Ep 1. Pilot

The Carrie Diaries season 1 episode 1 is named Pilot and takes us back in time to the year 1984 when Carrie Bradshaw was a curly-haired 16-year-old girl living in a small suburban town. The episode starts at a high school in Castlebury, Connecticut, where we see the students hustling and bustling through their day. Amidst all the chaos, we get introduced to Carrie and her friends – Maggie, Walt, and Mouse.

Carrie Bradshaw is the quintessential American teenager, trying to navigate her way through life’s ups and downs, managing good grades, and balancing her job at a law firm. Her friends, on the other hand, face different challenges. Maggie, Carrie’s best friend, is stuck in a dead-end relationship with the high school football captain, while Walt is struggling with his sexual orientation and Mouse is dealing with an overbearing mother.

As the episode progresses, we see Carrie’s passion for fashion and writing being introduced, with the young girl flaunting her unique clothing styles and scribbling in her journal whenever she gets the chance. Things take a turn for the better when Cary finally gets an offer from a popular magazine called Interview to intern at their New York City office. However, her father is against the idea, and it takes a lot of convincing and drama to finally get him to say yes.

The show touches on important social issues of the time such as AIDS, homosexuality, and feminism. Carrie’s love interest, Sebastian Kydd, is introduced in the episode, and we get a glimpse of the first sparks between the two. He is portrayed as a good-looking jock with a bad boy attitude and an aloof personality. For Carrie, Sebastian represents her first real taste of rebellion and independence, adding to the overall complexity of the character.

Throughout the episode, we also get introduced to some of the supporting characters that will play significant roles later in the series. Larissa Loughlin, played by Freema Agyeman, is the stylish editor of Interview, and Mouse’s cousin, who is a social butterfly, becomes an important link to the Manhattan social scene, opening up a whole new world of experiences for Carrie and her friends.

The relationship between Carrie and her family is also explored in-depth, and we see the young girl struggling to balance her dreams and aspirations against the expectations of her father. Her younger sister, Dorrit, is a rebellious teenager, resentful of Carrie's newfound freedom and success.

Overall, The Carrie Diaries season 1 episode 1 provides a great introduction to the series, setting the stage for the rest of the show to unfold. We get a glimpse of the iconic character Carrie Bradshaw, her struggles, her insecurities, and her aspirations, as she navigates through the complex world of high school, love, and fashion.

The show captures the 80s aesthetic perfectly, with its vibrant color palette, eclectic fashion styles, and lively soundtrack. It creates a nostalgic atmosphere, taking viewers back to a time when life was much simpler, yet so much more complicated at the same time. With its blend of humor, drama, and romance, The Carrie Diaries season 1 episode 1 promises an exciting journey for fans of the series.