Sex And The City: Why Miranda Is Actually The Show’s Main Character

Should Sex and the City just scrap the revival and bring back the indomitable Miranda Hobbes for a solo spin-off? Realistically, that’s perhaps the only character fans will always want to see and hear from. The empowered, no-nonsense lawyer has often been hailed as the most significant character on the show and is, in many ways, more inspiring than Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte.

The witty, individualistic and often confident Miranda has carried the show on her shoulders since she ended up with the responsibility of being the most grounded, realistic friend who just seems to know better and has no delusions. Which begs the question: is Miranda Hobbes the real lead of SATC and not Carrie Bradshaw? 

10 She’s The Most Self-Aware Character

As television evolved, modern audiences began to associate less and less with characters who do not show any signs of self-awareness or are unable to laugh at themselves. Millennials, especially, began looking for relatable role models who are aware of their social and personal flaws and hang-ups.

Miranda is, undoubtedly, one of the most self-aware characters in TV comedy/drama culture. Not only is she very conscious of where she is in her life, but also alert about her coping mechanisms and knows how her friends perceive her, which is an upgrade on the late ’90s heroines, like Rachel from Friends or Jackie from That 70s Show, who are oblivious to how they are perceived.

9 Her Arc Is Solo Heroine Material

Determining a character’s relevance in the present-day is a great way of figuring out how far-sighted their character design was. Miranda’s modern-day influence suggests that she was, in fact, a very effective primary lead. While Charlotte may come off as too dated to actually succeed as a main lead, Miranda has all the elements of a Gen-Z icon.

She is successful and yet isn’t defined by her professional aspirations, she knows what she wants, despite her insecurities, and she knows what she doesn’t, and most importantly, she doesn’t shy away from calling out toxic behavior. While characters like Carrie or Samantha may struggle to carry a spin-off entirely on their shoulders, Miranda’s story could be a rager of a modern Hulu sitcom.

8 She Had The Most Fulfilling Personal Trajectory

This doesn’t have to do with marriage or motherhood, of course, but more to do with self-fulfillment. Since Miranda never had a plan in place for how she wanted her personal life to shape up, she could afford to be a lot breezier than her peers vis-a-vis the idea of fulfillment. It’s important to note that Miranda put herself first and pursued men who made her feel good about herself.

This was empowering because it meant her priorities were healthy since she wasn’t ready to give up or compromise on her own needs, which makes her a primary lead in terms of character design. Though she has an old-school heteronormative family by the end of SATC, it’s not something she planned and she certainly didn’t give up any of her personal goals to achieve it.

7 Her Personal Style Stood Out

Miranda’s personal style stood out, simply because it had different priorities than her squad’s. While Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte all preferred high-powered couture or flashy high street picks, Miranda’s style defiantly put convenience over everything else. Nineties Miranda was a total pathbreaker with her three-piece suits, long, sweeping monochrome jackets and rather daunting selection of high-collared shirts.

In contrast to Carrie’s faux fur and frills, Miranda’s off-brand, edgy and non-gendered sense of fashion really stood out, just like a main lead’s fashion would. Even as she grew older and started picking designer pieces, her fashion remained focused and quite empowered. It just goes to show how the stylists and writers styled Miranda to stand out visually from the rest of her peers, just like a protagonist is supposed to be noticeable.

6 She’s The Least Judgemental

Though fans have often deemed Samantha as the least judgemental friend on SATC, the sex-positive Samantha has often shamed her friends whenever she felt they were being puritanical or traditionalists. Unlike Samantha, Miranda is not afraid of being challenged and she’s fine being the only one in the room with a different opinion. This aspect of her personality goes a long way because it shaped up her character as someone who believes in “live and let live.”

Miranda never shamed or judged anyone for their personal choices and expected others to extend her the same courtesy. She was a lot more emotionally evolved than her friends since she realized pretty early on how she is perceived by others.

5 She Had More To Say About Relationships Than Carrie

SATC is primarily a show that attempts to understand where modern relationships and gender dynamics stand. So, it’s rather extraordinary that Miranda had a lot more productive opinions about urban romance and a better perspective on men than the main lead, Carrie Bradshaw, who was supposedly a relationship expert. Most of Carrie’s advice or observations are not just derivative and generic, but also rather hackneyed.

She ended all her relationship columns with opinions that are really basic, whereas, throughout the show, Miranda is the one who had the most refreshing take on love and the need for companionship. It helped that she was so self-reliant and never really had rigid expectations for the kind of relationship she wanted, but she was definitely much more progressive than Carrie and an original thinker.

4 She Is A Poster Girl For Self-Love

Miranda’s sense of security vis-a-vis pleasure is not just empowering but also quite refreshing, because she believes she deserves pleasure and she can manage her own needs. SATC was one of the first shows to actually explore the impact of self-pleasuring in modern relationships. While Samantha is an advocate, she has often handed the keys to her sexual satisfaction to men.

Miranda is more self-serving in this respect, which is bold because her character was written to be self-loving and play a crucial role in establishing her as the modern woman. She declares that there may be no such thing as a Mr. Right, she puts her ambitions first, and she knows exactly what she wants, which really makes her the poster girl for self-love.

3 Her “What About Us” Speech

It is by no means an exaggeration to point out that Miranda’s speech at the brunch cements her credibility as a lead. The “What about us” speech basically has Miranda playing the role of the human Bechdel test, as she points out the ridiculousness of four successful, modern women meeting up to talk solely about men.

There are certain moments on any show which seal the fate or the role of a character, and this speech definitely sealed Miranda’s place as the leading lady of the show. “How does it happen that four smart women have nothing to talk about but boyfriends? It’s like seventh grade but with bank accounts. What about us? What we think, we feel, we know — Christ! Does it always have to be about them?” Miranda asks her friends.

2 She’s The Most Relatable

The only one on the show who seemed to have bad hair days or laundry days was Miranda, while her friends would almost always be dressed to the nines, even on errands or bagel runs. This is not a bad thing, of course, but it does bring up a conversation about relatability. When viewers of the show see Miranda in denim coveralls for breakfast, or a raincoat and bucket hat to cover her hair on a rainy day, or even her adult braces, it’s obvious that her character was designed to connect with the “regular” audiences who don’t have Carrie’s Manolo Blahniks or Samantha’s Birkins.

It also goes to show that the writers, too, wanted to position Miranda’s character as the most earthy, relatable character who may be a top-barrister with a healthy love for sleep-wear.

1 She’s The Most Willing To Work On Herself

It has to be acknowledged that Miranda had the most significant transformation on the show, not just in terms of character evolution but also pertaining to her role in life. She became a better friend, better ally, a better mom and more giving as a partner.

From the beginning, Miranda was ready to work on her own personal hang-ups and the fact that she was so self-aware and self-critical helped her in this respect. This was quite a contrast to Carrie, who, in spite of being the main lead could be delusional and glaringly wrong about herself. 

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