Was Carrie’s Happy Ending a “Betrayal” to SATC? 

?">Was Carrie’s Happy Ending a “Betrayal” to SATC?

—Carrie skipping down the street answering a call from “John” (Mr. Big)—with joyful tears in their eyes, and the rest of us, who could only mutter “bullsh-t” at being spoon-fed a happy ending from the TV show that made being single an awesome choice, not a chore.

The show’s creator, Darren Star, is in the latter camp. He recently told Kindle Singles (via

) that Carrie and Co. did not strut into the sunset how he had hoped. Talking about the shows’ writers and producers, he said, “At a certain point, you’ve got to let them follow their vision…But I think the show

[italics ours] what it was about, which was that women don’t ultimately find happiness from marriage. Not that they can’t. But the show initially was going off script from the romantic comedies that had come before it. That’s what had made women so attached.”

In a 2004 interview, Sarah Jessica Parker divulged that two alternate endings were filmed—in one, Russian artist Alexander Petrovsky followed her back to New York, and in another, Carrie ended up happily single in the city. Clearly, the lure of the happy ending was too hard to resist for the writing team and longtime showrunner, Michael Patrick King. But now, more than 10 years since the show took its final bow (and let’s not even talk about the movies), what if Carrie’s alternate ending could still be written? Here’s where we think her Manolos could have taken her.

Single Carrie in Paris: Perhaps Carrie could have gotten over her Internet aversion (remember when she ducked because she thought Aiden could see her via email?!) and launched her own mini media empire. Looking back at her wardrobe, she’d obviously be a street style star, and her eye for designer goods and irreverent writing style would be a perfect fit for fashion blogging. Think of the possibilities—collabos with fast fashion brands, more books, sponsored Instagram posts, and YouTube tutorials on how to tie an Hermes scarf 100 ways.

Liberated in London: After running into Mr. Big in the Paris hotel lobby, Carrie has a “come to Jesus” moment and tells him they are done. For good. Again. Instead of New York, she takes the Eurostar to London and reinvents herself as Brit tabloid fixture and muse for Philip Treacy’s haute couture toppers.

Carrie Becomes a Real Housewife: Carrie marries Mr. Big and, bored with her Upper East Side existence, begins to over-indulge in lip fillers and afternoon martinis. She takes her “lady who liquid lunches” role a bit too seriously, causing strain on her relationships with Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. She finds a new social group of Pinot-swilling, fame-seeking women who introduce her to the seedier side of Manhattan: the

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