Over the past couple of weeks, my roommates and I have been rewatching “Sex and the City.” Honestly, it’s such an amazing, timeless show. It has a great balance of the fantasy life in New York City with the perfect amount of comedy and relatable situations with friendships and dating. As I become an older woman, it gets even better to watch. In 94 episodes, ranging from 1998 to 2004, fans learned so much about four women’s early lives and the balance of their social lives, through a compilation of columns.
I’ve noticed my friends and I have had a lot to say about the characters recently. More specifically, a lot to say about Carrie Bradshaw’s and Mr. Big’s (aka John James Preston) relationship. Get ready, I have a lot to discuss.
This will also include many spoilers.
So, Carrie and Big are arguably the “power couple” throughout the series, movies and even the reboot season, “And Just Like That.” We watched Carrie practically beg and chase him countless times. She always wanted more than what he could give her. In the early seasons, it’s safe to say that most watchers were infatuated with Big, for many reasons. He was an older, I think around 11 years older, wealthy entrepreneur financier. He was a mysterious man who accidentally met Carrie on the streets of NYC. Many watchers have mixed feelings about Carrie. I have a love-hate relationship with her. She’s spontaneous with an incredible, sometimes questionable taste in fashion and is unashamed to embrace who she is as a woman.
But, a lot of her choices are controversial and immature. And to make matters worse, her relationship with Big made her extra insecure which increased all her bad qualities. She repeatedly returned to the relationship, even though Big was clearly emotionally unavailable and a major commitment-phobe. They broke up twice over two years and even had a sticky affair with each other. It’s almost like Big was simply passing time with Carrie. He never needed her the way she needed him. And he never bought into her obsessive behaviors.
The two didn’t get married until the first movie. Well, it was more of an attempt to get married. Big’s commitment issues came back the night before the wedding. He ends up not showing up to the ceremony, but then changes his mind while driving away from the venue. I was completely shocked watching this part the first time. At first, I was so angry at Big, though it was a pattern, and then mad at Carrie for thinking he would actually, finally commit to her. To make matters worse, in the show when Carrie and Big were broken up, he went and married someone else, which ended in divorce, because surprise, he cheated on her with Carrie. Their relationship timeline is all over the pace. She spent the rest of the first movie trying to piece herself back together, just for her to forgive him, once again, and get married in city hall at the end of the movie.
Aiden Shaw, her other on-and-off boyfriend, is another story. I think the majority of fans favored this love interest. They were engaged, but this time, Carrie was the one who couldn’t commit. There was a major difference between their relationship vs the one she had with Big. Sadly, Aiden was Carries’ “safe choice.” And she cheated on him with Big. Personally, I think she didn’t deserve him at all. She always had to chase Big and never Aiden, which caused her bordem.
Carrie and Big deserved each other. She narrated in the movie,”It wasn’t logic, it was love.” Take it as you may, but as I rewatch the show, I notice a lot of new character flaws I never realized before. In the reboot, they end up together.
I highly recommend watching “Sex and the City” with your friends. It’s truly a great watch and portrays the power of female friendships perfectly.