TV Review: The Carrie Diaries – 1×13 “Kiss Yesterday Goodbye”

It’s time to pop the champagne, and turn up that sad Sarah McLachlan song, as we bid adieu to The Carrie Diaries. This might possibly be the final good-bye for Carrie and her crew, as I’m writing this, there has been no official word from the CW’s camp on whether or not they’re renewing the show. If this show isn’t renewed, episode 1×13 “Kiss Yesterday Goodbye” is a wonderful send-off

Things are coming to a close as summer creeps ever closer in Castlebury. All the loose ends are either being tied or snipped off, depending on the situation. Maggie’s ex-lover has found a new age appropriate girl to date and Maggie pretends to not let it bother her, she later let’s it slip to Carrie that she saw Tom get it on in a car with the gum-smacking yoga lady. Larissa plans on spending a few months in Japan. I’m sure she will come back with a plethora of Hello Kitty gear and a penchant for Harajuku fashion. Carrie and Sebastian get back together within the first 15 minutes, only to get into another fight 5 minutes later when they realize they are too different from each other. They also fought over the fact that Sebastian didn’t tell Carrie about Tom moving on with the gum-smacking yoga girl, which is an idea that does not please Carrie in the least.

Angry at Maggie for ruining his thousandth chance with Carrie, Sebastian lets it slip that Walt is gay. Maggie takes it really badly. Maggie’s reaction has me believing that she might be a homophobe which sucks since Maggie was one of my favorite characters. She later meets Sebastian in a bar where they talk about how miserable they are and they end up hooking up.

Instead of going to the prom Walt and Carrie go into the city to attend Larissa’s going away party. Carrie speaks with Larissa over her relationship issues and Larissa actually gives some good advice about how we don’t have to have the picture-perfect relationship our parent’s had, but we can still take some things we learned from them and apply it to our own lives. We also learn that Larissa is actually Ghanaian royalty which was a major surprise because well, she has a British accent and Ghana doesn’t have a king. Larissa Loughlin will always be a mystery to me.

Carrie, inspired by Larissa’s declaration of being royalty, arrives at Sebastian’s house and makes up with him for the thousandth +1 time. Instead of informing Carrie that he hooked up with her best friend, Sebastian accepts Carrie’s declaration of love and the two lovingly cuddle all night.

Walt is also tries to declare his love for Bennett, but Bennett rightfully puts the kibosh on things because Walt is still underage. A certain police officer could learn a few things from Bennett.

Maggie comes over to the Bradshaw household the next morning to confess to Carrie of her mishap with Sebastian’s lips. Carrie breaks off her friendship with Maggie which is both a good and bad thing. Maggie is very dependent on her friends and discovering herself on her own is probably for the best. At the same time Maggie is in an awful place in her life (she returns to older cop after her showdown with Carrie) she needs her friends now more than ever to help support her.

Mouse and Dorrit both made tremendous strides for the better this episode. Dorrit finally opened up and showed that she is something more than a moody teen. She’s moving on with from her mother’s death with a new stance on life and a new cute boyfriend as well. Bonus points, this new boyfriend seems very supportive and cares about her a lot. Mouse made the big step to move out from under her parent’s controlling thumb and show her new boyfriend that she doesn’t care what they think , she even invites him over to meet her family.

The show ends with Carrie telling her father that it is okay to date, showing that Carrie is also moving on from her mother’s death and she’s ready to take the world by storm. She and Walt are living in Larissa’s loft while she’s away which is a great step for Carrie. Leaving the drama of Castlebury and immersing herself in New York culture can only help her learn and grow into an amazing woman.

I must admit that if The Carrie Diaries doesn’t get renewed I will miss it. For all my problems with the show it was still enjoyable to watch. It was a fun show that didn’t require much thought to follow along. Especially if you stopped comparing it to Sex and The City. This was the kind of show that was perfect for a Monday night when it came to its target audience. After a day of school and having your mind fried by tests and calculations there was nothing better than sitting down and enjoying the bright colors and easy plot of The Carrie Diaries, it sort of eased you into your TV week. The actors were pretty, the clothes (although not always 80s inspired) were beautiful and the music was always amazing. But if it is good-bye forever, I want to say Adios, Ms. Bradshaw and thanks for all the New Order songs and random 80’s references.

Episode rating: 8/10

Season (and possibly series rating): 6.5/10