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Carrie Bradshaw: Seeing the Light

 First: What happened?


Charlotte's child, Rock, was meant to have a "they-mitzvah," but Rock never studied, never made clear that the money and time Charlotte was expending might be for nought, then announced, at the last minute, "I'm not going through with this." As a novelist Tweeted: "With the exception of Anthony, literally every LGBTQ character in this series is an asshole. This seems like progress, in terms of representation...."

Miranda chose to torpedo her Human Rights Watch internship. She said, "I'll be flying to California, to support Che." Like Margaret Cho, like Lindy West, like Issa Rae, Che has invented a persona, and the persona has led to a TV pilot.

My favorite parts of the finale involved Carrie. In a little twist, Carrie went to lunch with Big's brother--James Naughton, from "Chicago." The point of the lunch was to discuss Big's ashes, so Brother Big said: "Where is John, now?" Awkwardly, Carrie lowered her voice and said: "He's dead. Do you remember? Your brother is dead." This miscommunication was uncomfortable and weirdly funny, and it reminded me of something from "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The neatest trick involved Carrie's big confrontation with Miranda. This was clearly a bit of "meta-writing": The writers were alluding to the canonical Miranda/Carrie fight from the end of "Sex and the City." But--this week--Carrie did the judging, and Miranda did the wild flailing (a reversal of roles). In "Sex and the City," the Miranda/Carrie fight had serious weight, and it bled into subsequent episodes. But, this past week, the new Carrie/Miranda fight ended abruptly. A trans rabbi emerged from a bathroom stall--and offered brisk, unsolicited advice. "Go to California, or don't go. It doesn't matter. What matters is preserving the bond you have with your best friend."

This ridiculous speech happened while the rabbi engaged in a struggle with the automatic paper-towel dispenser. A klutzy deus ex machina -- for the era of no-touch bathroom appliances. Call me crazy, but I really enjoyed all of this.

The show is a mess: The treatment of Stanford is sloppy, the coy, lazy allusions to Samantha do not work. And yet. And yet. I hope for Season Two.

P.S. At its core, this show is about puns. "Seeing the Light" refers to Carrie's epiphany: Carrie can move on from mourning Big. But, additionally, Carrie sees an *actual* light. She has a flickering lamp -- and it drives her batty, at least in Act One.
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