274: On Sex and the City: Luck Be an Old Lady

Summary

Every Outfit, Episode 274: On Sex and the City: Luck Be an Old Lady

Release Date: May 22, 2026
Hosts: Chelsea Fairless & Lauren Garroni

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Chelsea and Lauren conduct a deep-dive, fashion-centric rewatch of "Luck Be an Old Lady," the third episode of Sex and the City’s much-debated short fifth season. With their signature irreverence and encyclopedic pop culture knowledge, they dissect the plot, fashion choices, and parallels between SATC and its spinoff "And Just Like That...," all while bringing in personal anecdotes, iconic fashion history, and thoughtful critique about aging, friendship, and the evolution of dating culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Season Five’s Unique Vibe & Criticism

• The hosts reflect on the distinctive, often criticized season five (03:35). They acknowledge its short length and frequent selection for episode rewatches, noting that it feels “off,” partly due to Sarah Jessica Parker’s pregnancy altering dynamics and wardrobe choices (06:55).
• Chelsea: “I like this episode a lot because it’s rare that the four of them get out of the city and it’s not the Hamptons. It feels like a vacation.” [06:40]

2. Plot Analysis: Blind Dates and Friendship

• The episode opens with Carrie being stood up for a blind date, sparking discussion about the obsolescence of blind dates in the era of dating apps and online profiles (08:46).
  • Chelsea: “Blind dates are a notoriously dehumanizing experience, and they are not common now… if you’re set up, they’ll show you a photo first.” [08:46]
• The classic brunch scene allows each character’s perspective on dating and aging to shine (09:40). Charlotte’s belief in blind dates is mocked, while Carrie bemoans humiliation and Samantha dismisses blind dates as beneath her.
• Memorable Line: Samantha to Carrie: "Oh honey, you’re cute, but I’m never gonna fuck you." [11:21]

3. Aging, Denial, and Social Labels

• Charlotte celebrates her “30-faux” birthday, choosing to tell everyone she’s 35—again—sparking discussion on age denial, social pressure, and media transparency about women’s ages versus men’s (12:22-14:33).

4. The Atlantic City Trip: Luxury, Awkwardness & Comparative Wealth

• The girls’ trip gets a private jet upgrade courtesy of Samantha’s boyfriend Richard, who is scrutinized as a “Trump-coded” character, arguably owning the Taj Mahal casino (16:00-17:23).
  • Lauren: “Richard Wright was definitely on the plane with Epstein… Big was in the emails, but Richard is in the flight logs.” [16:48]

5. Motherhood & Modernity: Miranda’s Subplot

• Miranda reluctantly leaves her baby for the first time, Steve’s comic incompetence as a caretaker is both mocked and critiqued (19:12-21:21).
  • Includes dramatic reenactment of Steve’s “crash out” over baby care.
• Lauren: “The resolution is that Carrie negotiates Magda will help Steve... if this were my situation: Steve, you stay at my apartment because all the baby’s here...” [20:38]

6. Fashion Discourse: Iconic and Forgettable Looks

• Arrival at the Taj Mahal casino triggers an in-depth breakdown of each character’s outfit. Carrie wears a controversial, plagiarized Balenciaga chainmail top; the fashion drama includes references to 2002 Balenciaga vs original designs by Kaisik Wong (29:09-31:47).
  • Chelsea: “This is the outfit that makes it impossible to ignore the fact that she is with child. And nothing against that. It's actually really forward thinking... something that Rihanna would wear.” [28:49]
• The hosts contextualize other wardrobe choices, noting Miranda’s postpartum “waterfall cardigan,” Charlotte’s pre-makeover “old maid” vibes, and Samantha’s noir ensemble.
• Discussion on how Parker’s pregnancy influenced both wardrobe and the show’s tone.

7. Atlantic City: Gambling, Group Tension, and Metaphor Fatigue

• The iconic dinner scene—where the girls struggle to connect—underscores Carrie’s rigidity and the fragility of adult friendships (35:19-37:09).
  • Lauren: “If anyone in the group has too specific a vision of the trip, if that doesn’t happen, they spin out—rancid vibes, don’t want to be around that person.” [36:36]
• Miranda’s sarcastic “baby needs a new pair of shoes” is noted as camp and foreshadowing for future character developments (39:13).

8. Slutty Atlantic Makeover & Friendship Dynamics

• Charlotte’s transformation from dowdy to “Atlantic slutty” is debated—what felt shocking in 2002 seems tame now (45:33-46:15).
  • Chelsea: “She walks out in this outfit, an outfit Samantha would wear any day of the week, and then immediately the rest say 'this fucking whore'.” [45:48]
• Fashion credits for Charlotte’s makeover dress remain elusive, despite modern reverse-image search tools (48:25).
• Samantha’s “defensive fucking” line, running up stairs in a pearl thong, and her final breakup with Richard are crowned as dramatic highlights (48:40, 53:20).

9. Feminism, Friendship, and SATC’s Core Questions

• Carrie’s pessimistic theory about friendship outlasting relationships resonates with older millennial anxieties. The hosts connect this thread to unresolved tension in "And Just Like That..." (56:32-57:15).
• Chelsea: “Oftentimes friendships outlive relationships… If you cannot maintain your friendships over time, you’ll be fucked when you’re old.” [56:48]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Carrie’s iconic “I couldn't help but wonder…”:
  “People go to casinos for the same reason they go on blind dates, hoping to hit the jackpot. But mostly you wind up broke or alone in a bar. If we know the house always wins, why gamble?” [42:10]

• Samantha’s breakup with Richard:
  “I love you too, Richard. But I love me more.” [54:03 – 54:05]

• John Waters camp meets millennial relatability:
  Miranda’s deadpan, “Baby needs a new pair of shoes,” at the craps table. [39:13]

• Best Samantha one-liner:
  "Defensive fucking." [48:52]

• Best campy visual:
  Carrie binge-eating peppermint saltwater taffy on a park bench, “looking like a junkie.” [59:29]

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Major Segment Timestamps

• Season Five discussion & subreddit critiques: [03:35 – 07:14]
• Brunch scene / Blind dates obsolete: [07:15 – 11:24]
• Aging discourse (Charlotte’s birthday, lying about age): [12:22 – 14:33]
• Motherhood & Miranda subplot: [19:12 – 22:02]
• Arrival to Atlantic City / Fashion breakdown: [27:51 – 34:01]
• Casino tension, dinner & group dynamic disintegration: [35:19 – 37:09]
• Charlotte’s makeover: [45:04 – 45:48]
• Miranda “fat ass” altercation: [49:03 – 50:23]
• Samantha’s breakup with Richard: [53:06 – 54:05]
• Boardwalk and final group photo: [58:20 – 62:29]
• Kim Cattrall/Sarah Jessica Parker feud context: [62:29 – 63:43]
• Hosts' end-of-episode “awards:” [63:43 – 66:33]

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Episode Awards & Closing Takes

• Rating: Both hosts rate the episode “8 Manolas” — high, especially for season five.
• MVP: Samantha, for iconic self-love and finally breaking up with Richard. [64:34]
• Best Dressed: Carrie in her Balenciaga collection piece, with an honorable mention for Charlotte’s post-makeover look. [65:10]
• Who Are You: Chelsea: “Definitely Carrie, trying to control the group.” Lauren: “I see myself in all four.” [65:41 – 66:10]
• Best Line: “Miss Atlantic Slutty” & Carrie’s pearl thong running commentary. [66:10]
• Biggest Trigger: ZZ Top in the Magic Carpet Room and “Carrie’s hair.” [66:37]
• Hottest Take: Richard still cheated with Terry. Lauren: “Charlotte should have joined in for a Mile High threesome.” [67:57]

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Final Thoughts

“Luck Be an Old Lady,” though divisive among fans, is praised by Chelsea and Lauren for its camp, iconic fashion, and unique setting outside Manhattan. The hosts’ encyclopedic knowledge and witty rapport elevate the episode analysis from simple recap to insightful cultural commentary.

This episode is a must-listen for Sex and the City devotees, fashion geeks, and anyone who relishes sharp feminist humor about aging, friendship, and the uniquely 2000s anxieties of single life in the big city.

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Key Takeaway:
“Friendships, like great outfits, require care, maintenance, and revision. The house may always win, but in the game of SATC rewatches, longevity, self-love, and iconic fashion always have the last word.”

Transcript

[Lauren Garoni]

Tour. If you remember, I have a very funny photo, I believe, of us at Rock and Bruise with the Every Outfit award on the table.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Perfect. I am so excited to share that this podcast is sponsored by the RealReal, the world's largest and most trusted source for authenticated luxury resale. I shop at the RealReal. I also sell on the RealReal. I did a really big closet purge in January, and I took all my old clothes to the RealReal. And the store credit has been trickling in every single month, and I'm loving it. It's so nice to use your old clothes to finance your new clothes. And I've been enjoying buying dumb stuff like a blue faux fur Prada stole, which is very Samantha Jones.

[Lauren Garoni]

Is that for every outfit? Tv for sure.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And I feel like it was free. Like it's not real money if you're selling to the real real and then buying stuff with the credit.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, I'm very happy for you, Chelsea.

[Chelsea Fairless]

What have you been buying?

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, I bought a Tom Ford era Gucci top. It arrived, it had the original tags on it, which means it's never been worn before.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Wow.

[Lauren Garoni]

Another thing that I've started doing on the RealReal is brands that would otherwise be out of my reach financially. Even on the RealReal, I'm talking about your Tom Fords, your Celine. I search for it in my size and then I go lowest price to highest price. And you can find some great things for under a hundred dollars.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That is a very good hack. Did you buy that Thierry Mugler suit that I sent you?

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay, just so you guys know, we did discuss the episode. Chelsea has a specific vision for me for every Alpha tv, and that is to look like Gale Weathers.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I really think that Lauren needs a lime green skirt suit. I think it would be major and

[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

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[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

Okay, shall we get into some dress drama?

[Lauren Garoni]

I cannot believe that we actually have enough dress drama for its own.

[Chelsea Fairless]

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[Lauren Garoni]

Give it a try. Come join our sweat sesh on TikTok. I spent $40,000. Shoes. What's the matter, Morty? Great gowns. Beautiful gowns.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Fashion has changed. No, it hasn't.

[Lauren Garoni]

Hi, I'm Lauren Garoni.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And I'm Chelsea Fairless.

[Lauren Garoni]

And welcome back to the Every Outfit podcast. This is our monthly rewatch of a Sex and the City episode. We are doing Luck Be an Old lady, the third episode of the shortened fifth season of Sex and the City.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Why can't we stay away from season five? What is it?

[Lauren Garoni]

I know we've done now a majority of season five, but again, it's only eight episodes.

[Chelsea Fairless]

True. Like a moth to a flame, it keeps drawing me in.

[Lauren Garoni]

So this episode is written by Julie Rotenberg and Eliza Zurski. They went on to be writers for. For. And just like that, fair warning, I am going to bring up and just like that, because there are some overlaps I noticed in this episode. This episode is also directed by John David Coles, who directed six episodes for Sex and the City. He directed this episode and then the next episode, CoverGirl, aka When Samantha Blows. The Worldwide Express guy. But he also directed the LA episodes. Oh, wow.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Respect.

[Lauren Garoni]

I thought that I remembered most of this episode, but in this rewatch, I realized there's a lot of this episode I don't remember. Starting with Carrie going on a blind date.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, it begins with a Carrie voiceover. When venturing out on your first blind date in a decade, it's crucial to have the right attitude. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and who knows, you just might be pleasantly surprised. Or.

[Lauren Garoni]

Or not. To illustrate the hope for the best, it cuts to a really handsome guy. But it turns out he's meeting a different girl. The prepare for the worst is a guy across the bar looking at Carrie, which, I'm sorry, this guy is not that ugly.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I know he looks like the guys they willingly date on this show that we're supposed to think are hot.

[Lauren Garoni]

That's what I was gonna say. He has a demna Gucci male model vibe. Or to put it another way, a guy Samantha would fuck any day that ends with Y.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But alas, our girl is stood up.

[Lauren Garoni]

See, this is why season five sucks. The vibes are off.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, I Will say, this is great material for Carrie's column. Why is she even complaining?

[Lauren Garoni]

Sure, but, you know, Miranda got stood up in season two, but the joke is that the guy died on her. And we'll get into it in the next scene, which is a brunch scene between the girls. But we never learn who this guy is who set Carrie up on this blind date.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I looked at the Sex and the City subreddit a bit before we sat down today, and people really do not like this episode. I don't agree with them, but I find it interesting that this episode seems to be so divisive for people.

[Lauren Garoni]

What is the general feeling about this episode?

[Chelsea Fairless]

That Carrie is really annoying. Like, more so than she usually is. Everyone's annoyed by the way that Charlotte is treated in this episode.

[Lauren Garoni]

I think Charlotte ultimately has a good time. I will agree Carrie is the person you don't want on a girls trip,

[Chelsea Fairless]

but there would be no girls trip if it wasn't for her. Someone needs to organize shit.

[Lauren Garoni]

Which you would think would be Miranda, but somehow it's Carrie.

[Chelsea Fairless]

In this episode, I'm going to be the Carrie defender. You can respectfully disagree.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, in the pantheon of Season 5 episodes, this is one of the better ones.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I like this episode a lot because it's rare that the four of them get out of the city and it's not the Hamptons. I feel like I'm on a vacation because we're so used to seeing them all in this city all the time. And to me, it's a unique episode, which I just appreciate.

[Lauren Garoni]

Did anyone mention this? Because I think a subconscious thing as a habitual Sex in the City viewer is. This is really the first episode you can tell that she's pregnant and hiding the pregnancy. And I think that's where the fourth wall begins to dissolve in season five, which also makes it a tough watch.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That's true.

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay, so now we get a brunch scene, which, to give this episode its flowers, is my favorite Sex and the City structure. We get a cold open, and then we get a brunch scene.

[Chelsea Fairless]

We're into the brunch scene in, like, 20 seconds. It's incredibly efficient storytelling. They had to pack a lot into this episode.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, they got to get to Atlantic

[Chelsea Fairless]

City, so Carrie is obviously upset about being stood up. When you are stood up on a blind date, there always is the question, did he see me think I was ugly and bold, or did he not show up altogether? I think the latter would be the much better scenario, obviously.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah. I mean, because we don't learn who this person is. It's hard to tell if it is the former or the latter. I like to think it's one of two things. Perhaps her New York star editor set her up on a blind date. Or perhaps Carrie never had a date and she fabricated this blind date to have something to write about for her column that week.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She did not do that. Our girl got stood up.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yes. As she explains to the girls, as if going on a blind date is the worst thing you can do in the world of dating. Right. It's not even like she paid for a matchmaker service, but that's how she's acting. She's like, yes, girls, I deign to go on a blind date against all of my better judgment. And she also says, I was willing to lower myself into the gutter.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Blind dates are a notoriously dehumanizing experience, and they are not common now. I don't even think they exist anymore because we all see photos of people we go on dates with. You know, like, if you're set up with someone, they will show you a photo of the person beforehand.

[Lauren Garoni]

Right.

[Chelsea Fairless]

There's no universe in which anyone in 2026 is actually going on a fully blind date. Unless it's like some sort of novelty thing. Like maybe it's going to be the new hip kind of dating or something. A reaction to the fact that everyone is on apps and stuff.

[Lauren Garoni]

That's a really great point that you can't truly go on a blind date in the era of Google stalking.

[Chelsea Fairless]

No. And that's why this episode and the couldn't help but wonder which we will get into are not relevant to dating today. Most things on Sex and the City are still relevant to dating today, but not this.

[Lauren Garoni]

I think another strong point of this episode, even though the overwhelming feeling from the Sex and the City subreddit is that this episode sucks, is in this brunch scene, we do get all of the women's point of views well represented. Right. Carrie is humiliated. Samantha says that blind dates are beneath her Brand and Mrs. Dating. And Charlotte says she knows plenty of great couples who met on blind dates.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Does she? I think this bitch is lying. It then transitions into a discussion about aging and dating. Charlotte's basically like, well, you have to keep putting yourself out there and doing humiliating things like this or else you'll be an old maid.

[Lauren Garoni]

Which you and I, when I was single, had several variations of this conversation where you were Charlotte and I was Carrie, and you were like, I'm sorry, you've gone on yet Another humiliating date. But you must keep putting yourself out there.

[Chelsea Fairless]

You have to.

[Lauren Garoni]

You're not gonna meet someone by not leaving your house. And guess what? I kind of did.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, that's luck.

[Lauren Garoni]

Though you were saying earlier that I couldn't help but wonder is not really relevant to dating today. Something that is relevant to dating today is this line that Carrie has where she goes, even if he had shown up, most first dates are like job interviews with cocktails.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So true.

[Lauren Garoni]

There's also this great exchange between Carrie and Samantha. I love when Carrie's down in the dumps. She did this in season two when she had broken up with Big and the girls have to give her an intervention about going to therapy. And she's like, why go to a therapist? I have you guys. And she basically says the same thing, but about dating. She's like, why risk going on a God awful evening when I'm guaranteed to have fun with you guys? And Samantha goes, oh, honey, you're cute, but I'm never gonna fuck you.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Great Samantha line.

[Lauren Garoni]

By the way. What is the card game? Old Maid.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I forget. I used to play it when I was a kid, but it's been a long time.

[Lauren Garoni]

Is it like Uno girl?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I have no idea. Like I was like 10 when I was playing Old Maid.

[Lauren Garoni]

And clearly neither of us did research for this episode.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I think it's like you go through all these cards and like you don't want to get the Old Maid card. There's something bad about the Old Maid card.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, yeah, you're a spinster. While men get the moniker Bachelors and

[Chelsea Fairless]

playboys, you're a 35 year old spinster. Or actually they're 36. In this episode, everyone but Charlotte and Samantha, who is of an indeterminate age.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, while this is the weakest season, I feel like even in an episode like this, it is still hitting at the thesis of the show. Which is, is there nothing worse for a single woman to end up as an old maid? But also, it's fucked up that women get this moniker while men get to be called bachelors and playboys.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It is then introduced that Charlotte's 36th birthday is on the horizon.

[Lauren Garoni]

This is one of the funniest things and is perfectly Charlotte, which is she politely tells everyone that she is choosing not to turn 36 and instead will continue to be 35.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's so rude that Samantha says that lying about her age is the smartest thing she's done in years.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, marrying Trey after a month, quitting her job. These are all things she told her

[Chelsea Fairless]

not to do true, but is lying about your age wise?

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, we will learn later in this episode the age that Samantha chooses to tell people, which is egregious.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See, I would never lie about my age because for one thing I would forget like who knows my fake age and who knows my real age. I would rather be perceived as my age than perceived as a busted younger person. And also like I feel like when people lie about their age, you always know, you always hear about it because people gossip and then everyone just thinks you're insecure and older.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, also, we cannot lie about our age because we've done press who insisted on listing our age. I remember the first ever press piece we did.

[Chelsea Fairless]

We were like, well fuck yeah, that is a downside.

[Lauren Garoni]

I always had a thought that post the pandemic whenever we came out of the pandemic, whether you wanted to see that as 2022 or 2023. I felt like we should just have kept our age from 2020.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I agree.

[Lauren Garoni]

Just let's shave off three years.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It would only be right. I feel about three years younger than I am. Yeah, I feel like I'm a 39 year old woman.

[Lauren Garoni]

I feel like I'm a 35 year old woman.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It is crazy though being older than these bitches now.

[Lauren Garoni]

I did think I'm like oh I'm the age they are in this episode and it's like nope, I'm the age they are in the last season and come next year. I'm older than these bitches.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I'm the age they are in the first film.

[Lauren Garoni]

I do love Carrie phrasing it as Charlotte's 30 faux birthday.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Very Carrie.

[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

Quint.com outfit it then becomes car's mission to do something fun for Charlotte's birthday. Samantha has to go out of town because Richard is going to be at some casino. Why is he there?

[Lauren Garoni]

I was gonna wait to bring this up, but when Richard is introduced in season 4 he is meant to be a Andre Balaz Ian Schrager hotel magnet. I believe this episode is pushing the thought that he owns the Taj Mahal, which means he's Donald Trump. So therefore my question is in the world of Sex and the City is Richard Wright currently president?

[Chelsea Fairless]

You're so right. He is the most Trump coded character on the show, even more so than Mr. Big.

[Lauren Garoni]

As we have said in previous episodes, Richard Wright was definitely on the plane with Epstein. So this all tracks.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Big was in the emails, but Richard is in the flight logs, if you know what I mean.

[Lauren Garoni]

So yes, I think we're supposed to understand that he owns the Taj Mahal and he is going for a fight Saturday and so he is taking Samantha with him on his private jet, which, I mean, yeah, who wants to drive from New York to New Jersey? But that is Kardashian level private jet excessiveness.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally. Because it's a two hour drive to Atlantic City.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean you can't take a helicopter.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It seems like more of a chopper thing. But it's fine. We can suspend our disbelief.

[Lauren Garoni]

So we do get this sequence with Carrie where she's alone in her apartment, which is sort of a rare thing with Carrie. Like Carrie bored. I think we last got that when Aiden was in Pennsylvania and she's trying not to fuck Big. So she like organizes everything. This is just her sadly watching television, I assume on the weekend, frantically calling all of her friends to organize a trip together because she peers at a framed photo that is very clearly A press photo from season two and is like, this is the last time a photo was ever taken of us. And Miranda's wearing a blouse with shoulder pads. She calls Samantha. We get this funny reveal where Richard pops up behind her, which makes me wonder, do we think Richard was sucking on her toes or eating her ass?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I don't want to think about either scenario.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, it doesn't matter. Richard offers to whisk them all away to Atlantic City on his private jet with comp suites.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Sounds like a great deal to me. Carrie goes to Miranda's house to pick her up. There's a very funny bit where Miranda psychs her out and feigns that she's having some sort of mommy breakdown and doesn't want to leave the baby.

[Lauren Garoni]

Did you feel like this episode was relevant to our life? Because you and Tat just whisked me away for my first weekend away from the baby. Quite like Miranda.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally. Well, you're a very Miranda esque mother, I would say. I mean that as a compliment.

[Lauren Garoni]

Meaning I was completely fine to leave my baby behind.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Meaning that you're not the kind of like Goo Goo Gaga kind of mom.

[Lauren Garoni]

You oddly do more Goo Goo Gagaing to the baby.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's true.

[Lauren Garoni]

So Miranda's completely fine with it. There's also this funny bit where Magda whisks Carrie into the kitchen to show off all the baby photos. And Carrie is like, wow, Miranda, I never thought you'd be the type of person to put up photos of your bab baby. And she's like, that's not me, that's Magda.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So you. Then Steve shows up with the baby. Steve has been tasked with taking care of this infant and he's clearly having a breakdown.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, I guess we, we're learning in this episode that he's never taking care of the baby overnight. The baby is very young. I thought that the baby was older at this point. I thought the baby was maybe six months. Closer to a year. I think the baby's like four months or something.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's not that he hasn't taken care of the baby overnight. He hasn't taken care of the baby for more than two consecutive hours.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Do we have audio of this?

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, yes. Steve's crash out. Absolutely. I don't think I can do this. Excuse me. I'm afraid that I might break him or something.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Look, I, I, I accidentally scratched his face with my dirty fingernail.

[Lauren Garoni]

Look, um, it's nothing. You've taken care of him before. It's been fine.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But for two hours yeah, for two hours I'm great.

[Lauren Garoni]

But, you know, after two hours, I

[Chelsea Fairless]

might accidentally kill him.

[Lauren Garoni]

Look, we're both afraid we're going to kill the baby. That's a given. But we made an agreement this week. Monday to Friday, I try not to kill him. Saturday and Sunday, you try not to kill him. Huh? Yeah. I'm sorry. I can't do it. This has never made sense to me, even before I had a baby. Because the resolution is that Carrie negotiates that Magda will help Steve watch the baby, which, if this were my situation, it's like, steve, you stay at my apartment because all of the baby is here. Magda will come help you through the day, and then you just make sure you don't kill the baby during the night.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See, I like that you feel comfortable leaving the baby for a couple of days because you have, like, a competent husband who can take care of the baby, who has taken care of the baby for more than two hours. Miranda Foley doesn't give a shit. She's like, just figure it out.

[Lauren Garoni]

Which to me is like, she clearly has the money. And we learn in this episode that Steve doesn't have the experience. So it's like, just pay for help. But I guess. I guess we're meant to understand because in the previous episode, she acknowledges that the night nurse or the baby nurse is leaving after this week. And so you're gonna have to make plans with her a year in advance. That's why Carrie feels like, we must do this Girls weekend now.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So they figure out the situation with Magda. They can now go to Atlantic City, but they've missed the jet, so they

[Lauren Garoni]

must take the bus with all the old bitties. To which Carrie wonders, where are the old men? And Miranda goes, they are either dead or married to 20 somethings. And this is where Carrie starts to panic and is making a point about having an emotional retirement plan. And this is where I do want to bring up in Just like that. Because seeing how Carrie is panicking of how their friendship might look a few decades from now if they don't put in the work to maintain their friendship. And seeing that Julie Rodenberg and Eliza Zurski wrote this episode, I don't know, I thought an Atlantic City Part Deux episode might have been nice. Instead of Carrie playing card games in Virginia with Aiden's kids or, I don't know. And just like that, investigating what Carrie's talking about in this scene of, like, you have a baby. Like, we're all on different tracks in our lives if we don't invest in our friendship. We're just going to drift away from each other, which is the weird tension event. Just like that. Which is all of their lives are so different. They shouldn't be friends with each other, but they just are.

[Chelsea Fairless]

They should be friends with each other, but they're not friends with each other in the way that they were in Sex and the City. Something happened.

[Lauren Garoni]

And wouldn't that have been interesting to investigate?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Guys, I've spent the last week of my life in the lap of luxury because I got rid of my saggy, tragic mattress that frankly has seen better days. And I replaced it with a brand new Casper mattress. If you're going to invest in your home, let it be your mattress. I've heard that you spend a third of your life in bed, but for me, I feel like it's more like half of my life. And that is way too much time to waste on a mattress that is beneath you, literally and figuratively.

[Lauren Garoni]

I love what you did there. Ciao. And I'm pleased to announce that this podcast is sponsored by Casper. Casper makes reliable, luxurious mattresses designed to deliver consistent, comfortable sleep night after night. Casper's mattresses are highly rated by Consumer Reports and out of 99 mattresses, Consumer Reports named Casper's the 1 Mattress. Their top rated all foam mattress of 2026.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love that Consumer Reports still exists. And you know what? I still trust them. And I also trust myself because I know the exact mix of softness and firmness that this aging millennial requires. And Casper's delivery. I'm sleeping better than ever.

[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

There is no sponsor of this podcast that I use more than Casper and Lauren. You know that I live for a bargain. Can you tell the listeners about this very special promotion one last time?

[Lauren Garoni]

Casper has their 100 night risk. So you can give Casper's mattress a try risk free right now. Save up to 30% on mattresses and up to 35% on everything else. When you go to Casper.com one last time, that's C A S P E R dot com and save up to 30% on the mattress you deserve. Moving on to Charlotte, Richard and Samantha on the plane. Oh my goodness.

[Chelsea Fairless]

The best.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, it starts uncomfortable and Only gets worse from there. When Charlotte thinks that Samantha gift for her, but really it was a gift Richard was going to give to Samantha, which is a pearl thong.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And then Richard says, maybe if you're good, I'll give you a pearl necklace to match.

[Lauren Garoni]

And then Charlotte is like my oh, my father gave me the most beautiful pearl necklace for my sweet 16. And then Samantha has to explain to

[Chelsea Fairless]

Charlotte, I'm talking about come honey. You know when a guy decorates your neck.

[Lauren Garoni]

We're told in the next scene that Richard and Samantha only got into heavy petting. But it is heavily in intimated that they're just gonna fuck on this plane in front of Charlotte.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's so good. And I really appreciate this perfect and awkward configuration of Sex and the City characters. It doesn't happen that often. Alexander Petrovsky's dinner party also comes to mind.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, I'm trying to think of the times that Charlotte and Samantha's differing worlds have collided. And I'm thinking of when Samantha fucked Charlotte's brother in season two. I.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, but it's just so strange that we would get a scene with Richard and Charlotte in it together.

[Lauren Garoni]

Right?

[Chelsea Fairless]

It reminds me of the weirdness like that episode where it's like Carrie, Samantha, Maria and Big and Big's model girlfriend.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh yes, that weird.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love when Sex and the City does this.

[Lauren Garoni]

Shy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Wow, you remember the name. That's crazy.

[Lauren Garoni]

What do you think is worse? What Samantha does in this episode in front of Charlotte, which is she can claim it was heavy petting all she wants. They definitely were joining the Mile High club. Or in the next episode when Carrie catches Samantha blowing the Worldwide Express guy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, it's strange that those episodes are back to back actually because it's one thing to be promiscuous, but to have public sex. Although to be fair, Samantha was in the privacy of her own office. In a workplace is in an expected place too.

[Lauren Garoni]

I guess she was fornicating with Richard in the privacy of his own plane.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And also in the privacy of his all glass office. Lest we forget.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah, we recently did that episode. That is actually the worst.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, by far.

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay, so they make it to the

[Chelsea Fairless]

Taj Mahal and we get one of the most insane groups of outfits that I've ever seen in my life. And I say insane because they all look like they are in completely different things. Like Samantha looks like she is in like a 1940s thriller. Truly, Charlotte looks like a cross between Blair Waldorf and like Samantha the American Girl doll. Miranda is giving like Chico's catalog I think she's wearing like a waterfall cardigan.

[Lauren Garoni]

She asked Carrie at a certain point before they get to Atlantic City, do you think I can wear this cardigan all weekend? It's the only one that hides my ass.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See, it's sad because we know that Miranda has some of those like Gaultier type mesh pieces that would be great on a pregnant or postpartum body.

[Lauren Garoni]

So says you. This is all making sense because you have been pushing a spandex agenda on me postpartum.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And then we have Carrie. Like you said, this is the outfit that makes it impossible to ignore the fact that she is with child.

[Lauren Garoni]

And nothing against that.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Nothing against that. It's actually really forward thinking if you consider the fact that she is pregnant. And now dressing in a crop top like this is something that Rihanna would wear. This full outfit.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, yeah, not pregnant, pregnant.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She is wearing black hip huggers and a deconstructed chainmail top that is from a very important Balenciaga collection. Spring Summer 02. Yes, an incredibly controversial collection for Nicolas Ghesquier because he plagiarized a patchwork vest in that show from the fashion designer Kaiser Kwong, who was a very obscure Bay Area designer from the 70s, died from AIDS related causes and he was called out for plagiarism by the old fashioned gossip column Chic Happens, which was on hint mag.com, which was really what Lauren Sherman's newsletter is now like the 2002 equivalent. And it created this big debate about copying and referencing and what's postmodern and what is just plagiarism because it.

[Lauren Garoni]

It made its way all the way to a New York Times article where Nicholas Gasquier did admit, like, yeah, I did do that. And it seems like there was one book that he saw and that's what he pulled from.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, that book is called Native Funk and Flash, which I have. It's incredible. It used to be very expensive and ra. But now they've reissued it so you can buy it for 20 bucks. Everyone should. It is a great book about the wearable arts movement in the 60s and 70s. A lot of Bay Area designers. It's like the folk art fashion bible, essentially. And yes, this is where he discovered the vest initially. Although I will say Carrie's outfit. Les Kiesaac. More Kuz Vanden Aker, who is a Dutch designer who made those Bill Cosby sweaters. Oh no, he made the Cosby sweater. But he was a really incredible designer. And Nicolas Ghesquier has referenced him a lot. Not just in this collection in many, many collections in the way that he makes these sort of like, patchwork garments. This actually prompted me to look up coups on RealReal. And there's some really incredible pieces. But you kind of can't fully hate on Nicolas Ghesquiere because if you wore vintage Kaiserguang, which is impossible to find, or Kuz, it's like, it wouldn't look like this. He took that craftiness and turned it into like, model off duty Karine Roitveld. Shit.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, yeah. I mean, he took Kaiza Wong's patchwork ideas and then mixed it with like, Paco Rabanne chainmail.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garoni]

It's not a one for one. At least not the look that Carrie's wearing. There's another look from this collection that is more one for one that he's quite literally ripping off.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But he also spun out that vest into like 10 other dresses and stuff. But anyway, a fascinating piece of early aughts fashion history. And also, weirdly, like, one of his best Balenciaga collections ever, I would say. Or one of the most famous ones.

[Lauren Garoni]

Maybe one of his best collections ever. That and the Balenciaga. I think it was Spring, Summer, 2003. Like the surfer collection.

[Chelsea Fairless]

The Scuba.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yes. I have to assume that this is in Sarah Jessica Parker's archive. Unless it was a sample sent from the Runway, which is also possible.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's cool to see because she didn't wear that much Balenciaga. She wore another top. I forget what season, but season six, I think.

[Lauren Garoni]

Episode one, when Miranda says that she's in love with Steve. I think that's from the Scuba collection.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Maybe we're thinking about different things. I don't know. It was rare. But I remember when I first saw these episodes, I was like, extremely gagged by it because that was like the kind of clothing that you would only see in a fashion magazine. Like, to see this on a person was crazy because celebrities wouldn't wear any of this stuff. Yeah, I mean, non Charlotte Gainsbourg celebrities, anyway.

[Lauren Garoni]

So it's unfortunate that they all look like they're in a different television show in this group shot together.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love it. There's also glam on Carrie in this episode. Both hair and makeup that we truly never see again in any other episode. Like, I would think that she just hired a different team only for the Atlantic City episode.

[Lauren Garoni]

I don't know what happened, because the short haircut and the styling look so good in the back half of season four. And it goes off the rails in season five, probably peaking in this episode for a. For outrageousness. Because it does not look good straight. It does not look good curly.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See, I'm into the curlier looks from later in the episode, but it's just really extreme with the eye makeup. And this is. Is the heaviest smoky eye that we have ever seen on Carrie. It is like out of a Kevin Aucoin book. It looks like it's airbrushed on. It's actually what they're trying to do at Gucci now. Or what they're successfully doing at Gucci now.

[Lauren Garoni]

I would imagine the Sarah Jessica Parker, Carrie Bradshaw logic to this is Carrie is in Atlantic City, and so she's playing a character. And this is what Carrie would look like. This is her Atlantic City Persona.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally. But it is an aspect of this episode that is very different than what we're used to. It's part of the reason why this episode feels like such an outlier.

[Lauren Garoni]

And also, it is a bit of a fish out of water. We're supposed to understand that this is while a weekend away, by no means a glamorous weekend. Which is why Carrie takes them to a cheesy, seemingly cheap surf and turf buffet dinner. Or maybe it's a sit down dinner. But when I was looking at this, we're supposed to understand, like, this is beneath the girls. But all I could think was, like, this is our dream restaurant for you and I. Oh, totally.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love this shit. So they're eating at this restaurant.

[Lauren Garoni]

This is where Miranda gives Charlotte a deck of Old Maid. Old Maids?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. She gives her the Old Maid cards, which Charlotte does not think is funny at all.

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay. Because people are gonna scream at us. I just googled Old Maid. It is a classic, easy to learn card game where players take turns drawing cards to form matching pairs. The goal is to shed all your cards and avoid being the last player holding the unmatched Old Maid card.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So depressing.

[Lauren Garoni]

You know, a man came up with

[Chelsea Fairless]

that game for sure.

[Lauren Garoni]

So Richard stops by the table to check in on the girls. Very nice of him.

[Chelsea Fairless]

He runs into a sexy woman that he knows named Denise, who Samantha is

[Lauren Garoni]

of course jealous of, and prompts her to ask who picked this restaurant?

[Chelsea Fairless]

And then Carrie's like, cleavage is big here. It's part of the regional charm. Which is a really crazy thing to say considering that her tits are fully out pressed together in the lowest top. Like, you think you're better than these girls.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, also, as if there are not fake tits in New York.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Although to be fair, she is wearing Balenciaga. That is a exceptionally Classy way to have your tits out.

[Lauren Garoni]

I think when people speak about Cari being very annoying in this episode, this is what they're talking about. Because Carrie tries to bake a toast. The problem is in any group dynamic, if any one person has a vision of how a girl's weekend is gonna go with extreme specificity, like, I gotta make a toast and we gotta get a novelty photo. And if that doesn't happen and that person spins out rancid vibes, don't want to be around that person.

[Chelsea Fairless]

To be fair, all Carrie wants is to just get this fucking photo. And it never happens.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, it happens at the very end. A photo we subsequently never see in the rest of Sex and the City are in just like that. They can't get the photo because Samantha isn't there. And as Carrie says, Charlotte has a puss on which, as you know, Chelsea, I'm always down for a novelty photo.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Oh, my God, it's horrifying. Like when we're at a restaurant where someone comes and is like, would you like a photo?

[Lauren Garoni]

Lauren says yes, right as Chelsea saying, no. Smokehouse. Buca di beppo. Give me that photo.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Nope, don't want it.

[Lauren Garoni]

I'm back to talk about whatnot, the number one live shopping app in the U.S. but I'm not alone. Chelsea is also here.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes. I can't believe you've kept me away from these ad reads. I'm obsessed with Whatnot.

[Lauren Garoni]

What's not to love? It's a live shopping marketplace. Deals drop live daily on whatnot so you get real deals in real time.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Whatnot answers the question, what if vintage sellers were live streamers with their own

[Lauren Garoni]

QVC show, not just vintage chell. With over 10,000 fashion, beauty and bag sellers on Whatnot, there's always something for every buyer to discover live right now.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Like for instance, when I downloaded the app, I discovered the seller, Travelin shopper, who was selling a kitten by benefit pink shower cap as seen on Charlotte York in this episode. It truly unlocked such a deep core memory of Benefit cosmetics for me.

[Lauren Garoni]

Wow. Wow. Yeah, I definitely had the Benefit puff. See, that's the joy of whatnot. You could uncover teen nostalgia and almost never pay full price for it. Shop name brands across makeup, perfume, clothes, handbags, jewelry and more. All without the sticker shock. This is the best place to find great deals on products you love.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Download the Whatnot app today and get free shipping on your first order. Just search w h a t n o t whatnot in the App Store and start scoring amazing deals.

[Lauren Garoni]

So, as I said, the vibes are getting rancid on this trip. We cut to the girls gambling. Miranda winning. Good for her.

[Chelsea Fairless]

There is something borderline camp about Miranda saying, baby needs a new pair of shoes. Like, I notice it every single time I watch this episode.

[Lauren Garoni]

You know, a more likely outcome. Oh, you told me I can't talk about it. And just like that. But instead of her being an alcoholic, what if. And just like that, Miranda was a gambling addict.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Interesting.

[Lauren Garoni]

Different.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I like the subtext that she's become a gambling addict kind of because she's overwhelmed with motherhood. So the second she's, like, let out of her house, she just hits the tables.

[Lauren Garoni]

It's funny the way that New Jersey residents and culture are portrayed in this episode, seeing that the Sopranos, which is as big, if not bigger than Sex and the City at the time, is airing. And then we have these what I will call Sopranos rejects who want Carrie to blow on their dice. Not Charlotte, the hot one, which is

[Chelsea Fairless]

deemed Carrie, which really pisses Charlotte off.

[Lauren Garoni]

And yet there's no mention of it making Carrie feel better. Because her whole quandary at the beginning of this episode is, did my blind date show up and then realize I was an uggo and turn around? And now these guys are like, no, no, Carrie, you're the hot one. You blow on my dice.

[Chelsea Fairless]

To be fair, she's the only one that dressed hot or even tried to dress hot.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, that's coming for Charlotte. This is one of the many details I forgot about this episode until this rewatch. That the Sopranos rejects win $12,000. They give Carrie a thousand dollar token, which she wants to reject, which is like, girl, why?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Why? For what reason?

[Lauren Garoni]

I know why Carrie holds on to the thousand dollar token because it's relevant to the plot. But I was expecting her to go into the gift shop and buy something or say, like, I'm gonna cash this in and buy a pair of Bonolos.

[Chelsea Fairless]

This isn't Vegas. I don't know if she has those kinds of shopping opportunities at the casino.

[Lauren Garoni]

You're right. I was shocked that ZZ Top is playing. Cause she says, I believe what would make us all happy is to go see ZZ Top in the magic carpet room.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That is the strangest band to pick, considering there are lots of sort of washed up, downtrodden musicians from previous eras that could have been name checked here. ZZ Top. Like, why do you want to be surrounded with men with beards that smell like cigarette smoke?

[Lauren Garoni]

I think it's just a last Gasp of trying to get the evening back on track. But I agree with you. I don't think seeing ZZ Top in the Magic Carpet Room would work. So Miranda goes upstairs to eat ice cream and watch Pay Per View. Charlotte's pissed off at Carrie because Carrie shouts that she'll be turning 35 again in a few minutes. You're in Atlantic City. You're never gonna see these people again. What do you care?

[Chelsea Fairless]

And Carrie goes up to her room all alone and gives us her. I couldn't help but wonder. People go to casinos for the same

[Lauren Garoni]

reason they go on blind dates, hoping

[Chelsea Fairless]

to hit the jackpot.

[Lauren Garoni]

But mostly you just wind up broke

[Chelsea Fairless]

or alone in a bar. If we know the house always wins, why gamble?

[Lauren Garoni]

Is this the only. I couldn't help but wonder. That is written down because it made me realize she's writing it on the hotel stationary. Or at least the why gamble? Thing, which she gives a very Cheshire cat grin of like, that was a good one, Carrie. Like, it's as if Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie is like, you know what? My editor's gonna like that one.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But again, she's not talking about dating in a general sense and the risk of humiliation that is involved. She is talking about blind dates specifically.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah, I. You know, through our re watches, it's really demystified the. I couldn't help but wonders for us, because more often than not, you're like, this doesn't make any sense.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And when we're done with recapping all of these episodes, we can rank that. I couldn't help but wonders from best to worst.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, my goodness. Well, I think, yes, she's specifically talking about blind dates. The idea that we go on blind dates, which, as you pointed out, no one goes on blind dates anymore, but that you might meet the love of your life. But I don't know if the house always wins metaphorically works with dating. Who's the house in this instance?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, also, the house doesn't always win. If the house always won, then no one would even try.

[Lauren Garoni]

Correct. The house allows you to win just enough to make you think that you're in control. Really? The house is an emotionally unavailable boyfriend. It seems this is also one of the shortest. I couldn't help but wonders.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, two sentences. Short ones.

[Lauren Garoni]

Although we do get a little bit of an addendum later in the episode,

[Chelsea Fairless]

but we'll get to that later.

[Lauren Garoni]

So Samantha and Richard wake up in the Kubla Khan suite, which I guess we're meant to understand is the presidential suite.

[Chelsea Fairless]

The housekeeper comes in the hot housekeeper, Terry.

[Lauren Garoni]

This is why I think Richard owns the Taj Mahal, because Samantha is like, how do you know the name of every female employee here? He's like, I also know the male names too, and I let some of them blow me. Is this Samantha at her most codependent? Because she blows off her friends to literally blow Richard instead.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She also gets in a really good, vaguely classist dis to the housekeeper when she's like, terry, in your terry cloth towels.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, those seem like nice towels. I would love a terrycloth towel.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So Charlotte's getting ready to go out, literally dressed like an old maid. The funny thing about this episode is we do have to suspend our disbelief and pretend like this is just how Charlotte dresses normally.

[Lauren Garoni]

Right.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She's never looked more like an old maid than in this episode.

[Lauren Garoni]

No, but they do find cute things to make her look like an old maid. Like the benefit kitten shower cap.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So cute. But then she looks down into her luggage and she sees the old maid card game and her knitting needles, and she's like, holy shit, I am that bitch. I guess I'm gonna go down to the gift shop and buy myself a fabulous new outfit.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, as Carrie calls it, an Atlantic slutty makeover. I remember this being shocking at the time, but upon retrospect, with 2026 eyes, with everything we've seen, the outfit's quite tame.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I remember it being shocking at the time because she walks out in this outfit, an outfit that Samantha would wear any day of the week, and then they're just immediately like this fucking whore, all of them using various phrasing.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, even more than the look or the outfit, it's the eye makeup she does and the curling of her hair, which presumably she did herself. Unless there's some beauty salon in the Taj Mahal we don't know about.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But this dress, which is very like Versace Cavalli, I would bet my life that that was pulled from Samantha's rack. I don't think they went out of their way to source this. I think they're like, let's see what Samantha has lying around that we can put on Kristen Davis.

[Lauren Garoni]

That definitely tracks. Are you on the verge of a benti b? If you listen to this podcast, it's very likely. And the last thing you want to hear when you're trying to find a psychiatrist who takes your insurance is that it'll be months until you get an appointment or they're not accepting new patients right now. That's where talk I atry comes in. They make it easy to see a licensed psychiatrist online who takes your insurance in just a few days. Talk I actually gives you access to real psychiatric care with licensed clinicians who can diagnose and prescribe medications if it's right for you. It's a simple way to get effective treatment right from home. Talkiatry is 100% online psychiatry practice that provides comprehensive evaluations, diagnosis and ongoing medication management for conditions like adhd, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ocd, PTSD as well as insomnia. Unlike therapy only platforms, psychiatry is psychiatry. You're seeing a medical provider who can diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe medication when it's appropriate. I have so many friends who have ADHD who cannot find consistent medication management and I've told them all about tochiatry. As I've said before, I suffered from postpartum anxiety and it was impossible to find a psychiatrist to help prescribe the medication I needed. I really wish I knew about tochiatry then. All 800 clinicians are in network with major insurers so you can use your existing insurance instead of paying monthly subscriptions or out of network costs. You can meet with a licensed psychiatrist who takes the time to understand what's going on, builds a personalized treatment plan and supports you over time with consistent evidence based care. Head to tokyetry.com outfit to complete the short assessment and get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few months. That's talkiatry.com outfit get matched in minutes. So over the years we've been able to cobble together most of the outfit credits. What I find interesting is that you cannot find an outfit credit on this Charlotte dress.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Did you try and like reverse image search it? Because when we started the Instagram you could not do that and we had to just rely on our own memory.

[Lauren Garoni]

I didn't.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But now anything is possible. If I can find it, I'll drop it in the show notes.

[Lauren Garoni]

A lot of things happen in the scene beyond the Charlotte Atlantic slutty makeover. Samantha finally comes down after doing what she calls defensive fucking of Richard for three hours.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Great phrase, defensive fucking. Excellent.

[Lauren Garoni]

Miranda loses all her money, then demands that Carrie give her a thousand dollar token and then gets fat shamed.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Hey, Red, move your fat ass. What did you just say to her?

[Lauren Garoni]

Who the hell do you think you are? You. Yeah, get in the game or get out. It's okay.

[Chelsea Fairless]

No, it is most certainly not okay.

[Lauren Garoni]

Listen, you big jerk, her ass isn't normally this big. Yes, thank you. I almost forgot. My ass is fat. Because I just had a baby, you asshole. What's your excuse? Yeah, you having triplets? Come on, let's go.

[Chelsea Fairless]

A triumphant moment for Carrie, especially you having triplets delivered like Bette Midler style. So good. That is quick. It also feels like a joke that Roseanne Barr or Joan Rivers may have made.

[Lauren Garoni]

Absolutely. But my memory of this episode is like, this is a triumphant moment where the trip gets back on track because they come together to insult these. These Staten island boys or whatever. But no, Miranda, even though she's reminded of, like, oh, yeah, I'm not usually like this. I just had a baby. Is like, I'm gonna go upstairs.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Okay. But also, I find it deeply sad when Charlotte says her ass isn't normally this big. Like, she couldn't just be fat or slightly overweight. You know what I mean? There has to be an excuse. She has to have had a baby for this to be an acceptable way to look for these women. Just makes me depressed and always has.

[Lauren Garoni]

And it's weird to call out the fat ass part. I mean, I. I know it's referencing something, but it's like the Kardashians have paid really good money to get fat asses.

[Chelsea Fairless]

True, but I wouldn't say it was the dominant beauty standard in the 90s. But also, the problem isn't the size of her ass. The problem is the fact that she is in the ugliest fucking outfit I've ever seen in my life and just wearing a scarf for no reason in Atlantic City.

[Lauren Garoni]

She's following the Darren Aronofsky school of accessorizing.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's bad. And I love how Carrie's like, should I go after her? And Charlotte's like, no, don't bother. It's like, someone go after her. She's about to go cry in her room by herself.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah. Do you think she's going upstairs to have a little me time? She's having a little me crying time.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. She's having a breakdown.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah. I really did think that after this moment, they all go and have fun together. They don't have fun together once in this episode?

[Chelsea Fairless]

No. It is apparently the trip from hell. Although, as the viewer, I'm enjoying every moment of it.

[Lauren Garoni]

So Samantha yet again leaves because she gets a cell phone call from Richard. He won't be going to the boxing match. Which, if you remember Chelsea, is the whole reason they are all there. Oh, yeah, sorry. It's now making me realize Miranda is definitely going up to cry alone in her room because they're all supposed to be going to this boxing game together. Carrie, you should definitely go after Miranda and try to lift her spirits. So Samantha decides to go and catch Richard cheating because she is convinced that he must be getting serviced by room service. A lot of great puns in this episode.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She frantically runs up to the suite, almost knocking over an elderly woman in a wheelchair, which is one of my favorite parts.

[Lauren Garoni]

The elevator does not come fast enough. So therefore she decides to run up 11 flights of stairs. This is how out of her mind she is. Because logically she's like, it is faster for me to run up 11 flights of stairs than to even wait three minutes for an elevator to come.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She's wearing the pearl thong, which as Carrie says in her voiceover, normally would be an activity that Samantha would enjoy running up the stairs at a pearl thong. But today, not so much. So she has to go commando.

[Lauren Garoni]

And wouldn't you know it, Richard is not cheating on her. Which leads to this crash out. Is this the most crash outs we've gotten in a Sex and the City episode? We get Steve's crash out at the beginning and now Samantha's.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Hard to say what's going on.

[Lauren Garoni]

I can't do this anymore. That's what's going on. I just ran up 11 flights of stairs because I was sure that you were up here fucking someone else. As you can see, I'm not. Right now. Right now you're not. But you were. And you will again. And I can't spend my life running up and down stairs wondering when I thought I could handle this. But I can't. I'm too old. I'm 37 after all. I told you I'd do my best never to hurt you again. And I meant it. Right. Your best. Samantha, I love you. I love you too, Richard. But I love me more.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So good.

[Lauren Garoni]

So good. But I never realized that the Smith Jarrett breakup is almost beat for beat. The same as her breakup with Richard.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, honey, that was a callback.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah. I mean, one thing about Samantha, she may love you, but she loves herself more. But even down to the diamond ring, at least with Jared is like, you keep the diamond ring, Richard. Not so much to me.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Kim Cattrall's acting is so impressive here because it's serious. She is having a breakdown. But it is also so funny. And the way that she has to act like she can barely breathe because she's been riding up this flight of stairs. Like the way she's right now, right now you're not. But you will. So good. Gets me every time.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah, because it is so arch and in the hands of another actor who is not as deft as she is. You're right. She is able to balance the tone, keep it funny, but also make it tragic.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, it's tragic, but it's also campy. But it's also genuinely well acted. It's so many things at once. And this is why she's a genius. Very few people could pull this off in this way.

[Lauren Garoni]

I would have loved if after she walked out of the room, Richard followed her and was like, here, you can keep the pearl thong.

[Chelsea Fairless]

We're back with Charlotte and Carrie. Charlotte has had her Atlantic City makeover. Some guys hit on them. She just wants to have a drink with these guys, random straight guys. And Carrie is just like, no, we have to go to the boardwalk. Isn't this Charlotte's special weekend?

[Lauren Garoni]

Her one request beyond please don't say what my age is and don't give me gifts was, I want some cute guys to buy me drinks. And she has finally found two guys who will buy her and Carrie drinks. And Carrie, you're right, is like, no. And her reasoning is like, we're never gonna see these guys again. And it's like, yeah, that's the point. That's the fun.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally. I would understand Carrie's logic a little bit more if they never got to spend time together. Like, if you're seeing a friend that you never see, potentially a friend that lives, like, in another city. Yeah, that would be fucking annoying to have to hang out with random guys. But, like, this is your girl that you're seeing on a weekly basis.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, then she goes on this rant to Charlotte where she goes, how many guys do you ever hit it off with? Very few. And even if we do, those relationships don't last. And even if they did, men die first. So we're back where we started. The literal premise of. And just like that.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But I understand Cari's logic here, and she's right in the sense that oftentimes friendships outlive relationships. If you don't invest in your friendships, if you cannot maintain your friendships over a long period of time, you will be fucked when you're old. You simply will. And this is something I think about often, actually, and part of the reason why I value my relationships and try to maintain them.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah, I mean, men are going to die first. What are you going to do?

[Chelsea Fairless]

But also, Carrie is being overly pessimistic when she basically says we shouldn't even try. Like, let's just skip all of the trying in the dating and all of it.

[Lauren Garoni]

And it's a correct impulse, narratively, to have Carrie kind of. Of existentially questioning dating. I think why it doesn't land overall in season five is everyone is so out of sorts. Everyone is at their lowest in different ways. Charlotte is spun out on love and desperate. Carrie is desperate in a nihilistic way. Samantha's desperate in a codependent way, in a way we're not used to seeing her the confident man eater.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And Miranda gained 15 pounds because she had a baby.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah, and Miranda has a baby.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So this scene of Carrie and Charlotte on some sort of little trolley thing or something on the boardwalk in Atlantic

[Lauren Garoni]

City, brutal to learn that it was the afternoon.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Carrie's smoky eye, extremely jarring in sunlight. They're both wearing little shrunken pink hoodies, presumably because it's cold outside.

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah. I guess the idea is they couldn't have drinks with those guys because they have to go on this boardwalk tour of which Carrie abandons Charlotte almost instantly by saying that she needs to get some saltwater taffy. Which I'm just gonna say, when I need to get out of emotionally uncomfortable situations, I'm going to use the line that I need to get salt water taffy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And Charlotte's like, really? Girl? And Carrie Foley lies and is like, yeah, I'm dying for it.

[Lauren Garoni]

I feel like that's the new. Would you excuse me? I cut my foot before and my shoe is filling up with blood.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally. Also, I feel like the woman jumps out briefly when Carrie is just sort of staring into the distance and being like. It's just like a postcard from the 1920s.

[Lauren Garoni]

There were signs of the woman everywhere. We just didn't see them. Or maybe we didn't want to see them.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Carrie gets her taffy. She looks fully insane because of the hair and because of the smoky eye.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, yeah. There are two Carrie memes that have become popular recently. They're both from the this episode, the end of this episode, this sequence where she is looking longingly at an older couple as she eats her. Her fifth piece of peppermint taffy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And it's such, like, a touching thing for her as this jaded New Yorker to be around these New Jersey folk, that it instantly restores her faith in love.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, I think it's the idea that this couple, who has been together for a long time, still have that, as we'll come to learn it, Zaza Zoo. Which makes Carrie say in voiceover, then again, maybe there are some things worth gambling on.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Okay, but you also skipped over the part where she's basically just binge eating taffy on a park bench looking like a junkie.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, I did mention the fifth piece of peppermint taffy, which I gotta say, not the flavor I would go for. Okay, so this is where we get what I call the I couldn't help but wonder addendum. Because she goes back inside. I had a thought. To hit the jackpot in the future, you might have to bet on where you are in the present. And this is where the other Carrie meme comes from. Which is she puts it all on 36, which I guess is the highest number in roulette. She puts the thousand dollar token and she loses to number 29.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She couldn't just cash it out and bet $100.

[Lauren Garoni]

What would be the point?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love the idea that there was no, no other option.

[Lauren Garoni]

I mean, if anyone thinks in black and white, it's definitely Carrie Bradshaw.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That could have been two pairs of Manolos in 2002.

[Lauren Garoni]

And if you spent it at a Manolo sample sale, 3, 4. So the final scene is kind of a lower stakes version of them having to leave the Abu Dhabi hotel because Samantha has broken up with Richard. So they don't have the private jets. Carrie gambled the thousand dollars so they can't as, as Miranda says, take a limo back. So they are all on the old bitty bus back to Manhattan.

[Chelsea Fairless]

They can get over it. It's a two hour bus ride. They also could rent a car. They've made a choice to do this. I also find the financial stuff interesting in this episode because they kind of act like a thousand dollars is like a shitload of money when they are constantly decked out in $5,000, $10,000 outfits all the time on this show.

[Lauren Garoni]

I don't know, maybe Carrie was looking to chip away at her credit card debt.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Miranda has a night nurse and a full time nanny slash housekeeper like girl.

[Lauren Garoni]

But in the end they finally get someone to take a photo of all of them which as I said, where's that photo?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Did we really never see it again? It's kind of hard for me to believe.

[Lauren Garoni]

I don't believe we do. But fuckettes, if I'm wrong, please let me know. Something that I'm not wrong about is in watching this episode it unlocked my own memory of our feud episode about Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker. Because one of the first instances of discord between them was this page six story that during the time of this location shoot, Sarah Jessica Parker rented a house for herself. Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon. And Kim Cattrall was not invited. And this was such a big news piece that it prompted an HBO spokesman to release a statement being like, Kim Cattrall was. Is married or was married at the time and was going to rent a house with her husband. Like, there's nothing more to see here.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, once the husband is involved. Weird to have them in the same house considering they weren't really friends with her, it seems, by all accounts.

[Lauren Garoni]

But this is thought to be a pivotal moment in the feud. An episode that we did that you can find on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. All right, how many Manolas would you give this episode?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I'm giving it eight.

[Lauren Garoni]

I had eight as well.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Carrie is really crazy in this episode, which is fun to see, especially her saltwater taffy boardwalk, smokey eye, binge eating situation. Charlotte's makeover is iconic, as is that scene on the jet. And Samantha, great dramatic work.

[Lauren Garoni]

So you're saying not a great Miranda episode?

[Chelsea Fairless]

No, it's a decent Miranda episode. But Miranda removes herself from the group in this episode quite frequently, so we just don't see her as much.

[Lauren Garoni]

But are we giving this episode. Are we grading it on a curve? Because, like, it's a season five, eight, but it's probably like a season two, five or six.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I think it's a Sex and the City eight in a season five.

[Lauren Garoni]

10.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Okay, but that's just me.

[Lauren Garoni]

All right, who is the MVP of the episode?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Samantha.

[Lauren Garoni]

I had Samantha too. I think she was authentically herself, even if it meant sexually harassing her friend in public. I'm of course referring to the Mile High Club incident with Charlotte. And she finally broke the toxic cycle that she had with Richard by breaking up with him.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That's maturity. Who are you voting off the island of Manhattan?

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, since this episode takes place in New Jersey, I guess I have to say Steve, since he is on the island of Manhattan for not being able to take care of Brady for two days.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, I agree. Steve is the worst in this episode. He can go best dressed.

[Lauren Garoni]

I figure you're gonna say Carrie in the Balenciaga.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, is it not a fact that Carrie is the best dressed? Is it subjective?

[Lauren Garoni]

It is not subjective. I just thought I would give a secondary option since I knew you would say that. So I. I was gonna say Charlotte's Atlantic slutty makeover tied with maybe the following scene where she just puts a juicy couture zip up hoodie over the slutty dress.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Very Addison Rae type styling. Who are you in the episode, I don't know. I'm definitely Carrie.

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I relate to her desire to keep the group together and to control the situation.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, you're admitting that you're a control freak.

[Chelsea Fairless]

No, I'm not a control freak. But in this particular situation, I can see myself being the Carrie.

[Lauren Garoni]

There you go. This is one of those episodes where I don't feel like I'm any particular one person, but I see myself in each of the four girls.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I also fully would could be sad on a park bench eating saltwater taffy. I'm also not above that.

[Lauren Garoni]

Do you have a best line? I'm partial to Carrie's voiceover when Samantha is running up the stairs. You said it earlier. Under other circumstances, running upstairs in a pearl thong would have been Samantha's idea of a good time. But this is my favorite part. By the eighth floor, somewhere between pissed off and getting off, she had to take it off.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Perfect. I'm just gonna go with Miss Atlantic Slutty.

[Lauren Garoni]

So good. I'm gonna assume we have the same biggest trigger.

[Chelsea Fairless]

ZZ Top in the Magic Carpet Room.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, I was gonna say Carrie's hair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See, I don't even think the hair is that bad. I do think it is in the first scene in Atlantic City.

[Lauren Garoni]

That's what I'm saying. That, like, bizarre, straightened, bouffant.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes.

[Lauren Garoni]

And then the insane curly mess. To me, it just feels like Sarah Jessica Parker. Even though it is her hair. It's like she's wearing bad wigs to look like herself when she played Annie.

[Chelsea Fairless]

There is an Annie quality in the boardwalk scene for sure. Or maybe it's more like the young Bette Midler in Beaches. Yeah. I don't know. I'm kind of into the hair. I'm kind of into the hair.

[Lauren Garoni]

That's what I'm getting.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But it's a lot of look when you combine it with the clothes and the makeup. And it's just not what we're used to, obviously.

[Lauren Garoni]

Do you think there was a discussion of, like, to distract from your growing belly? We're going to make your hair bigger so people are focusing on your hair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

You know, I can kind of see that. It's like when people dye their hair to distract from plastic surgery.

[Lauren Garoni]

Who could that be?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I'm literally not talking about anyone specific.

[Lauren Garoni]

Oh, I. It said that. That. I thought you were referring to Kim Kardashian. Because it said that when her hair is blonde is when she's done procedures.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That makes sense, I guess.

[Lauren Garoni]

All right, what is your hottest take,

[Chelsea Fairless]

Richard Definitely did fuck Terry with the terry cloth towels. Even on that trip.

[Lauren Garoni]

Possibly before Samantha broke up with him either.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Who knows?

[Lauren Garoni]

Okay, my hottest take is that Charlotte should have joined in and had a threesome with Richard and Samantha on the plane. Yes, you get to join the Mile High club and have a threesome. What a way to spend your second 35th birthday.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Also, wasn't Charlotte Samantha's pick for who she would want to have a threesome with because she wanted, like, a newcomer?

[Lauren Garoni]

Yeah.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So could have worked out.

[Lauren Garoni]

I love that you would think they would make odd bedfellows, but I can see this working.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Totally.

[Lauren Garoni]

And Richard Wright, a sleazy character. Richard Remar, hot man.

[Chelsea Fairless]

To each their own, girl. I'm not going to join you there. You want to fuck Dexter's dad? Interesting.

[Lauren Garoni]

Well, I've never seen more than like three episodes of Dexter, so why not?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Big mistake. Huge.

[Lauren Garoni]

How are you feeling about the re resequel of Dexter? I just saw a press photo of Michael C. Hall. Michael. There we go. Michael C. Hall with Uma Thurman shooting in what looked to be the West Village.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I love it. I will watch any Dexter thing. I didn't love the prequel series. I forget what that was called. But I loved Dexter, New Blood, and now Dexter Resurrection is, I believe, what the Uma Thurman one is called.

[Lauren Garoni]

All right, maybe I gotta jump in.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I think you should. But anyway, we will be back next week to talk about all sorts of things.

[Lauren Garoni]

Not Dexter related.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Nothing Dexter related. But I think we will have a lot of fashion news. Perhaps some Cannes by that point.

[Lauren Garoni]

All right, guys, until then. Bye. Bye.

[Chelsea Fairless]

If you're into tech, you'll love this.

[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

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[Lauren Garoni]

Hey, everyone.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Check out this guy and his bird.

[Lauren Garoni]

What is this, your first date?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Lauren Garoni]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

Liberty.

[Lauren Garoni]

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