Sex And The City - General Discussion

[ByTor]

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I never thought The Russian hit her intentionally. I saw it as a huge arm gesture that caught Carrie.

Same

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I took it as throwing Alek's character under the bus. Look he hit Carrie! Isn't he awful? The worse! Poor Carrie.

And I thought her "it wasn't like that" was meant to look like she's one of those people defending their abuser 🙄

[Ms Blue Jay]

LOL, the writing for the finale episodes WAS SO POOR!

The beauty of Paris was absolutely wonderful of course.  The scenery, the fashion, the art.  I even like the IDEA of Carrie going to Paris to start something new with Aleks even though I know it's not a popular thing.  But the hijinks of the episodes afterwards were so extreme in order to put Carrie and Big back together.  Carrie complaining about how awful Paris was, her being too much of a child to amuse herself, Big coming to rescue her, pretending Aleks hit her, blah blah blah.   It's hysterical looking back, but like I've said before I was very mad at the time.  LOL.  Carrie is the worst.

[blondiec0332]

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

LOL, the writing for the finale episodes WAS SO POOR!

The one scene I absolutely loved was in the first half of the finale. When Big met with the girls at the coffee shop and Miranda told him go get our girl makes me get teary every single time I watch it.

[RealHousewife]

1 minute ago, blondiec0332 said:

The one scene I absolutely loved was in the first half of the finale. When Big met with the girls at the coffee shop and Miranda told him go get our girl makes me get teary every single time I watch it.

That was a great moment indeed. 🙂

[ByTor]

The part I cannot watch in the finale (makes me too sad) is when Miranda finds Ma eating pizza from the trash and she takes her back home and gives her a bath.

[cpcathy]

Everyone except for Carrie's story in the finale was so good.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, ByTor said:

The part I cannot watch in the finale (makes me too sad) is when Miranda finds Ma eating pizza from the trash and she takes her back home and gives her a bath.

4 hours ago, cpcathy said:

Everyone except for Carrie's story in the finale was so good.

I agree. I loved all three stories. I love Charlotte seeing a picture of her baby and crying that's their baby. It gets me every time. Miranda finding her mother-in-law eating from the trash and taking her home and Samantha telling Smith he means more to her then any man. All three were really good. 

[RealHousewife]

7 hours ago, ByTor said:

The part I cannot watch in the finale (makes me too sad) is when Miranda finds Ma eating pizza from the trash and she takes her back home and gives her a bath.

That was very sad but also showed how loving Miranda could be. She could be quite mean at times (like when she said to Carrie, "you, model?), but she there was a whole lot of genuine kindness in her. 

[BlueMoon81]

On 8/2/2019 at 11:09 PM, andromeda331 said:

I agree. I loved all three stories. I love Charlotte seeing a picture of her baby and crying that's their baby. It gets me every time. Miranda finding her mother-in-law eating from the trash and taking her home and Samantha telling Smith he means more to her then any man. All three were really good. 

I definitely agree. The stories for Miranda, Charlotte and Sam just get me every single time. When Magda tells Miranda “what you did.....that is love.” And then she gives Miranda a look of pure pride and tells her “You love.”, and kisses her on the forehead. It chokes me up every single time. Magda was the mother that Miranda never asked for and never saw coming.....but that she intuitively needed! As someone who dealt with a parent having cognitive issues...that storyline is just so wonderfully written and touches home 

Charlotte and Harry both tearing up and Charlotte saying “that’s our baby.”, with the poignant score playing the background....just incredible (Kristin Davis is such a marvelous actor)

Sam’s words to Smith (whom she spent so long pushing away and trying to deny her feelings for) were so touching...and I loved seeing the flowers he brought for her weeks earlier, beginning to bloom

Edited August 7, 2019 by BlueMoon81

[libgirl2]

21 hours ago, BlueMoon81 said:

I definitely agree. The stories for Miranda, Charlotte and Sam just get me every single time. When Magda tells Miranda “what you did.....that is love.” And then she gives Miranda a look of pure pride and tells her “You love.”, and kisses her on the forehead. It chokes me up every single time. Magda was the mother that Miranda never asked for and never saw coming.....but that she intuitively needed! As someone who dealt with a parent having cognitive issues...that storyline is just so wonderfully written and touches home 

Charlotte and Harry both tearing up and Charlotte saying “that’s our baby.”, with the poignant score playing the background....just incredible (Kristin Davis is such a marvelous actor)

Sam’s words to Smith (whom she spent so long pushing away and trying to deny her feelings for) were so touching...and I loved seeing the flowers he brought for her weeks earlier, beginning to bloom

And that is why I get ticked off at the movie for having her end it with him!!! 😠

[chitowngirl]

“I Heart NY”-in one breath,  Carrie tells Samantha that she doesn’t have bail money for Samantha’s covert Richard stalking, but then goes and buys a pair of Louboutins. I know one involves actual cash and the other a probably almost maxed out credit card, but really.

Edited August 10, 2019 by chitowngirl

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

5 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

“I Heart NY”-in one breath,  Carrie tells Samantha that she doesn’t have bail money for Samantha’s covert Richard stalking, but then goes and buys a pair of Louboutins. I know one involves actual cash and the other a probably almost maxed out credit card, but really.

Much as I hate Carrie, and I do hate Carrie, I'm pretty sure that was a hyperbolic way of saying to Sam to watch herself, because Sam was acting completely out of character and planning on spying on Richard. I say the same to my friends when they're tempted to do something illegal, even if it's just in jest.

[Jillybean]

This morning, E! aired the episode where Aidan proposes to Carrie. You know, the one where she's whining and complaining about accompanying him on a late-night walk with Pete. She was so insufferable, it's surprising he actually went through with it.

[RealHousewife]

8 hours ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

I'm pretty sure that was a hyperbolic way of saying to Sam to watch herself, because Sam was acting completely out of character and planning on spying on Richard. I say the same to my friends when they're tempted to do something illegal, even if it's just in jest.

Exactly. 

Also, does anyone here like Carrie? lol

If not, any SJP fans? I do think she is a talented actress. 

[blondiec0332]

6 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Exactly. 

Also, does anyone here like Carrie? lol

If not, any SJP fans? I do think she is a talented actress. 

I would have liked Carrie more if she had been written better. So much of the time she was unlikable. I like SJP as an actress in the right roles. She is however miscast sometimes. She did a movie called I Don't Know How She Does It as a career woman trying balance work and family and it just didn't work for me.  I did like her in Failure To Launch. I thought she had good chemistry with Matthew McConaughey. 

[ByTor]

I was watching the one that had Charlotte with the boyfriend who wasn’t circumcised.  Samantha started to say “if I had a son...” and Carrie interrupted “if you had a son I’d be calling social services.”  What the hell did that mean? 

[RealHousewife]

1 minute ago, ByTor said:

I was watching the one that had Charlotte with the boyfriend who wasn’t circumcised.  Samantha started to say “if I had a son...” and Carrie interrupted “if you had a son I’d be calling social services.”  What the hell did that mean? 

I thought she was joking about not trusting Samantha with a child. 

On 8/11/2019 at 6:49 AM, blondiec0332 said:

I would have liked Carrie more if she had been written better. So much of the time she was unlikable. I like SJP as an actress in the right roles. She is however miscast sometimes. She did a movie called I Don't Know How She Does It as a career woman trying balance work and family and it just didn't work for me.  I did like her in Failure To Launch. I thought she had good chemistry with Matthew McConaughey. 

Yeah I do agree Carrie wasn’t always likable. I love all the women’s acting. I haven’t seen I Don’t Know How She Does It.

With Matthew, he said he had a crush on Sarah from way back, so I’m sure that helped with their chemistry. 

[andromeda331]

I had to go look up the roles she's played. Its funny I do think she's a great actress but I either didn't like her character like the First Wives Club and Sex in the City or liked her character but hated the movie like the Family Stone (I hated everyone in that movie except for Meredith and really wish it ended with her telling them all off and leaving. They were such assholes.) and Failure to Launch with exception Did You Hear About the Morgans and Hocus Pocus.

Edited August 12, 2019 by andromeda331

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

42 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I had to go look up the roles she's played. Its funny I do think she's a great actress but I either didn't like her character like the First Wives Club and Sex in the City or liked her character but hated the movie like the Family Stone (I hated everyone in that movie except for Meredith and really wish it ended with her telling them all off and leaving. They were such assholes.) and Failure to Launch with exception Did You Hear About the Morgans and Hocus Pocus.

The thing is, in First Wives Club she was supposed to be unlikable and she did it very well, but in Sex and the City she was supposed to be the spunky, relatable heroine that we were all rooting for, but she was AWFUL. 

[Jillybean]

Did anyone else ever wonder how Carrie was filing her column when she didn't get internet until Season 4 (2001)?!

[Dr.OO7]

On 7/31/2019 at 6:41 PM, andromeda331 said:

I took it as throwing Alek's character under the bus

The Derailing Love Interest trope.

I HATE that one--"Let's make someone who was the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend up until five minutes ago a complete jerk/bitch/psycho so that the hero/heroine can dump them and return to their true love!"

Edited August 12, 2019 by Camille

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

I had to go look up the roles she's played. Its funny I do think she's a great actress but I either didn't like her character like the First Wives Club and Sex in the City or liked her character but hated the movie like the Family Stone (I hated everyone in that movie except for Meredith and really wish it ended with her telling them all off and leaving. They were such assholes.) and Failure to Launch with exception Did You Hear About the Morgans and Hocus Pocus.

She was okay in the movie "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" with Helen Hunt, and she was also okay in the original 1984 "Footloose". But that's about it, IMO.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 8/10/2019 at 12:00 PM, chitowngirl said:

“I Heart NY”-in one breath,  Carrie tells Samantha that she doesn’t have bail money for Samantha’s covert Richard stalking, but then goes and buys a pair of Louboutins. I know one involves actual cash and the other a probably almost maxed out credit card, but really.

That's very interesting.  Thank you.  Didn't notice that one.  

On 8/11/2019 at 1:14 AM, RealHousewife said:

Exactly. 

Also, does anyone here like Carrie? lol

If not, any SJP fans? I do think she is a talented actress. 

I was a crazy Carrie fan in seasons 1-2.  I was insane.  But, I was also a teenager.

I always liked SJP until she started fucking around with the show.

She is absolutely iconic in both "The First Wives Club" and "Til There Was You".  I recommend both.  I really like the movie "Failure to Launch".  Her episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" is cute.  It's on Netflix.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 8/11/2019 at 7:49 AM, blondiec0332 said:

I would have liked Carrie more if she had been written better. So much of the time she was unlikable. I like SJP as an actress in the right roles. She is however miscast sometimes. She did a movie called I Don't Know How She Does It as a career woman trying balance work and family and it just didn't work for me.  I did like her in Failure To Launch. I thought she had good chemistry with Matthew McConaughey. 

I totally agree with you on BOTH movies.  IDHSDI - was horribly boring.  Failure to Launch was good.

[scarynikki12]

I could talk about my hate for Carrie all day but I'm going to put that aside in favor of shit talking someone else: Charlotte's friend Madeline from The Chicken Dance (which I just watched). I have to give credit to the writing team and Carrie Preston for their subtlety in how Madeline's awfulness was presented. The character is perky with a big smile that successfully masks how she treats those she considers beneath her. She looks down on the workmen who bring in Miranda's new couch are beneath her so she literally snaps her fingers to direct them rather than speaking to them like human beings. She looks down on Miranda and doesn't think twice about bringing that end table to her apartment in the evening unannounced (I realize this bit was to set up the "love at first sight" meeting with Jeremy but still) and assigning her the job of monitoring the guestbook (and loading the gifts into the van) at the wedding. Miranda is right in that it's a bullshit job and the kinder thing to do, if Madeline didn't want to make her a bridesmaid or do a reading, is to just invite her and maybe introduce her to parents and best friends as the one who brought them together. That would be a more intimate way of expressing her appreciation. But I think Madeline picked up immediately that Miranda had been hoping for some Jeremy romance herself and this was her way of punishing her even though she'd already won. Miranda gifting them the dancing frogs was the least she could do after all that. I wish they'd revisited them in a later episode as there's no way those two stayed married. Even just an easter egg in the form of a divorce announcement as Charlotte opened the New York Times to the wedding section or something.

It does feel wrong to post about the show and not shit talk Carrie a little so here's one: when Big upsets you, like refusing to sign the card or taking a call during your poem, TELL HIM. If you tell him he may not change and you'll know to dump him (ha! like Carrie could ever let him go) or he will and the relationship will be stronger for it. Phew now I feel better.

[BlueMoon81]

On 8/11/2019 at 1:14 AM, RealHousewife said:

Exactly. 

Also, does anyone here like Carrie? lol

If not, any SJP fans? I do think she is a talented actress. 

If Carrie had been written with the nuance, depth, and ability to evolve (qualities that all the other ladies of SATC showcased in SPADES), then she would’ve been rootable for me. But she was the same from day 1 to the show’s ending—in fact I’d argue that she got progressively WORSE as the show went on (in Season 1 she didn’t throw incessant catty digs at Sam and she didn’t have that God awful, over dramatic shrieking). I personally think SJP getting Exec Producer Power after S1 resulted in the regression of her character’s development. SJP had way too much input, and as a result....Carrie never evolved and she was rarely called out onto the carpet for her crap

As for SJP the actress, I think she’s okay. I personally don’t think she’s as talented as Cynthia Nixon or Kim Catrall. She’s good in the right type of role for her 

[andromeda331]

On 8/12/2019 at 9:54 PM, BlueMoon81 said:

If Carrie had been written with the nuance, depth, and ability to evolve (qualities that all the other ladies of SATC showcased in SPADES), then she would’ve been rootable for me. But she was the same from day 1 to the show’s ending—in fact I’d argue that she got progressively WORSE as the show went on (in Season 1 she didn’t throw incessant catty digs at Sam and she didn’t have that God awful, over dramatic shrieking). I personally think SJP getting Exec Producer Power after S1 resulted in the regression of her character’s development. SJP had way too much input, and as a result....Carrie never evolved and she was rarely called out onto the carpet for her crap

As for SJP the actress, I think she’s okay. I personally don’t think she’s as talented as Cynthia Nixon or Kim Catrall. She’s good in the right type of role for her 

Same here. I really liked her in the beginning but she went down hill after SJP got Executive Power.  Way down hill. The TPTB made a big mistake there. Another mistake is the episode where Samantha wants to swing with a guy but he asks her for checkup. The show had a great opportunity to show Samantha being very responsible and getting regular check ups while having sex so much. Instead they had her shocked, appalled and can't believe she's being asked that. They could have her instead say something like 'oh, well as it happens I've got an appointment next week or I always go once a year in August or something but can go in early if you'd like.' Then just show her going through the routine like someone who did so once a year. She come off completely irresponsible but also shockingly stupid for someone who grew up during the AIDS crisis. 

[BlueMoon81]

14 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Same here. I really liked her in the beginning but she went down hill after SJP got Executive Power.  Way down hill. The TPTB made a big mistake there. Another mistake is the episode where Samantha wants to swing with a guy but he asks her for checkup. The show had a great opportunity to show Samantha being very responsible and getting regular check ups while having sex so much. Instead they had her shocked, appalled and can't believe she's being asked that. They could have her instead say something like 'oh, well as it happens I've got an appointment next week or I always go once a year in August or something but can go in early if you'd like.' Then just show her going through the routine like someone who did so once a year. She come off completely irresponsible but also shockingly stupid for someone who grew up during the AIDS crisis. 

That is a BRILLIANT analysis. It made no sense that someone as sexually active and consciously responsible as Sam....would react that way to getting an STD screening. She should’ve reacted just as you said, it would’ve continued the continuity of Sam being progressive in her take on sexuality—especially since she came of age (as an adult) l in the AIDS pandemic years of the 80s. Charlotte, growing up in WASPY upper-crust Connecticut....was understandable not wanting to even talk about getting a checkup. But Samantha it came off as sooooo tone deaf. That was one of the few moments I look back at Sam’s character and roll my eyes 

[izabella]

That plot line didn't make sense for Sam.  I would have expected her to be the one insisting on the tests, and refusing to have sex with a guy who doesn't get tested.  

[txhorns79]

I was watching the first movie on Amazon, and I had forgotten just how ridiculous Charlotte was in Mexico.  She refuses to eat any food except the pre-packaged pudding, and even wipes off the mouth of the new water bottle she has just opened as though it comes pre-packaged with disease.  Her attitude makes no sense, and comes off as almost offensive.  And I know that the attitude regarding how to act in a foreign country gets seismically worse in the second movie, but it just struck me here.  

[RealHousewife]

24 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I was watching the first movie on Amazon, and I had forgotten just how ridiculous Charlotte was in Mexico.  She refuses to eat any food except the pre-packaged pudding, and even wipes off the mouth of the new water bottle she has just opened as though it comes pre-packaged with disease.  Her attitude makes no sense, and comes off as almost offensive.  And I know that the attitude regarding how to act in a foreign country gets seismically worse in the second movie, but it just struck me here.  

I'm a Charlotte fan, but that did irk me too.

[blondiec0332]

Her behavior in Mexico was almost as bad as her shrieking in the restaurant when Carrie announced she was engaged.  I literally cringed the first time I saw it.

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, blondiec0332 said:

Her behavior in Mexico was almost as bad as her shrieking in the restaurant when Carrie announced she was engaged.  I literally cringed the first time I saw it.

I know. I love it when friends show enthusiasm for my happy news, but Charlotte is so that girl that I wouldn't always want to share things with because of her over the top reactions and romanticism. When I was younger, I had friends who'd shriek over first dates, Facebook relationship statuses, the tiniest things, so embarrassing. Even if it's how you feel, can you not let the entire restaurant know you think it's a miracle your fiend is getting hitched?

[chitowngirl]

I cringed when her daughter said she wanted to be Cinderella and Charlotte stated they also bought Mulan. ????  It was also a bit cringeworthy when Miranda was looking for an apartment and declared “white guy with a baby. We need to be where he is”

[blondiec0332]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:55 PM, RealHousewife said:

Even if it's how you feel, can you not let the entire restaurant know you think it's a miracle your fiend is getting hitched?

That bothered me so much.  Charlotte (which I mean the writers) were saying marriage is always the end game. Didn't matter if Big and Carrie had been happily together with the way things were. If he don't put a ring on it then it doesn't count.

[RealHousewife]

11 minutes ago, blondiec0332 said:

That bothered me so much.  Charlotte (which I mean the writers) were saying marriage is always the end game. Didn't matter if Big and Carrie had been happily together with the way things were. If he don't put a ring on it then it doesn't count.

Exactly. Marriage may have been Charlotte’s dream, but it’s not everyone’s. You can have love and be happy with and without a ring. And you can be married and miserable. 

[libgirl2]

On 8/17/2019 at 12:41 PM, RealHousewife said:

I'm a Charlotte fan, but that did irk me too.

Me too. I could see her being picky but not that picky! 

Edited August 19, 2019 by libgirl2

[RealHousewife]

7 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Me too. I could see her being picky but not that picky! 

It’s sad, but I’ve met a lot of people like her. They’re not hateful racists, but they fit into that ignorant American stereotype.  

[BlueMoon81]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:55 PM, chitowngirl said:

I cringed when her daughter said she wanted to be Cinderella and Charlotte stated they also bought Mulan. ????  It was also a bit cringeworthy when Miranda was looking for an apartment and declared “white guy with a baby. We need to be where he is”

On 8/17/2019 at 1:16 PM, txhorns79 said:

I was watching the first movie on Amazon, and I had forgotten just how ridiculous Charlotte was in Mexico.  She refuses to eat any food except the pre-packaged pudding, and even wipes off the mouth of the new water bottle she has just opened as though it comes pre-packaged with disease.  Her attitude makes no sense, and comes off as almost offensive.  And I know that the attitude regarding how to act in a foreign country gets seismically worse in the second movie, but it just struck me here.  

They really regressed Charlotte’s character in the films, bringing out some of the cringeworthy traits she had early in the series that I was NOT a fan of (like when she was talking about a “class system” and staring at the hardworking Asian beauticians giving the girls pedicures in the nail salon in season 2). I still love everything SATC, but some of the stuff in the films really irked my nerves 

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:55 PM, chitowngirl said:

It was also a bit cringeworthy when Miranda was looking for an apartment and declared “white guy with a baby. We need to be where he is”

I HATE when Miranda says that.  She's supposed to be this well-educated lawyer and it's the most ignorant, stupid thing to say.  Only white Americans know where to live near Chinatown.  Not like those non-whites.  It's so gross.  It's very gentrification-y or NIMBY.  Cynthia Nixon should have at least balked at the line.  

Edited August 23, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[cpcathy]

I hate watching Charlotte eat all that pudding in the film! I get "resort envy" just looking at that place, the food and margaritas looked delicious! I'd be all over it!

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I HATE when Miranda says that.  She's supposed to be this well-educated lawyer and it's the most ignorant, stupid thing to say.  Only white Americans know where to live near Chinatown.  Not like those non-whites.  It's so gross.  It's very gentrification-y or NIMBY.  Cynthia Nixon should have at least balked at the line.  

She’s an intelligent woman. I’m surprised she didn’t request to have the line out too. 

[Hiyo]

I dunno, I think today, Charlotte would get called out for not offering Mulan to her daughter...

While Miranda's "follow the white guy" comment was racist and cringy, the comment Charlotte made about the women in the nail salon wasn't...and if anything, things have gotten worse today in the US with regards to the "class system"....America definitely isn't the meritocracy is used to be.

[andromeda331]

On 8/14/2019 at 5:26 PM, BlueMoon81 said:

That is a BRILLIANT analysis. It made no sense that someone as sexually active and consciously responsible as Sam....would react that way to getting an STD screening. She should’ve reacted just as you said, it would’ve continued the continuity of Sam being progressive in her take on sexuality—especially since she came of age (as an adult) l in the AIDS pandemic years of the 80s. Charlotte, growing up in WASPY upper-crust Connecticut....was understandable not wanting to even talk about getting a checkup. But Samantha it came off as sooooo tone deaf. That was one of the few moments I look back at Sam’s character and roll my eyes 

On 8/14/2019 at 6:15 PM, izabella said:

That plot line didn't make sense for Sam.  I would have expected her to be the one insisting on the tests, and refusing to have sex with a guy who doesn't get tested.  

That would make the most sense. She doesn't seem like the type that would skip checkups. They had a chance to show her being very responsible. Showing someone who has sex so much but still making sure she gets regular check ups. That fit more with her character then being shocked by the question. 

[chitowngirl]

I’ve always disliked the storyline when Samantha is dating an old guy and he keeps surprising her with diamond jewelry and her reaction is to squeal and clap with glee. That seemed SO out of character for her. She was never into guys for the baubles. 

[tabularasa]

I know it's an old discussion but we know more about psychology (almost too much). Was Big never too into Carrie, an ok guy or emotionally unavailable I've rewatched some scenes from La Douleur Exquise and I felt so connected when Carrie wondered if she was a masochist and just loved the pain. 

[izabella]

I saw Big as being a lot like Samantha .- clever, independent, and unapologetically himself with both a tough side and a kind side.  He liked women a lot, and he liked a lot of women.  Unlike Samantha, when he fell in love, he married those women, and later found out they weren't the right ones for him.   He eventually grew up from being a finance executive playboy to a finance executive who wanted to get comfy and watch tv in the evenings to relax, as a lot of men do when they get older.

They always had chemistry, but I think his marriage to Carrie will also fail.  She wanted to marry the cocktails, limos, out on the town Big.  The old movie watching, vinyl record listening Big bored her, just as homebody Aiden did. 

[blondiec0332]

Carrie loved the life she thought Big would give her. Whether she loved Big I don't know. It was the same with Alek.

[Hiyo]

Quote

Whether she loved Big I don't know.

I think she loved the idea of Big more the she actually loved Big. In her mind, she was this scrappy edgy downtown girl who ended up with an uptown captain of industry/king of the universe kind of guy, so, um, yay for her?

Edited August 28, 2019 by Hiyo

[blondiec0332]

1 hour ago, Hiyo said:

In her mind, she was this scrappy edgy downtown girl who ended up with an uptown captain of industry/king of the universe kind of guy, so, um, yay for her?

In real life would that pairing have even ended up married? As mentioned above they had great chemistry but what did they  have in common?  I have to admit when the show first aired I rooted for them to end up together. Even the first movie I wanted them to work things out after that whole train wreck of the botched wedding. But in the second movie I was saying Big she just ain't worth it.  He hated drama and she was nothing but drama. And yes Big did cause a lot of her drama but Carrie amplified everything.  She had legit gripes.  Him moving to Paris. Him acquiring a new (young) fiancee. But her wanting to meet his mother and then ambushing them at church was wrong. Her farting in front of him and thinking their relationship was then over was juvenile. I know we were supposed to believe she was some wild horse that couldn't be tamed but after re watching the series so many times Carrie and Big are just a couple that the writers told us are a great love story. I found Charlotte and Harry a much better and believable great love story. Even Samantha and Smith evolved naturally.  I think it would have been more believable if they had ended up together after his heart surgery. If instead of  him reverting back to withholding he had looked at Carrie that morning and said you are the one I would have totally bought it. But her falling into his arms (especially after tearing him to shreds before she left for Paris) because things didn't work out with Alek was just the writers wanting to give them and the fans a  happy ending.