart from her mother and welcomes her crush to see her dance.
Meanwhile, Tobias, in the midst of working with dancer Gabin Roux (Ivan du Pontavice), finally gives in to their combustible chemistry and kisses Gabin in front of the entire audience.
While we still don’t know if the show will get a second season, we had to call up co-creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino and put them through some metaphorical barre exercises to find out what might be in store.
Philippe Antonello/Prime Video
AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO: Because it’s the right suggestion. And the great thing about Jack is he’s going to fight it tooth and nail, just like he fought the swap idea. But in the end, the longevity of the company is the most important thing. And it needed something original. It needed the pop of energy. And she’s the future.
DAN PALLADINO: And Geneviève in the first episode was the person that got him out of his lethargy and made him think you have to take some risks. So the decision he makes in episode 8 is not a decision he would’ve made [before]. When we first met him, he was much more conservative. But now Geneviève showed him how to take risks. So he realizes don’t go right down the middle, don’t go with one of the usual names off the list, go with someone who might fail spectacularly, but also might succeed spectacularly. It’s the irony of, Geneviève got him out of his mindset and now he’s doing something that actually crosses against Geneviève and is taking a risk on this sort of fiery woman.
Prime Video
Crispin has been a thorn in Jack’s side all season and he’s a corrupt billionaire. So what are his actual intentions for the theater? Is he just in it for the glory? Does he genuinely care about ballet?
AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO: Yeah, he makes it very clear. He’s one of those guys who, the world can go to hell and h has very few scruples when it comes to actual human beings, but he has a true love of ballet.
After the bizarre success of Tobias’s interruption, does this mean Geneviève might get to keep her job a little longer?
AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO: She might, but then she just lost her lead ballerina that was supposed to come back after a year. So that can’t be good.
DAN PALLADINO: Or did she?
Prime Video
Tobias and Gabin finally kiss. Does that mean they’re a couple going forward? It doesn’t seem like Tobias is maybe that capable of being in a relationship.
DAN PALLADINO: We haven’t really talked about where we would go from here.
AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO: First of all, it depends if we get a second season.
DAN PALLADINO: There is that. But also it depends on whether we take up in the story from where we left off or do we jump ahead in time? We’ll do a cliffhanger at the end, but we don’t necessarily know exactly where it’s going. It’s part of what makes this all still interesting and fascinating for us.
Why does Gael end things with Cheyenne? It feels a little unprompted.
DAN PALLADINO: Oh, really? Because she’s very dismissive of him. I mean, she grabbed him when he was unaware of what was happening. She acted in a cliche way that TV and film dudes sometimes do. But she’s used to having her way and being the one to end it. And she met a man who was strong enough to understand that it was time for him to do that.
AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO: There’s also unfinished business with his ex.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
All episodes of Étoile season 1 are streaming now on Prime Video.
