Growing Old(er) Kinkily: Sex and the City, Season Four

Please Note: Although this review is tagged for spoilers, it also contains references to significant plot elements from Sex and the City: Season Three.

Introduction

As it strutted into its fourth year, “Sex and the City” entered a transitory state that would take it from fluffy, light-hearted comedy to thoughtful drama, while maintaining its flippant sexual outlook and occasional forays into outrageousness. Although the series was always enjoyable, previous episodes had dealt with humorous yet mostly trivial concepts – but by this point, it had matured enough to examine the complexities of marriage and parenthood, beginning a procession of autumnal themes that would elegantly bring things to a close two years later.

Episode List
(Highlights in bold, lowlights in italics)

1) The Agony and the Ex-Tacy; 2) The Real Me; 3) Defining Moments; 4) What’s Sex Got To Do With It?; 5) Ghost Town; 6) Baby, Talk Is Cheap; 7) Time & Punishment; 8) My Motherboard, My Self ; 9) Sex & the Country; 10) Belles of the Balls; 11) Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda ; 12) Just Say Yes; 13) The Good Fight; 14) All That Glitters…; 15) Change of A Dress; 16) Ring A Ding Ding; 17) A ‘Vogue’ Idea; 18) I Heart NY

Discussion

Interestingly, relatively little of the series’ future direction is displayed in season four’s early episodes, with the sole exception being the great opener “The Agony and the Ex-Tacy”. Here, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) faces the daunting prospect of her 35th birthday, displaying clear signs of growth in a late conversation with her friends. Confessing her sadness at not having a long-term romantic relationship, she receives Charlotte’s (Kristin Davis) hokey but wonderful response that in the absence of men, they can be each other’s soulmates instead. As high as it scores on the cheese-o-meter, it’s a memorable exchange, and the amount of compassion and caring displayed between the four main characters makes for great television. There are so many series that make the mistake of using bickering and infighting between protagonists to create cheap drama, and it’s great to see “Sex and the City” avoid this by consistently challenging and reaffirming its important friendship bonds.

As strong as it is at the start, most of the episodes on this box set’s first disc are quite mediocre, cleaning up from season three while introducing some new elements. As Charlotte and Trey (Kyle McLachlan) decide to give their marriage another try, both Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) head back to the singles market; the latter briefly entering an unconvincing lesbian relationship with an artist named Maria (Sonia Braga). The coupling is marred by a tangible lack of romantic/sexual chemistry, and the plot ends up feeling like a self-conscious attempt at pushing Samantha into something ‘controversial’ after her previous antics. Thankfully, it’s done and dusted in three episodes, as is an equally dull mini-story featuring Carrie’s experiences with an unpredictable jazz musician (“What’s Sex Got To Do With It?”)

After those openers, the season begins to rise on its second disc. Following the reappearance of Aidan (John Corbett) and an attempt to win him back, Carrie is left dealing with the realities of her prior infidelity, and an obvious resistance lurking beneath the surface of their rekindled relationship (“Time & Punishment”). This plot goes on to develop throughout the year (climaxing in “Just Say Yes” and “Change of A Dress”), throwing up a few problems in addition to its dramatic twists and turns. The principle issue is one that reflects on all of Carrie’s boyfriends – which is that they’re simple ciphers whose only interesting feature is their effect on her. As a character, Aidan is hard to identify with emotionally, and his status as the ‘perfect’ boyfriend ends up pulling Carrie’s worst characteristics (narcissism, selfishness and pettiness) into the spotlight, so that she gets harder and harder to like.

In direct contrast, season four sees Miranda slowly become more sympathetic, beginning with the excellent “My Motherboard, My Self”. In this edition, the tragic and comedic combine very well, as Miranda’s grief at her mother’s sudden death is matched by a funny yet meaningful story as Samantha ‘loses’ her sexual satisfaction and must find a different type of release. Given more challenging material, Cynthia Nixon displays a strong level of performance, and is just as compelling when she hears some shocking news about former lover/current friend Steve (David Eigenberg), finding herself pregnant soon after and contemplating having an abortion (“Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”). While the episode resolves itself in a predictable manner, its plot is still solid, and the explorations of Miranda and Charlotte dealing with child-related issues of vastly different forms are well handled and emotionally real.

The third and final disc on the set sees gloom sweep in, as both Carrie and Charlotte experience painful conclusions to their relationships and face questionable prospects for the future (“Ring A Ding Ding” and its charming, genuine character interactions). Unfortunately, the level of writing does dip in a few places, with “A ‘Vogue’ Idea” promoting its titular magazine so much it neglects to feature any wit, and “All That Glitters…” being a lazy parade of obnoxious stereotypes (very odd how a series that challenged views on contemporary sexuality portrays all gay males as effeminate and promiscuous). Still, it manages to redeem itself with finale “I Heart NY”, a warm post-9/11 love letter to its host city that provides a Big change for Carrie (and another for Miranda, in one of the most unconvincing birth scenes ever filmed). It’s a nice conclusion to the series’ most thoughtful year yet, and sets the show up well for the remainder of its run.

Conclusion

Much like season three, the fourth year of “Sex and the City” is a respectable foray into topics and themes that the series had never covered before (and had earned the right to explore through prolonged and meticulous character development). Like its predecessor, it doesn’t always work on a scene-by-scene basis – and could have done with more attention paid to dialogue – but it’s a must-have for any fan of the show, and continues its precedence as one of the few consistently good series of the last ten years. As such, it’s easy to hand this box-set a well-earned four stars, and it’s great to know that the seasons to come are just as good (if not better).