S02.E08: A Hundred Years Ago

[Surrealist]

11 hours ago, RedDelicious said:

I am firmly Team Seema.

I would kill to have a friend like Seema.

Same. ♥️

Edited August 9, 2023 by Surrealist

[T Summer]

Something was bothering me about Anthony's new love interest. Then I realized I personally thought Anthony and Guiseppi together looked just as icky as the moms standing with Charlotte and LTW ogling the high schooler Milo H did. 🫣 [ep 3 w/ the MILF list]

So I looked up both actor's ages. Sebastiano Pigazzi who played Guiseppe is 27 to Anthony's (Mario Cantone) 63 and Wes Williams  who played Milo H is approximately 26 years old having graduated high school in 2015. Charlotte is around 58 and LTW  is 50something. IDK the ages of the other moms.

[Night Cheese]

I'm late to the party this week. This episode had a lot of issues, but I think eveyone here covered them pretty well.

This week, I think the Miranda storyline pissed me off the most, but this time not due to the chatacter assassination we have to endure, but how unrealistic her intern storyline is. I absolutely get that she is over-qualified to be an intern, even if her background is in law and not human rights (or human rights law), but why have her intern with Human Rights Watch if they were just going to have her running the whole department after one day of note taking? She shouldn't have been hired as an intern in the first place, she should have been offered a  position within the organization that her background and experience were suited for. And how the hell are we supposed to believe that HRW, a well-established international NGO, did not have a plan for who will serve as interim/acting director when their current director takes maternity leave? HRW isn't a little startup with 5 employees. That director would have an Associate Director who would step into her role, or at the very least, a manager. As soon as she revealed that she was pregnant, she and her boss would have immediately started making plans for who would step into her role and handle her responsibilities while she was gone. And it wouldn't be a choice from the intern pool. 

All of that aside, I really liked Miranda at the lunch table calling it out that the other interns were texting each other about her. That seemed like the no-holds-barred, no f*cks given Miranda of yore.

[Lethallyfab]

On 8/7/2023 at 1:20 PM, bichonblitz said:

Yes, that was made pretty clear. In fact, Carrie made a crack about suffering in Suffern. Typical Carrie. 

Leading to one of the worst lines in the original series, “sounds like you better take some Bufferin to Suffern.”  

[Boofish]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:00 AM, Hanahope said:

 

I'm not sure how i feel about Charlotte feeling ok with her weight/belly only after she sees that her supervisor is heavier, but i didn't like it.  Yes, Rock and Lily don't mind right now that charlotte isn't home as often, but i'm sure something will come up where they realize how much she really did for them.

 

 

 

That really boiled my blood and I couldn't get past it; I now officially don't like Charlotte. Welcome to my list of Miranda's (a list of fictional TV characters I hate.)

To me it was worse than Carrie calling Big a mistake.

[Scarlett45]

@Hanahope and @Boofish may I ask why you didn’t like it? I’m interested in hearing your view point. 

[GiveMeSpace]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

@Hanahope and @Boofish may I ask why you didn’t like it? I’m interested in hearing your view point. 

I am not sure why they didn't like it, but I can tell you why I don't. It promotes the idea that women need to compete with one another to feel better about themselves. Instead of showing  women lifting one another up, which we often do, it portrays women as vain and catty. It's just one more example of a gay man's incredibly misogynistic view of women. 

[Scarlett45]

1 minute ago, GiveMeSpace said:

I am not sure why they didn't like it, but I can tell you why I don't. It promotes the idea that women need to compete with one another to feel better about themselves. Instead of showing  women lifting one another up, which we often do, it portrays women as vain and catty. It's just one more example of a gay man's incredibly misogynistic view of women. 

Thanks for sharing. That’s understandable. 
 

I came at it from a different view point- I am a black woman who’s much younger than Charlotte who’s been obese her entire life until recently.
 

 I’m aware there is a lot of pressure for white women in certain social circles (and of Charlotte’s generation and before) to look a certain way and be a certain weight (which is shitty). I saw it that Charlotte realized she was being ridiculous because she didn’t need to look like a supermodel to be accepted at this new job OR wear what she wanted. This was not the mid 90s where only white women who looked like super models (or women of other races who met white standards of beauty) were allowed to work at galleries. So she took the double spanx off. 

But I’m coming from a different cultural place, I remember my great Aunt B (born in 1927) telling me how she was devastated that she was told she couldn’t be a switch board operator because “we only keep x spots for colored girls, and we don’t hire fat ones”. For a lot of women seeing women of various races and body types succeeding in a role that they were “told” (either directly or indirectly) was forbidden to them, IS uplifting. 

[GiveMeSpace]

40 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Thanks for sharing. That’s understandable. 
 

I came at it from a different view point- I am a black woman who’s much younger than Charlotte who’s been obese her entire life until recently.
 

 I’m aware there is a lot of pressure for white women in certain social circles (and of Charlotte’s generation and before) to look a certain way and be a certain weight (which is shitty). I saw it that Charlotte realized she was being ridiculous because she didn’t need to look like a supermodel to be accepted at this new job OR wear what she wanted. This was not the mid 90s where only white women who looked like super models (or women of other races who met white standards of beauty) were allowed to work at galleries. So she took the double spanx off. 

But I’m coming from a different cultural place, I remember my great Aunt B (born in 1927) telling me how she was devastated that she was told she couldn’t be a switch board operator because “we only keep x spots for colored girls, and we don’t hire fat ones”. For a lot of women seeing women of various races and body types succeeding in a role that they were “told” (either directly or indirectly) was forbidden to them, IS uplifting. 

Thank you for your perspective and it makes a lot of sense.  Maybe I always jump to the worst conclusions with these writers! I thought the director looked lovely and confident. Perhaps her confidence gave Charlotte confidence. 

[Scarlett45]

17 minutes ago, GiveMeSpace said:

Thank you for your perspective and it makes a lot of sense.  Maybe I always jump to the worst conclusions with these writers! I thought the director looked lovely and confident. Perhaps her confidence gave Charlotte confidence. 

That’s how I saw it. That her confidence gave Charlotte confidence and a bit of perspective. 

[StevieRocks]

On 8/3/2023 at 3:59 PM, Jillybean said:

I'm happy to say I'm not watching S2, just reading the discussions here. Sounds like MPK and his cohort continue to cash in on beloved characters without any respect for those characters' histories.

100%.

SO grossed out and hurt when Carrie said Big was a mistake that I actually gasped. There is no way that, with the history they had--from her very early youth to her middle age--that anyone would say that about her husband who died--regardless of how soulless the person is. Unbelievable, and it rang very hollow and gross.

I have to ff through a lot of the gross sex scenes. And Charlotte is unbearable. Don't get me started on the nasty, low-rent attitudes of the kids. They are so rude and surly all the time. Ugh. Why am I watching this? I LOVED SATC so much. :(

[Boofish]

8 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

@Hanahope and @Boofish may I ask why you didn’t like it? I’m interested in hearing your view point. 

For me it was the context of Charlotte thinking she was "fat." I don't think she is but as a women her age I get it.  She felt insecure. Then she see someone who is probably not considered the beauty standard by some people and suddenly gets her confidence back. It came across as her being happy that as long as this young lady was around she didn't have to be the "DUFF" - Designated ugly fat friend. 

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, Boofish said:

For me it was the context of Charlotte thinking she was "fat." I don't think she is but as a women her age I get it.  She felt insecure. Then she see someone who is probably not considered the beauty standard by some people and suddenly gets her confidence back. It came across as her being happy that as long as this young lady was around she didn't have to be the "DUFF" - Designated ugly fat friend. 

Thanks for the response. I understand where you’re coming from. I explained up thread I saw it differently but I come from a different cultural place than Charlotte. 

[Hanahope]

It seemed to me that Charlotte subconsciously felt “fat” and thought people would look down on her compared to thinner women.  then realized she was not when she would be compared to the heavier woman.  It said to me that charlotte herself tended to look down on fat women.

 

[Boofish]

5 hours ago, Hanahope said:

It seemed to me that Charlotte subconsciously felt “fat” and thought people would look down on her compared to thinner women.  then realized she was not when she would be compared to the heavier woman.  It said to me that charlotte herself tended to look down on fat women.

 

They definitely did not get it right. It felt so mean spirited especially after she herself spent the entire day self loathing. Then to look at someone else thinking "well mine isn't that bad." OUCH.

[Shermie]

On 8/5/2023 at 10:44 AM, SnapHappy said:

Leather stretches when it gets damp.  Every woman knows that.  Char could have taken the belt to a shoe repair shop and had them stretch it up to about 2 inches in 10 minutes. OR they could have punched 2 new holes on both sides to lengthen the belt.  I did a freeze-frame, it was doable on that style.

I don’t think the problem was that the belt didn’t fit. The issue was that because she had a tummy, the belt would slide up under her boobs and not sit nicely on her waist, which frustrated and embarrassed her.

As for the interpretation of Charlotte’s reaction to the heavier woman and Charlotte suddenly feeling better about herself? I read it negatively, that she was okay because she wasn’t the fattest woman in the room anymore. But it could be just some newfound confidence.

[Scarlett45]

2 minutes ago, Shermie said:

I don’t think the problem was that the belt didn’t fit. The issue was that because she had a tummy, the belt would slide up under her boobs and not sit nicely on her waist, which frustrated and embarrassed her.

But if the belt was bigger it wouldn’t do that. 

[SnapHappy]

3 hours ago, Shermie said:

As for the interpretation of Charlotte’s reaction to the heavier woman and Charlotte suddenly feeling better about herself? I read it negatively, that she was okay because she wasn’t the fattest woman in the room anymore. But it could be just some newfound confidence.

Sadly, I took the same thing away from that scene.  But sure, knowing that having the "perfect look" wasn't the most important thing is a valuable lesson. 

Just less impactful than if Charlotte had figured it out on her own, and left the belt & the Spanx at home. That would have been the right way. These women are supposed to be old enough & self-confident enough to have learned these things by now. 

[TakomaSnark]

15 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

Just less impactful than if Charlotte had figured it out on her own, and left the belt & the Spanx at home. That would have been the right way. These women are supposed to be old enough & self-confident enough to have learned these things by now. 

Even better if she'd gone back to the store and told a manager about the dress she was determined to wear, 'I want this in a bigger size.' Because the real issue is that she has gotten a little bigger - as happens to almost all of us as we age - but is not adjusting to that reality by going up a size.

[RedDelicious]

I really wish the story was that the gallery manager was a woman closer to Charlotte's current size which is what I would expect a woman of her age who takes care of herself to look like. KD isn't as thin as she was when the original series aired i.e., she's not 20s/30s thin, and it would be nice if the storyline was more accepting of older middle aged women's bodies. They didn't have to go so overboard with a much larger woman to prove the point. I thought it was disrespectful to the gallery manager character.

I know for me personally, since I didn't get married when everyone else was getting married, my still-single friends were a good 5-8 years younger than me, and they are all still so thin, where I have since rounded out. I get it, it's rough. I used to be a twig.

SJP hasn't changed except for aging, and I think CN looks good too. KD's shape has changed (I hated the tennis dress last season) but for the most part they still dress her beautifully. I just think they could have gone around that topic in a much better way. 

ETA: I would have liked the gallery manager to be introduced exactly how she is under different circumstances not related to Charlotte's body confidence issues.

Edited August 15, 2023 by RedDelicious

[Sweet-tea]

On 8/3/2023 at 4:22 AM, T Summer said:

I've been feeling resentful that  MPK and his team of typists and the E.P.'s seem set on shitting on Big. Having Carrie already dating by the end of last  season and having a regular Thursday FWB's thing and even entertaining  the cyclist guy if he hadn't had boundry issues with his business partner. That's pretty quick to be so over someone you have a 10 year involvement with that  lead to  a 10-15 year marriage? I know everyone grieves differently, but come on!

Then at dinner when Aiden expressed   his sentiment the book was sad and kind of beautiful she counters with  it was sad, not beautiful. There was no save offered up; like of course our marriage  was beautiful or our time together was beautiful. She just let that sentiment lie there and moved right on to:  time. Time helps.

And now this? Carrie wonders aloud to Miranda if Big was a big mistake? She absolutely declares to Che that she made a mistake, when Che asked why this didn't work out the first time. It sure feels like if they could scrub every single frame and scene with Big from the whole franchise, they would!

The actor Chris Noth hasn't been convicted of anything. No charges have been brought against him. Wow. Just wow.

These people can not do subtlety or nuance to save their souls.

...and Aiden is so seductive  and sweeps you off your feet, all while he can't even walk into your apartment? His insecurities and total indulgence of same set up not only Valentine's Day night, but all future time spent together as a lifestyle of schlepping around NYC and being away from  your comfortable home base.  Having to go out and buy duplicates of everything? This is what you want to spend your   time  together doing? This is romantic?

So, so weak.

Totally agree. i didn't like any of this. They are rewriting Carrie's relationship with Big the same way they rewrote Miranda's relationship with Steve. It does a disservice to fans of the original show. 

When I watch her with Aiden, a picture a shoe dropping at some point. 

[T Summer]

23 minutes ago, Sweet-tea said:

Totally agree. i didn't like any of this. They are rewriting Carrie's relationship with Big the same way they rewrote Miranda's relationship with Steve. It does a disservice to fans of the original show. 

When I watch her with Aiden, a picture a shoe dropping at some point. 

Steve! Remember Steve when Miranda met him, he knew his wines and read Hemingway and begged her to stay around where he was bartending lest he be subjected to the tedious conversation of the college kids who came in? He spoke with a slight New York accent.
In this BS they have him sounding like his tongue is taped to the roof of his mouth! in S1 they had him appearing so mentally confused at an outdoor market it was as though Miranda was minding a child or a charge of hers.

 

Doesn't it seem like E11... (IDK if you've gotten there yet, so I'll continue under spoiler)

Spoiler

should have ended with Aiden's little I need 5 years no contact to straighten out my son  speech...

and returned [with another episode] where Carrie says look IDK  why I put up with your  not entering my dwelling BS, but 5 years! Are you insane even daring to ask such a thing?

ending that Aiden / Carrie mess forever!

 

 

 

 

[Sweet-tea]

On 8/4/2023 at 1:02 AM, Yeah No said:

That's what I thought too.  Why couldn't they have a past?  It reminds me of stuff that happened on other shows with similar plot lines.  My husband pointed out that this felt just like what they did 20+ years ago, only this time Aidan can be the one to do Carrie wrong by hiding a secret with Seema and she will get what she deserves.  I can't see how the show is playing this out to mean anything but that they are going to crash and burn at some point.  They are going too fast, not thinking about reality, not paying attention to the lessons they supposedly learned the first two tries, especially those about why they're not right for each other and STILL are not right for each other.  It's yet another force-fit relationship on a show already full of force-fit plots and characters, only this time I think it might be done for the purpose of showing that neither of them are using their heads and are going off half-cocked. 

And Carrie asking if Big was a mistake - how much escapism is she engaging in to seriously ASK that question?  She was never unhappy with Big that we know of.   One would think that after how many years of marriage she would have shown some signs of dissatisfaction, but if she had any she certainly never showed it to the audience.  Up until this point I actually thought this episode was a step in the right direction for the show and that perhaps TPTB had really done some soul searching and actually listened to the criticism of the fans, and this was evidence of that.  And then they go and make Carrie crap all over Big's memory!  I hope it's just to show us how far gone Carrie is in la-la land with Aidan rather than an actual realization.

She and Big were a better match to me. He was more of a NYC guy like Carrie. I can't see her being happy living in Aidan's country farmhouse in VA, even if it's gorgeous. That kind if life is just not Carrie's thing. 

I think she's in the first blush of a rekindled romance and isn't thinking clearly about how different they are and what broke them up in the past. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sweet-tea

[WendyCR72]

3 hours ago, T Summer said:

Steve! Remember Steve when Miranda met him, he knew his wines and read Hemingway and begged her to stay around where he was bartending lest he be subjected to the tedious conversation of the college kids who came in? He spoke with a slight New York accent.
In this BS they have him sounding like his tongue is taped to the roof of his mouth!

From what I understand, David Eigenberg does have some hearing loss now, so that may affect his speech. Although - on the other hand - I don't think he sounds like this completely as Christopher Hermann on Chicago Fire - a series he has been from jump in 2012.

So, maybe it's a director's issue?

But I do remember that first meeting and I liked that Steve was confident and smart. Even David Eigenberg in one of those SATC companion books admits Steve was dumbed down, and he didn't understand why. So, at least the actor was aware of the change, too.

[T Summer]

2 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

From what I understand, David Eigenberg does have some hearing loss now, so that may affect his speech. Although - on the other hand - I don't think he sounds like this completely as Christopher Hermann on Chicago Fire - a series he has been from jump in 2012.

So, maybe it's a director's issue?

But I do remember that first meeting and I liked that Steve was confident and smart. Even David Eigenberg in one of those SATC companion books admits Steve was dumbed down, and he didn't understand why. So, at least the actor was aware of the change, too.

Oh yes! I had heard he had a bit of hearing impairment, so before I popped off with my opinion I went and listened to recent You Tube videos of David Eigenberg speaking in his own voice and in character on Chicago Fire and he does not sound like Buddy Hackett. 

I posted YT videos twice.

I'm very glad to learn he questioned it. I wish he'd been able  to overcome their stupidity :(