The Carrie Diaries - Premiere Recap: Keeper of the Cool

The Season 2 premiere of The Carrie Diaries, “Win Some, Lose Some,” did exactly what I’d hoped it would do in the time jump from the Season 1 finale to mid-summer in Manhattan. Carrie (Annasophia Robb) has attempted to work through the burn by her former flame, Sebastian’s (Austin Butler), in typical Bradshaw fashion… with a new hairdo and a little bit of booze. Meanwhile, The Kydd was also sporting a new style that made me wonder if Butler borrowed some of Robb’s lost curls. Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) in the city, now that was a sight for sore eyes, and her friendship with Walt (Brendan Dooling) is better than ever. Walt, meanwhile, has come to all but fully embrace the gay over the course of his summertime in New York, yet an unlikely new buddy might have given him the last little push he needed. Back in Castlebury, Mouse (Ellen Wong) played the role of a woman scorned for Bradshaw, icing Maggie (Katie Findlay) out as best she could until push came to shove, literally (a splash was involved), and the two were forced to have a heartfelt one-on-one. Much to Dorrit’s (Stefania Owen) dismay, it was time for her father (Matt Letscher) to meet  the impossibly cool Miller (Evan Crooks). Everybody joined in on the fun during tonight’s Season 2 premiere, but all eyes were most certainly on Samantha (Lindsey Gort), whose new friendship with Carrie might just be the remedy for a summer sulking over Sebastian. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 2 Episode 1 of The Carrie Diaries, “Win Some, Lose Some”!

The Season 2 premiere opened with an imaginary chess match in the park between Bradshaw and Kydd, leading us to believe that somehow the two had managed to patch things up to the point of at least developing a friendship. Nope, that would be too easy. It was all just a dream made a nightmare by the presence of girl code-breaker, Maggie. As it turned out, Carrie spent the summer clubbing it up between hair appointments and taking advantage of Larissa’s (nowhere in sight, but the way) swanky pad, an apartment complete with a bathtub smack in the middle of a bedroom. Trendy? Walt was kind enough to make his first Season 2 appearance with an extra coffee in hand for a very hung-over Carrie. One of our first glimpses of Bradshaw this season involved a morning-after mascara massacre that reminded me of the infamous “Single and Fabulous?” moment from SATC. She’s on her way, folks! Walt, meanwhile, has become quite comfortable with his sexuality in New York, especially considering the fact that Donna has been covering for him back home, stamping Maggie the “outer” as nothing more than the angry victim of a torrid sex scandal involving, of course, Donna. Still, I was impressed that Walt was so casually speaking of “beefy bodyguards" and the frustrations of waiting to be legal on the Manhattan party scene.

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Carrie would venture back to Castlebury for a promised check-in with her father and Dorrit, wasting absolutely not time reversing all of the hard work her little sis had done to keep her new relationship a secret. Tom would subsequently insist that he meet the boy who’d swept his youngest off of her feet to the tune of anything by The Rolling Stones. Over the course of Episode 1, Dorrit would perpetuate a sense of panic over nothing, attempting to dupe her father into believing she’d be spending the night with an equally crafty friend rather than Miller, with whom she’s obviously shared a bed with for a significant portion of the summer. The concept of Dorrit Bradshaw being sexually active is still a bit off-putting, but Miller has proven to be a standup young dude in all cases. By the end of the episode, he’d sneak over to Dorrit’s unbeknownst to her while she dealt with, ugh, kid drama at her friend’s house. Miller would casually get to know his girlfriend’s father, and, through their mutual love for Dylan (You won points here too, Tom!), Miller would earn Mr. Bradshaw’s stamp of approval.

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Maggie, in what seemed like nothing more than a blatant attempt to get closer to Sebastian, took a job waiting tables poolside at his country club. Donna barked orders from the sidelines, covertly making note of any fishy behavior between Kydd and Maggie. Though, it seemed like Sebastian’s tunnel vision in his effort to win back Carrie failed to include acknowledging Maggie, the vodka-soaked lips that’d been the kiss of death to his relationship in the middle of a teenage drunken haze.

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

It had to feel pretty great to hear Mouse refer to her former bestie, Maggie, as a “tart,” but Carrie wouldn’t let it show. Mouse seemed to have been actively hating on Mags, while Carrie had done everything in her power to pretend that the two causes of her present heartache don’t even exist. Mouse, meanwhile, wasn’t about to let the likes of Maggie keep her from attending the event of the year, the country club Fourth of July celebration, with West (RJ Brown). Unfortunately, it’d be hard to enjoy the American flag cake with Maggie waiting on their table. Aah, chicken fingers. Any menu, even one for a special holiday occasion, was bound to have chicken fingers, and Maggie was dismissed without so much as a glance at the list of entrees and a civil conversation. Poor West. Stuck with chicken fingers on a fancy date. No matter, though. Mouse’s aggravation over the fact that Mags decided to switch out her table ended up with the two sparring verbally on the edge of the pool. We saw the cake coming from a mile away, as did Maggie, but that didn’t stop the giant sparkler-stabbed piece of dessert from knocking Mouse straight into the water.

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

Maggie was fired. Mouse was just plain wet. West was hungry somewhere else. The two friends would share a moment in the locker room while Mouse blew herself dry and Maggie got her things together. I’m not sure if Maggie really took that job solely for the college cash. I’m guessing it was a bit about the cash and a bit about The Kydd, but she’s so lost at this point that not even Mouse, in all of her steadfast Team Carrie glory, could give her the cold shoulder any longer. Mouse, deciding to let the massive mistake slide, offered to help Maggie with her financial aid applications in an effort to land her a college career. Their arc this week ended with the trio, West included, watching the fireworks from pool chairs.

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Wait, does Fourth of July not exist in 80s Manhattan? While the dramas of Castelbury transpired during the premiere, Walt had planned a night out on the town with his two favorite gal-pals, Carrie and Donna. If there’s anything I wanted to see heading into Season 2, it was more Donna and Carrie action in the city. I’m so glad they’re beyond an entirely b***htastic rivalry all in the name of Walt. Donna will always be Donna, but there were wine coolers involved! Oh, there was also Sebastian involved. Donna might not have even whispered anything to Walt, but there was something about the utter look of disgust on her face when she witnessed Maggie’s attempts to reconnect with Sebastian at the pool earlier that made this reviewer think she had some ulterior positive motive beyond aggravating Carrie. Also, just a completely personal aside, but I couldn’t help but think that Chloe Bridges would make an amazing young Catwoman should there ever be the need for one. Anyway, Carrie would find herself incredibly uncomfortable in the situation, and it didn’t seem as though a six-pack of anything would be the cure when within the presence of Kydd. Instead, she’d drum up fake plans in an effort to ditch the group entirely, venturing off to one club alone while the other three hit up a rocker bar run by Donna’s cousin.

Donna drinking beer. That’s kind of what you needed to take away from the scene of the trio out at a bar famous for drawing in the likes of the most unkempt and unshaven rock gods. Not a prep in sight, so they’d inevitably end up hightailing it over to Carrie’s choice club, a club known for attracting the Interview crowd, yet Bradshaw would be long gone by then.

Carrie, whose request to be put on the list earlier that week went unnoticed, attempted to pull a copy of a fax making note of their confirmation from her famous Carrie purse. I, for one, was so nervous that Carrie dropped a ton of faxes on the NYC pavement that I hardly noticed her purse being swiped out from under her nose in the process. Carrie’s moment of ridiculous panic and blind rage over the loss of her signature bag, the purse her mother had left her, was the moment I realized during this premiere that Season 2's Carrie Bradshaw is Carrie Bradshaw. I always thought that Annasophia Robb did an awesome job, but whatever switched between the finale and now, like a summer spent in NYC, has this character feeling so much more reminiscent of the Sex and the City thirty-something Carrie. Remember the scene when Carrie gets mugged and loses her Manolos? Annasophia Robb has done her homework. There's a new bite to her!

Of course, nothing would make Carrie feel more like Carrie to viewers than what would happen next. Wandering to the rocker bar in an effort to meet up with her pals, Bradshaw would hop the line, aggravating the young lady working the door. Threatening to call in Donna’s probably-burly cousin, Sam Jones, Carrie found herself caught off guard by… Samantha Jones. There she is, Carriers. First thing I want to note: the voice is perfect. If they had made Lindsey Gort put on too much of the iconic Samantha edge, she would have come off like a cartoon. Carrie and Samantha became fast friends, as Jones would shuffle Bradshaw into the bar for a little alcohol-induced therapy. Samantha is a little older, and she’s been around the block. Carrie needs a little “tea-quila” in her life, and Samantha will be sure to bring it. Enough with the wine coolers. I also love that they had Samantha clad in a top with a tiger roaring across it in a blaze. Way to characterize right from the get-go, Carrie Diaries. It’s like you were making up for lost time!

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While Carrie and Samantha got acquainted, Walt and Sebastian had a great moment alone on the street in which the two discussed Walt's sexuality. Remember, Sebastian had started the chain that led to Maggie's public outing of Walt at the diner. We hadn't witnessed Sebastian saying much about this prior, but this scene was important because it made us believe that Sebastian's intentions were entirely pure. To Sebastian, Walt is no different. He does not see him at all for his sexuality, so there's nothing to come to terms with or to accept. Walt, who's been struggling between finding people who accept his sexuality and dealing with people who probably will not, needed someone to simply look at him as another good human being, and Sebastian did that. It's funny that the guy who essentially first picked up on the fact that Walt is gay is the one who is the least fazed. It makes total sense.

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

The bonding between Carrie and Samantha truly began when Bradshaw would attempt to break into her own apartment, hoisting her new friend up onto her shoulders and getting quite the glimpse up Samantha’s skirt and into all of her commando glory. Two policemen, who were privy to Carrie’s obsessive and laughable calls to the precinct, would stop the two. To Carrie Bradshaw, a signature purse is indeed a little more important than murder. Again, the Samantha charm would be put to good use, and Carrie would prove to be a fast learner. By the end of their conversation, the officers would choose hoisting Samantha up onto the fire escape over dealing with Carrie’s upcoming onslaught of sobs.

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

If Samantha Jones is about anything, it’s resilience. She’s beyond plucky and uses her womanhood to her best advantage, traits Carrie is hoping to learn for herself while she spends more time in New York. Samantha managed to convince Carrie that the clutter in life, no matter how fantastic, is nothing more than nonsense. Living is not about stuff, and to Samantha, an ex-boyfriend is merely… stuff. Moving on is as easy as deciding to move on, yet Carrie isn’t the type to, say, use a random hookup as a means of coping. She’s not in a position where sexuality is power yet, and she might never be.

The CW "The Carrie Diaries"

By the time Samantha had left and Walt and Sebastian had made their way back to the apartment, Carrie was sound asleep on the couch. Sebastian would fiddle with the chess set in front of him, later decided not to screw with Carrie’s “game” and returning the pieces back to their spots. We’re to assume this means Kydd will back off a bit, letting Carrie heal before insisting on any sort of reconciliation.

The Season 2 premiere ended with Samantha hurling her duffle bag straight through Carrie’s open window the next morning and climbing her way off of the fire escape just as she’d become accustomed to. She likes a little adventure, and she’s sure to rub Walt the wrong way eventually, but for now, she’s out of the bed of the man she’d been crashing with and spending a few days with Carrie. As it turned out, Samantha left her job that night when she discovered that her boss had been cheating her fellow staff members out of money. This should be fun!

Carrie and Samantha closed out Episode 1 of Season 2 by walking down a Manhattan street, narrowly missing an encounter with the lady-thug who’d swiped Carrie’s purse. The purse, however, is not Carrie’s mother, and if it meant getting to know Samantha, it seems Bradshaw was fine with letting it go.

Season 2 if off to a fantastic start!

What did you think of the Season 2 premiere of The Carrie Diaries, Episode 1, “Win Some, Lose Some”? Do you want to see Carrie and Sebastian mend their relationship? What about Carrie and Maggie? Would you like to see more of Sebastian and Walt? Would you like to see more of these characters, like Donna, on the NYC scene? Most importantly, what did you think of Samantha Jones?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of the Season 2 premiere of The Carrie Diaries, Episode 1, “Win Some, Lose Some”!