20 iconic episodes of Sex and the City you need to rewatch

They Shoot Single People Don’t They? (Season 2, Episode 4)

It’s not always fun when you’re single and all your friends are in a relationship, so when all the girls are single for once, they decide to head out on the town for a night of dancing. But it wouldn’t be Sex and The City if it was that simple.

The girls hit a salsa club, but Carrie tries to call it an early night because she has a photo shoot for New York Magazine the next morning. Stanford’s new boyfriend is an assistant photo editor for the magazine, and asked Carrie to be part of a feature titled “Single and Fabulous”. The girls insist she stay out a little longer, and that was Carrie’s first mistake.

Too many shots later, Carrie makes it home at the crack of dawn and wakes up extremely late for her photo shoot. She rushes over to the studio, unwashed and makeup-less, and the photographer immediately starts snapping “test shots”. The only thing is… the test shot ended up on the cover of the magazine, and Carrie looks rough!

If the bad photo wasn’t enough, the title wasn’t “Single and Fabulous!” but rather “Single and Fabulous?” with a hostile question mark. Carrie is mortified, and it makes her question what she’s doing with her life.

If that photo isn’t enough to make the episode iconic, we get to hear Charlotte say “F*ck them!” and that’s always a treat. This episode was a great example of women being shamed for being single in their 30s. Can you imagine that same article with a 30-something man as the focus?

It would never happen because men are applauded as they get older, and women are mocked, and that’s partially why SATC was so groundbreaking. They didn’t shy away from showing older, single women as sexy and powerful.