‘Sex and the City’: Jack Berger’s Biggest Red Flags
Carrie Bradshaw did a fair bit of dating during Sex and the City. While Mr. Big was the on-again-off-again love that many fans shipped Carrie with, she had other serious boyfriends. While viewers of the HBO classic can argue the merits of Mr. Big, Aidan Shaw, and Aleksandr Petrovsky, one boyfriend is considered largely irredeemable. Jack Berger, Carrie’s brief, season six boyfriend, was simply horrible, and there were red flags from the very start.
Jack Berger didn’t tell Carrie he was in a relationship until he absolutely had to
Berger and Carrie met at her publisher’s office by chance. The duo decided to spend the day together, talking about the entire publishing process. That would have been fine if the meetup had stayed strictly professional, but it certainly veered off into friendly territory and bordered on flirtatious.
Carrie was sure she was feeling sparks until Berger revealed he had a girlfriend. While someone doesn’t need to disclose their relationship status to everyone they meet, it probably should have come up in conversation sooner than it did. Berger tried to play it off like their outing didn’t warrant the information, but viewers think otherwise. It seemed like Jack Berger was trying to hide his relationship until he got a read on Carrie’s intentions.
Berger gave his ex the finger when she left him a voicemail
Berger held grudges. It became obvious when Carrie mildly criticized his choice of hair accessories for one of his book’s characters. That one joking comment eventually led to the couple’s demise. If we are being fair, Berger presented that red flag a lot earlier in the relationship, though.
Shortly after Berger and Carrie started dating, his ex-girlfriend left him a voicemail. Instead of ignoring it, he gave the answering machine the finger. Simultaneously, the odd move proved that he wasn’t over his ex and that he held grudges. It would become a theme in the couple’s short-lived romance.
Berger was mean, even to Charlotte York
Berger didn’t just hold grudges; he could get downright mean when he didn’t agree with someone or something. When Carrie commented about the scrunchie in his book, he made fun of her hat. When Charlotte York asked Carrie to get her out of a bad date, Berger called her out for using the emergency phone call tactic. Berger was mean to Miranda Hobbes, too.
The biggest issue with Jack Berger’s behavior is that he tried to present the meaner side of his personality as a positive attribute. He claimed to be “honest,” but he had no tact. Overall, Berger wasn’t just the wrong guy for Carrie; he was the wrong guy for most women in his season 6 state. We don’t even need to talk about the Post-It note breakup.
