A ‘Sex and the City’ Fan Theory Could Absolutely Ruin the Series if It Turned out to Be True
Sex and the City aired on HBO from 1998 until 2004. For six seasons, fans of the series connected deeply with Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York. They watched as they fell in love, had their hearts broken, and rebounded, always with the help of their very best friends. Now, fans can reconnect with three of the four in And Just Like That…, the Max reboot. While the reboot has its fair share of critics, it’s still nice to reconnect with fictional old friends. One Sex and the City fan theory, however, would completely ruin the original series and all that came after it if it turned out to be true.
A fan once theorized that Carrie Bradshaw and her friends’ lives never happened
In 2016, a Reddit user posited that Sex and the City isn’t what it appears to be. According to the Sex and the City fan theory, Carrie Bradshaw’s active love life and romantic failures and successes never happened. The fan alleges that the stories that ended up in Carrie’s column were all fiction.
The fan takes it further and suggests Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, and Samantha Jons never actually existed. Instead of being actual friends, the viewer believes that Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda are all examples of the different life paths Carrie could have taken. So, basically, Carrie isn’t a columnist, but rather a creative writer who spends all of her time alone, dreaming up different characters.
If the ‘Sex and the City fan theory were true, it would ruin everything about the show
While the theory is certainly interesting, it seems unlikely to be true. If the writing team behind the series were to reveal all of Carrie’s experiences were imagined and Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha were all figments of Carrie’s imagination, the internet might explode.
While the theory has some concrete evidence to back it up, the notion that Carrie’s loves and best friends never existed would ruin the series for fans. Sex and the City succeeded because fans emotionally connected with Miranda, Samantha, Charlotte, and Carrie. They walked with them through heartbreaks and cheered them on as their lives progressed. Fans loved how much the girls loved each other. Learning that Carrie’s entire life and the lives of her friends were all a figment of Carrie’s imagination would destroy the emotional connection fans have with the characters and the show. It would certainly paint the show in a darker and more depressing light. Other shows have tried to use the tactic, and the results have not been great.
The dream reveal has been used in the past with bad outcomes
The “it was all a dream” style ending has been tried multiple times in the past. Each time the trope is used in a series finale, the show’s fans are confused in the best-case scenario and absolutely livid in the worst.
Newhart writers used the trope to end the long-running series in 1990. The finale effectively tied Newhart to The Bob Newhart Show but also ruined the series for fans. By revealing that Dick Loudon and the small Vermont town where he ran an inn were dreamt up by Bob Hartley, the writers destroyed viewers’ connection to Dick Loudon. It is even difficult to watch the show now, knowing what happened.
Seven years later, Roseanne tried a similar finale tactic. In the Roseanne finale, Roseanne Connor revealed that she imagined the series’ events and everything good that happened to the family was just a fantasy. Fans lambasted the decision. St. Elsewhere used the tactic many years earlier. Dallas, Married… with Children, and several other shows also utilized the dream trope when necessary with varying levels of success.
