So, I rewatched Sex and the City season 3 and I
really didn't have to do it because this is my favorite SATC season, I've seen it million times
and at this point, I know it by heart. At last, we finally get Anthony, Aidan, Trey,
and the best side character ever, Bunny McDougall. This is the season where
Carrie basically sabotages her own happiness, Charlotte realizes that life isn't a fairytale,
Miranda tries to become more vulnerable but fails, and Samantha is the most non-judgmental
friend one could ever have. As always, I'm not analyzing this season episode by episode
but rather by breaking down the main characters, their arcs, their fashion, etc., which
means there will be spoilers. Also, get ready for unhinged fashion TED Talks as
season 3 serves some of the most iconic Sex and the City looks like the Dior newspaper print
dress, and the Prada lipstick skirt, as well as the abundance of flower brooches, and mostly
authentic Fendi baguettes. So let's get into it. I know I usually start with Carrie but you
know what? Charlotte was given nothing but breadcrumbs of storylines in the past two seasons
and now it is finally her time to shine. So let her have her moment. Her character's arc starts
already in the first episode. She's not wasting any time. The whole Staten Island episode is
heavily fairytale-themed with Carrie having her Cinderella moment, the White Knight rescue fantasy
discussion, and Charlotte making a wish. But you know what I say, be careful what you wish for. -
I'm getting married this year! From that moment onwards Charlotte really becomes committed
to finding her future husband and getting married. After a couple of bad dates with the
guy with anger management issues, The bad kisser, The guy who insults women in order to achieve
satisfaction, Charlotte finally meets her future husband Trey while being dressed in the iconic
Prada skirt. Now then, two things. Number one. Listen I know, trust me, I know that Trey is dull
af, and he has the worst sense of humor ever, but he is played by the one and only Kyle MacLachlan,
and we stand Kyle MacLachlan in this household. Do you guys remember this meme from a couple of
years ago about Disney princesses being a reason for our unrealistic hair expectations? Well,
Kyle MacLachlan, or should I say Special Agent Dale Cooper, because that's who he is to me, gave
me unrealistic hair expectations when it comes to straight white men over 30. You'll understand
when you're older. And the thing number two: the Prada skirt. If you've been following the
media surrounding fashion on Sex and the City I'm sure that you've noticed that Charlotte's
lipstick print skirt is usually considered one of the most memorable pieces of clothing from
the entire show. But what those fashion writers fail to explain is precisely why this Prada
spring 2000 skirt is so amazing. After all, the length is pretty conservative, and the print
itself is quite peculiar. Now, I don't want to flex on you (I mean maybe a little I do) but I do
own an entire look from the same Prada collection, and I would call myself a vintage Prada enthusiast
so.... welcome to my fashion Ted Talk. Miuccia Prada's spring 2000 collection paid homage to
Yves Saint Laurent, hence the prints of lips, hearts, and lipsticks but it was also referencing
the depiction of upper classes in films of Luis Buñuel and Michelangelo Antonioni. Both directors
usually placed their films in higher societies, aiming to expose the facade of the bourgeoisie,
that below the glamorous surface lurks corruption, loneliness, and superficial relationships without
real emotional intimacy between romantic partners. Do you see where I'm going with this? Muccia Prada
also said that behind her spring 2000 collection stood the idea of "a lady who's not a lady, a
lady who pretends to be proper". And we all know that Charlotte isn't such a goody-goody after
all. - Yes. That's right, aha, don't stop. Just like that. So having Charlotte wear the lipstick
skirt in the scene when she meets Trey pretty much serves as a sad foreshadowing of their marriage.
Exactly like the heroines of Buñuel and Antonioni, Charlotte leads a seemingly picture-perfect life.
On the surface level, she has everything she ever dreamed about: a handsome husband, who is a heart
surgeon. A heart surgeon you guys, who can mend her broken heart! Oh, so perfect. She lives in
this gorgeous apartment filled with lavish china sets, dust-ruffle-less beds, and whatnot. But deep
inside she becomes incredibly lonely, she's stuck in a marriage with a guy who can't express his
emotions and refuses to address his problems, which only leads Charlotte to become more and more
sexually frustrated. Pretty much like Catherine Deneuve’s Severine in Luis Bunuel’s 1967 film
called Belle de Jour. - Damn it! I just really want to be f. In Patricia Field we trust. We
might not always agree with her styling choices, especially in her latest work, but you can tell
me that this level of film and fashion knowledge isn't something worth admiring. - My marriage is a
fake Fendi. And that's pretty much what happens to Charlotte in season three. She goes from being
single to married for three months to finally separated in the last episode. - Charlotte kissing
the gardener. - Charlotte you're a McDougall now. oh my God, Bunny is this what you call Tradition?
Now, I know that it is tempting to mock Charlotte for her willingness to get married for the sake of
being married, especially now that cohabitation, and staying single forever is socially
acceptable. But I can guarantee you that there are still many communities that value
more traditional family structures, and until this day many women experience immense pressure
to get married. And even in the SATC universe, we had characters like Lexi Featherston, who
was supposed to serve as a cautionary tale to all the party girls out there. You can be single
and fabulous exclamation mark, but only until a certain age. Past that all that is left for
you is to settle down, and if you don't *sigh* I wouldn't necessarily call myself a certified
Charlotte apologist, but I like that she learns from her mistakes which allows her to
grow as a person. And even in this season, there were a couple of moments when she
was letting go of this rigid idea of the person that she was supposed to be. The most
noticeable one was when Charlotte and Trey sat on the floor in Charlotte's apartment after
they separated, and they had what it felt to be, their first honest conversation ever. It
literally took them an entire season to finally openly talk about their emotions. And
I really liked that at this moment Charlotte didn't care if her hair is messy, or what
will her neighbors think about it. You know, stupid things Charlotte cares about. Also,
Charlotte dressed as a drag king. 10 out of 10. Okay, so here's a thing. 20 years ago being
a Carrie was aspirational, right? Celebrities wanted to be her, designers were dying to dress
her, but now, I'm assuming as a form of rejection of this worldwide obsession with her character
people became overly judgmental of her actions and personality. And listen, I don't say she doesn't
deserve any criticism but aren't we a little too harsh? where is the middle ground? Because she
is the way she is by the design. Sometimes she's relatable, other times she's a mess, or annoying
and that's what makes her character feel like a human because humans are complex. Let me use
an example. At the beginning of season three, Carrie finds out about Big and Natasha's
wedding. This leads to her pondering about women, who simply exist to make us feel bad about
ourselves, which in Carrie's case this woman of course is Natasha. But the thing is that
Natasha was nothing but kind and sweet to Carrie. She never said anything mean to her,
she never gave her a side-eye or did anything to indicate that she secretly disliked her.
If anything I would assume that Natasha was the one to be petrified of the celebrity
columnist her husband dated. But of course, we never see Natasha's perspective in all
of this. - She's shiny hair, style section Vera Wang and I'm the sex column they
run next to ads for penile implants. It is very tempting and easy to call out
Carrie for acting really immature here, being deeply insecure, and projecting her
own insecurities on Natasha. Which, yes, she does. But at the same time, don't you
just want to hug her? And tell her: Bestie, start practicing self-love, go with Charlotte
to those affirmation classes or something, and don't let your own insecurities ruin your life.
Really this scene is so painful. Carrie basically realizes that Big wasn't, I don't know, forced
into this marriage, right? He chose Natasha. They have their own song. OMG, this scene is so
profoundly sad. Don't you want to just tear up? Just a little bit? And that's what I mean when
I say Carrie is a complex character. She can be insufferable and relatable at the same time!
Luckily, to Carrie's rescue appears Aidan, the perfect boyfriend archetype who hates
smoking. And okay. After some ups and downs, Carrie finally quit smoking for him but imagine
how bad must have her apartment still smell. Like, cigarette smell lingers in houses for years and
years after quitting. And if I were such a smoke hater I don't think I would want to hang out
at Carrie's apartment as much as Aidan does. Anyway, Aidan is sweet, lovable, he's a handyman
who can repair a sink if it's broken. That's a huge asset if you ask me. He's tall, loves dogs,
and introduces Carrie to his parents, unlike Mr. Big in season one. - You make me really happy.
Aidan really feels like a great guy. He's just not a guy for someone like Carrie, who thrives on
drama. Ultimately, this is why Carrie was so drawn to Mr. Big because he just fed her with endless
supplies of drama. Like, that must be it! Because if you think about it, he is so not interesting as
a character. All we know about him, at this point, is that he is this Big Fish in New York, goes
to church with his mother, his ex-wife is a book editor, and he listens to old music. Also, his
name is John. Ok, technically we don't know this yet but come on he's such not a John. He's not
a romantic type, nor particularly generous. He doesn't have a great sense of humor except for
those rare scenes, it's usually one scene per season, when he's hilariously funny. This season
is the drunk Big at the furniture fair. There's something about him saying "beige, beige
everything in my house is beige" that is really funny for me. To which Carrie famously
responds: - I thought you wanted beige, meaning Natasha is the beige vanilla simple girl from The
Way We Were. After meeting Aidan, and realizing that Carrie has moved on, Big starts to leave her
voicemails, he randomly shows up at her apartment. Until Carrie decides to sabotage her own life by
starting an affair with him. I'm not gonna lie to you I find this elevator scene very disturbing
and the whole affair to be pretty raw. Because it's not like Carrie and Big go on romantic
trips to Paris or something, you know, like they do in the movies. No, they just meet in those
progressively cheaper hotels and they are kind of mean to each other. It almost feels like
a form of addiction. It was fun at first, but it's not anymore, and they just don't know
how to stop. Which I assume is a continuation of season 2 idea that Carrie is addicted to toxic
relationships and she's a masochist for being with Mr Big. And we all know what happens next.
Natasha catches Carrie in her own apartment, falls from the stairs while chasing her, breaks
her tooth, and finally decides to divorce Big. After a couple of weeks, Carrie is still driven by
guilty conscience and stalks Natasha to her lunch. There is surprisingly a lot of stocking in this
season, I noticed. But yeah, this is Carrie at her lowest. There is no excuses to her actions. Not
only she ruined Natasha's marriage but she also ruined her lunch and had the audacity to drink
Natasha's water. That's a no for me. But hey, at least she was dressed in the one and only Dior
newspaper print dress. And you know what it means? The fashion Ted Talk number two. The whole season
3 of Sex and the City is basically an ad for John Galliano-era Dior. No judgment here, just pure
facts. Carrie happens to own the Dior Saddle bag in pretty much every finish this bag was produced
at the time. Personally, I never got the appeal of the Dior Saddle bag, mostly because I would
call myself a Dior malice girly, which is another Galliano designed bag for Dior. - My Christian
Dior purse. - I'll get it! I always imagine that if Carrie ever met real-life John Galliano, their
conversation would be similar to the one she had with Carrie Fisher. - I'm Carrie, you're Carrie.
I write, you write. Carrie would be like: you love fashion, I love fashion. You're problematic,
I'm problematic. Let me wear your designs because we're a match made in heaven. Because so it
happens that John Galliano came up with this print idea after noticing unhoused Parisians using
newspapers to protect themselves from freezing... But wait! There is more! Galliano was also
inspired by the 1920s and 30s Trump balls where wealthy Parisians dressed up as peasants
um basically for fun. If I were him, I would just say I'm referencing Elsa Schiaparelli,
or this 1866 screen-printed ball gown. But ok. Sarah Jessica Parker looks incredible and this
dress. The whole collection was really successful, and until this day it is one of the most known
Dior collections ever. But back to this scene. After endless internet searches I still can't
find who designed Natasha's pink dress. It actually looks so different from anything she
wore on the show. Not just because of the color, but the fabric, and the overall retro feel.
And then it caught me thinking. What if she's wearing a Dior dress too... but it's vintage
Dior? Huh? After all, Carrie and Natasha are each other opposites yet they fell from the same
guy. Similarly, Christian Dior and John Galliano had totally different styles, dressed totally
different women yet they both created under the same label. Is this an over interpretation? Yes,
yes, it is. But I'm gonna run with it regardless. In season 3 Samantha is a National Treasure
and should be protected at all costs. She's our trisexual queen - I'm a trisexual. I'll
try anything once. A proud bisexual ally. She has that brilliant HIV test scene, and she's
a non-judgmental and supportive friend. What an icon. - Don't you want to judge me? Just
a little bit? - Not my style. Since Samantha wasn't giving a love interest, and in season four
she literally gets two, I've been thinking about her relationship with Charlotte. Shoutout to you
bestie for suggesting this topic. And honestly, after watching this season I started to understand
those wild conspiracy theories about Miranda Samantha and Charlotte being just different parts
of Carrie's psychic, or that Carrie as a writer invented them for the sake of her column. Look,
I understand that Samantha and Charlotte don't really have that much in common, or at least until
now in the show they don't, and that's why they rarely hang out together. It's usually Carrie who
unites the group. That's fine. Plus Sex and The City often pits the characters against each other.
Like in season four it's Charlotte and Miranda: Charlotte has a baby fever, but she's infertile.
Miranda on the other hand, accidentally gets pregnant and considers terminating her pregnancy.
Likewise in season three, we get the conflict between Samantha and Charlotte and there are
different views on sex. And it does sound like a good idea, and in some scenes it works. This was
a very cute moment. But for me the psychology just isn't there. What’s in this friendship for
Samantha? Why she puts up with Charlotte's continuous sl*t-shaming, dramatically leaving
their branches, and basically her pure disgust of Samantha's lifestyle. And I don't understand
why Samantha forgives her so quickly. They had this massive fight before Charlotte's wedding in
this bridal salon. Charlotte said some awful awful things. She once again sl*t-shamed Samantha, and
revealed that she only invited Samantha to her wedding so that she didn't feel left out. And the
next scene is Charlotte's wedding and they are all good. Like what!? I know that one does not Watch
Sex and the City for realism but this fight scene could be the least realistic thing in the entire
show. Not Carrie's excessive shoe collection, nor her apartment, but the fact that
this fight didn't end their friend group. As much as I love Miranda and Steve, their
chemistry and relationship, this season I felt like we've seen enough of Steve. In
season two he was so charming and lovable but in season three he was giving me some serious
Nate from The Devil Wears Prada vibes. You know, like a whiny boyfriend, who acts all childish
and vilifies his girlfriend for thriving in her career. Miranda was working so hard to get
a promotion at her work and he was like "ooooh let's get a puppy, let's have a baby, watch me
play basketball". Steve, GROWN UP! Especially since Miranda really tried to open up and be
more vulnerable with him. I really loved their fight scene at the beginning of season when Steve
wanted to move in with Miranda ,which of course absolutely terrified her. Whenever I think about
Miranda the word control comes to mind. You know, she's a corporate lawyer, her life is all
about facts and figures, she's pragmatic, direct and very analytical. So the idea
of showing someone that sometimes she can't control everything, that her life
gets messy too so basically revealing her true self to somebody sounds like a
really tough thing for her to do. - Steve I really tried. Single Miranda honestly
deserves her own show. Her struggles were so real. As someone who has always been the
cute one, not the sexy one, I found myself relating to her her inner goddess workouts,
or pretending to be a stewardess for a day, and the overall quest of becoming a sexy Miranda.
She was just so relatable this season. - I'm on valium. Everything's okay. No matter if she had a
hangover straight for my horror movie, or when she felt invisible to potential mates, I don't think
I speak only for myself when I say: been there, done that. - So uh what's like to kiss somebody
with those things? Even Miranda with braces felt real and weirdly triggering too, because that was
a question I heard a lot as a teenager with braces back in 2006. Ew. - You have a back pillow?
- Yeah and I'm getting old.com. On the whole, season three is one of the strongest Sex in the
City seasons. It has so many memorable lines, scenes, and fashion moments. But it's also a very
paradoxical season: it is dated yet it will never get old and it only gets better with each rewatch.
In my opinion, it is extremely important to call out SATC for its problematic storylines but we
shouldn't simultaneously lose the early 2000s perspective. It might not feel that long ago, but
watching Carrie freely smoke indoors, and learn about the so-called Brazilian wax feels... like a
completely different world. Back then story lines like Miranda getting an STD or Samantha taking
an HIV test were shocking. Stuff like this was rarely if ever shown on TV. And it wasn't just
for giggles like Charlotte getting Crabs in season two. No, those were emotional and gripping arcs.
Samantha literally passed out because of anxiety surrounding the test, and Miranda needed to
contact all her past sexual partners as well as have a sincere conversation with Steve. That
sounds like hell! I also read somewhere that in the early 2000s Sex and The City was one of few TV
shows to use certain vulgar words. Which only goes to show how prudish television was at a time. And
SATC continues to shock even today. Just a little bit differently. In 2023 watching Carrie being
absolutely grossed out and repulsed by the idea of dating a bisexual guy is shocking. Same with the
episode where Samantha dated a black guy in the show's foray into racial commentary. Aged. Like.
Milk. Yet in season 3 there are many universal storylines like love, affair, and friendship that
will always stay relevant. I really liked how the season further explored Carrie's friendship with
each of the girls. Charlotte was so sweet to stay with Carrie and read together that wedding article
because she knew how emotionally difficult this will be. Samantha was nothing but supportive of
Carrie this entire season and Miranda... Well, I don't know if we should all be Miranda's
but we definitely should have a Miranda in our lives. But most importantly, this season is my
warm blanket, it never fails to make me laugh. I absolutely lose it when Miranda pretends to be a
flight attendant, or Samantha's funky spunk guy. Gets me every time. Thank you guys so so much for
watching. I'll see you in the next video. Bye!
