*V.I.P. UNLOCKED* On Carrie and Mr. Big's Affair

Summary

Podcast Summary: Every Outfit - V.I.P. UNLOCKED On Carrie and Mr. Big's Affair

Hosts: Chelsea Fairless & Lauren Garroni
Release Date: December 27, 2024
Episode Title: V.I.P. UNLOCKED On Carrie and Mr. Big's Affair

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Introduction

In this episode of Every Outfit, hosts Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni delve deep into one of the most pivotal storylines in Sex and the City history: the tumultuous affair between Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big. They dissect the intricacies of the narrative, character motivations, and the cultural impact of this controversial arc.

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Overview of the Affair Arc

Chelsea and Lauren kick off the discussion by labeling the affair as "the best and also the most shocking" storyline in the series. They highlight its high stakes compared to other plotlines, emphasizing its emotional depth and complexity.

“[00:34] Chelsea Fairless: Yeah, the best and also the most shocking. Like, I feel like this is the most high stakes thing that ever happened on Sex in the City.”
“[00:42] Lauren Garrone: Well, nothing that was carried out over multiple episodes.”

They note that unlike other storylines, such as Miranda’s potential romance with Brady, the affair with Big was compact and intense, unfolding primarily within a few episodes.

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Character Analysis

• Carrie Bradshaw:
  Carrie is depicted as emotionally tumultuous, often engaging in behaviors that are detrimental to her relationships. Chelsea points out how Carrie stalks Big's ex-wife by creating a fake book proposal, a behavior that goes unaddressed within the narrative.

  “[03:00] Chelsea Fairless: Well, he hasn't changed because he still is unwilling to commit to her in any capacity.”

• Mr. Big:
  Based on Candace Bushnell's real-life ex, Ron Gilotti, Big is portrayed as emotionally unavailable yet irresistibly charismatic. Chelsea and Lauren discuss his reluctance to fully commit to Carrie, highlighting his continued entanglements even as the affair progresses.

• Aiden Shaw:
  Introduced as the antithesis of Big, Aiden is loyal, accessible, and emotionally available. He represents a stark contrast to Big's urban obsession with money, working instead with his hands as a furniture designer.

  “[05:25] Lauren Garrone: Yes. And I went back and consulted our Bible... [05:50] Chelsea Fairless: I've like never seen this man before.”

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Key Episodes Breakdown

• Easy Come, Easy Go:
  The affair commences at the end of this episode. Carrie and Big begin their clandestine relationship, setting the stage for the ensuing drama.

  “[01:09] Chelsea Fairless: But barely in the first one.”

• Running with Scissors:
  The majority of the affair unfolds here. The hosts discuss how the narrative compresses what they initially thought would span six episodes into a single, jam-packed installment.

  “[02:23] Chelsea Fairless: Yeah, she stalks his mom.”

• All or Nothing:
  This episode is pivotal, featuring Carrie's confession to Samantha and introduces the moral complexities of her actions. They discuss the portrayal of cheating and its psychological impact on Carrie.

  “[09:06] Chelsea Fairless: Gone by the time we get to the movies. And just like that.”

• Don't Ask, Don't Tell and Running with Scissors (Continued):
  These episodes depict the fallout of the affair, including Carrie's struggles with guilt, her conflicted feelings towards Aiden, and the eventual confrontation with Natasha.

  “[35:35] Lauren Garrone: There is a through line of lying and the merits of lying throughout this episode…”

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Moral and Ethical Considerations

Chelsea and Lauren grapple with the moral implications of Carrie's actions. While acknowledging the wrongdoing, they explore the audience's conflicting sentiments, often rooting for Carrie despite her transgressions.

“[49:14] Chelsea Fairless: While there are some major moral transgressions happening here, I still do think that we're rooting for her to cheat, which is a unique thing.”

They discuss the complexity of sympathizing with Carrie, who is portrayed as both a flawed individual and a relatable protagonist navigating the chaos of love and self-discovery.

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Cultural Impact and Legacy

The hosts commend the affair arc for its groundbreaking nature, particularly within the context of early 2000s television. They argue that Sex and the City paved the way for more morally ambiguous protagonists in TV series.

“[48:04] Chelsea Fairless: But I think the rehashing of the Aiden versus Big thing... it speaks to how thrilling and how potent the original Affair arc was.”

Lauren draws parallels to other shows, suggesting that Carrie's affair set a precedent for complex romantic storylines in modern television dramas.

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Conclusion

Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni conclude the episode by reflecting on the enduring allure of Carrie and Big's affair. They emphasize its significance in the Sex and the City narrative and its influence on subsequent television storytelling. The hosts express a desire to explore more intricate storylines in future episodes, highlighting the depth and richness that Sex and the City offers its audience.

“[49:34] Lauren Garrone: ...she's an anti-hero thing, right? She is the protagonist of the show. We are rooting for her.”

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Chelsea Fairless: “[00:34] ...the most high stakes thing that ever happened on Sex in the City.”
• Lauren Garrone: “[05:50] ...the porn star Aiden Shaw...”
• Chelsea Fairless: “[08:32] ...we are rooting for her to cheat on Aiden.”
• Lauren Garrone: “[48:24] ...the original Affair arc was an attempt to recapture that.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Every Outfit offers a comprehensive analysis of one of Sex and the City's most controversial and beloved storylines. Through detailed character examinations and thoughtful discussion, Chelsea and Lauren provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding Carrie and Mr. Big's affair. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the series, this episode offers valuable insights into the enduring legacy of one of television's most memorable romantic entanglements.

Transcript

[Chelsea Fairless]

I spent $40,000 on shoes.

[Lauren Garrone]

What's the matter, Morty? Break down beautiful gowns? Fashion has changed. No, it hasn't.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Hi, my name is Chelsea Fairless.

[Lauren Garrone]

And I'm Lauren Garrone. And we are back to discuss the best storyline in Sex and the City history. The Carrie and Big affair arc.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, the best and also the most shocking. Like, I feel like this is the most high stakes thing that ever happened on Sex in the City.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, nothing that was carried out over multiple episodes. Right. I mean, I would say the idea of Miranda, whether she was going to have Brady or not, or in the words of Daddy mpk, Brady started as an abortion. You know, that's something that was resolved within an episode.

[Chelsea Fairless]

True.

[Lauren Garrone]

Although in re watching this to discuss for this episode, in my mind, I thought the affair happened over six episodes. I did not realize how compact this storyline truly is.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But barely in the first one. Right. Because they start the affair at the end of Easy Come, Easy Go.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah. I would say that the majority of the affair is happening in Running with Scissors.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garrone]

It's not like limited series now that are only 10 episodes. I believe the season's 18 or 20 episodes. I mean, they could have devoted half of the season into the affair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garrone]

So I think a good place to start is at the beginning, which Carrie meets Big in the pilot. Right. He is described as the next Donald Trump, except he's younger and much better looking.

[Chelsea Fairless]

In the second episode, we discovered that he pretty much only dates models.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes. And in a recent rewatch, I did not realize that by Carrie's own admission, he is majorly out of her league. So Big is based on Candace Bushnell's ex, Ron Gilotti. He was the former publisher of GQ and Talk magazine. And the Big storyline was something that was supposed to end at the end.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Of season two, as it did in season two of Candace's own life.

[Lauren Garrone]

Carrie and Big begin dating midway through season one. He is emotionally unavailable from the start. But also, Carrie has no chill. Like she stalks Big's ex wife by creating a fake book proposal.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, she stalks his mom. There's a lot of really bad carry behavior that's never really directly addressed or she doesn't face any consequences for.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, and also she's the one that breaks up with Big at the end of season one. It's not like Big finds out about this crazy behavior and is like, ooh, I can't be with you. He's instead like, let's go to St. Bart's. He's there with presumably Raul to pick her up to go to the airport. And she's like, I can't do this. And they break up. They, of course, get back together. In season two, Carrie feels like Big has changed. But has he, Chelsea?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, he hasn't changed because he still is unwilling to commit to her in any capacity.

[Lauren Garrone]

You're right. He doesn't want to hang out with her friends. He takes a call during her wedding speech and, you know, forgets to tell her he might be moving to Paris for work.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, he isn't honest with her about that. But I think what's worse is when he's like, well, you could move to Paris, but you know, it would be because you're there for your own reasons. Right. Like I just happen to be there.

[Lauren Garrone]

We're just sort of on parallel tracks. Right.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Truly insane.

[Lauren Garrone]

But it is not Big who breaks up with Carrie when he moves to Paris. Carrie lets him go to Paris and tells him I won't be coming. Thus they break up. And Carrie learns that Big not only met someone in Paris, but a 26 year old Ralph Lauren employee named Natasha, who he is engaged to.

[Chelsea Fairless]

The older I get, the harder this situation hits. Because the idea that he's married a 26 year old is pretty crazy given the fact that he's what, in his 40s?

[Lauren Garrone]

Oh, yeah. Natasha is definitely half Big's age.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And yes, it is true that Carrie did break up with him, but the fact that he came back is engaged. They ran into each other under such awkward circumstances like that just would make you feel like a piece of garbage.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, also his whole thing of not wanting her in Paris is I'm not gonna have time to nurture this relationship. Whether it's long distance or you're living with me, I don't have space for that. To suddenly be back in New York only a few months later, which is the other heartbreaking thing is she's broken up with him because she's like, our relationship can't sustain us being apart because he was supposed to be there for a year or two and the deal went bust and he's back. And yes, he's not only dating a younger woman, he becomes engaged to her. And we learn in the beginning of season three, they have gotten married. But don't worry, Carrie has a new boyfriend, Aiden Shaw. Aiden was conceived as an anti Big, accessible, loyal and emotionally available. All the things that Big is not.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, he's also very different from Big in that he's not obsessed with money. He works with his hands, he builds furniture, he's Rustic. And by contrast, Mr. Big is quite urban.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes. And I went back and consulted our Bible, also known as the Pink Kiss and Tell book, and it discusses in the creation of the character of Aiden. He's originally called Aiden not because of the porn star Aiden Shaw, as we've thought. Thought. Not that they say that in the book, but it's because they originally wanted to cast the actor Aiden Quinn from Practical Magic.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I've like never seen this man before. Who is he in Practical Magic?

[Lauren Garrone]

What are you talking about? He's the cop in Practical Magic, Chelsea.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Oh, okay.

[Lauren Garrone]

Perhaps he was too busy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I guess I can kind of see that.

[Lauren Garrone]

I don't know. I think that's just a cover story because Daddy MPK really named him for the the porn star Aiden Shaw. So I know we all know this, but it feels weird not to mention that Carrie meets Aiden because Stanford tells her about him because he's profiled in the Style section of the New York Times. As we know, he initially doesn't want to date Carrie because she is a smoker, but Carrie quits smoking to be with him. Carrie's smoking habit will become a motif of the cheating storyline. Then we learn in the following episode, Aiden won't sleep with her because, let me check my notes. He likes her too much.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Red flag.

[Lauren Garrone]

And then in the very next episode, presumably after only dating for a few weeks, he wants to introduce Carrie to his parents, which Carrie initially does not want to do. This is all to say that Carrie, in her relationship with Aiden, essentially treats him the way that Big treated her.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, Carrie treats Aiden like shit.

[Lauren Garrone]

Wait, are we pro Aiden now?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, in a lot of ways, Carrie does kind of treat Aiden like shit. Although I understand after the Big romance why she would be a little hesitant to rush into something with someone.

[Lauren Garrone]

Absolutely. But instead of having healthy communication just explaining this to Aiden, she of course keeps it all bottled up inside. I think this brings us to where the affair starts in the episode Easy Come Easy Go. I assume that you have listened to our rewatch episode that we just did about Easy Come Easy Go, so we won't go too deep into it, but I think there's a tragedy to Easy Come Easy Go with how self aware Carrie is in a way that she never has been before. How many times in the episode she verbalizes how bad Big is for her and how much better Aiden is and how much more of a positive effect he has on her life. And despite all that, sometimes you got to go back to the trash dick.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Truly. But it's genius. The way that they set this up, because we recognize that Aiden is a good guy and we very much do not want Carrie to hurt him. But we also recognize that her and Mr. Big have unfinished business, that they have this incredible chemistry. So I don't know about you, but I am rooting for her to cheat on Aiden. But also, I don't want Aiden to be hurt.

[Lauren Garrone]

I think as an audience member, one of the reasons that Carrie is quote, unquote able to get away with this is the fact that Aiden just isn't big. And also Big is not happy in his marriage.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And also it's satisfying because we've discussed this before, but we like when Carrie is bad and hedonistic on some level.

[Lauren Garrone]

Absolutely. In many ways, it gets back to the grittiness of the first season that sort of dissipates over the following seasons and is kind of completely gone by the end of the series and really.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Gone by the time we get to the movies. And of course, and just like that.

[Lauren Garrone]

But this was such a groundbreaking idea to do, not only on a show in the 2000s, but also for a comedy like this is the first of the dramatic storylines really on Sex and the City.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So the affair starts in Easy Come, Easy Go. The next episode is all or Nothing.

[Lauren Garrone]

And the episode begins with the thought that sleeping with Big was a one time mistake. And it is not an affair. Sleeping with your ex wants very different than an affair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, of course. Carrie, of course, is riddled with guilt. So she confesses her sins to Samantha at the top of the episode.

[Lauren Garrone]

We don't actually see Carrie and Big have sex in Easy come, easy Go. Instead, in all or Nothing, we get these very hot sex scene flashbacks of Carrie and Big at the Stanhope Hotel. The most graphic sex scene I think we get in the series, but it's.

[Chelsea Fairless]

All so close up, like we don't actually see anything.

[Lauren Garrone]

That's how you know it's classy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's classy. But could have used a little more of that.

[Lauren Garrone]

If I've cheated on my boyfriend, the first of my friend group that I'm gonna tell is definitely the Samantha of the group.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Of course, Samantha's completely nonjudgmental about the fact that she has just slept with a married man.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, she explains, because Carrie is apoplectic. She's like, why does it feel so good when it's so bad? And Samantha is like, oh, no, they design it that way.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Which is smart and very true.

[Lauren Garrone]

Samantha tells Carrie not to beat herself up too much because Aiden, quote, hasn't Said I love you. And until then she's a free agent, which I am obsessed with Sex and the City's worldview that it isn't cheating if you haven't said I love you.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Okay, it's definitely cheating. But I wouldn't feel nearly as bad if I was Carrie if no one said I love you yet.

[Lauren Garrone]

Oh, it's not cheating. Cheating is what you're trying to say.

[Chelsea Fairless]

No, I definitely think it's cheating. I'm just saying that if you haven't said I love you, it's really not that serious. Although clearly their relationship is serious as he has sanded her floors and whatnot.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, they're certainly in a committed relationship. It's just when Samantha said this, it reminded me in season two when Big is unable to say that he loves Carrie and instead gives her the Judith Leiber bag. Remember, they go to that Upper east side party and Carrie goes home with the cater waiter who's some artist. They don't have sex, but he sleeps over. And Big calls her the next day and is like, I fucking love you. Okay. And then at the end of the episode, it's just a voiceover where she's like, I wasn't gonna tell Big about what happened. I guess everything before I love you doesn't count. I'm like, what is this? This is a worldview that the show has that is said by multiple characters.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, as if that's common knowledge. Look, clearly she is in deep with Aiden and this is a huge violation of trust. Especially as Aiden has already met this man and she has been deceptive about it.

[Lauren Garrone]

And it's very clear that Carrie has some self loathing issues. She certainly doesn't like herself and the decision she's made because she says to Samantha, don't you want to judge me? And Samantha goes, not my style. Yeah, Carrie is safe as long as she's with Aiden. But then he goes out of town to deliver a piece of furniture. So really it's kind of his fault that Carrie. Big again.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, she calls him to be like, we're never again. And then two seconds later he's in her apartment in her bed, which smells like wood chips and Paco Rabanne. Another just Drag Race level read from Mr. Big about Aiden.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes, and you would imagine that in Kerry's mind it's still not an affair. It's just a singular event with Big that's happened now twice.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I don't think she can deny that it is an affair at this point.

[Lauren Garrone]

That's right, because Kerry refers to their entanglement as this is going to be like the Bridges of Madison Avenue. A very brief affair I'll write about in the letters to my grandchildren.

[Chelsea Fairless]

One thing that I can't get over is the fact that she fucks Mr. Big in her apartment. Then a mere hours later, Aiden comes over and she greets him in the most insane overalls I've ever seen in my life.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, also, she has waited up until the last moment to change her sheets. The sheets that she fucked Big with are not even changed. They are on the floor.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, it's like babe, put those in the washing machine. Like hide the evidence. God forbid Aiden picks up like her cum stained sheets. He's a good guy. He probably wants to do her fucking laundry.

[Lauren Garrone]

So Aiden comes to Carrie's apartment and tells her that he loves her in leather pants, which it's like, who are you, Lenny Kravitz?

[Chelsea Fairless]

He can pull it off, kind of.

[Lauren Garrone]

Carrie says that she loves him back. To which I question, does she? A part of her does.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I think she does love him. Then he picks her up like a small child in her oshkosh b'gosh overalls or are they more limited too?

[Lauren Garrone]

I think it's giving limited too, for sure. I definitely had something like that.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, we probably both had those overalls. They're not even overalls. They're short alls. We might as well use the correct terminology.

[Lauren Garrone]

And Carrie's like wait, the sheets to which Aiden's like the sheets which. Pretty naughty.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Oh, as if like Carrie's mattress isn't just like the most disturbing thing you've ever seen in your life.

[Lauren Garrone]

It's all the DNA of New York's most eligible bachelors over the last five years.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Literally.

[Lauren Garrone]

So wait, does Carrie two guys in one day? Is that what I'm getting from this scene?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Absolutely.

[Lauren Garrone]

After Charlotte's engagement party, Carrie is in bed with Aiden, reading the papers and she believes she's quote, kicked her addiction. Her addiction being cigarettes and big Mr. Bigs.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Mr. Big.

[Lauren Garrone]

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[Chelsea Fairless]

I know. And Carrie goes down to the street under the guise that she's walking Pete Sus. Yeah, very sus. Again, Aiden is just not doing a ton of critical thinking. Carrie is behaving in ways and saying things that out of character for her. But he's such a good guy, he can look past that. And Carrie comes down to what I can only describe as Mr. Big's like midlife crisis in action.

[Lauren Garrone]

You mean his outfit is a cry for help? Yeah. The outfit does look like the inspiration for Charlie Sheen's character in Two and a Half Men. Like the Hawaiian shirt, the khakis, it's.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Not like a full Hawaiian shirt, but it has some sort of tropical leaf motif on it.

[Lauren Garrone]

It definitely would have been offered at Tommy Bahama or something.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garrone]

And Big admits that he cannot do this anymore, be married to Natasha and be having sex with Carrie. And for the first time ever in their relationship, he actually declares he wants Carrie. I don't think he's ever said that. But of course, because it's them, he can only admit how much he wants her in his life in the most up way possible. Big says that he's gonna tell Natasha. Carrie says, I don't want you to do that. She again talks about her amazing boyfriend, to which really upsets Big. He says, don't talk about him and her as if that's me and you. Which I've always found an interesting line of like, as if to separate them out of like our partners are less than our love is this other thing that kind of supersedes anyone else.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, clearly that's actually the case.

[Lauren Garrone]

And of course his declaration is just too much for Carrie. Also, she hates Pete, so she lets go of the leash and he runs off.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I feel so bad for Carrie in this scene.

[Lauren Garrone]

I was like, what's worse? Running after a dog in foreign shields. The way that Sarah Diska Parker could run in heels or wearing Those very uncomfortable Dr. Scholl Sandals that she sometimes wears.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I think heels would be easier than those Dr. Scholls for sure.

[Lauren Garrone]

That's what I'm thinking. So she gets stuck in the rain because of course there's a mid afternoon rainstorm and she decides to go home and confess everything to Aiden.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I've lost your dog, I fucked Mr.

[Lauren Garrone]

Big and I'm smoking again. But she enters the apartment, he of course amazing boyfriend doesn't yell at her. Is it like, where the fuck have you been for four hours? Because she left in the daytime. It is nighttime now.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, I'd be like, bitch, I thought you got murdered. Yeah, especially if the dog comes back. I'd be like, what happened to my girlfriend? Fuck. I have to wait 24 hours until I can file a missing persons report.

[Lauren Garrone]

But because he's a great guy, he wraps her in a blanket. I love the detail that when Pete comes out of the bedroom and she realizes he's not lost, he won't go to Carrie because he knows she's a big fat cheater. Great bit of dialogue. Aiden asked Carrie if she's cheating and as the audience member, you're like, thank God this man has grown a brain. He's put two and two together. But instead, is she cheating on her commitment to not smoke Chelsea? And the episode ends with him asking, are you going to quit? And she says, I really want to.

[Chelsea Fairless]

See in this episode. I don't really judge Carrie that harshly for the moral transgression of cheating with Mr. Big because it does seem like she's had some kind of breakdown.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well also she fucked Mr. Big only two times and it was before Eden said he loved her. So like it doesn't matter.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, it doesn't count. The next episode is when I start judging Carrie a bit more. And that is running with scissors, which.

[Lauren Garrone]

Would be how the affair ends in my mind. I thought the events of these episodes were split in two episodes. I did not realize everything happens in this episode.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, this is a jam packed episode.

[Lauren Garrone]

We get a montage of their affair as it goes from swanky with crystal to seedy with plastic cups.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I also love Carrie's voiceover where she says, when Charles Dickens wrote, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, I believe that he must have been having an affair with his married ex boyfriend. Genius. No notes, Pulitzer.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, I think this is where it really started for us. Questioning is the voiceover we're hearing actually what she's writing in her article. And if it is one, is Aiden reading her article? Natasha is definitely someone that is weakly reading Carrie Bradshaw's article.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Oh, absolutely.

[Lauren Garrone]

Or is the voiceover indeed her article, but she's pretending, oh, I'm talking about a friend.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But this episode starts with this really great montage which goes from like the Four Seasons or the Ritz or something.

[Lauren Garrone]

To a shit hotel room on 56 and 8th Ave. Because no one knows them on 56 and 8th Ave. Yeah.

[Chelsea Fairless]

They can't be going to those fancy uptown hotels like the Plaza because they might run into someone they know.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah. So instead it's like we need to go to a Hell's Kitchen hotel. I mean, there's fairly decent hotels in Times Square that certainly no one you know would be in Times Square on a Tuesday at 2pm except for maybe.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Samantha, because she has. Gets an office there at some point in the second Sex and the City movie. Yeah, yeah, that's when she has the Times Square office. Also, we've touched upon this before, but I do believe that this montage inspired Taylor Swift to write the song Illicit affairs, which was on Folklore, which has a lyric that says, what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots.

[Lauren Garrone]

Now, if Carrie and Big fucked in a parking garage, I'd be into that. It's giving Cronenberg.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She had to switch it up a little.

[Lauren Garrone]

There's discord between the couple because it goes from having all the time in the world. Right. At the swanky hotel. I have to be somewhere in three hours. And then the shitty hotel Big's like, I got to be back at work in 40 minutes. You know, I'd say just pull the plug then. Not the vibe you want to have for an affair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. Carrie's like, wait, I got to put my IUD in. Carrie's like, it's too hot. I actually can't Fuck. And then Mr. Big's like, what are you saving it for your boyfriend? The creepiest thing to say to someone.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes. And then Carrie has a real dark Night of the Soul moment where she wonders who they even are at this Point.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I understand how a person could cheat. I do not understand how people carry on affairs like this.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, because now you're training schedules to make this happen.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Training schedules. Coordinating the anxiety that this would give me would be insane. Also, it's barely possible to have an affair like this today. Oh.

[Lauren Garrone]

If you're in a committed relationship and you're sharing locations on your phone, you're fucked.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, also, like ring cams and stuff like that. In this surveillance state, it's hard just to fuck your married ex boyfriend, you know?

[Lauren Garrone]

Very true. So Carrie needs to be brought down to earth. And who better to do that than Miranda, who she confesses this affair to because she, quote, needs someone to yank her out of it. And she reveals to Miranda, I'm having an affair with Big and I'm smoking. Feel free to delete me out of your Palm Pilot.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I do kind of love that. Miranda's like, actually, I need a cigarette for the first time in my life.

[Lauren Garrone]

Miranda's like, me smoking as someone who's never smoked a cigarette before. Just blowing out the smoke without inhaling.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. I like how Carrie says, don't inhale, which does put this in the Clinton era a bit. As does the title of the next episode, Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

[Lauren Garrone]

So Carrie wonders out loud if Big only wants her now because he can't have her. And Miranda quickly replies, yes, throughout the series, they cannot be together in anything. That is not an unfucked way. And I think it's mostly done for the drama. But it also gets to the fact that when Big dies, it in just like that. I didn't feel too much. Because we never really see them as a happy, healthy, functioning couple. We've seen them more as a disordered couple and toxic than we have seen them healthy.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, absolutely. So Miranda's like, what are you doing? What do you want from this? And Carrie's like, well, you know, I just want to fuck my married ex boyfriend for a little bit. And then I want to move on. Like, no one gets hurt. We all resume our normal lives. And Miranda's like, I don't watch Lifetime television for women.

[Lauren Garrone]

I love that she said not only the channel, but its tagline at the time.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So good.

[Lauren Garrone]

Really. What carries concern is that Big is so erratic that she. She's not sure that he isn't one, going to tell his wife. Or two, call Aiden or even drop by Aiden's furniture store to tell him what is going on.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust him either.

[Lauren Garrone]

So Aiden and Carrie are in bed and she's annoyed because he keeps going when they kiss.

[Chelsea Fairless]

This is so sad. It speaks to the fact that she isn't into fucking him. She doesn't like this noise because it reminds her of him. And she can't just close her eyes and pretend that it's Mr. Big. And it's painful to watch as a viewer.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah. And again, this is some of the best self aware Carrie we get in the series. Because Aiden leaves still not pissed off at her. He's just like, you need some space, I'm gonna give you that. And Carrie acknowledges in her voiceover she has entered the high risk relationship behavior. So now Carrie is in the lobby of their 56 and safe hotel when a man propositions Carrie thinking she's a sex worker as big as trying to book their room. She tells Big she's leaving. She runs out. He runs after her onto the street, where they run into Charlotte. The plotting of this is so brilliant. How each of the friends find out that she would tell Samantha first because Samantha won't judge her. And that's what Carrie needs at that moment. She tells Miranda because she knows Miranda will give her a dose of reality. The person she never would want to know about this happens to be getting her wedding dress altered. Because also, the fact that this is going on in the background of Charlotte getting married is also a stroke of genius.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So they try and make excuses like, oh, we just ran into each other, blah, blah, blah. Charlotte obviously sees right through it.

[Lauren Garrone]

Thank God, by the way.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I know. And then storms off.

[Lauren Garrone]

We're at Charlotte's apartment where she's packing up her stuff because she's moving in with her soon to be husband. And Charlotte, also like Miranda, gives it to her straight. Actually, I think harsher than Miranda. She goes, you're the other woman. And she asks if Carrie thinks about Natasha and how she would feel if she found out. And Carrie goes, I think about her all the time. And Charlotte scolds her and correctly reads Carrie. She says, you think about what would happen to you if she found out. You don't think about her. She's just the idiot wife. You don't know anything about her.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, but then she really personalizes it. She was like, what if someone did this to me? It's like, babes, you're not the first person to be married or cheated on.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, also, how is Trey gonna cheat? As we soon learned.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Look, it's good that she's getting this perspective from someone like Charlotte is harsh, but she's not wrong. What Carrie has done is morally wrong.

[Lauren Garrone]

Absolutely.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She needs to be reckoning with that a bit more correct.

[Lauren Garrone]

As Carrie notes in the outro of this scene, she says the bride and she calls herself the maid of dishonor. Chelsea.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I know, I forgot about that.

[Lauren Garrone]

Which is what you called yourself as my maid of honor.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, but of course, Sex in the City has thought of everything.

[Lauren Garrone]

First it all comes back to Sex in the City. And then we get what Carrie qualifies as the lowest of the low in the affair, which is fucking in Big's marital bed while his wife is in the Hamptons.

[Chelsea Fairless]

This is also the lowest of the low because she just had that conversation with Charlotte, presumably.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And she's like, yeah, fuck it.

[Lauren Garrone]

This is her addiction. She is the back half of Michael Fassbender in. In sh.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I can't imagine going to someone's house and, you know. And it's very fucked up that Mr. Big put Natasha in that situation.

[Lauren Garrone]

Big has enough money to have a shag pad or two. Having just rewatched the film the Apartment, he could definitely bully a lower end associate that wants to climb the corporate ladder and be like, let me use your apartment to fuck in.

[Chelsea Fairless]

True. But also, shouldn't Big have maybe a slightly nicer apartment?

[Lauren Garrone]

Look, they built this set, they're not going to build another one.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And it's not like it's a shit apartment. It's just not what I would think of as a rich person's apartment, which would be something more akin to the apartment that we see in the beginning of the first Sex and the City.

[Lauren Garrone]

Film, Heaven on Fifth.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, we need some pre war details in this apartment. Although he does have a stainless steel fridge, which at that time was very big deal.

[Lauren Garrone]

Probably Big has it because he's such a gourmand. So Carrie yet again tries to end the affair. They seem to be at these loggerheads, right? Where Carrie is constantly trying to stop the affair. And Big is constantly being like, I'm gonna tell my wife. Like neither of these are true statements. Carrie doesn't want to stop the affair. Big doesn't really want to tell his wife.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes. But in this scene, they both become so exasperated. He's threatening to call Natasha right now.

[Lauren Garrone]

Which Carrie calls his bluff. And Big's like, well, will you be with me if I do this?

[Chelsea Fairless]

He calls her bluff. Yeah, because she's like, actually don't call her. I need more time.

[Lauren Garrone]

Carrie has this great thing where she's like, are we really going to do this? Meaning actually date, actually be out in the daylight Together, not hidden in apartments. And it's like, okay, no one knows you guys had an affair. Like, again, he'll just get divorced. You'll start dating like a million other biz bros in New York have done. Like, what are they worried about? That this is going to be a page six story?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Potentially. So they have this little squabble. Mr. Big says, I'm calling Natasha on Monday and breaking up with her. So figure it out.

[Lauren Garrone]

They're also fucking on his lunch break.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And then he quite fatefully leaves her alone in his apartment and says, there's.

[Lauren Garrone]

Plenty to eat in the fridge. There are leftovers. So Carrie is showered. Rookie mistake.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, Natasha's gonna find her, cook a curly hair in that drain, just like in. The kids are all right.

[Lauren Garrone]

I'm not gonna trust a man to know his wife's schedule.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, that's so true. What the. Does he know?

[Lauren Garrone]

And of course, Carrie is eating Natasha's leftovers, Big's leftovers. We're not quite sure when Natasha comes home because she caught the jitney. Can't imagine Natasha on the jitney, but here she is back in Manhattan.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And Carrie tries to flee, but she makes too much noise. She's in a hot pink bra and a denim jacket. Natasha sees her as she's exiting the apartment and screams, carrie, I see you. And Carrie just runs away. Like, this is actually the most cowardly thing that she ever does.

[Lauren Garrone]

Oh, Carrie is a coward. Natasha has this haunting line, which is, I knew you were having an affair, but not in my house. Which is, like, good on Natasha, but.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Also, like, how long? How'd you find out? I want Natasha's side of the story.

[Lauren Garrone]

Also, the first time I ever watched this episode was my first understanding that some Manhattan apartments have service stairs. I had never seen that before. And so Carrie tries to go out the service stairs. Natasha gives chase again. This is all Carrie's fault.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So Natasha falls so violently, she falls defenseless.

[Lauren Garrone]

Her arms don't catch her in time. And so she falls on her mouth, busting her lip open and busting her front teeth. Carrie gets her a cab. I love the detail that Natasha locks her out of the back seat so she gets in the front seat. What do you think the move is to do what Carrie did and go with her to the.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Of course you have to go with her to the hospital. Even if she's objecting under those circumstances, who knows? She could bleed out in the back of that cab, you know?

[Lauren Garrone]

And Big meets Carrie at the hospital. Would have loved to know what that Phone call was like. She gives him the details. There was a plastic surgeon on site. She'll need a stitch in her lip and she's very scared. B has the gall to say that he'll call her, which prompts Carrie to say the iconic line, we're so over. We need a new word for over.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's so good. But whenever I watch this, I'm always like, wait, but you guys finally can be together now. Natasha knows you're probably getting a divorce. Like, how is your marriage surviving this? It ultimately doesn't.

[Lauren Garrone]

And also the idea that Carrie could just go back to her relationship with Aiden, like everything is fudged.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, like she's not going to mention to Aiden that all of that happened. Also, if all that happened, I'd be like, oh, Aiden's definitely going to find out somehow.

[Lauren Garrone]

Aiden finding out about the affair is a little anticlimactic. But Aiden is at her apartment, question mark at the end of this episode. Did he get a key?

[Chelsea Fairless]

I don't know. And he's like, where have you been? She again gives the most suspicious answer, like, oh, I've just been walking. Went to some museums. It's like, what museums, bitch? Where did you go?

[Lauren Garrone]

What exhibits? Where are the stubs?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah, Aiden's a furniture designer. He cares about that kind of shit.

[Lauren Garrone]

Presumably the episode ends with the voiceover. Somehow I found a way to let myself out of the mess. I'd made it home. Did you, Carrie? Did you?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. I wouldn't feel entirely confident that the mess was behind me if that was the day I had.

[Lauren Garrone]

I guess it's more the. The spell is broken and Carrie doesn't want to fuck Big anymore. She finally sees a physicalization of how destructive their affair has been.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garrone]

So then we get what I'll call the aftermath. The episode don't ask, don't tell, which I would love to start with the question, should Carrie have told Aiden?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yes, because Natasha did find out and therefore there is a possibility of that information getting back to him, which would have been way worse than her just telling him.

[Lauren Garrone]

I will say friends did a great job. When Ross and Rachel were on the break and he sleeps with the copy girl. I think it's Joey who explains the. The chain of people of how it could get back to. To Rachel.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So because of that, yes, I think she probably should have told him about it, but not in the way that she did and certainly not at the time that she did.

[Lauren Garrone]

There is a through line of lying and the merits of lying throughout this episode, which begins at the rehearsal dinner for Charlotte and Trey's wedding, when Miranda reveals she lied during speed dating to get a date. And Aiden remarks she now actually can't date that guy because she lied. Carrie, in voiceover remarks that she's the liar. She may have broken off her affair with Big, but quote, the. The guilt of lying to Aiden was like a hangover. I couldn't sleep off.

[Chelsea Fairless]

The girls then go to the bridesmaid dress fitting at Vera Wang and, you know, carries heming and Heinz. Should I tell Aiden? Should I not tell Aiden? This is not appropriate conversation at this time. Like, she is completely overshadowing Charlotte's wedding with this drama. And Charlotte rightly so, says, like, girl, whatever you do, just do not break up with him before the wedding. This is my time. Don't fuck with that. Which Carrie later completely disregards.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, and maybe keeps the best wedding present Charlotte could have gotten away from her.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Wait, does she keep the love seat?

[Lauren Garrone]

I don't know if Aiden even gave her the love seat. So then we have the, what I'll call the flaw speech, Right? The night before Charlotte and Trey's wedding, Aiden is at his studio working on Charlotte's and Trey's wedding present. As we've previously mentioned, the bench, which features this flaw. But, Chelsea, it's not really a flaw, is it?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Not according to Aiden. This big old flaw right here. It's not a flaw really. It's just. Just the way the wood is. I think it's interesting. Kind of beautiful.

[Lauren Garrone]

So flaws can be good.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Flaws are the best part.

[Lauren Garrone]

So clearly this would be the perfect time for Carrie, sort of weaponizing the flaw conversation, to admit that she had an affair with Big. Which, by the way, if she did it here, I still don't think it would go over well.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And not the perfect time, because it's before Charlotte's wedding. The one thing that she asked of her maid of honor was, please don't tell your boyfriend that you cheated on him right before my wedding.

[Lauren Garrone]

But see, that's the thing. She's not the maid of honor. She's the maid of dishonor. And this is exactly something a maid of dishonor would do. Carrie wonders to herself if Aiden could still love her if she admitted her affair to Big. And it's like, no. The answer is no. No, he couldn't. Yeah, maybe because she knows this. She doesn't want to find out, so she doesn't tell him.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Even decades later, he still can't go into her old apartment because that's how much he can't deal with this.

[Lauren Garrone]

And then Carrie and Aiden make love and Carrie's on top, which is a real rarity for Carrie. And then he finds her smoking on the stoop, to which Aiden tells her this isn't going to work out. Her sneaking out to smoke, that is. You know, Chell, we've given Aiden a lot of about the smoking thing, but he does seem pretty chill about her continuing to smoke. It's not like he breaks up with her on the spot.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, that would be really rude post I love you. Like, I get that it's a deal breaker, but have a little compassion.

[Lauren Garrone]

And then Carrie in voiceover says, his flaw was trusting me with his heart.

[Chelsea Fairless]

True, though.

[Lauren Garrone]

So Aiden picks up Carrie at her apartment to go to the wedding. And this is when she finally confesses that she slept with Big again. The worst time to tell him he's.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Just made this beautiful piece of furniture for her friends. So this sort of like, sours that whole situation and his contribution to this wedding.

[Lauren Garrone]

How would anyone be a good vibe at this wedding knowing that your girlfriend cheated on you with her ex boyfriend, which the bride and the two other bridesmaids definitely know happened weeks before you did.

[Chelsea Fairless]

And that would be if Aiden actually agreed to come. Right? He doesn't come, which is its own bad vibe. She shows up without a date. Where's Aiden? I don't know.

[Lauren Garrone]

Aiden, I guess, might show up to the reception. He says that he needs time to think. So after Charlotte's wedding, Aiden goes to the church. Carrie apologizes to Aiden saying, I never meant to hurt you. To which Aiden says, I know. And it's like, do you?

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, and this is also just crazy disrespectful because they're having this dramatic breakup at Charlotte's wedding. Like, this is like a public, like not fight, but, like, clearly they're having a tense conversation.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah, they're both in the wrong. Also, Carrie says, can it be like the wood? And that's my flaw. I'm sorry, your flaw is your unresolved love and sexual tension with your toxic, emotionally unavailable ex. Bad flaw.

[Chelsea Fairless]

None of us are perfect. And she was hoping that Aiden could see past that, but he knows himself, he can't. And I don't know if I could either.

[Lauren Garrone]

I think also the. The most hurtful line is he says, I wish I didn't know about this.

[Chelsea Fairless]

That is sad because she's left out a lot of important details. Right. Like the fact that Natasha caught them.

[Lauren Garrone]

Right.

[Chelsea Fairless]

I sent this bitch to the hospital.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yeah. I mean, there's a Clive O And Julia Roberts closer esque interrogation that I'm sure happened later that evening.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So then Aiden leaves and Carrie is literally crying at Charlotte's wedding right before the photos are taken.

[Lauren Garrone]

The way that she is able to pull herself together to be able to take the photos, not I. I would be a red blotchy mess.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah.

[Lauren Garrone]

After this episode, Carrie goes to Los Angeles to escape her problems. Towards the end of the season, she learns that Big and Natasha are getting a divorce. Carrie then, of course, because she has to make everything about herself, believes that the bad luck she's facing, like getting robbed, is her karmic retribution for what she did to Natasha. And then I think maybe the craziest thing Carrie has ever done is that she stalks Natasha and shows up at a lunch uninvited in that amazing Christian Dior newsprint dress, basically demands an apology from Natasha.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She forces an apology onto Natasha.

[Lauren Garrone]

Yes. She wants to unburden herself from the guilt that, by the way, she should rightfully have and sit in. I feel like we should play Natasha's response to her.

[C]

I'm sorry too.

[Chelsea Fairless]

You are?

[C]

Yes. I'm sorry about it all. I'm sorry he moved to Paris and fell in love with me. I'm sorry that we ever got married. I'm sorry he cheated on me with you. And I'm sorry that I pretended to ignore it for as long as I did. I'm sorry I found you in my apartment, fell down the stairs and broke my tooth. I'm very sorry that after much painful dental surgery, this tooth is still a different color than this tooth. Finally, I'm sorry that you felt the need to come down here. Now, not only have you ruined my marriage, you've ruined my lunch.

[Chelsea Fairless]

She really goes out with a bang and is not seen again until. And just like that.

[Lauren Garrone]

And then, as we know, in season four, Carrie wants Aiden back. They do get back together. He then tries to punish her by. Maybe he was gonna sleep with that bartender at Scout. Maybe not. Certainly wants to make her feel shitty about it. We have the infamous you have to forgive me speech. There's also the insane episode where Carrie invites Big to Aiden's suffering cabin and they get engaged. And I do have to say, I think the most evil line Big ever says is in season four when Carrie says, I think Aiden's gonna propose. And he just says to her, you're not the marrying kind.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Pretty rich coming from someone that's been married twice and, you know, three times. Ultimately, that is true.

[Lauren Garrone]

I. We don't need to go through the films, obviously, Carrie and Big, as we learn our end game, I thought to end things, it might be interesting to look at this Affair storyline through the end, just like that lens. Because in the past few years there's been this cultural reset with Natasha of people really looking at things from Natasha's point of view. Because imagine being 26 years old and a woman that is eight years older than you, fucking hates your guts and is obsessed with you and stalks you.

[Chelsea Fairless]

No, it's fucked up. And we all should have empathy for Natasha from the get go.

[Lauren Garrone]

And I think we do. And of course, in season one, there's the storyline that in his will, Big leaves Natasha money, which of course keeps Carrie up all night.

[Chelsea Fairless]

It's a move that is somehow shitty to both Carrie and Natasha.

[Lauren Garrone]

The lack of explanation. Yes.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. Because it's not like she feels like, oh, I have closure because of this or something, or that's generous of him. She's like, ew, I don't want his money. I have no idea why he left it to me. But it is weird that this doesn't really offer closure on the Carrie and Natasha situation. I guess they've kind of forgiven each other.

[Lauren Garrone]

Not that Natasha directly says this, but it really feels like, hey, if we ever run into each other in Manhattan, let's pretend like we don't know each other. And then, of course, last but certainly not least, there is the thought that once Big dies, I guess Charlotte really was correct that you can only have two loves of your life. Because for Carrie, once Big dies, she gets back with Aiden. And then you have that scene that Carrie questions if Big was a mistake to Miranda.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Was he? Kind of. But clearly she couldn't avoid making that mistake.

[Lauren Garrone]

No, I guess some mistakes are worth making.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. But it is kind of insane because it disregards the fact that she was, like, phobic about the idea of marrying Aiden. Aiden really came to annoy her. The little things about Aiden, the mmm noise and all of that. Like, she became disgusted by Aiden because she wanted to be with Mr. Big so badly and not with him. So it's almost like pretending like that revulsion around dating Aiden was never really there.

[Lauren Garrone]

Well, we did say before the season started and we knew that they were going to pick up the Aiden Carrie storyline of like, okay, this could make sense, that the two things that loomed large in their life, Aiden's need for a traditional family structure to get married, to have children that Carrie wasn't willing to give to him, and Carrie's occupation or obsession, her white whale of Big and being married to him and having a life with him, that now that those two things were satisfied, that maybe these two could end up together. And instead I was left feeling that from this Affair storyline in season three and certainly when Carrie left him in season four, that he has been plotting since that moment to fuck Mr. Big over while he was alive or from the grave. Because you're right, you mentioned this before, that Aiden will not step in Cari's apartment. So she sells the apartment, she buys a gigantic gramercy townhouse for them to live in, only for Aiden to be like, I gotta be with my kid because he's so up. I'll be back in five years.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Well, clearly he's back sooner than that.

[Lauren Garrone]

We've seen photos of him on the set of season three, so he's already back.

[Chelsea Fairless]

So that was all for show, I guess.

[Lauren Garrone]

These are all worthwhile storylines. It makes sense for the character of Carrie. I just wish she could be a woman now, in her 50s. Dating, of course.

[Chelsea Fairless]

But I think the rehashing of the Aiden versus Big thing, right, whether it's in and just like that, or whether it's in the second Sex in the City movie, it speaks to how thrilling and how potent the original Affair arc was. And it's an attempt to recapture that.

[Lauren Garrone]

I think this storyline was so groundbreaking because you just, you didn't have a protagonist character of a television show, certainly not a comedy, cheat on her boyfriend, especially someone as perfect on paper as Aiden. I think this was the blueprint for so many other storylines like this. Like, I think of. Not that I'm the biggest Grey's Anatomy fan, but I do remember that there's a storyline, it opens the series with Meredith Grey. She sleeps with Patrick Dempsey. Turns out he's her boss, and wouldn't you know it, he's married. But there's always that caveat of like, but he's unhappy, so therefore it's kind of okay. Which I think started with this Big and Carrie affair storyline of like, well, it's okay because we love Big. We don't know who Natasha is, and Big and Carrie should be together and he's not happy. So therefore it's okay they're having an affair.

[Chelsea Fairless]

While there are some major moral transgressions happening here, I still do think that we're rooting for her to cheat, which is a unique thing. But that's an anti hero thing, right? She is the protagonist of the show. We are rooting for her. And I wish she would get back to being this messy I mean, they.

[Lauren Garrone]

Certainly laid the groundwork with her husband dying, but alas. Well, Chelsea, this was a lot of fun. We'd never done something like this. I wonder what other deep dives we could do with the series. This is one of the only arcs.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Samantha getting cancer or something.

[Lauren Garrone]

Okay.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Not so fun, though.

[Lauren Garrone]

All right, guys, that does it for us.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Yeah. Shall we just end this episode with illicit affairs?

[Lauren Garrone]

Okay, sure.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Against Lauren's will. Bye, guys.

[Lauren Garrone]

See you next time. Bye.

[Chelsea Fairless]

Don't call me kid, don't call me baby? Look at this idiotic fool that you made me. You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else. And you know damn well for you, I would ruin myself a million little times.