“The Victorians were on to something – they valued romance!” – Charlotte
I REALLY don’t like the phrase “bunny boiler”, partly because I love bunnies and partly because it’s only ever used to describe women, reflecting an archaic double standard according to which women must be pursued, never pursuers. But Carrie’s behaviour in this episode is crackers.
The topic of The Rules comes up as she’s preparing for her first proper date with Mr Big, and the women – except Charlotte, of course – are quick to dismiss this approach to dating. Carrie does briefly get-to-thinking about whether delaying gratification is a marker of maturity, but goes ahead and sleeps with Big anyway.
By the time of their second date her head’s full of thoughts about “secret sex” – the kind that results when one of the pair is embarrassed to be seen with the other – and when they bump into some of Big’s friends and fails to introduce her, she fears the worst. In spite of this she goes ahead and invites him, on Samantha’s suggestion, to meet her friends.
Meanwhile, Miranda is finally nice to a guy. Only after accidentally kicking him in the face, but it’s a good start. However, she later freaks out after finding some very slightly kinky porn in his pants drawer. You know, while having a snoop around his apartment in that way women do. Hmm, wait a minute. Is that something women do, or something terrible people do? Maybe Miranda should hook up with that guy from episode two, and they can violate each other’s privacy til the cows come home. Apparently she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with snooping, because she more or less tells the guy that she knows his terrible dirty secret (which is neither terrible nor particularly dirty). He dumps her. Good.
Inspired by this car crash of an episode, I propose some new Rules:
- Don’t invite a man to meet all of your friends after one date
- Don’t overreact wildly to minor social faux pas
- Don’t be a snoop
- If you must be a snoop, at least be a bit ashamed about it
Carrie’s column: “How many of us out there are having great sex with people we’re afraid to introduce to our friends?”
Fashion: Carrie wears a “naked dress” for the Big date. It’s not really very nice.
Puns: None again, but there are some funny lines. In a flashback to Charlotte’s secret romance with a Hassidic Jewish artist, his beard is described as “his wool”. (Charlotte’s whole what-would-people-think act around this is amusing given her eventual choice of – entirely wool-free – husband).
Sex and the City Revisited 