The HBO series Sex and the city is remembered as a show about dating women in their 30s in New York, but the best episodes of Sex and the City are about much more than that. The series follows Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) as they balance their careers, friendships and romantic relationships. Since they are all in their 30s when the original series takes place, the show goes through many adult milestones such as career setbacks, marriage, and having children.
Where Sex and the city really blossoms into its showcase of female friendships as they navigate their own lives. The four women at the center of the show have their own stories, their own romances, and their own conflicts to overcome, but they are there for each other when it counts. They go out to have fun, support each other when others criticize their lifestyle, and have frank discussions about relationships, health, and sexuality. The best episodes of Sex and the city are the ones that allow you to explore all these aspects.
10
The baby shower
Season 1, Episode 10 …the only episode of the first season to be among the best episodes of Sex and the city…
In a show's first season, a series usually takes some time to find its feet. It takes a few episodes for the writers to fully establish the characters and understand the full dynamics of the ensemble they are writing for. This is the case with the first season of Sex and the city also. Many of the first season's stylistic choices, such as Carrie frequently breaking the fourth wall, would end up abandoned. What is firmly established in the season, however, is the friendship between the four main characters.
“The Baby Shower” helps solidify that dynamic in what is easily the best episode of the first season. It is the only episode of the first season to be among the best episodes of Sex and the city because it's the episode that really establishes who the characters are and how they relate to each other. The episode finds the four friends on a trip to a Connecticut suburb to visit a former party girl who is starting a family. They were invited to her baby shower and are clearly out of their element while there.
The episode includes gems like Samantha standing up for Charlotte when the dynamic between them was still shifting and all four women confessing their fears to each other while they were out. It's the kind of episode that shows the potential of the series and what it would become.
9
They shoot single people, don't they?
Season 2, Episode 4
One of the broad strokes of the show is how four women in their thirties approach being single when everyone outside their social circle is getting married and starting families. In both sitcoms and dramas focusing on this age group, coming of age is often equated with getting married and having children, and people who are not ready for this are seen as something “other” or shameful. This episode takes that idea head on.
The episode finds Carrie walking into a photo shoot for New York Magazine's cover story, in which they celebrate being “single and fabulous,” but the magazine turns Carrie's status into a question mark as they wear what they should be test photos of her clearly hungover. , without makeup and smoking as final images. The article and cover photo are used to shame her rather than celebrate her.
Carrie and her friends begin to focus on inappropriate relationships, in which they pretend to be happy to see if the relationships can be what they want anyway. Carrie ultimately accepts her single status and goes out to dinner alone, having fun and trying not to let the magazine article make her worse. It's one of the first demonstrations in the series that reminds audiences that being single doesn't have to be a bad thing, and it's something the series should have celebrated more instead of focusing so much on romance as it continued.
8
Coulda, woulda, shoulda, woulda
Season 4, Episode 11
“Coulda Woulda Shoulda” is one of the best episodes of Sex and the city because it deals with what is often considered a taboo topic with frank discussion, realistic circumstances, and lots of fun for the characters. In this episode, Miranda revealed to the group her pregnancy – and that she does not intend to keep the baby. It's a change of pace, as television often avoids discussions about terminating pregnancy altogether, preferring to pretend that abortion doesn't exist.
The episode manages to be realistic about Miranda's circumstances and her friends' past circumstances. Both Carrie and Samantha talk about having abortions in the past, and Carrie even decides to look up the man she had a one-night stand with to see what he's like now. Turns out he's still a waiter at the same place and doesn't even remember her. Although she carries with her the shame of her experience, Samantha does not, and talking about it helps Carrie let go of the shame and accept that she did what was right for her.
Miranda ultimately decides to go along with the pregnancy and tell Steve, as fans of the show know, but this episode is truly a landmark in television because it allows Miranda to really consider her choice and get the benefit of her own friends' experience. The unwanted pregnancy isn't swept under the rug, and the characters feel all the more real for it.
7
Enemies
Season 3, Episode 16
While Sex and the city It's a group show, for the most part, it really tells Carrie's story. As a result, episodes that allow the other characters to shine a little brighter than she does are welcome. “Frenemies” is one of those episodes. While Carrie is busy giving a hilarious lesson on how to win over men, Charlotte and Samantha take more of the spotlight.
Charlotte and Samantha's friendship isn't highlighted that often in the series. They feel like they are worlds apart because Samantha sees herself as truly liberated, while Charlotte often feels more prudish. Here, however, they come together and discover that they really aren't so different. Charlotte spends the episode learning to embrace her inner Samantha, while Samantha begins to admit that she has her own limits.
It's a really fun moment to see Davis and Cattrall working together more, especially when Davis tries to embody how Cattrall plays Samantha.
6
Critical Condition
Season 5, Episode 6
Because Season 5 is truncated compared to the rest of the series, stories tend to move very quickly. This means that not every episode offers great looks at every character, and Miranda raising her son and avoiding his feelings gets the biggest story arc. This episode, however, is a great showcase for all four main characters because they each have their own smaller stories to tell.
Charlotte argues with her ex's mother, Miranda admits she needs a break from her son, Samantha steps up to help Miranda, and Carrie confesses some of her past mistakes. It's a great mix of hilarity and heartfelt moments, as Charlotte's scenes are so funny and Miranda's sell the realism of being a new mother. Even Carrie, who seemingly can never admit that she's to blame, grows a little in the episode as she understands how much she hurt Aidan in the past.
5
Hot kid in the city
Season 3, Episode 15
As shows about characters in their 30s often come with the feel of ticking clockwork or reminding the audience of all the things they “need to do” by a certain age, there are also plenty of episodes that seek to put age and youth into perspective. for both the audience and the characters. “Hot Child In The City” is all about youth, especially when it comes to the stories of Samantha and Carrie, which are the highlights of the episode.
Samantha is hired as a public relations representative for a very rich 13-year-old girl who wants public relations for her bat mitzvah festivities. Samantha is surprised by this child who seems to have already skipped the years of youth and become a bit of an adult. The experience of working for her makes Samantha realize that although she may initially have been jealous of the young woman's wealth and privileges, she had to experience a real childhood instead of being thrust into adult responsibilities. It's a great emotional story for her.
Carrie, on the other hand, manages a slightly more comedic storyline for the moment. She connects with a younger man who owns a comic book store, takes her out to the arcade, and helps her do some substance on the balcony of her parents' apartment. Although Carrie initially enjoys being with him because she feels like she is recapturing her youth, she also realizes that she may not need to recapture it with him.
4
A woman's right to shoes
Season 6, Episode 9
Happy endings are not the same for all women and should not be the same for all fictional characters.
When Sex and the city showcases its main characters' independence from romantic partners, family, and general social conventions, the series is at its best. By the end of the series, much of that independence is gone, and there's nothing wrong with the characters experiencing a journey in which they learn to trust other people, like Miranda being Steve's mother or Samantha after her breast cancer diagnosis. Becoming a mother and going through a drastic health change are realistic stories for the show, but so is remaining single and childless.
This is something that is important for Sex and the city to show. Happy endings are not the same for all women and should not be the same for all fictional characters. So this episode, in which Carrie's lifestyle is questioned by a woman who doesn't believe Carrie's life has as much meaning as a woman who becomes a mother, and Carrie gets to explore exactly why her life has meaning, is important. . It's fantastic that the show allows Carrie to celebrate not being a mother in the same way that Charlotte can celebrate being one.
These two women are very different from each other, and the series does a great job of explaining that without feeling like it's advocating one life path over another.
3
The real me
Season 4, Episode 2
This particular Sex and the city The episode is probably remembered as the episode in which Carrie walks in a fashion show and falls flat on her face. While this sequence is certainly visually memorable, that's not all that happens in the episode. It's a frontal look at the insecurity between the main characters.
Although Carrie falls during the show (and admittedly has immense stage fright, despite baring her soul in the pages of her column regularly), when she's home that night, she puts on her heels, gets up, and struts around the apartment. . Carrie demonstrates that she is determined not to let her fears and insecurities stop her from living her life to the fullest, which is one of her best character traits.
In addition to Carrie, Miranda struggles with what it means to be sexy, Charlotte becomes more introspective, and Samantha focuses on her body. Each of the women deals with their insecurities differently, and the episode offers a great examination of each character through those insecurities and flaws.
2
An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux
Season 6, Episode 20
The end of the series is very controversial for Sex and the city fans because few fans of the show, at the time, wanted to see Carrie return to Big. They wanted to see Carrie embrace her independence again. The final season, however, is marred by Carrie's involvement in relationships that try to tie her down, so it makes sense that Carrie would choose to find the person she feels is truly hers at the end of the series.
Part of the fun of the episode, however, is that it goes all out for the cheesy romantic comedy's happy ending for Carrie, allowing her to fully embrace this side of herself. (again) with Big. It also strives to find satisfactory conclusions for each member of the setleaving no one's stories hanging.
It would have worked great as a true ending to the series, but, of course, these characters' stories have been revived in films and in the revival series. … Is that so since.
1
Ex and the city
Season 2, Episode 18
…the perfect mix of humor, heart and growth…
Grande may be one of the biggest love interests Carrie has throughout the Sex and the city franchise. Her breakup with him, however, is the best episode of Sex and the city. This is mainly because the episode features some of the most iconic friendship moments between the women in the episode. It's also the best Carrie episode of the series.
Carrie and Big fall in and out of a relationship several times throughout the series. Here, it looks like they're broken up for good when Carrie is the one who quotes “The Way We Were” to him and ends things for herself after learning he's engaged to someone else. It's a moment that It seems like Carrie is really growing up and moving forward with her life, which is why so many fans are frustrated when Big returns later in the show.
Of course, the episode also has fun stories like Samantha dating someone who is very well endowed, Miranda and Steve sleeping together again after they already broke up, and Charlotte trying to overcome one of her fears. It's the perfect mix of humor, heart and growth that Sex and the city is able to do so well when the show and its writers are on their A-game.
Sex and the city
Sex in the City follows Carrie Bradshaw, a New York writer who finds inspiration for her column in the genuine, emotional, and often humorous exploits of city life. Joined by best friends Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York and Samantha Jones, Sex and the City follows the ups and downs of the characters' romantic relationships, being single, sex and friendship as 30-something women.
- Release date
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June 6, 1998
- Number of episodes
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94
- Cast
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Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis
- Seasons
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6
- Presenter
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Darren Star