Top 10 Most Shocking Sex and the City Moments

Carrie Bradshaw makes the incredibly unwise decision to invite Mr. Big to her current boyfriend’s house to talk. Well, of course, Aidan isn’t pleased. When Carrie insists they play nice, it also doesn’t go so well. Testosterone takes over. Soon, the two are wrestling in the mud. While they get over their differences, it hardly seems worth it in the end. Why not just have a nice sit-down dinner? Why does the ex Carrie’s supposedly over and her boyfriend have to be in each other’s orbit at all? It was one of those times where it was really, really hard to figure out what Carrie actually thought would happen.

Carrie sees her share of suitors and break-ups, but the end of her relationship with Berger has to be among the most infamous. How she handles the iconic Post-it note breakup is equally shocking. Carrie trounces all over Charlotte’s engagement announcement at lunch. Yeah, it’s awful to be broken up with in such a heartless way, and Berger’s awful for doing it. However, her carrying on at lunch — and literally covering Charlotte’s ring with the Post-it note — is easy fodder for all the Carrie haters. In no one else’s world is a Post-it note more important than your friend getting married.

There’s a reason this show had to be on a cable network. Case in point, this season four episode. Sexual preferences and quirks were rarely off the table at the core four’s lunches. However, Miranda finds her comfort tested by a man she meets while training for the marathon. Though he seems like a great match at first, his particular tastes lead to more off-color discussion than usual. The ensuing conversation about navigating pleasure and personal boundaries is one of the show’s more refreshing, funny, and honest conversations about the subject of sex. And that’s saying something.

It’s New York. It’s actually kind of surprising it took Carrie Bradshaw three whole seasons to get mugged. But when it finally did happen, like real life, it was completely unexpected. A stranger Carrie asks for directions turns out to be an armed robber who pulls a gun on her. The scene was a notable break from the show’s characteristically romantic perspective of the city, even with all its eccentricities and flaws. The robber wants everything, from her purse, to her jewelry, to her favorite pair of Manolo Blahniks. This show is truly amazing — even the muggers have great taste.

In this infamous episode, Samantha's new neighbors turn out to be a group of transgender sex workers whose antics in the street keep her up at night. The moment she drops a transphobic slur casually at the lunch table is pretty surprising, even for a character who’s known for pushing the boundaries. Full of dehumanizing characterizations, interesting word play, and disrespectful commentary by Carrie, the episode is definitely of a different era. At least it ends with the characters all making peace. As “Sex and the City” episodes go, it’s actually one of the more uplifting endings — even if it is cringeworthy by today’s standards.

Samantha Jones could have a list of shocking moments all her own. It’s actually more shocking when she doesn’t do something shocking. In a season six episode, she goes for a breast implant consultation and walks away with a cancer diagnosis. Of the four main women, Samantha was typically the most vivacious and spirited — the one who seemed unstoppable. Suddenly dropping the bomb of cancer on her was a narrative left hook. It set the stage to explore her character’s vulnerability and attempts to stay true to the fearless woman she always was. It was one of the final season’s biggest and best storylines.

Being single and alone in a new apartment starts to wear on the fiercely independent Miranda in this season two episode. Who can blame her? A panic attack in the street provides quite the scare. She learns that the previous tenant died in the apartment and because she was single, no one found her for a week. Well, the fear of being alone just becomes magnified when she chokes on Chinese takeout. “Sex and the City” has plenty of charmingly New-York brushes with death in the form of aggressive cabs. However, watching Miranda have to save herself from choking was uncharacteristically dark.

“Sex and the City” didn’t shy away from the complications of the dating world. Take Charlotte’s dilemma in this kinda funny and also kinda disturbing episode. She meets a guy who’s sweet and charming everywhere except the bedroom. In fact, he becomes borderline verbally abusive whenever they become intimate. The subplot is made all the more uncomfortable by her response, which is not discomfort, but fear that she is exactly what he calls her in bed. If that’s true, she reasons that no man will ever want to marry her, and her life may as well end. In typical fashion, Carrie’s just jealous that Charlotte’s sex life is more active than hers. But still, some concern for her friend would be nice.

Carrie already knew her time with the man she lovingly dubbed the Russian was coming to an end. But their trip to Paris fast-tracked the breakup. During a disagreement, Petrovsky throws his hand up, and, not realizing how close Carrie was, accidentally strikes her in the face. While it was clearly unintentional, it was still a shocker to see him hit her. The slap was made all the worse by Petrovsky’s unwillingness to consider her feelings about their relationship. Ultimately, the whole fiasco became the final push Carrie needed to realize she wanted Big back.

Lexi Featherston only requires two things — a cigarette and a little bit of fun. Is that too much to ask? After lamenting how New York just isn’t as fun as it used to be, she twists her ankle, loses her balance, and plummets through an open window. Unfortunately, that window is at the top of a high-rise, and Lexi falls to her death several stories below. Equal parts funny and horrifying, her death is the show at its most ironic. Who knew her sarcastic quip about being bored to death would be so literal? She certainly didn’t.

Which “Sex and the City” scene made you clutch your pearls? Sound off in the comments!