A ground-breaking show in terms of frank discussions of sex and relationships in the late 1990s, Sex and the City has remained popular today thanks to its sense of humor and relatable characters. The four central women include Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three friends, Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis). As much about their friendship as it is about love and finding yourself, Sex and the City saw these women go through a lot together, but there were a few times when Carrie dropped the ball and was a downright terrible friend.
There are some harsh realities of watching Sex and the City today, and many of these revolve around the characters’ actions and the way they treat each other. Consistently throughout the series, Carrie has no trouble acting selfishly and always centers herself and her relationships over her friends’ problems. While there’s no question that every character on the show had their issues, tallying up how many times Carrie let the others down is staggering. It’s no wonder that And Just Like That…, the recent reboot, has tried to make up for this.
7
Ruining Charlotte’s Engagement To Harry By Talking About Herself
Season 6, Episode 7, “The Post-It Always Sticks Twice”
Easily one of Carrie’s worst boyfriends, Berger (Ron Livingston) exits the series at a low point, leaving Carrie a post-it note breaking up with her after their tumultuous relationship. Unfortunately, the whirlwind breakup coincides with Charlotte’s whirlwind engagement to Harry (Evan Handler), who’s the kind and supportive man Charlotte always needed. It doesn’t take long for Carrie to undermine Charlotte’s happy announcement and make their hangout all about her, stealing Charlotte’s big day.
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The excitement doesn’t end there, as Carrie drags her friends out on the town and ends up getting them in trouble for buying marijuana on the street. While these misadventures end up being more silly than dramatic, witnessing Carrie’s meltdown in public and being incapable of supporting her friend is an unfortunate moment in her relationship with Charlotte. After Charlotte’s divorce, she had been waiting to be swept off her feet again, and she should’ve been able to rely on her friend’s kindness.
6
Carrie Being Rude To Miranda After She Called Her Out On Getting Back With Big
Season 3, Episode 18, “Cock A Doodle Do”
Big (Chris Noth) is a looming presence throughout Sex and the City, and a driving force behind Carrie’s behavior in almost every season. While Miranda has a short fuse and clashes with Carrie often, one of their biggest blowouts was over Big and the effect he has on Carrie. After a disastrous affair and the dissolution of another romantic relationship, Carrie agrees to get lunch with Big again to talk. When she reveals this to Miranda, they both say things they can’t take back.
This isn’t a shining moment for Miranda either, as neither woman is prepared to let these hidden, hurt feelings come to light, but Carrie is a little more in the wrong. She’s asked her friends to put back the pieces of her heart many times because of Big. It’s reasonable that Miranda wouldn’t be happy to hear he’s reentering her life. They both should have been more gentle with how they approached the situation, but it’s clear that Carrie meant to hurt Miranda and lashed out on purpose, whereas Miranda was shocked and her heart was in the right place.
5
Choosing Big Over Miranda And Leaving Her Stranded At Dinner
Season 2, Episode 8, “The Man, the Myth, the Viagra”
Season 2, episode 8 was hardly the first or last time that Carrie would put Big before not just her friends, but her whole world. However, the fact that she had no trouble standing Miranda up on their dinner to let Big cook her veal speaks volumes about the issues that Big would cause in every aspect of Carrie’s life. However, this isn’t to say that Carrie was an innocent bystander in her actions during “The Man, the Myth, the Viagra,” as she willingly canceled on Miranda without bothering to let her know she wasn’t coming to dinner.
Miranda is too good a friend to Carrie to be pushed around like this.
Steve is one of the best love interests in Sex and the City. This makes the blow of Carrie once again choosing Big over their friendship a little softer for Miranda, as Steve turns out to be one of the greatest loves of her life. However, even when Big later shows up for drinks with Carrie and her friends, this doesn’t make up for Carrie’s missteps throughout the episode. It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re in love, but Miranda is too good a friend to Carrie to be pushed around like this.
4
Lying To Charlotte About Her Affair With Big
Season 3, Episode 11, “Running With Scissors”
“Running With Scissors” isn’t just a bad episode for Carrie and Charlotte’s friendship, but one for Carrie as a person. Throughout season 3, Carrie has been having an affair with Big even though she’s committed to Aidan (John Corbett). Of course, she’s been feeling incredibly guilty about lying to her friends and everyone around her. In the tenth and eleventh episodes of the season, Carrie slowly comes clean to her friends, but she can’t quite bring herself to admit what’s going on to Charlotte.
This is because Charlotte’s about to get married, and Carrie knows it will break her heart to learn that she’s been part of an affair with a married man. Charlotte discovers what happens in the worst possible way, running into Carrie and Big at a hotel, realizing just how much Carrie has been keeping from her. After trying to convince herself and Charlotte that she’s going to end things, Carrie makes matters worse, running into Big’s wife and blowing up their affair once and for all, taking many people down in the process.
3
Blowing Up At Charlotte For Not Offering Her A Loan
Season 4, Episode 16, “Ring A Ding Ding”
Charlotte’s wealth and privilege are two of her most defining character traits in Sex and the City. However, while the other characters might not be as generationally wealthy and connected as Charlotte, they certainly are doing fine for themselves. Despite this, Carrie is frequently mismanaging her money and putting herself in difficult situations, as seen in “Ring A Ding Ding” when Aidan finally leaves and offers to let Carrie buy her apartment back from him. Unfortunately, Carrie has nothing close to a down payment.
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Characteristically, Carrie complains about this to her friends, expecting pity and offers of help, which she gets from Samantha and Miranda. However, Charlotte isn’t interested in bailing Carrie out of this situation, and doesn’t pretend to be. Carrie is incredulous that Charlotte won’t help, arriving at her apartment unannounced and yelling at her. It’s not only extremely rude, but it’s something a friend shouldn’t do, especially since this was Carrie’s mess to clean up by herself. Though Charlotte is guilted into helping, it never seemed right that Carrie put her in this position.
2
Judging Samantha For Her Tryst With The Delivery Man
Season 5, Episode 4, “Cover Girl”
Samantha is arguably Sex and the City‘s best main character, as she’s the most open, non-judgmental, and puts aside her personal feelings to help her friends no matter what. Carrie, on the other hand, never struggles to take Samantha for granted and makes sly comments and judgments about her actions whenever possible. This tension comes to a head in “Cover Girl,” when Carrie walks in on Samantha in an intimate position with her delivery man. Though it’s a little surprising for Carrie to see, she spends the rest of the episode shaming her friend for it.
However, Samantha is too strong and sure of herself and her desires to be made to feel bad about who she is. Carrie pretends that she isn’t perturbed by Samantha’s encounter. However, the awkward silences and Carrie’s comments about Samantha’s styling for her photo shoot make Carrie’s feelings clear. Samantha eventually forces Carrie to confront her own prejudices, but not before Carrie does some serious damage to their relationship. For someone who’s supposed to be open and honest about sex, Carrie doesn’t extend this courtesy to Samantha.
1
Sending Aidan To Help Miranda Instead Of Going Herself
Season 4, Episode 7, “Time and Punishment”
Many of Carrie’s worst moments revolve around her putting herself or her romantic interests above the needs of her friends. While this usually manifests in emotionally letting people down, Carrie puts Miranda in a physically vulnerable situation when she sends Aidan to help Miranda instead of coming herself. This is an infamous moment in Sex and the City, and it’s one of the episodes that viewers point to when discussing Carrie’s faults. In the wake of this, Miranda and Carrie have one of their biggest fights, for good reason.
Miranda eventually calls Carrie out on her actions and reprimands her for only talking about Aidan and herself.
Throughout “Time and Punishment,” Carrie is trying to rebuild her relationship with Aidan after cheating on him with Big the previous season, and this clouds her judgment. Miranda calls Carrie to help when she’s injured herself and can’t move, and Carrie won’t reschedule a meeting with her editor, displacing her selfish actions for work responsibilities. Miranda eventually calls Carrie out on her actions and reprimands her for only talking about Aidan and herself, but this was a low point for Carrie on Sex and the City.
|
Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Sex and the City (1998–2004) |
70% |
81% |
9/10
- Release Date
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1998 – 2004-00-00
- Network
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HBO Max
- Showrunner
-
Darren Star
- Writers
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Darren Star
