Aside from her dead husband (RIP Big, lol jk), who she’s seemingly fully gotten over, Carrie’s flitting allure since we met her way back in 1998 is that she’s unburdened by family. She once offhandedly mentioned her father leaving her and her mother when she was very young, but that was it. Miranda’s mother passed away, but we never met or heard much about her before that. Charlotte married into a peculiar family (RIP Bunny MacDougal, I’m assuming), and we once met her brother—whom Samantha had a fun time with.
The lack of familial details made room for the beautiful friendships and chaotic romances to flourish. Not being familiar with their lives as daughters or sisters let us really view them as independent women. For the most part, we have little context for these women beyond their current lives playing out between the Hudson and East Rivers.
But this week, as Carrie wakes up in ol’ Virginia, she finds herself smack dab in the middle of a family. Specifically, she wakes up wearing an underwire bra and striped cardigan (she left her suitcase in the rental car, remember?) in Aidan’s guest house, to the sight and sounds of Aidan’s youngest son, Wyatt, staring at her through the window as he paints the outside of the house. Couldn’t lend her a big tee or wait for her to wake up before letting his son gawk at her through the window? Aidan’s chivalrous days seem to be behind him. Luckily, his middle son, Homer, lends Carrie—who steps around empty Gatorade bottles, strewn-about plate weights, and stray yard chickens in her strappy gladiator heels—some of his extra clothes. At least there’s one charitable Shaw man.
To both mine and Carrie’s surprise, Aidan asks her to extend her stay so she can meet Tate, his oldest son, and celebrate his 21st birthday. Technically, Carrie did meet Tate 20 years ago as a baby when he was strapped in a carrier to his father’s chest. But now he can enjoy a Lagunitas IPA and make conversation. Desperate for a drop of Aidan’s attention, she agrees to stay and a few moments later, is driving an ATV to what she refers to as a “sisterwives dress shop” to buy some more outfits for the week. Carrie, as we know, do be shopping.
Up north, perpetual bed-surfer Miranda is cozying up in Carrie’s palatial townhouse. After stumbling over her words hosting a BBC segment, a clip of her saying “wild cunt” instead of “wild country” goes viral. At this point in the series, Miranda’s plot lines all but confirm she has a humiliation kink. Nevertheless, she is very distressed by this viral clip because of how it might be perceived by her work crush, Joy. But given the fact that Carrie later perceives the two coworkers commingling tonsil-hockey style on the stoop via her doorbell camera, all goes well for Miranda. Thank God. She’s had a tough run.
In Charlotte’s bed, Harry, who’s been preoccupied with and distressed by the prospect of aging, has trouble getting erect. “Sex might be off the table,” Charlotte tells him, but “will not having sex mean we’re not Harry and Charlotte?” The answer is obviously “of course not” because no couple on the Upper East Side can ever match the devoted and loving neuroticism these two possess. I did particularly enjoy the subplot in their household this week, where Rock managed to equate a woman looking for an extra banana through the building listserv with mutual aid. Lily also reveals that her new boyfriend, Diego, has a boyfriend of his own because he is poly.
Seema is still navigating her new work dilemma. Let me also quickly apologize to the furious commenters from last week for not knowing who Ryan Serhant—Seema’s new work nemesis and IRL Million Dollar Listing New York host—was. I am listening; I am learning; I maintain that I don’t like this man for pushing Seema out of her dream job.
It takes a treacherous amount of time for Lisa to replace her editor, Grace. Marion Odon, a man with a woman’s name, who I wouldn’t mind being alone in a dark editing bay with, lands the gig. Herbert, who has temporarily sleep-divorced Lisa in order to get some better Z’s, would be smart to get back in the same bed as his wife, considering how handsome and charming Marion is.
Back down South, the Simple Life cosplay Carrie’s been participating in for the week reveals itself to be decidedly not simple. Because while she might think that her relationship with Aidan can withstand five years straddling the Mason-Dixon Line (dubious on its own), Aidan is part of a full and complicated family. Also, at one point she goes fishing with the boys and holds her fishing pole so casually in one hand like a flimsy cigarette, it almost beats out the ATV riding for top physical comedy moment of the episode.
Later, Wyatt has a meltdown during a family game of Apples to Apples (relatable), which leads to him smashing a window (not as much) and inciting a full-on family feud. Kathy, Aidan’s ex-wife, dismisses Aidan’s non-medicinal parenting approach (and we learn that Aidan did not approve of Carrie bringing Wyatt ADD medication); Tate and Homer vent their frustrations with their little brother; and Kathy’s boyfriend, Bob, has perfected his apolitical stance of ignoring everything and scrolling his phone in the corner of the room. Suddenly, Carrie is facing issues bigger than her wardrobe.
I hope this relationship gets nipped in the bud sooner rather than later. The family tensions, crappy communication, lack of FUN that Carrie is holding her breath through not only sucks to watch but feels stale. There’s a brief moment where, after the disastrous family game night, Aidan thinks Carrie is breaking up with him. “No more games,” she tells him, a phrase usually reserved for break-ups. If only we could be so lucky. She instead gives him a key to her apartment, to come up whenever he wants. Seems like a lose-lose game if you ask me!
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