A Cigarette, Two Umbrellas and Some Space Gave 'And Just Like That...' A Series High
But is Seema Patel the writers' attempt at a stealth Samantha Jones replacement?
“And then there were three,” Carrie says in a voiceover mid-way through Season 3 of Sex and the City. She’s walking along Park Avenue with Miranda and Samantha, having just left Charlotte’s engagement party (“I’m worth a million,” Charlotte famously tells her future mother-in-law, Bunny MacDougal). I rewatched the episode recently and dreamt of a next chapter of the series that followed these three instead of recycling storylines around kegels, Spanx and getting high.
But then came a storyline in the most recent episode between Carrie and Seema (played by Sarita Choudhury) that crystallized a thought that had only passingly occurred to me weeks earlier: Seema is the stealth Samantha Jones replacement. I thought it might be Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) when she joined the four ladies at the table in the pilot episode last season. But she’s got a husband and kids, something Samantha would never dally with. And though the writers will be the first to tell you that nobody can replace Samantha (correct), that Samantha is very much a part of the new series (sure, whatever) and that they’re not trying to replace Samantha, it’s not unreasonable for viewers like myself to graft certain storylines onto Samantha and think “what if…?”
Calling Seema “Samantha Jones-coded” is not meant to dismiss Choudhury’s great skills at creating a new character within a preexisting and beloved universe. In fact, of all the side characters so far introduced, Seema fits into this world better than any of them. (Even better than some pre-existing characters. Cough. Cough. Anthony. Cough. Cough.)
So much of Seema’s storylines this season feel Sam Jones-coded. I felt it distinctly in Episode 5 of this season when Seema began dating a guy with erectile dysfunction that used a penis pump to get hard. Though Seema didn’t go full-tilt Samantha (I imagine Sam would have wanted to try using it the way she tried the Viagra in Season 3), the stench of Ms. Jones felt fragrant.
When Seema went full-tilt spa insurrectionist an episode later, I got similar notes of Sam, who too would have been outraged by a couples-only massage policy. And then there was the Hamptons rental, and the ensuing fight surrounding it. It felt like an argument that not only Carrie and Samantha would have had, but one even the writers admit was partially about the real life friendship dissolution between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall.
And though I can mentally graft a version of this scene between Sarah Jessica and Kim, what actually transpired was a remarkable high point of the new series. SATC always sizzled any time Carrie had a fight with a friend; Carrie v. Miranda (Season 3, Episode 18), Carrie v. Charlotte (Season 4, Episode 16) and Carrie v. Samantha (Season 5, Episode 4). This is a worthy entry in the canon. On a rainy NYC day, outside of the UES Warren Tricomi — mid-process no less — stand our Carrie Bradshaw and Seema Patel. Seema’s been avoiding Carrie, but life brought them face to face. And so, over a cigarette sadly not shared, they have it out.
First, a transcript:
Carrie: Well, we’re standing on Madison Avenue with wet hair and umbrellas, so something’s really wrong.
Seema: It’s nothing catastrophic. Okay, I’m very happy for you — I am — it’s just that our Hamptons house…
Carrie: Oh my God, I forgot about the Hamptons!
Seema: Well, I didn’t. And I can’t do it. I can’t be a third wheel, and that’s not the summer I signed up for.
Carrie: Well, of course, of course. I totally get it and I hear you, but he won’t be there every week. And I swear… I swear you will love him.
Seema: I’m sure I will. But… I won’t love how I feel about myself when he’s there. When you invited me to dinner, you said, “We want to take you to dinner.” Carrie, you’re already a “we.” And please do not think this is only because I can’t have dinner in the Hamptons with just the three of us, though that is part of it.
Carrie: Okay, well tell me what else it is. What?
Seema: There’s no way to say this without seeming petty or pathetic.
Carrie: Well, you’re neither petty nor pathetic. Just say it.
Seema: From everything I’ve heard, it sounds to me like you’ve had these two great loves. And I’ve had none.
Carrie: [Starts to interject.]
Seema: No, please don’t say I will… because I might not. And I can live with that. But I can’t do this summer. That’s not true; I could, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to spend a fortune having this feeling. So I got our deposit back.
Carrie: What? Without talking to me?
Seema: I didn’t want you to lose money.
Carrie: I’m not worried about losing money. I’m worried about losing you.
Seema: We’ll be fine. It’s just I just need a little space right now.
Carrie: No, no, no. You can’t have it. You know what space gives friends? More space. Seema, please, really please don’t pull away from me and pretend that you don’t see me at a salon hair washing bowl.
Seema: We’ll be fine. We will. I just need some space.
I get that this scene underlines the attributes that many people loathe about Carrie: her selfishness and her controlling nature. But what many fail to recognize about Carrie is her humanness. I’ve seen some online criticizing her for not accepting Seema’s boundary, but that reading of the scene doesn’t give credence to the root emotion: Carrie’s fear of losing another friendship. She doesn’t talk over Seema. On the contrary, she listens intently, trying her best to suffuse her hurt with understanding.
And in Carrie’s defense, if I may, Seema was slightly out of pocket here. Slightly! She avoided her friend, rather than communicating. They only had the above conversation because Carrie confronted her after a chance encounter at the salon (which Seema clearly attempted to avoid). Seema has every right to feel how she feels, but to get the deposit back without asking Carrie if she’d perhaps want to buy her out of it is kinda rude, no? That said, I did enjoy hearing Carrie’s “I’m not worried about losing money,” because with her wealth, who would be?
By episode’s end, Seema made a triumphant surprise appearance at a dinner Carrie had organized to reintroduce Aidan to the girls. “Thanks for the space,” she tells Carrie with a seductive grin. Carrie, issuing that megawatt smile that I’ll never get sick of, gives her a big hug. It’s a scene that knowingly references the Season 2 episode where Carrie invites Big to meet her friends and he cancels last minute, only to then show up and restore her faith in men/humanity.
I love the umbrellas (only $99 from Business & Pleasure, as clocked by @justlikethatcloset). I love the wet hair (“It really made the scene,” my friend Rose remarked). I love the poignant frankness that love might not be around the corner or even down the line (though they did introduce a new potential love interest for Seema in this episode). I love Carrie expressing what she wants but ultimately honoring what Seema wants (a good friend, though most won’t give her that credit). I love that once-familiar beat that friendship is just as important as romance.
I love — despite my many frustrations, past and ongoing — this show.