S01.E04: Some of My Best Friends

[PRgal]

21 minutes ago, Bcharmer said:

Could someone kindly remind me how the show addressed Brady's last name? Is it Brady Brady, or Brady Hobbes?

It's Brady Hobbes.

[Bcharmer]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

It's Brady Hobbes.

Thank you!

[EllenB]

12 hours ago, chaifan said:

Episode 4 does pick up the morning after Episode 3, when Carrie returned to her old apartment.  Carrie is wearing the same outfit that she had on in the end of Episode 3, the bed isn't made, she was sleeping in her clothes.  But her closet is full, which means she's been using it for storage (she hadn't decided to move back yet, so hadn't moved anything), and that's how she was able to change clothes into the crinoline skirt & sweater.  All the stuff in the kitchen is stuff she left there. 

OK, I'll just say that I have a much more cynical take on the semi-recent (last decade or so) trend of realtors all insisting on the "blank slate", having to repaint every room to a neutral, bring in furniture, stage it etc.  It would be one thing if this was limited to high end real estate, but it happens with normal $100,000 suburban houses, too.  I think it's all a racket - that as more people are buying/selling on their own because the internet has made that possible, realtors had to make up for lower sales, lower incomes.  So realtors started this new "neutralizing" business, and get kick backs from the painters, movers, stagers, etc.  (I know some realtors that also own/run these side businesses.)  And, in doing so, they've trained the market that if a listing doesn't look like this it's not worth buying.  The average buyer can visualize their belongings in someone else's normal everyday space, they've been doing it forever.  But now realtors say that's not possible.  Yes, I know staging has existed for a long time, but it used to be the exception, not the rule, at least in "normal" real estate markets (not NYC $10 million apartments).  OK, done with that rant!  😉

When we bought a house in the early 2000s, it had (and still has!) sunny yellow walls, except for the aqua kitchen and pale pink bathroom. It was the only house my husband and I could remember because all the others had white walls and were boring. This one had personality and gave off such a happy vibe.

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, chaifan said:

Episode 4 does pick up the morning after Episode 3, when Carrie returned to her old apartment.  Carrie is wearing the same outfit that she had on in the end of Episode 3, the bed isn't made, she was sleeping in her clothes.  But her closet is full, which means she's been using it for storage (she hadn't decided to move back yet, so hadn't moved anything), and that's how she was able to change clothes into the crinoline skirt & sweater.  All the stuff in the kitchen is stuff she left there. 

OK, I'll just say that I have a much more cynical take on the semi-recent (last decade or so) trend of realtors all insisting on the "blank slate", having to repaint every room to a neutral, bring in furniture, stage it etc.  It would be one thing if this was limited to high end real estate, but it happens with normal $100,000 suburban houses, too.  I think it's all a racket - that as more people are buying/selling on their own because the internet has made that possible, realtors had to make up for lower sales, lower incomes.  So realtors started this new "neutralizing" business, and get kick backs from the painters, movers, stagers, etc.  (I know some realtors that also own/run these side businesses.)  And, in doing so, they've trained the market that if a listing doesn't look like this it's not worth buying.  The average buyer can visualize their belongings in someone else's normal everyday space, they've been doing it forever.  But now realtors say that's not possible.  Yes, I know staging has existed for a long time, but it used to be the exception, not the rule, at least in "normal" real estate markets (not NYC $10 million apartments).  OK, done with that rant!  😉

I don't doubt that it can happen, but I'm sure there was no racket involved in my case.  I know my painter had zero to do with my realtor because I made sure of that.  I've been buying and selling real estate for decades and respectfully disagree about how much imagination buyers have when looking at houses/apartments.  In all of my cases the neutral palette helped my house sell faster.  And the example I gave of what happened with my father's apartment is pretty clear on that point.  I didn't have time and money to waste with co-op maintenance/taxes of over $1,200 a month plus electric to wait for just the right person who could appreciate the place as it was.  Leaving it as-is would have made it take longer to sell.  Because I followed my realtor's advice the apartment sold in only a month, meanwhile other similar non-neutral apartments in the area stayed on the market much longer.  I know because I followed them.

All those unique and (to you) beautiful colors and aspects of a place are too specific to appeal to most buyers.  If they see a blank slate it's better than something specific that they hate.  You may think everyone should love it, but the truth is that most people will not love it if it is not their taste.  A unique place will wait until someone comes along that can appreciate that uniqueness, and that will take longer unless the right buyer just happens to come along right away, but that's like hitting the jackpot.   A colorful mural that is beautiful to you looks hideous and poses more work and expense to remove to someone else.  I don't think realtors suggest the neutral slate just because it's the thing to do or because the market has been trained.  The less unique and more neutral a place is faster it sells.  It's just the way things have always been based on experience.  If you have all the time and money to wait so that just the right buyer comes along that appreciates your decorating, well more power to you, but most people don't want to wait that long.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

This is an interesting take--I will admit, I haaaaaated that Seema insisted on throwing away everything that was unique and special about Big/Carrie's apartment. I say this as someone who personally painted her own apartment and even painted a beach mural all over the bathroom (including the ceiling). And part of me was thinking "maybe when I eventually sell it, the walls will be a selling point!" Because the walls do look gorgeous--I'm no kind of professional artist but my apartment is beautiful. I hate that I might have to erase all that uniqueness when I sell.

Well, it sucks but having to sell something that meaningful to you is going to suck anyway whether someone buys it and leaves it as-is or paints over it.  The chances are way more in favor of the next buyers painting over it.  It's just something to come to terms with.  Not easy but reality.  My parents' apartment was pretty much unchanged for 46 years.  I moved there with them when I was 15.  For me it was like a museum of my life.  Every little thing in it had huge lifelong significance.  Every little knickknack or chair had a story behind it and many memories going back most if not all of my life.  I couldn't keep everything - I don't have the room or the stamina to handle it all.  I was forced to say goodbye to many mementos that I had known my entire life.  There was no way around it.  So I have a different take on this because sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.  You are forced to let go of your former life and let the new owners make the place over to suit their own needs and taste.   I had to see the place cleared out to the four walls and painted beige.  If I wanted to sell the place that's what I had to do.  And so I did it.  And it worked.

My doorman tells me the buyers are still in the process of renovating and he is promising me to send me photos of what it looks like when they are done.  Even if I don't like their taste I will be happy that it means something special to them.

Getting back to the show, it wouldn't surprise me if Carrie ends up renting a storage room to hold mementos that won't fit into her old apartment.  Just on a temporary basis.  We'll see what she does.

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, Roccos Brother said:

One of my biggest qualms with this show is the lack of any growth displayed by the characters. 20 years is a LONG time, it's an entire generation apart. That's 20 years of life experience and newly gained perspective. The writers want to make this a show about older women going through a different stage in their lives, yet they continue to write for them as if they're the same age as when the show ended, and the only changes have been to their external environment. 30 year old Carrie obsessively stalking her husband's ex and walking around in a very impractical giant tulle dress? Very in line with her character. 50 year old Carrie now with more wealth and other things on her plate, still behaving that way? Seems a little strange to me. All those years of stated marital bliss, longer than the time they've spent tumultuously dating, yet you'd never know it from how immature and insecure Carrie still behaves. 

I know, I was complaining about this last week.  It's like the characters are stuck in time 20 years ago.  It's like they were all asleep all that time and just woke up.  This is not what the characters themselves would have turned out like if they were true to themselves.  The writers didn't think through enough about what they would be like years later.  When I think about how I was in my 30s compared to my 50s there's almost no comparison with regard to some things.  These women should all be post-menopausal and that for me was a big change that impacted my entire outlook on life.  What they have done is lazy writing and not realistic. 

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, RedHawk said:

Another reason I dislike her quick move-out and sale of the apartment. Doesn't she want to process her and their memories in that home? Indeed, maybe finish the album collection at her own pace, just to honor him and his taste and how maybe some of his favorites became hers as well?

I hate the quick sale too.  She has the money to hold onto it for a while and process all the stuff and mementos.  Plus it IS true that you shouldn't do anything too hasty when in a crisis.  I had to hold onto my parents' apartment longer than I should have because of the pandemic lockdowns but I think it was a blessing in some ways because I got the time to ready myself for having to sell it and go through everything at a slower pace.  If I didn't do that and just fast-forwarded to clearing the place out and selling it in only a month or so it would have been a lot harder for me.  And I might have felt forced to do that under normal circumstances because of the money it was costing me to keep the place.  But Carrie doesn't have to worry about the money it costs to keep her and Big's apartment.  So I'm wondering if she will regret rushing to get rid of it.  She may even decide to take it off the market when she realizes how she is going to feel about the whole thing.  Let's see if I'm right about that.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Tattooeddancer said:

YES! One home we looked at before we decided to separate for a while had a Starry Starry Night mural painted in the nursery. That would have been my office/library. How could you hate something that so much thought and effort went into?

Does anyone watch HGTV's house hunting shows?  Because 9 times out of 10 the people looking at the houses will absolutely hate murals and have very specific ideas for how they want their rooms to look.  Most notably the kids' rooms painted pink when they have boys, LOL.  Most people these days want to put their own stamp on a place and are not really that open to big splashes of color, unless they are the ones choosing the color.  Young people think some of the stuff older people love looks dated and tired.  Carrie and Big's apartment as-is may appeal to some middle-aged and older buyers but the realtor was right that the colors were too dark.  Right now everything is light, airy and bright and people with that much money looking to buy want a place that already looks in style that way.  It just looks like too much work with all that heavy wallpaper and stuff and harder to imagine how it might look if done differently.  

[Toodleoo]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Does anyone watch HGTV's house hunting shows?  Because 9 times out of 10 the people looking at the houses will absolutely hate murals and have very specific ideas for how they want their rooms to look.  Most notably the kids' rooms painted pink when they have boys, LOL.  Most people these days want to put their own stamp on a place and are not really that open to big splashes of color, unless they are the ones choosing the color.  Young people think some of the stuff older people love looks dated and tired.  Carrie and Big's apartment as-is may appeal to some middle-aged and older buyers but the realtor was right that the colors were too dark.  Right now everything is light, airy and bright and people with that much money looking to buy want a place that already looks in style that way.  It just looks like too much work with all that heavy wallpaper and stuff and harder to imagine how it might look if done differently.  

 

When I was house hunting a couple of decades ago, one of the houses under consideration had a huuuuge banana plant/trompe l'oeil mural that went from the kitchen to the living room. It was an instant turnoff and whenever I drive by that house that…thing…immediately comes to mind.

Loved the Big/Carrie apartment decor, though. 

Someone mentioned the sweet instrumental version of Hello, It’s Me and I would love to get my hands on it, but suspect it was just done for the show. It was a nice touch.

 

[RedHawk]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

All those unique and (to you) beautiful colors and aspects of a place are too specific to appeal to most buyers.  If they see a blank slate it's better than something specific that they hate.  You may think everyone should love it, but the truth is that most people will not love it if it is not their taste.  A unique place will wait until someone comes along that can appreciate that uniqueness, and that will take longer unless the right buyer just happens to come along right away, but that's like hitting the jackpot.   A colorful mural that is beautiful to you looks hideous and poses more work and expense to remove to someone else.  I don't think realtors suggest the neutral slate just because it's the thing to do or because the market has been trained.  The less unique and more neutral a place is faster it sells.  It's just the way things have always been based on experience.  If you have all the time and money to wait so that just the right buyer comes along that appreciates your decorating, well more power to you, but most people don't want to wait that long.

And that (bolded text) is why I hate seeing staged places and much prefer empty spaces. I need to see the actual size of the room and envision my own furnishings or what I might need to purchase, not the trendy furnishings of today or fake books on the bookshelves (replacing the record collection) like at Big's apartment. I also want to be able to spot things like how many electrical outlets there are without having to look behind furniture.

Edited December 28, 2021 by RedHawk

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

[Tiggertoo]

I’m just so glad I can come here and read some critiques and praise for the show.  I have one friend who I cannot discuss it with.  She won’t hear one bit of criticism about anything in the show.  And I know I am irritating her.  I said the last episode was much better.  Miranda wasn’t an idiot, and very little Che.  Even that was too critical for her.  So thank you all.

[Ms Blue Jay]

26 minutes ago, Tiggertoo said:

I’m just so glad I can come here and read some critiques and praise for the show.  I have one friend who I cannot discuss it with.  She won’t hear one bit of criticism about anything in the show.  And I know I am irritating her.  I said the last episode was much better.  Miranda wasn’t an idiot, and very little Che.  Even that was too critical for her.  So thank you all.

Hahahahahahaha one of my friends said she's enjoying it too and I was so surprised!

[PRgal]

14 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Hahahahahahaha one of my friends said she's enjoying it too and I was so surprised!

Same.  One woman, as I said earlier, has been so sucked into DE&I that she's going on and on about the show's diversity.  Another is a blogger, so she never writes anything negative as she's worried she'd lose endorsements.

[slowpoked]

I re-watched the episode again and my husband saw parts of it. He observed that it feels to him that this is not only goodbye to some characters (Big, Samantha, Stanford), but also goodbye to the three women's constant companionship. Each one of them is branching out to their own, separate circle of friends, which probably only means they're spending less and less time with each other. 

Since I've been also re-watching SATC, I noticed that when the four women do "venture" out to other people, it's always been to men. I think only Carrie (Stanford) and Charlotte (Anthony) were shown to have other friends that they semi-regularly hang out with. Haven't seen anyone else, so far, or that I can remember, with Samantha and Miranda. Which sort of makes sense, since they're all single and actively dating. But now that they have all adult lives, it's just natural to gravitate towards others whose lifestyles are more similar to them, and therefore, can relate more. 

[Surrealist]

Unless, for Carrie, selling off her and Big's condo is the type of closure she needs.

I'm not suggesting she wants to forget about him, but being in their place wasn't really helping her healing process. I do think it'll really hit her later, maybe. Everyone processes grief differently.

I'm not sure I would want to stay in the shared housing for too long either.

[funnygirl]

1 hour ago, Tiggertoo said:

I’m just so glad I can come here and read some critiques and praise for the show.  I have one friend who I cannot discuss it with.  She won’t hear one bit of criticism about anything in the show.  And I know I am irritating her.  I said the last episode was much better.  Miranda wasn’t an idiot, and very little Che.  Even that was too critical for her.  So thank you all.

If you can't say something nice, come sit next to me! 

[Artsda]

On 12/23/2021 at 5:55 PM, Harvey said:

 

Yup yup. Do you guys remember the episode where Charlotte participates in a dog show? In that one it is mentioned that she comes from a blue blood family - which is also used as a reasoning for why she did good in the competition.

Yes, it was stated somewhere she was Old Greenwich Connecticut money. 

 

[SunnyBeBe]

As I watched this I kept thinking…..what happened to Miranda?  That’s so unlike how Charlotte would be today.  The writers don’t have a feel for the characters.  It’s sad. I feel like the writers have betrayed the characters.  I guess it’s better than nothing, but maybe not.

 I still want an explanation for that dress Charlotte wore to that dinner party.  🥴

[slowpoked]

35 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

As I watched this I kept thinking…..what happened to Miranda?  That’s so unlike how Charlotte would be today.  The writers don’t have a feel for the characters.  It’s sad. I feel like the writers have betrayed the characters.  I guess it’s better than nothing, but maybe not.

 

You know, I really felt bad for Miranda's character in that dinner with her professor. I know the topic was about motherhood, but never once did she mention Steve. Maybe something to the tune of "Motherhood is difficult, but Steve has been a great father, so that helped a lot."

It's really disconcerting how MPK would suddenly retcon Miranda and Steve's marriage that is something borne out of need - Miranda got pregnant - rather than true love. Miranda was a single mom for awhile, and even turned down Steve's proposal when Steve found out she was pregnant. Then she eventually dated hot Blaire Underwood. Steve was also in  his own relationship. They eventually realized they loved each other, and was each other's "the one." It was even more romantic than Big and Carrie's eventual reunion. 

And my God, this is Miranda - the most cynical, practical, "make a list of pros and cons and argue her way" woman out of the four. It was very refreshing to see her soften up over the years, and for MPK to reduce all of that to a sad wife, ugh. It's just hard to watch because she was my favorite among the four. 

[luna1122]

8 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

 

It's really disconcerting how MPK would suddenly retcon Miranda and Steve's marriage that is something borne out of need - Miranda got pregnant - rather than true love. Miranda was a single mom for awhile, and even turned down Steve's proposal when Steve found out she was pregnant. Then she eventually dated hot Blaire Underwood. Steve was also in  his own relationship. They eventually realized they loved each other, and was each other's "the one." It was even more romantic than Big and Carrie's eventual reunion. 

 

This. Miranda's arc and this retcon is the worst part of the reboot for me. Couoles do change and fall out of love, or out of a sexual relationship, but to pretend that Miranda and Steve were never in love is infuriating. 

50 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 

 I still want an explanation for that dress Charlotte wore to that dinner party.  🥴

I don't have a problem with the dress, but I feel certain Charlotte's explanation would just be that its a $2500 Alexander McQueen. 

[ifionlyknew]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

As I watched this I kept thinking…..what happened to Miranda?  That’s so unlike how Charlotte would be today.  The writers don’t have a feel for the characters.  It’s sad. I feel like the writers have betrayed the characters.  I guess it’s better than nothing, but maybe not.

If this is how poorly they have written Miranda and Charlotte I shudder to think how they would  have written Samantha. Although I have a pretty good idea what they would have done having known the plot of what would have been the third movie.

24 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

It's really disconcerting how MPK would suddenly retcon Miranda and Steve's marriage that is something borne out of need - Miranda got pregnant - rather than true love. Miranda was a single mom for awhile, and even turned down Steve's proposal when Steve found out she was pregnant. Then she eventually dated hot Blaire Underwood. Steve was also in  his own relationship. They eventually realized they loved each other, and was each other's "the one."

 

12 minutes ago, luna1122 said:

This. Miranda's arc and this retcon is the worst part of the reboot for me. Couoles do change and fall out of love, or out of a sexual relationship, but to pretend that Miranda and Steve were never in love is infuriating. 

I'm on the record as not being a Steve and Miranda fan but even I am against this retcon.  And as far as I can see they are only retconning it so the audience will want/accept her with someone else.  

29 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

And my God, this is Miranda - the most cynical, practical, "make a list of pros and cons and argue her way" woman out of the four. It was very refreshing to see her soften up over the years, and for MPK to reduce all of that to a sad wife, ugh. It's just hard to watch because she was my favorite among the four. 

I feel like the writers wanted to tell this particular story and chose Miranda for it.  This is example of plot over character.  

[slowpoked]

6 minutes ago, ifionlyknew said:

If this is how poorly they have written Miranda and Charlotte I shudder to think how they would  have written Samantha. Although I have a pretty good idea what they would have done having known the plot of what would have been the third movie.

I remember an interview with Kim where she divulges part of the SATC 3 plot, where Miranda, or maybe someone else, caught Brady masturbating to Samantha. And obviously, Kim wasn't very happy about that, 

[ifionlyknew]

1 minute ago, slowpoked said:

I remember an interview with Kim where she divulges part of the SATC 3 plot, where Miranda, or maybe someone else, caught Brady masturbating to Samantha. And obviously, Kim wasn't very happy about that, 

Yes.  For the life of me I don't understand how anyone thought that is something viewers would want to see.

[Keywestclubkid]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:06 AM, Yeah No said:

I know, I was complaining about this last week.  It's like the characters are stuck in time 20 years ago.  It's like they were all asleep all that time and just woke up.  This is not what the characters themselves would have turned out like if they were true to themselves.  The writers didn't think through enough about what they would be like years later.  When I think about how I was in my 30s compared to my 50s there's almost no comparison with regard to some things.  These women should all be post-menopausal and that for me was a big change that impacted my entire outlook on life.  What they have done is lazy writing and not realistic. 

Not for nothing but they did this exact thing of characters being stuck in time for the Gilmore girls reboot .. it was infuriating  

[gorgy]

1 hour ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Not for nothing but they did this exact thing of characters being stuck in time for the Gilmore girls reboot .. it was infuriating  

so glad I never watched that reboot. I missed that bullet

[ifionlyknew]

1 hour ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Not for nothing but they did this exact thing of characters being stuck in time for the Gilmore girls reboot .. it was infuriating  

Oh yes.  That creator was hellbent on writing what would have been the final season from the original series. Never mind that there  had been a final season from the original series written by someone else.

In the case of AJLT from my perspective the writers are writing a show that just happens to include characters from SATC.  When I first heard of this show my original thought was oh they are going to write SATC with new characters and have the old characters there to more or less usher in the new cast.  So I guess I was kinda was right but they really have fucked it up.

[PRgal]

30 minutes ago, ifionlyknew said:

Oh yes.  That creator was hellbent on writing what would have been the final season from the original series. Never mind that there  had been a final season from the original series written by someone else.

In the case of AJLT from my perspective the writers are writing a show that just happens to include characters from SATC.  When I first heard of this show my original thought was oh they are going to write SATC with new characters and have the old characters there to more or less usher in the new cast.  So I guess I was kinda was right but they really have fucked it up.

And it would be just as over-woke...only with four millennials (okay, three TRUE millennials and one who is more tail end GenX/Xennial (if you're going to have an "older" Samantha type.  Geez, I can't believe I'm around the same age as Samantha was in the first season).  

[One Imaginary Girl]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not that enamored of Seema. When we first see her, she's throwing a cigarette onto the road and then stepping on it. I've never understood why smokers think that littering is an acceptable way to get rid of their used cigarettes. The other thing that bothered me was her rudeness in discussing the things about Carrie's apartment that would have to be changed--it was all "That has to go," not a polite mention that it would be better to make changes to improve the salability.

[mansonlamps]

13 hours ago, One Imaginary Girl said:

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not that enamored of Seema. When we first see her, she's throwing a cigarette onto the road and then stepping on it. I've never understood why smokers think that littering is an acceptable way to get rid of their used cigarettes. The other thing that bothered me was her rudeness in discussing the things about Carrie's apartment that would have to be changed--it was all "That has to go," not a polite mention that it would be better to make changes to improve the salability.

Completely agree.  I think she's pushy and kind of narcissistic tbh, not sure what the appeal here is. 

[millennium]

I always thought of Charlotte as the sweet one, the idealist, the girl with a heart of gold (in a Tiffany box).   She has been alternately wise, ditzy, intelligent, clueless, open-minded, prudish, happy, heartbroken ...

Not until this episode has she been irredeemably vapid.   Way to go, show.

[ferjy]

On 12/23/2021 at 4:33 PM, PRgal said:

Wish Samantha was on this side of the Atlantic to help them out. Would love to hear what she has to say. 

I keep seeing so many opportunities for Samantha in the storylines. It really is a shame she’s not in the show. 

 

[RealHousewife]

13 hours ago, ferjy said:

I keep seeing so many opportunities for Samantha in the storylines. It really is a shame she’s not in the show. 

I know. Samantha would have supported Carrie better than anyone imo. She wouldn't get super emotional like Charlotte. She wouldn't be hooking up with Carrie's boss when Carrie needs help going to the bathroom. She would also be there for Miranda without judging her because it's not her style. She'd comfort Charlotte and let her know Rock is just fine. Samantha had her flaws like all of them, but she was a very loving, loyal friend. Shame on the writers for how they wrote her out. 

[WendyCR72]

On 1/1/2022 at 11:39 PM, millennium said:

Not until this episode has [Charlotte] been irredeemably vapid.   Way to go, show.

At least the character ruination is being spread equally! (Not exactly a positive. Never mind!)

[newyawk]

Man, are ALL Seemas narcissistic it's all about me types? An old boss of mine was named Seema and she acted like she was the center of the universe. Her moods swung more frquently than a metronome, but that's another story. Bad boss. Bad. 

The show is growing on me. One thing I did hate was Seema taking Carrie's upset about Seema's breaking something so personal and precious to Carrie, and derailing it by making it about her own upset over a perceived slight from something Carrie had said to her. Not sure I am going to like this character. 

Clearly, Miranda is going to come out of the closet. Don't need spoilers to tell me that. 

Charlotte has always come across to me as vapid, spoiled, insecure, childish, stupid and annoying AF, so nothing they do to her in this series would bother me.  She was promising in the very early episodes when she still ran an art gallery and was shown as smart and independent, then a few episodes later it was like someone had pulled out her spine and personality and replaced them with ReddiWhip.

Edited January 15, 2022 by newyawk
had an extra thought

[newyawk]

On 12/23/2021 at 10:07 AM, Tattooeddancer said:

I’m only halfway through the episode, but I don’t love Charlotte cancelling Harry’s colonoscopy to accommodate her dinner. 

 I wonder if that's going to be a plot point to return later (colon cancer)

[RealHousewife]

15 hours ago, newyawk said:

Charlotte has always come across to me as vapid, spoiled, insecure, childish, stupid and annoying AF, so nothing they do to her in this series would bother me.  She was promising in the very early episodes when she still ran an art gallery and was shown as smart and independent, then a few episodes later it was like someone had pulled out her spine and personality and replaced them with ReddiWhip.

When I see posts talking about how Charlotte was always intelligent and mature I think, what?! I love her, but no. She's always had her smarts but her silly side as well.

A lot of this was for comic purposes but still.

Who asks if her hair is too shiny?

Who ends a relationship over china?

Who tells her friend she's going to marry a man she just started seeing?

Who shrieks about her friend's engagement at a restaurant and tells everyone how long it took to finally happen?

Who yells at her boyfriend to set the date and how lucky he is to have her and what people think when they see them?

Charlotte is my favorite because among the four, I do think she is the kindest. I also think she has a great life. But she's always had moments of being annoying, childish, desperate, etc. Teenagers would look at Charlotte and be like, goodness lady, grow up. 

[TaurusRose]

On 12/23/2021 at 8:59 AM, Harvey said:

Poor Miranda. Whenever she talks about her life, you can see that she is unhappy with the way things are but she doesn't know what to do to improve things. No wonder she drinks.

OG Miranda was intelligent and had a plan.  Did she lose her personality and her mind in AJLT?  Did they even bother to give the most basic excuse for the meltdown of her marriage and the character assassination on Steve?  OG Steve may have had some flaws but he was likable and the regular person in this sea of entitled, self-absorbed snobs. I can’t even talk about Brady because my foot would have been firmly up his ass years ago.

[TaurusRose]

 

On 12/24/2021 at 1:36 PM, hatchetgirl said:

When she came out in that outfit,I wanted to scream "do you not own a single pair of adorable skinny jeans?" 

Cute skinny jeans? With few exceptions skinny jeans have never been cute on anybody. Worst fashion trend ever besides spandex.

On 12/24/2021 at 3:44 PM, T Summer said:

I once expressed curiosity while visiting my husband's brother and SIL that the little ones didn't address her as Auntie Loraine (or whatever), they called her by her first name  and she snapped back with "I know who I am, I don't need the title! " which I'm quite sure is not good manners anywhere.   😕

My theory about this is people who want to act as if they aren’t old enough to be addressed aunt, grandma or whatever like being called by their first names or some cutesy alternative. 

On 12/24/2021 at 4:40 PM, ifionlyknew said:

There aren't a lot of laughs and any sadness we are supposed to feel for Carrie for having lost her husband is being lost the quicker she moves away from the life she had with him (not to mention what is happening with Noth offscreen is kinda making Big's death welcome).

I don’t think what is currently happening with Noth should have anything to do with Carrie’s reaction to Big’s death.  I also have some concerns about the allegations against Noth and the timing of them.  If people want to complain about woke culture, there should also be some concern about men being ruined by a claim that is hard to prove being made years later.  I will always ask “why now?”  Especially since Noth has been working all along and didn’t just crawl out of retirement for this shitty show.

On 12/24/2021 at 5:19 PM, PRgal said:

The first name for adults from minor children thing is definitely cultural. To me, Mr./Ms./Mrs. etc is a sign of respect of elders (hey, I’m from an ancestral culture where you’re not supposed to correct people from older generations, where until fairly recently, siblings were addressed by title and birth order (so a middle sister in a family of three girls is both elder sister and younger sister.  She may also be called “Second Elder Sister” by the youngest).  Oh, and if you’re from an older generation, your title would also depend on the side of the family and whether you’re a spouse or not.  Totally confusing during holidays) and is default until you’re told you could use something else.  I called my in-laws Mr. and Mrs.  pretty much until I got engaged.  

I love this.  There is nothing wrong with observing cultural traditions.  

On 12/24/2021 at 9:38 PM, gorgy said:

 

• Indian Samantha 
• Black Charlotte
• Black Miranda

This is tone deaf, offensive, and continues the ignorant perception that if it’s not white it’s irrelevant.  How difficult is it for you to use the characters’ names?  I’m reasonably sure they aren’t referred to this way in the scripts.  

On 12/27/2021 at 12:09 AM, Not4Me said:

An opportunity was sorely missed to explore Charlotte’s budding friendship with LTW more organically, without having to involve race, and without relying on the tired TV trope of a white person not understanding how to relate to a new black friend without coming off as a nitwit. They managed to do that with Seema (a dark-skinned South Asian heritage woman of color), why couldn’t the same be done for LTW? While Charlotte was sheltered in her WASP-y life, she’s also lived much of her life in NYC so having girlfriends of color wouldn’t be outside her realm of expertise. When she showed her appreciation and recognition of the African American art in LTW’s home, it was when the writers finally wrote her with a level of depth and intelligence that I remembered from the Sex and the City days. This is the same woman that studied hard to convert to Judaism.

I really don’t expect the girls to play catch-up to “wokeness”, and I certainly don’t expect the new characters to get such big storylines, other than being supporting, since they’re not the main characters (potentially yet) and there’s only a limited number of episodes. But I expect the introduction of the new girlfriends of color to feel more nuanced and natural, because it is NYC and it is possible to have a set of female friendships that are diverse, though not necessarily in one clique.

Unfortunately the writers on this show are too lazy to understand that you can have those nuances, not have to be awkward, and still be funny.

How about relating to new people you want to be friendly with as fellow human beings?  Whenever I’ve made friends with someone who isn’t of African descent, the foundation has been common interests.  It’s not that fucking difficult.  I absolutely agree they were able to do that with Seema.  Why are people descended from darker Africans treated as if  we are some subspecies requiring special handling?  This pisses me off to no end.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by TaurusRose

[T Summer]

18 minutes ago, TaurusRose said:

Cute skinny  jeans? With few exceptions skinny jeans have never been cute on anybody. Worst fashion trend ever besides  spandex.

Love  it!   🤗 You have no idea how much I freaking loathe spandex!