Sex and the City Finale Revisited

In an attempt to find the Friends series finale that I had oh so carefully taped last week, I stumbled upon the recording of the SATC series finale. I had watched it multiple times when it was on HBO, but for some reason I was unable to download it and so have no watched it since.

It remains a totally affecting episode. It's easier to notice how there were the "let's tie up this plotline" moments, but they were never out of character and therefore didn't really bother me. Even knowing how the girls end up, I still felt a lump in my throat at times, and yes, I did cry at certain points. Again.

This episode remains one of the better series finales I've seen. Not only because I was happy with the way everyone's life wrapped up, but because I thought it was done in a manner true to the characters and to the show. Like any good tv show, it referenced some of the key moments in its early episodes -- especially between Carrie and Big (or John as he is now known)-- and made those of us who've seen every episode feel like part of a club. None of the plotlines were out of synch with the trajectory of the show and it was heartening to see how all of the women had grown up and grown into themselves.

Samantha, who started as the powerful and uber-sexual woman on the prowl, got a man who provided her not only with mind-blowing sex, but with the support she needed to get through cancer (and middle age). She also managed to maintain her own distinct personality without compromising the way she had with Richard. Charlotte realized that her dreams of the perfect WASP marriage with the perfect WASP man wasn't what would make her happy; she converted to Judaism and married a shlubby little man who worshipped her and made her smile. The news of an impending adoption made her life only that much sweeter. I felt the character who grew the most was Miranda, who started as the cynical, hardened corporate lawyer and ended up a cynical mother and wife. By opening herself up to vulnerability, she found herself in the middle of something wholly fulfilling.

Carrie ended up with Big. We all knew that would happen. However, she left Aleksandr on her own, realizing her need for consuming, passionate love...and the need to be her own person. Had Big shown up and "saved the day" the show would have been a lie, a scam. Allowing Carrie to make the choice herself, saved SATC from betraying itself.

At the end, Carrie summarizes the various relationships you have in life, ending with the most complicated one being with yourself. It is because she ends with that one, that the show maintained its honesty for me. The additional line of "And if you can find someone who loves the you YOU love, then that's just fabulous" is what the made the show brilliant.