Eve's Marathon Diary: In Season 4, Sex And The City Puts Miranda Through The Wringer

[Primetimer]

But these ladies are still laughing because Season 4 is the strongest yet.

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[dmc]

"stupid ferret Steve" LOL

[katha]

I love Miranda's arc, it's super well done. And I think is something where the show doesn't get enough credit because it's seen as "typical chick flick", rom com, whatever...and some of it is the show's own fault since they aren't radical enough about it, but often they do it well: They take these romance tropes and burn them down but good. Like Steve, another problematic character, but IMO well written and well acted, he's "okay guy". In a rom com he'd either be flawless and always sweet or he'd be the evil/annoying obstacle guy. Here...he's just a guy. He's whiny and passive aggressive, but also caring and warm and capable of great kindness. And Miranda struggles about what to do with him because he's not "Mr Right", and even someone as outwardly cynical as her secretly craves that perfect guy of her dreams.

Or Big...who's "Mr. Right" on paper, but can be such a toxic mess. Or Carrie living beyond her means to create that Manhattan existence she craves for herself, that's a real miss here that the show doesn't dare pursue this more. She's not from money, there might be a class aspect to it that she also never learned how to manage money, perhaps she feels pressure to keep up a lifestyle for her social circle and for her career as a columnist and local celebrity. But it's pushed aside with that stupid "let's give her Charlotte's ring" nonsense. Charlotte wanting the perfect family and realizing that it might not work out that smoothly and her old money marriage comes with trappings. Samantha experiencing the pain of being hurt in a relationship and also the undercurrent that she might face a future where she'll be growing old alone, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it comes with its own set of problems.

[Princess Sparkle]

Season 4 is actually my favorite season - at the very least, it's my most rewatched one.  Because while there are some real klunker episodes in here (Ring a Ding Ding is one of my most hated), there are also some really good ones.  My Motherboard, Myself might actually be my all-time favorite episode; I'm not as big a fan of the laptop part, but the rest of it is really great.  That episode always leaves me in tears - first at Miranda taking comfort with the bra saleswoman, then at Samantha finally crying and mouthing "I'm sorry" to Miranda, and then when I've finally gotten it together a little bit, I lose it one final time when Carrie runs out to grab Miranda's hand so she doesn't have to walk alone, and then they both look up and see Steve and Aiden there.  Hell, even the over-the-top stuff with Charlotte trying to plan the perfect floral arrangement and the stuff with Samantha losing her orgasm makes me laugh; the entire conversation they have in the flower shop always cracks me up:
 

Quote

Charlotte: I saw something where a woman suddenly stopped having orgasms; like she'd used them all up.
Samantha: That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me.

I like Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda too.  While I never really 100% thought Miranda would keep the baby, I did like that Carrie and Samantha threw out that they'd had abortions and didn't regret them - that's rare in a tv character, even today.  And Charlotte's "We're having a baby!" I always find so sweet.

ETA: I almost forgot - Carrie's haircut in A Vogue Idea is one of my favorite looks on her in the entire series.  I tried in vain to cut my hair just like hers, but unfortunately, my hair didn't end up looking quite the same...

Edited August 9, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[Maherjunkie]

Do you think without Charlotte she would have been AS motivated to have it?

[Pamela]

Princess Sparkle, "My Motherboard, My Self" is my favourite episode, too. I got teary-eyed just reading your description of it.

1 hour ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I like Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda too.  While I never really 100% thought Miranda would keep the baby, I did like that Carrie and Samantha threw out that they'd had abortions and didn't regret them - that's rare in a tv character, even today.

I loved when Miranda asked Carrie how long it took her to feel normal again after the abortion and Carrie crossed her fingers and replied "Any day now."

[Tooch]

Season 4 is great, I think the stuff with Charlotte's fertility struggle and Miranda's accidental pregnancy was insanely well done, even the bit with the baby shower where Miranda finds her "maternal" side with comforting Char. And one of my favorite moments is Charlotte confessing to Miranda about her infertility and Mir asking if she can walk behind her just to make sure she's okay. I tear up just thinking about it. It took me 18 months to get pregnant with my first son* and watching other friends get pregnant at the drop of a hat is one of the hardest parts of it, because you know it's not about you, and you want to be happy for them, but your own feelings can't help but bubble up.

(*I know that's not terribly long compared to others, but it sure feels long when you're going through it.)

Carrie's shitty finances were a major miss, totally agree. Having the Charlotte Ring Ex Machina was one thing, and I appreciate that they at least had her freelancing to try and make up the difference between her column and her new mortgage. But they never again bring up the debt to Charlotte, and it's like 3 episodes later that she buys those hideous brand new Louboutins for her "last New York date" with Big. So she learns exactly zilch from the whole thing.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Tooch

[gesundheit]

I'd take it one step further and say "My Motherboard, My Self" was possibly the best episode of the entire series -- the one to show anyone who thinks the show was never anything but cheesy dating puns and bad stereotypes (and lord there was a lot of that). I sort of half-watched it on occasion before that episode, and that's when I stopped hate-watching it and thought there was something great there. I don't think it ever got better or even matched that again, but a few episodes came close whenever they really remembered that these friendships were the story.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Maybe Cynthia Nixon pissed SJP off? Have you seen the movies? Obviosuly SJP was working out some shit on Kim Cattrail...she took a huge turn toward pathetic.

[Princess Sparkle]

16 hours ago, gesundheit said:

I'd take it one step further and say "My Motherboard, My Self" was possibly the best episode of the entire series -- the one to show anyone who thinks the show was never anything but cheesy dating puns and bad stereotypes (and lord there was a lot of that). I sort of half-watched it on occasion before that episode, and that's when I stopped hate-watching it and thought there was something great there. I don't think it ever got better or even matched that again, but a few episodes came close whenever they really remembered that these friendships were the story.

This 100%.  That's why one of my other favorite episodes of the series is The Ick Factor (AKA, the episode where Miranda gets married and Samantha finds out she has cancer).  All the ladies coming together, first for Miranda and then for Samantha, is great, and you can really see their friendship on display.  Gah, I love that episode.  

[ShellSeeker]

23 hours ago, Tooch said:

Season 4 is great, I think the stuff with Charlotte's fertility struggle and Miranda's accidental pregnancy was insanely well done, even the bit with the baby shower where Miranda finds her "maternal" side with comforting Char. And one of my favorite moments is Charlotte confessing to Miranda about her infertility and Mir asking if she can walk behind her just to make sure she's okay. I tear up just thinking about it. It took me 18 months to get pregnant with my first son* and watching other friends get pregnant at the drop of a hat is one of the hardest parts of it, because you know it's not about you, and you want to be happy for them, but your own feelings can't help but bubble up.

(*I know that's not terribly long compared to others, but it sure feels long when you're going through it.)

Carrie's shitty finances were a major miss, totally agree. Having the Charlotte Ring Ex Machina was one thing, and I appreciate that they at least had her freelancing to try and make up the difference between her column and her new mortgage. But they never again bring up the debt to Charlotte, and it's like 3 episodes later that she buys those hideous brand new Louboutins for her "last New York date" with Big. So she learns exactly zilch from the whole thing.

I liked the infertility stuff too, and it was handled very well. I experienced a little of it when I was trying to get pregnant, and having no success, and then my nephew and his girlfriend, who are both train wrecks and had already had one child placed with her mom by Social Services because they couldn't take care of him, were expecting again. I had some very, very mean and unkind thoughts about the 2 of them conceiving without even trying, while we were trying every month. It's normal to feel that way, but those are very ugly feelings and then you feel guilty about them later.

And the money stuff. Much ranting has been done about the money episode, Carrie yelling at Charlotte for not offering a loan, and Charlotte turning around and giving Carrie her ring. I hated that episode with the fire of 1000 suns. But had they shown her in any subsequent episode trying to be more careful with her money, I might have forgiven that asinine storyline, even just a little. And it wouldn't have even taken much. Passing on dinner with the girls once and saying she's limiting herself to eating out one night a week, and dinner out the other night was it. Asking Miranda to help her with a budget, or to make a loan amortization schedule for her to pay back Charlotte. A single mention of a loan payment to Charlotte, since Carrie made such a production about insisting that she'd repay the loan. Anything. But no, there was nothing. I get that the show was about escapism, designer clothes and shoes, and living a fabulous New York life, but Carrie was held up as an icon to single women. A strong, successful single woman knows how to manage her money, and Carrie was portrayed as a flighty, immature dingbat, easily distracted by every shiny object in a store window.

[Princess Sparkle]

Hell, I would've even accepted a line after she sold her book (in season 6?) that was something like "Now that I've paid off Charlotte's loan, I'm going to go splurge on a new pair of Manolos."  Something like that would've been so easy, and money issues like that can rip apart the strongest friendships, so it would've been nice to show Carrie kept her word.

[BloggerAloud]

I will always believe that the season four finale, in a lot of ways, would've served as an amazing series finale for the show.

[Blueeyedgirl]

One of my favorite episodes is the one where Miranda finds out she is pregnant. I have been in that same conversation with a group of friends where one is desperate to get pregnant and another is but wasn't planning to. I thought it was very realistic for a woman in her late 30s to ask herself, "Is this my baby?" I liked that it didn't become a political issue or discussion, and it was assumed that this was a really difficult decision, but all four of them were not judgmental about it. Charlotte was hurting in a way my friends and I who have gone through varying degrees of fertility issues could understand deeply, but she ultimately showed up with flowers.

Perhaps one of the two most touching moments of the show was when Miranda told Charlotte she kept the baby, and the others were bracing themselves for Charlotte's reaction, and Charlotte says, with tears in her eyes, "We're having a baby?" I'm tears writing this. That moment said a lot about what I love most about the show: the relationships among the women during difficult and realistic times.

I agree, the moment in My Motherboard, Myself when Carrie steps in the aisle at the church's at Miranda's mother's funeral - that also gets me. I was single at the age they were then, and I could imagine who hard it would be to walk down that aisle alone. During that time, my friends were (are) everything to me, and Carrie stepping in symbolized how the four of them were family to each other.

Maybe this season is the best one.

[AndySmith]

I wish I could say this was the best season of the show, but...I'll take the first 3 seasons over it. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed season 4, the acting was still good, it was still fun, but overall, I felt it was a slight step down from what we had seen previously.

Whatever happened to Miranda this season...at least she looked better from this season on. I think they finally gave up on trying to give her a fashion identity like the other girls had (Carrie as the fashionista, Samantha as the vamp, Charlotte all preppy), and decided the androgynous corporate...whatever look she previously had wasn't working. Thank God.

As for Carrie and not mentioning the loan from Charlotte and buying new shoes when she was just broke a few episodes earlier...well, it fits in with the show's lack of continuity/long term plot planning. I remember in season 1 or 2, we did see Carrie paying some attention to her finances when she ended up inviting the girls over to play cards since she didn't have enough money to go out (even if she didn't tell the girls that's why she invited them over lol). Everyone is shocked about how Samantha starts not one, but two relationships this season, but...didn't we already see her in a relationship before with the guy with the small penis? Plus, this show was always pretty lax on episode to episode plotting. Last season Miranda and Steve are in a comfortable rut, having sex on washing machines, etc. Next episode? They're constantly fighting and break up. This season gave us more of the same. One episode Samantha is bragging about how hot and passionate and satisfying sex with Maria is, the next episode she is whining that all they do is talk. Ray's crazyness literally comes out of nowhere. Oh well. At least the show is consistent with it's inconsistency.

Carrie and Aidan, round 2...well. It happened. It would have been interesting for Carrie to show some self-realization and realize she basically replicated her relationship with Big, except, she was in Big's role, and Aidan was in her role. It would have been good to see her grow from that, but, no. Not Carrie. Not at this point.

As I said, I still enjoyed season 4 quite a bit. There is still a lot to like, but the show does feel like it's becoming a bit too...soapy for me. I enjoy a good soap opera for what it's worth, but I'm not sure I liked this show becoming one. And the characters are becoming somewhat cliched versions of themselves as well. Charlotte can't deal with Samantha talking about funky spunk to the point where she gets up and leaves the restaurant? The same Charlotte who let someone paint her vagina and display the painting in public? Anyway...I still like the characters and the dynamic between the girls and their friendship, so there still is that ("The Post-It Always Sticks Twice" is a favorite of mine, since a good chunk of that episode is the girls just going out and having a night on the town, even if a few things about the episode don't work for me, it was still to see the girls just having fun with each other). And hey, it's leaps and bounds better than season 5, which is easily my least favorite of the show.

[Quof]

Quote

let someone paint her vagina  vulva

[Tooch]

3 hours ago, AndySmith said:

And hey, it's leaps and bounds better than season 5, which is easily my least favorite of the show.

Oh god, season 5 is the worst, saved only by the fact that it's so short. If a re-run of the episode with Carrie's goddamn book cover is on I cannot change the channel fast enough. There is ZERO character continuity in that episode. Carrie wouldn't have been that mortified about the blow job accident, and neither would Sam. They would have laughed about it and moved on. Sam would not have picked hideous fluffy lingerie for Carrie to wear on her book cover--Sam is supposedly so successful because she knows what's current/hip/fashionable and about publicity. Miranda breaking up with a guy for being too into cunnilingus? PLEASE. To say nothing of Sad Pathetic Charlotte in the self-help aisle of the bookstore. The. Worst. Ever. 

[Maherjunkie]

Was that a Big free season?  Or was there a birthday episode?

[Princess Sparkle]

Big is in one episode; the one where Carrie and Samantha take the train trip to San Fransisco for Carrie's book tour.  He comes down from Napa because he read the book and wants to discuss all his shortcomings that she wrote about.

[Maherjunkie]

Oh right, that was one of my favorites.

[Joana]

Oh God, season 5 is horrendous. The Atlantic City episode is pure nonsense from start to finish. Samantha is at her pathetic worst there, anyone who calls her a strong, confident woman should watch how she acts in that episode. Although, it's not as bad as her saying "No man wants to fuck grandma's pussy", but I guess that was season 6 already. Although, my "fave" episode is the one where Miranda goes around looking like a hobo for days because she doesn't have the time to get her hair done (hello, Magda, hello, Steve, hello any other babysitter she could easily afford with her lawyer salary), which she complains about while having brunch with the girls, until Samantha of all people offers to babysit for her. Honestly, I think the entire storyline was just an excuse to put a vibrator next to a baby. 

Anyway, season 4. It has is its brilliant moments mentioned in this thread, but it's mostly ruined for me with Carrie/Aiden storyline. I just don't know where they were going with it. She decides she wants him back on a whim, because... he got fitter, dressed smarter and had a better haircut? Then she whines and insists and persists until her forgives her. Yay. Except that she loses all interest in him seemingly the moment it happens. She spends most of the time looking annoyed with him. She starts complaining about "missing her space" the second they move in together. She looks thoroughly unenthusiastic about him when asked to describe him by a new acquaintance. She refuses to wear her engagement ring. SHE INVITES BIG TO HIS CABIN. Remind me again, why is it that they broke up?

I guess what they wanted is to show that someone can be perfect - just not perfect for you, and that's a valid point. It's just that it felt so flat for me because I never got the vibe that Carrie was all in and that whatever happened mattered all that much to her - except that she now needed to buy the apartment. 

[AndySmith]

The episode in San Francisco was probably the worst of season 5, and possibly one of the worst of the entire series.

[Maherjunkie]

It was one of my favorites because you get to see Big be funny to me, and her be the horny one.  She was a crummy friend to Sam, once again.

[AndySmith]

Big was funny in that episode? I guess I missed that.

Edited August 14, 2016 by AndySmith

[Maherjunkie]

I liked how she kept trying to get him into bed, and he was like, "Now it says here on Chapter 4.."  Plus, "You'll need to have material for the sequel,' with a wink in his voice.  

Carrie was a dickweed to Sam not once but twice during her book time.

[AndySmith]

Yeah I was rolling my eyes throughout their encounter in that episode. It just didn't work for me.

I will agree, Carrie was a dickweed to Sam. But I did like Sam getting them first class tickets for the trip back. Now that is the Samantha I know and love.

[Maherjunkie]

 Get a bad chemical peel and all that charity goes out the window for Carrie.

[Tooch]

On 8/14/2016 at 2:02 AM, AndySmith said:

I will agree, Carrie was a dickweed to Sam. But I did like Sam getting them first class tickets for the trip back. Now that is the Samantha I know and love.

Not only that, but since the only reason they were on the train was Carrie's 9/11 induced flying fears, VALIUM! Sam has always been my favorite character, even in her more cartoonish moments she was the best. 

[hnygrl]

  On 8/9/2016 at 11:28 AM, gesundheit said:

I'd take it one step further and say "My Motherboard, My Self" was possibly the best episode of the entire series -- the one to show anyone who thinks the show was never anything but cheesy dating puns and bad stereotypes (and lord there was a lot of that). I sort of half-watched it on occasion before that episode, and that's when I stopped hate-watching it and thought there was something great there. I don't think it ever got better or even matched that again, but a few episodes came close whenever they really remembered that these friendships were the story.

This 100%.  That's why one of my other favorite episodes of the series is The Ick Factor (AKA, the episode where Miranda gets married and Samantha finds out she has cancer).  All the ladies coming together, first for Miranda and then for Samantha, is great, and you can really see their friendship on display.  Gah, I love that episode.  

I love it that all the ladies went to all of Sam's Chemo sessions with her. Now that's friendship.