carrie on

I am obsessed with The Carrie Diaries. There. I’ve said it. I just-okay.

Seeing as it’s only shown on Fox 8 here in Australia and I don’t have that channel, I’d heard about this show from a few friends who’d seen the ads and either loved them or hated them. I decided I’d watch the pilot, give it a go, because I didn’t really have any other TV shows to watch that were currently airing and it sounded fun, which I always like. So I did. I watched it.

And I loved it. It was fun, colourful, teenager-y, and, worth a mention, it had (has) a really attractive cast. There was love, family, friendship, mystery (not really…but sort of). There was sparkle, shoulder pads, and neon. There was clothes, clothes and more clothes. It was fantastic.

And it still is. Four episodes in now, I’m loving it more and more, becoming attached to the characters and their storylines, particularly Walt’s (Brendan Dooling) confusedness over his sexuality and his relationship with Maggie (Katie Findlay), who has been less than faithful to him, and then everything involving Sebastian (Austin Butler – swoon) because perfect.  After every episode I feel the need to look up cast galleries for hours and stare at their beautiful faces and/or marathon the rest of the series which hasn’t come out yet in one night, which I am always disappointed to remember is not possible.

Now, The Carrie Diaries is a prequel of sorts to Sex in the City, which I have never seen an episode of in my life. I think going into the show unbiased has been good for me, because I’ve been able to start afresh with the characters, not having a preconceived notion of who Carrie is or who she should be according to the character made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker. This also allows AnnaSophia’s portrayal of her to develop and change, taking new angles, while still essentially staying true to the character, or, how the character would have been at 16. Sort of like how each Bond or each Doctor brings a new spin on the same man, so The Carrie Diaries has done for Carrie.

The quality of the show is really starting to shine now. After a rough start to a budding relationship at the end of the previous episode, 1x04’s Halloween theme documents Carrie’s first “grown up” party in New York City, where she realises that costume parties don’t really mean dressing up as Princess Diana on her wedding day, and her first experiences with drugs, alcohol and too much of both as she has to look after Larissa (Freema Agyeman), the trendy fashionista who has taken Carrie under her wing. I felt AnnaSophia’s acting in this episode was more natural and fluent – not that she’s been bad in the past, it just seemed better than usual, and I hope it continues like this throughout the rest of the show.

The episode also dealt with Walt’s confusion over his sexuality, a kiss with a very male Bennett forcing him to come to terms with his feelings which in turn led to him shutting them off and running back into Mags’ arms, finally having sex with her after two years in an attempt to prove to himself that he isn’t gay, which will prove to be an interesting and heart wrenching storyline in the future. Everything is coming along just great!

So yes, it’s set to be a great first season. I’ll definitely be watching – will you?