The Carrie Diaries - Recap: Tempted by the Booze of Another
“The Long and Winding Road Not Taken” had us bear witness to the 17th birthday of one Carrie Bradshaw (Annasophia Robb). The titular star of The Carrie Diaries found herself caught between spending the day with her hometown posse and making her way into the city to serve Larissa (Freema Agyeman) working the door at book party. Apparently the idea of checking coats completely trumps having to spend a high school birthday with family. Sorry, Dorrit (Stefania Owen)!
The episode opened with Carrie continuing her blossoming romance with Sebastian (Austin Butler), as kissing evolved into sucking face, much to Donna’s (Chloe Bridges). Not that the scene stealer truly cared, she had her eye set on a much more important prize; a Coach duffle bag so incredibly hard to find that even she, Donna LaDonna, couldn’t get her perfectly manicured hands on one. She’d end up sending her minions, the Jens, on a the hunt, but the duo came up shorthanded. Her last ditch effort was to attempt to coerce Carrie into swiping the one that had been sent to Interview, even offering to pay any price. Sebastian sneered at her shamelessness, and Kyddshaw left her in the dust.
Carrie had planned on spending her 17th birthday with her pals, Walt (Brendan Dooling) included, but that would mean Maggie (Katie Findland) would have to suck it up and beg for forgiveness face to face. Walt had been ignoring her messages ever since he discovered her infidelity. As it turned out, things didn’t work out so badly for Maggie. Walt had done some soul searching, thanks in part to some help from Donna’s listening skills, and he forgave her on the spot, admitting that the entire ordeal was all Maggie’s fault. Obviously, Walt could never love her the way she needed.
Meanwhile, Mouse (Ellen Wong) had drummed up a connection with a Harvard alum that could end up trumping the fact that she is second in the class, just behind West, the jock math-master prodigy. Mouse was ready to charm the pants off of this lady.
Maggie: “Is she a lesbian?”
Mouse: “She’s from Harvard, she can be anything she wants!"
Things seemed to be going well at first, as Mouse and her long lost twin gabbed it up about life’s simple pleasures, like doing extra credit and winning debates. Unfortunately, being back within the halls of high school left Mouse’s friend digressing back to her vulnerable loner days, and one look at West left her smitten. Sorry, Mouse! The fact that the boy is currently first in their class put Mouse to shame. She was but a dime a dozen, as an Asian math star, and West’s unique back-story all but ensured him the spot in Harvard. Livid, Mouse agreed to play third wheel and join the two at school spirit night a.k.a. Mouse’s personal Hell.
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
Larissa had insisted that Carrie choose to work the door at a book party for an up-and-coming young author, versus spending another average Friday night at home with her friends. Carrie, deciding not to explain to Larissa that it was actually a birthday celebration she’d be missing, accepted the job. Silver lining; she managed to finagle a plus-one for Sebastian. Mouse was relieved to hear that she wouldn’t have to skip plans with Carrie for spirit night, and Maggie was always all for Carrie spending the evening with Sebastian. Eh, I guess things worked out. Nah, not really; Sebastian cancelled at the last minute when his mom made contact. Remember, Sebastian’s mom spends most of her free time gallivanting with the tennis instructor. How could Carrie argue with that?
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
As Carrie spent the beginning of the episode deciding between, you guessed it, Manhattan and her hometown crew, it seemed her Dad (Matt Letscher) and Dorrit were left in the dust. Still, the two decided to team up to get Carrie some great presents. Well, Tom decided, while Dorrit was forced into celebrating the, gross, birth of her older sister. Tom decided it was time to present Carrie with her own credit card, while he advised Dorrit to head out to a record store to pick up something that Carrie would like. There, Dorrit couldn’t resist attempting to swipe a few tapes for herself. The cashier seemed charmed by Dorrit’s musical taste, enough so that he decided not to call the cops after catching her. He simply let her sweat it out for a while… locked in a storage closet. Angry that she’d been duped, Dorrit stormed out without grabbing the Phil Collins record she’d actually paid for.
From the moment Carrie led Walt, her backup plus-one, through the doors of Interview, it seemed he began embracing his gayness bit by bit. The more Walt continues to be dragged into the New York side of the storyline, the more he’ll grow, I assume. Larissa, having removed her “slave-driving boss” hat and having tossed on her “acid dropping party gal” tiara, promoted Carrie from coat check girl to partygoer. Her piece of advice; mingle with the author’s book agent in an attempt to publish her writing.
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
The party seemed swanky enough! Walt caught one glimpse of Bennett, who I’m growing increasingly fond of, and bolted. The last time these two saw each other, Walt pulled the “F”-word after a peck on the lips and meandered the streets of New York high on Halloween. After some time preparing, he decided to face Bennett. The boys apologized to one another. Walt for what was previously stated, and Bennett for not realizing that Walt was a high school boy from Connecticut. The two ended up spending the night getting cozier, and Bennett related to Walt’s struggle, without actually outing Walt, of course. This one conversation, like the one Walt had with Donna last episode, did a lot of good.
Carrie managed to finagle herself some time with Trip, the book agent she’d been on the hunt for, thanks to a little help form Larissa. Things seemed to be going impossibly well for Carrie, selling her story as that of a teenage virgin who learns about sex from her sexually active girlfriends. Ah, the “hotdog in a keyhole” analogy came up yet again! Now that’s a story you tell at parties, Bradshaw. Don’t look now, but it’s your perfectly nice teenage boyfriend! Surprise! Sebastian showed up and, for whatever, sucked the fun out of the conversation. I didn’t really get it; Carrie owns being a high school girl now. Who is she supposed to be dating? The agent looked so disappointed to see that she had a solid match for a boyfriend, and he completely pulled the plug on his interest in Carrie’s diary.
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
Sebastian hadn’t realized what kind of a moment he’d unknowingly wrecked, but he was happy to take advantage of all the free booze! What was he sipping? Who cares? The best booze is free booze. Bing, bang, boom… the Kydd was wasted at the Interview book party. While attempting to reason with Sebastian, Carrie caught a glimpse of Walt and Bennett hitting it off across the room. Suddenly, things became absolutely clear to her. This is why he’d been so keen on continuing his friendship with Donna. Sebastian, consistently clueless, stormed into the middle of his buddy Walt’s talk, just before threatening to give Trip, the agent, a piece of his mind for being “interested” in Carrie. Honestly, I was kind of with Sebastian on that one. Maybe I wouldn’t have pursued any action, but something about that guy rubbed me the wrong way as a viewer. In the end, Carrie decided to leave the party to take care of her drunken beau.
Dorrit had returned to the record store to pick up her forgotten album, only to end up hitting it off with the cashier, who in my opinion looked way too old for her. Otherwise, they were a match! He gave her the cassettes she attempted to steal in the first place and taught her how to properly shoplift. Then, he asked to give Dorrit her first kiss.
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
The spirit night started out as a complete disaster for Mouse. Her connection spent the evening trailing West like a puppy dog and lost all interest in Mouse, even going as far as to criticize her for not having a “hook,” like something that would make her stand out on a college application. When the woman asked Mouse to help her round up the basketball team for a yearbook photo, Mouse snapped, criticizing the Harvard grad for falling back into her old high school ways. Agreeing that Mouse was right, albeit a bit of a bitch, the alum admitted that she wished she had a friend like Mouse back in the day. Mouse, thankful, used her impressive and aggressive organizing skills to land the very first complete team picture. The jocks were impressed, much to West’s dismay, and they even went as far as to offer Mouse a spot as team manager. There it was, Mouse’s hook! In the meantime, Donna had done her best to push Maggie away from the idea of a reconciliation with Walt. Inevitably, he would be the one to crush Maggie's confusion. He loves her, but not as a boyfriend and never again as a boyfriend.
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
Carrie managed to struggle her way home with a stick shift, while Sebastian sat in the passenger seat, still reeling from the fact that his mother had ditched him yet again. Carrie was happy to sacrifice her night to help him, and she found herself even happier upon getting invited to stay over. Buzzkill; Sebastian's mom showed up uninvited to rain acid on Carrie's parade some more. In the end, Bradshaw just went home to her diary. Luckily, Dorrit and her dad made things better the next morning. The only thing that would top the credit card was Dorrit's gift, a personal mix tape of their mother's favorite songs. "Tempted" by Squeeze, and I'm sold!
CW "The Carrie Diaries"
Carrie's first credit card charge was breakfast with her friends at the diner. Before celebrating with the gang, she had a bit of a heart-to-heart with Donna. Larissa had felt generous and gifted Carrie the bag Donna would have killed for. In exchange for being a good friend to Walt, Carrie gave it to Donna as a gift.
What did you all think of The Carrie Diaries Episode 10, "The Long and Winding Road Not Taken"? Was Bradshaw's birthday happy after all? Are you liking Donna more and more? Are you enjoying Walt's journey to self-acceptance?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Carrie Diaries, Season 1 Episode 10, "The Long and Winding Road Not Taken"!
