I was never really a fan of Sex and the City. I found it boring, pretentious, unrealistic, and rarely funny. But I’ve seen all six seasons and two movies for the sake of my mother, who declared when I was a freshman in college that I was finally “old enough” to watch it. So last year when I tuned in to The Carrie Diaries it was out of a mild curiosity for what the prequel would be like.
What I actually got was the delightful high school tale of an awesome, caring, fun, and naive girl named Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) with cool friends and the typical ups and downs of your high school years. This wasn’t your high school drama where everyone looks 30 and is constantly high and having sex with each other. This is the kind of high school story that we can all relate to. It was smart, funny, and just plain enjoyable. I felt that the Carrie Bradshaw of The Carrie Diaries was a different Carrie than that of Sex and the City. So much so that I could not imagine her turning into that Carrie. And that’s why I loved her.
So as you might imagine, I was not excited by the relentless promos for this new season that raved about how we were finally going to get to meet Samantha Jones (Lindsey Gort). And I was right. Not only did Carrie turn into this annoying, shrill character who made my skin crawl through the course of this episode, but the writing to get her to meet Samantha was sloppy. It felt forced. It made no sense. The two had no connection.
Carrie was snooty and rude and hella annoying to Samantha, and yet Samantha just chose to be nice to her and help her break into her apartment. Afterward she had a heartfelt moment with her and told her if she ever wanted to come back to the bar, the drinks were on her. Listen, I know getting your stuff stolen sucks. But it was completely Carrie’s fault and she turned into a CRAZY person because of it. I had no sympathy for her, and the way Samantha was portrayed as this carefree sex addict, it didn’t sit right with me that she sympathized with her either.
Of course, I’m not discounting The Carrie Diaries. Sometimes good shows struggle with transition episodes, and I’m hoping that’s all this was. The show’s going to have to go back to high school at some point in the near future anyway. And I do have to say, Lindsey Gort was the PERFECT choice for Samantha. Girl has that character down.
So here’s to hoping a rough start doesn’t mean a rough season. This show has a knack for making me feel warm and fuzzy, and I really hope that doesn’t go away.
