Sex And The City: Each Main Character’s First & Last Line In The Series

Sex and the City may have wrapped up its original run in 2004, but fans clearly just can’t say goodbye to the beloved series. Following the series finale, there have been two films, with a revival on the way next – and it’s been so long that it may be difficult to remember where it all began. The opening episodes of Sex and the City saw a very different group of women than fans are now used to, after all!

The pilot opens with Carrie talking about dating in New York – something that never changes. But it also includes direct-to-camera moments, everyone still very much single, and some questionable fashion choices. By the end of the series, everyone was coupled up, having falling in love with more than labels – but how did they all grow over the course of the original series, and how do their first and last lines reflect that?

9 Stanford Blatch

You know I’m beginning to think the only place one can still find love and romance in NY is the gay community. – I know. Marcus is saving us seats next to Hugh Jackman. I’ll see you in there.

Stanford Blatch is one of Carrie’s only male friends in the series, and is sadly sidelined for most of it, appearing in only 27 episodes (and the movies). He appears in the pilot alongside everyone else, establishing himself as a stereotype of the ‘gay BFF’ (as they refer to him in the show), talking about how the gay community differs from the ‘straight community’ over lunch. He doesn’t even appear in the finale, though. Stanford’s final appearance is at the funeral of socialite Lexie, a few episodes before the end, where he’s busy gossiping about her. It’s a sadly disappointing end for a character who deserved better.

8 Smith Jerrod

Hey, welcome to Raw – Can you think of a better reason?

Smith’s first line is largely unremarkable, as he meets the women while serving them dinner at a fashionable new restaurant called Raw. It would be easy to assume from this that he would end up being one of the many short-term flings on the show, but he ends up spending the rest of it with Samantha, and their final conversation is adorable. He flies home early from a movie set to tell Samantha that he loves her, and when she asks if that’s the only reason he flew back, he asks her this. It’s sweet, loving, and perfect for Smith.

7 Steve Brady

Please. (Please what?) I’ll have another glass of wine, please. – My ma can’t live like this.

Steve’s first and last lines are both to Miranda, and show more about her growth than his. Initially, he is the bartender serving her, and calling her out on being rude when she asks for a refill on her glass of wine.

In the end, though, he’s struggling with the realization that his mother’s health is declining, and that her apartment is a mess as a result. He tells Miranda that he won’t let her live like that, and Miranda says that she should move in with them.

It may not say much about Steve, but it speaks volumes to how caring and kind Miranda has become.

6 Harry Goldenblatt

Sorry to bust in, there’s a bagel over here with my name on it! – Here she is. 

Harry’s first scene is set up to make him seem unappealing. Charlotte is getting her divorce, and initially working with Harry’s partner, but she just finds his attractiveness too distracting, and finds it hard to be ruthless in front of him. When Harry comes into the room calling out about bagels (and then spits a half-eaten bite of one into a napkin), Charlotte thinks she’s found someone who she would never be attracted to. Little does she know, of course, because Harry’s final line is showing Charlotte a photo of Lily – the baby they are about to adopt.

5 Mr. Big

Here you go. – Look out New York, I’m A Comin!

Mr. Big’s first line really isn’t much of anything – Carrie spills the contents of her bag on the sidewalk, and he happens to be there, and helps her pick things up… including several condoms that he hands back to her. It’s a slightly sexually charged moment, but it doesn’t say much. His final line is also quite short, as he tells Carrie that he has put his Napa home on the market and can move back to NYC to be with her. Then again, short and simple lines are pretty perfect for Big, who is a man of few words.

4 Charlotte York

Most men are threatened by successful women. If you want to get these guys, you have to keep your mouth shut and play by the rules. – That’s really our baby!

Charlotte’s opening lines are spoken directly to the camera, as she holds forth on her view of dating – one that sets up the character extremely well. Charlotte is definitely the one of the four women who believes in following the ‘rules’ of dating and wants to find a ‘perfect’ man.

It’s interesting that the man she eventually falls for, Harry, is one that she meets when going through her divorce – breaking all the rules, and definitely not keeping her mouth shut (as she hires Harry so that she can be ruthless in front of him, as mentioned). And by the end, her final line matches his, crying with happiness over their future child.

3 Miranda Hobbes

I have a friend, who’s always gone out with extremely sexy guys and just had a good time. One day she woke up and she was 41. – Let’s not make a big deal of it to steve, it would just upset him.

Miranda’s first line is also spoken directly to the camera, and she’s not really laying out her own attitude to love (which, especially in the early episodes, is more about it being less important than her work!). Instead, she’s telling a story about a friend, suggesting that women have to settle down before a certain age. It’s not really a good look for Miranda, but thankfully, her last line is. After Steve’s mother gets lost, Miranda races out looking for her in a panic – and later, speaking to Magda, asks her to keep it their secret, to avoid upsetting Steve. This shows just how loving Miranda is, and how she shows it – quietly, and in actions.

2 Samantha Jones

Look, you’re a successful saleswoman in this city. You have two choices: you can bang your head against the wall and try and find a relationship or you can say SCREW ‘EM, and just go out and have sex like a man. – You have meant more to me than any many I’ve ever known.

Samantha’s first and last lines are probably the most connected – as at first, she is telling her friends that she has no time for relationships, because she thinks finding one is just too much hard work. And why bother, when you can just have lots of sex, instead? But in the end, she tells Smith how much she loves him, how important he is to her – and it seems that she found the relationship she never knew she wanted.

1 Carrie Bradshaw

Once upon a time, an English journalist came to New York … – iIf you find someone to love the you you love, well, that’s just fabulous!

The pilot episode opens with the Carrie-column voiceover that would become iconic (and that inspires the title of the revival – And Just Like That). Her first voiceover, though, is surprisingly unremarkable, a story about a friend of hers who met a guy, thought things were going great, and then got ghosted. However, it does set up the style of the show perfectly. Her final line is also in voiceover, of course. And this one is much sweeter – for obvious reasons! In her final lines, Carrie talks about how she has learned that finding love means finding a way to love yourself, first – and only then finding a man to ‘love the you you love’. It’s very Sweet and the City.

About The Author

Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

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Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

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