‘Sex and the City’: 3 Unrealistic Elements of the Show Aside From Carrie’s Finances
Sex and the City was provocative for its time. It was among the first shows to offer a realistic portrayal of sex and dating in a big city. Still, the show was not without its problems. While most fans note that Carrie Bradshaw’s finances make no sense, other elements of the series are completely unrealistic, too.
Everyone on Sex and the City acted like the subway was a last resort
Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker has lived in Manhattan for most of her adult life, and Michael Patrick King calls the Village home. Still, they allowed the show’s characters to act as if the subway was an absolute last resort. In six seasons, Carrie took the subway exactly once, and that was only because she was late to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
While Carrie and her pals acted as if only the fiscally challenged take the subway, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The subway system is the most efficient way to navigate Manhattan. Everyone, from celebrities to stockbrokers, utilizes the system every single day. Financial savings are an afterthought. If Carrie and her pals really took cabs everywhere, they would not only be broke, but they would also have been perpetually late.
Carrie Bradshaw remaining friends with Mr. Big after her affair was completely unrealistic
Carrie and Mr. Big’s affair in season 3 ruined not only Big’s marriage to Natasha, but it ended Carrie’s relationship with Aidan Shaw. The following season, Carrie and Aidan got back together. Their renewed romance was completely relatable, but the storyline fell short when Carrie couldn’t seem to understand why Aidan would be bothered by her maintaining a friendship with Big.
To make the storyline even less realistic, Aidan and Mr. Big ended up marginally friendly when all was said and done. Fans point out that Carrie was incredibly naïve to think that meeting up with Mr. Big one-on-one while dating Aidan was an appropriate thing to do. After decades of dating in Manhattan, her naivety was incredibly unrealistic.
Sex and the City fans point out that Charlotte York’s apartment was unrealistic
Charlotte York was desperate to be a “Park Avenue Princess.” She achieved that dream when she married Trey MacDougal and moved into his Park Avenue apartment. After less than a year of marriage, the couple filed for divorce. Trey, in a show of goodwill, gave Charlotte the condo and moved out. While Trey’s gesture was meant to show that, deep down, he was a good guy, just not the right guy for Charlotte, it was unrealistic.
Trey’s apartment technically was not his to give away. His mother, Bunny MacDougal, pointed out that the apartment wasn’t Trey’s, but rather, it belonged to the MacDougal family. It seems incredibly unlikely that a single telegram from Trey would lead to Bunny giving up the family apartment. It becomes even more dubious when you remember that Charlotte signed a prenuptial agreement that outlined what she would get if the couple were to divorce. The apartment was never included in that document.
