“Anchors Away”

Sex and the City season 5, episode 1
Original air date: July 21, 2002

So, the fifth season opens with Carrie going to a French movie on her own on a Saturday night. The next morning at brunch with the other gals, Charlotte's appalled that Carrie went out on "date night" alone. Samantha's still smarting from Richard's betrayal, and Miranda's accompanied by Brady, her new baby.

Charlotte asks them about "great loves," because she just read in a magazine that everyone only has two great loves in their lives. Convenient for her, because Trey was only Great Love #1, but Carrie starts obsessing about the fact that she's already had Big and Aidan and may never now have another Great Love. She wanders the city, pondering that, bumping into sailors (it's Fleet Week, and the girls are simultaneously debating whether or not to go to the annual Naval Party), and thinking about everyone's lives pre-baggage and pre-baby.

Miranda's feeling somewhat left out, because she's not as mobile with Brady. She can't accompany the other girls shopping after brunch because she's hauling Brady around, so when Samantha packs Brady and Miranda into a taxi, Miranda stares at the rest of them longingly through the back window. Moreover, she's having a hard time with her household help and Steve, especially since Magda (the cleaning lady) and Lina (the baby nurse) seem to want Steve around and involved a lot more than Miranda does.

Charlotte's making some strides back to singlehood, having shed Mrs. MacDougal from her life. She's changed the name on her door back to Charlotte York, and wants to run out and have sex with a sailor at the Naval Party, which she, Carrie and Samantha eventually attend. She can't quite bring herself to do it, though, and settles for just flashing one breast at him, which, she figures, will buy her another three months of not panicking about being suddenly single.

Richard keeps leaving Samantha messages begging her to forgive him for cheating. She shows up to have a drink with him, only to throw the drink in his face and immediately leave. She doesn't feel like she's quite hurt him enough, though, and then hands out fliers all over his neighborhood with "Liar!" and "Cheater!" framing his face. In the end, at the Naval Party, she checks her messages again, and there's another one from Richard: "You threw a drink in my face and papered my neighborhood. Would I still be calling if I didn't really love you? I love you, gorgeous." She smiles and replays the message.

Carrie in the meantime is still mulling the "great love" question. She hangs out with a sailor for a bit, and asks him how many "great loves" he thinks a person gets. His response - "Maybe one, if you're lucky." She decides that New York will be her one "great love," and wanders off into the city to be alone with her "date."