‘Sex and the City’: This Scene Spotlighting Carrie’s Selfishness Didn’t Age Well

Carrie Bradshaw, narrator and lead character of beloved comedy-drama Sex and the City may have been a polarizing figure during many sessions in the writer’s room. The character, played by actor Sarah Jessica Parker, whom many consider an anti-hero of sorts, had many moments throughout the show’s history that often give off a selfish and narcissistic vibe.

Carrie’s relationships with her friends had their ups and downs

Sex and the City fans get to know each member of Carrie’s friend group over the course of the show. Each of Carrie’s closest friends, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte have both high and low moments with Carrie from the moment they meet.

The group of friends shared many moments of heartbreak with each other while providing support and a shoulder to cry on when it is needed most. Humorous moments like the infamous scene where, in preparation for Carrie’s book launch party, Samantha gets a poorly timed chemical peel with disastrous results happen throughout the show to really cement the feelings each of the group’s members has for each other.

Of course, like with many groups of friends, the highs come with the lows. For example, Carrie has a knack for inserting her own problems into every situation and focusing on them when other, more important things are happening to her friends. When Carrie visits Miranda after she gets hurt, Miranda calls her out for only showing up to talk about her relationship with Aidan.https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1348406768494374915

Money and the problems it brings

Between friends and family, money can sometimes create difficult situations. This is especially true in one particular case with Carrie and Charlotte. When Carrie is in need of financial help to place a down payment on her apartment, she asks Charlotte to loan her $40,000. When Charlotte refuses to loan her the money, Carrie calls her out and acts as if she was owed this generous loan.

 Carrie, who admitted she had spent thousands on expensive shoes and other luxury items, berated her friend Charlotte for being lucky to be in the financial situation that she was in. For the many who view Sex and the City as an escapist show, this scene was a hard dose of reality.

While some may view Carrie as being selfish and irresponsible for putting herself in this financial predicament in the first place, others see her as brave for making the difficult decision to ask her friend for assistance. Admitting failure and asking for help in any situation can be hard, and especially so when money is involved.

Why writers couldn’t agree

While this scene was controversial for Sex and the City fans, it was especially difficult in the writer’s room. Writers and producers of the show had trouble coming to an agreement on who was in the right: Carrie or Charlotte? Should Charlotte, a longtime friend of Carrie’s, be there to help her financially in her time of need, or should she have told Carrie that she made her own bed and that she was on her own?

In the end, Charlotte does help Carrie financially, with the promise of being paid back. Judith Ohikuare of Refinery29 writes “Carrie may not have gotten help from a parent, but she did get significant financial help from a Charlotte – something very few people could ever dream of doing.”

Carrie is very lucky to have good friends who have the ability to bail her out in situations like these. While the writers did eventually come to an agreement, fans were disappointed to see that Carrie’s financial problems continued throughout the rest of the series. What could have been a growing moment for the show’s main character, ended up just showing the selfishness and narcissistic traits of Carrie’s personality.