Sex and the City, the Paris episode

...Carrie and me.

When the TV series Sex and the City first aired, I thought it was amazing to be the same age as the protagonists. It felt like a shared journey with the characters.

I recall a conversation with a male friend around that time. He had watched a few episodes to understand what all the fuss was about and told me, “You’re the Carriest woman I know.” At that moment, it felt like a badge of honour. We all aspired to be Carrie Bradshaw, and truth be told, I was pretty close. Same age, curly hair, petite, single, fiercely independent, interested in fashion, and with a distinctive style. I, too, had my friends and also my Mr. Big. I met him when I was fifteen, and he has been on and off in my life ever since. Of course, there were some differences. She lived in New York, and I lived in Buenos Aires. She wore haute couture for dinner with friends, and I wore prêt-à-porter. But the biggest difference of all was that, by that time, I was already a mother to a four-year-old daughter, and that anchored me in a way that prevented me from going from one bad relationship to another. I always got my priorities right.

I remember the excitement of watching the season finale, divided into two episodes called "An American in Paris." Carrie was the American in Paris. She moved there to join her boyfriend, a famous artist, for the opening of his new exhibition. They were planning to stay there for some time. In Paris, she felt miserable and lonely and kept thinking about Mr. Big. She told all this to her friend Miranda during a phone call. Miranda told Charlotte and Samantha, and they all met Mr. Big. He told them that he loved Carrie and wanted to win her back. With their approval, he went to Paris and rescued Carrie. Then, in a romantic scene on the Pont des Arts, he finally told her that “she is the one.” They kissed, and we all felt emotional and hopeful about the happy ending.

I watched the season finale with my sister, and then again with my friends, and we all agreed that it was the perfect ending. None of us paid too much attention to Carrie’s dislike of Paris. Maybe we thought it was all down to her really loving Mr. Big.