The Carrie Diaries - Recap: Do You Have Any Grey Poupon?

Episode 12 of Season 2 of The Carrie Diaries, “This is the Time,” was all about the tradition of prom. Of course, considering the fact that Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) managed to wrangle in an additional $6,000 of funding, this wouldn’t be any average school dance. Walt (Brendan Dooling) struggled with the concept of heading back into Manhattan ever again, eventually finding comfort in his promised prom date, Maggie (Katie Findlay). While Dorrit (Stefania Owen) and her new boy, Scott, teetered between a relationship and rambunctiousness, Dorrit’s dad, Tom (Matt Letscher) ended the episode angrier than we’ve ever seen him. Why? When Carrie (Annasophia Robb) was offered Bennet’s (Jake Robinson) job at Interview, college might have been taken off the table. Sebastian (Austin Butler) met his furry match. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 2 Episode 12 of The Carrie Diaries, “This is the Time”!

Episode 12 began with prom on the horizon. Carrie, who took to dress shopping with her father, reminisced about the days when she would dream of her mother helping her choose. Honestly, I think that was the easiest dress shopping scene any series has ever thrown together. Isn’t there supposed to be a gratuitous “that dress is too short” kind of moment, Tom? Not that I’m complaining.

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Before we knew it, Carrie and her three besties were discussing their boring, average prom plans at the diner. Maggie, finally one with a reason to gloat, intended on taking her new army dude, Pete, while the other three planned on simply attending as friends. Sebastian, if you recall, is banned from all school functions. All of this was subsequently turned upside down, however, when Donna made it known that she rearranged the prom plans to suit her needs as the future prom queen. You see, Donna had put herself to work wo-manning what was surely the sexiest car wash fundraiser of all time. $6,000 of the extra $10,000 set aside for prom had been acquired by Donna on her own, so she took it upon herself to book the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan as opposed to whatever all-you-can-eat buffet dump they’d previously been anticipating. By the way, I'm so glad they're integrating Donna in with this group during Season 2. She's a true gem.

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Walt, funny enough, was not at all interested in attending after Donna swapped the venue. Having broken thing off with Bennet on bad terms, Walt had just begun his re-closeted life back in Castebury with his parents. Those days of being happy and honest were left to rot in NYC, as though he’d spent the past year of his life high on city boys only to return back to “normalcy” in Connecticut. In the end, it was Maggie who stepped up to the plate, reminding her ex-boyfriend and current best friend of their promise to each other. Maggie decided to ditch Pete in favor of taking Walt as her date, following through on their freshman year plans to do so. That was enough to twist Walt’s arm and remind him of the awesome memories the group stood to make regardless of the location.

Carrie faced a tough decision this week when Larissa (Freema Agyeman) offered to trash the resumes of those college grads vying for Bennet’s old job in favor of hiring Carrie sans degree. Carrie, who’d always dreamed of the NYU rite of passage, was torn between jumping ahead to her dream job or continuing as planned towards the college diploma she’d worked so hard to have a shot at. Also, there was the small matter of Carrie’s father and the fact that he’d never condone such a rash decision.

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Sebastian, for one, backed Carrie in any case. He did, however, seem to lean towards the Interview job. Perhaps Kydd was a bit distracted during Episode 12 after his mother dropped off the closest canine equivalent The Carrie Diaries could find to a twin of Austin Butler. Ollie is a golden retriever puppy and apparently a ton of work. Sebastian, though, refused to allow this pooch to be abandoned by another member of his family, so he decided that the responsibility was worth it. If anything, what initially seemed as a burden might have been what inspired Sebastian the most this week. A golden retriever doesn’t belong in Manhattan. It needs room to romp and run in the sun. Sebastian, who’d been considering a move back to Cali to further his passion for his business investment, began to realize that living an entire country apart meant sluggish progress on this skate line. Plus, some people just aren’t cut out for the cramped and congested world of Manhattan. Who doesn’t enjoy walking their dog among piles of poop and garbage? (Aside: I always feel a little guilty ever saying anything negative about my stomping ground, New York City.) I’m not sure what actually ended up being more fun; the vodka-soaked drive to prom or the actual prom, which, needless to say, couldn’t go off without a hitch. Maggie sure as hell enjoyed the limo ride, electing to keep with tradition and holler from out of the sunroof.

Excuse me, sir. Do you have any Grey Poupon?

And we’ve arrived!

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Prom began on the wrong foot immediately, as a dance with Walt backfired on Bradshaw. Talk about Bennet, his firing, city life, etc. began to eat away at Walt, who finally admitted to feeling torn between having to live a total lie and being hated for his choice of honest happiness. Carrie suddenly felt that her current life decisions might have seemed trivial next to Walt’s actual identity crisis. Outside of the dance, Walt remembered his old dream of a wedding at the Waldorf, a dream that would probably remain a fantasy forever. Carrie, noting that the situation, well, “sucks,” reminded Walt that he is entitled to real love and that he’s already experienced it with Bennet. Walt, choosing to be true to himself, phoned his ex and the two finally made amends on a nearby street. Bennet, who’s doing very well volunteering at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis center, seemed to let Walt’s past aggressive behavior slide. The two eventually got back together, kicking off their revived relationship with a nice introductory moment between Bennet and Maggie, who was already half in the bag and was willing to spread the wealth.

Wondering where Maggie got some booze at prom? Dorrit and Scott, who seemed just about trapped in the friend zone, attended this junior-senior prom “ironically.” Meaning, Dorrit dressed up like a cupcake, the two slow-danced awkwardly, and then took it upon themselves to spike the punch. In the end, though, Dorrit and Scott actually ended up having a great time. True, Scott manipulated Dorrit into attending under false pretenses, but she admired his crafty ways. The two ended Episode 12 as a couple, and a couple who isn’t afraid to *gulp* hold hands in public.

This week, Mouse uncovered the most reputation-crushing, earth-shattering, cringe-worthy secret about her new friend, Donna. Donna, who accidentally flashed her Columbia course guide… is smart. She is actually an evil genius. If the popular clique at Castlebury High were to find out about this, there’s no way she’d ever be crowned prom queen. Inside the powder room at prom, Mouse attempted to both make sense out of the situation and to simply accept that fact that Donna’s clever scheming and manipulating actually got her exactly what she’d set out for. Unfortunately, the Jens overheard the entire conversation, and before we knew it, they were exposing the newly crowned prom queen in front of the entire class. Mouse, who first attempted to rally the crowd in support of honoring women of beauty and intelligence, was of no help. Bennet, oddly enough, was! He “went butch” in order to play the role of Donna’s hunky college boyfriend, inspiring Donna’s actual date to step up to the plate as well. Before we knew it, the audience was catcalling and whistling right along to the tune of the unanimous belief that Donna has the greatest rack of all time, nerdy or otherwise.

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Carrie, meanwhile, bumped into none other than that shady Adam Weaver (Chris Wood) just after speaking with Walt in the lobby. While the initial greeting was a tad uncomfortable, Weaver immediately sped ahead to his planned profuse apology for everything that he’d put Carrie through. In truth, he simply wanted to hurt her as badly as she hurt him. Carrie, who’s not one to hold a grudge, accepted, and eventually received some sage(?) advice from her fellow writer. Weaver couldn’t even comprehend how there was a decision to make regarding college vs. the writing job. Writers don’t need college, according to Weaver. Writers need experiences! Needless to say, nobody here save for Carrie at one point in time seems to realize that college is a massive experience. What would Carrie write about at Interview on a weekly basis if she’s looking to draw on her own life? More clothes? Writing about writing for Interview? While Weaver and Carrie buried the hatchet, it was her current boyfriend, Sebastian, who showed up in a tux and walked her home from the prom.

The next day, Walt confronted his parents head on. After coming out officially, he made it a point to note that this is his life to live, whether he does so under their roof or not. Surprisingly, Sebastian’s father had a change of heart. Handing over his Dartmouth class ring, he explained to Walt that there was a sense of security in hoping to pass on his exact path in life to his son. Walt, however, ended up becoming his true legacy.

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Episode 12 of The Carrie Diaries ended with Carrie confronting her father about the job offer after making her decision. Tom was absolutely furious with Carrie’s careless quest to speed up her life. What was the rush to skip ahead to the dream job when college offers protection, education, security, etc? Carrie doesn’t know anything about living as an actual adult, but if she would refuse to honor all that Tom had worked to give her, he decided that he’d no longer subsidize her life. Thus, Carrie is cut off. In the city, Sebastian attempted to have a conversation with Carrie about the move back to Laguna and the exciting option to have her visit him over the summer. Of course, Carrie’s current situation of seeming to be entirely alone in the big city nipped his own dreams in the bud pretty quickly. He never got a chance to even mention his plans. How could Sebastian leave her as well? Only time will tell!

What did you think of The Carrie Diaries, Season 2 Episode 12, “This is the Time”? Did Walt make you proud? Are you happy with the development of Donna as a character? Will Sebastian still leave for California? Will Carrie regret her decision?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Carrie Diaries, Season 2 Episode 12, “This is the Time”!