Carrie Bradshaw vs. Nina ‘the Face Girl’ Katz: Which ‘Sex and the City’ Character Was in the Right?

Carrie Bradshaw didn’t have many significant showdowns on Sex and the City. Sure, a few people didn’t like Carrie, but she largely existed in her own plane, and there wasn’t a ton of serious bad blood. Carrie had so few social issues that she really couldn’t stand when someone didn’t like her. Carrie dealt with Natasha’s understandable distaste for her in season 3, but she wasn’t prepared for what was coming two seasons later. In season 5, Carrie Bradshaw found herself face-to-face with a woman named Nina Katz. Despite not personally knowing Carrie, Nina Katz laid down a look at the famed sex columnist that sent Carrie spiraling. So, did Carrie overreact, or was Nina totally out of line and purposefully messing with Carrie? 

What happened between Carrie Bradshaw and Nina Katz? 

In the season 5 episode, “Critical Condition,” Carrie learned that her second breakup with Aidan wasn’t as clean as she originally thought. In a chance meeting in a bathroom, Carrie came face-to-face with the woman who dated Aidan Shaw immediately after her. Nina Katz made a face that indicated that the breakup messed with Aidan’s head so intensely that it bled into his future romantic endeavors. 

Following their initial meeting, Carrie and Nina continued to run into each other throughout Manhattan. Each time, the interaction got worse. Despite not really being privy to the details of Carrie and Aidan’s relationship, Nina openly discussed what happened between them with just about everyone, including celebrities. Eventually, Carrie was able to share with Nina how important her relationship with Aidan was. The interaction ended anti-climactically. 

Carrie’s reaction was a little overblown 

One facial expression shouldn’t send a person into an emotional crisis, but that’s exactly what happened following Carrie’s first interaction with Nina. Carrie’s initial interaction with Nina sent her spiraling. She was so obsessed with the face Nina made that everyone from Miranda Hobbes to Stanford Blatch ended up angry with her. 

Each subsequent run-in seemed to make matters worse. While the face and everything Carrie learned about Nina certainly wasn’t good, we must agree with Carrie’s pals here. The famed sex columnist was far too consumed with the opinions of a woman she had no idea existed until they happened upon each other in a restroom. Carrie wasn’t completely wrong, though. 

Nina Katz seemed to be purposefully messing with Carrie

While Carrie certainly overreacted to the notion that someone was openly discussing her past relationship with their social circle, you could argue that Nina was 100% in the wrong for not only making assumptions about the relationship but openly talking about the business of two people who, in the grand scheme of things, weren’t all that important to her. Nina was also in the wrong for her reaction to Carrie. Technically, Nina didn’t even have to mention she knew Carrie through Aidan when they first connected. 

So, what exactly was Nina’s motivation? Based on her overly animated reaction and not-so-subtle digs at Carrie, you could theorize that Nina harbored some ill will toward Carrie. If that was the case, and she was purposefully messing with Carrie, she was a little mean. Carrie was not directly responsible for Nina’s failed relationship with Aidan, no matter how much Nina seemed to believe that was the case. 

So who was right, Carrie or Nina? All told, Carrie Bradshaw and Nina Katz were both wrong. Carrie didn’t need to obsess over Nina’s facial expression or her opinion on the breakup. Nina could have practiced a bit of restraint. Carrie didn’t do anything wrong to her, even if how she treated Aidan wasn’t great.