An American Girl in Paris, Part Une

Infobox Television episode
Title = An American Girl in Paris, Part Une
Series = Sex and the City


Caption =
Season = 6
Episode = 18
Airdate = February 15, 2004
Production =
Writer = Michael Patrick King
Director = Tim Van Patten
Guests = Chris Noth as Mr. Big
Mikhail Baryshnikov as Aleksandr
Episode list = List of "Sex and the City" episodes
Prev =
Next = An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux

"An American Girl in Paris, Part Une"" is the first of part of the series finale of the HBO series "Sex and the City" which began airing in 1998. "An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux" followed this episode to conclude the series.

Episode Synopsis

The episode opens to Carrie packing. As she's packing she listens to three messages left on her machine. One from Alexsandr, one from Miranda, and one from Big asking her to call him. Before he can give the number, Carrie deletes the message.

Later on that day, Carrie is leaving for what she refers to as "their version of the last supper". As she walks down the steps, she stops short as she sees a Big's town car parked at the curb. He tells her to get in. She's hesitant but does it anyway. Big tries to thank her for taking care of him the last time he was in town and that he's sorry he freaked out about them. Carrie tells him it's all fine and Big asks her to dinner or drinks. She tells him she can't because she's leaving for Paris that night. Big thinks she's going on vacation, but Carrie tells him it's not a vacation and that's she's going there with the man she's in a relationship with. She says goodbye and gets out of the car. Big follows her and asks her if she's moving to Paris, and when was she going to tell him. When she tells him who she's moving with, he tries to joke it off and Carrie starts walking away. When he calls after her, she yells at him for jerking her around for six years. He tells her he's different and that he's made a mistake. But she tells him she's done, and that they are nothing. She turns around and walks away.

At dinner, after venting her frustrations about Big, Carrie thanks her friends for their support in her decision and wonders aloud what her life would have been like if she'd never met any of them. Charlotte can't stop crying so to change the subject, Samantha tells them that the chemotherapy has kicked her into early menopause and that the hot flashes are unbearable.

Back at her apartment, Carrie puts her signature Carrie necklace into her purse and meets the waiting town car outside her building. With one last look, she drives away.

Meanwhile, in the middle of a hot flash, Samantha is meeting with a group of other women to organize a breast cancer benefit. She decides that since most of the women coming to the benefit are battling breast cancer, they deserve something more inspirational and outrageous than just the pink ribbon cookie. So the director of the benefit decides that Samantha is going to make a speech at the benefit as Samantha is herself outrageous and inspirational.

Carrie arrives at the Place Athéné in Paris. She meets Aleksandr and his daughter Chloe in the salon. Carrie is openly excited about being in Paris and says that she almost screamed when they drove by the Eiffel Tower on the way to the hotel. Chloe thinks the Eiffel Tower is hideous. Aleksandr explains that Chloe only has a little time to be with him so Carrie decides that the two of them should be alone because the translating would cut their time in half. Aleksandr tells her he'll be having an early dinner but that he'll eat light so the two of them may have dinner together later. She leaves the two of them to themselves and goes up to their room and squeals with delight when she catches the view of the Eiffel Tower right outside her window. Ten hours later, Carrie is dressed in a Versace dress but Aleksandr has still not come back.

Back in New York, Charlotte and Harry are filling out forms and doing what seems like endless amounts of paperwork for adoption. Harry notes that there's so much work involved. Charlotte reassures him that God will send them a baby as long as they are vigilant and aggressive and they fill out all the paperwork.

In Paris, Carrie has fallen asleep waiting for Aleksandr to come back. He finally comes back to the hotel and tells her the dinner ran long. She asks why he didn't call her but he tells her she had the 'Do Not Disturb' on her phone.

Meanwhile, in New York, Samantha is preparing for her speech at the breast cancer benefit by reading her speech to Smith. As she finishes, he tells her he thinks it's a bit stiff and advises her that the most inspirational speeches in AA were from the ones that just 'keep it real'. She insists on keeping her way and then says she's going to go stick her head in the freezer.

Carrie decides that her French is now strong enough to spend a day shopping at Dior. When she comes in from the street, she closes her umbrella, which drips on the floor. As she walks forward, she slips on the puddle and goes flying across the store, the contents of her purse flying everywhere. When she comes back to the hotel, she expresses her humiliation to Aleksandr who is on the phone. As he continues talking, she goes through her purse and realizes she's lost her Carrie necklace. She tells Aleksandr it cost nothing but it was priceless.

Later on the next day, Carrie is wandering around in Paris. She walks by a diner and sees four female friends talking and laughing over coffee, making her miss New York even more. She calls Miranda to tell her that she lost her Carrie necklace. Miranda immediately tells her to come home and that she sounds really upset. Carrie insists she'll be okay, she's only been there a week. that no one understands her in Paris and that she feels lost. Aleksandr is at the museum a lot so she's alone a lot. Carrie insists that she's just being a baby. But that she's been thinking about Big. Before Miranda can say anything Carrie's time on the phone runs up.

At the breast cancer benefit and right in the middle of a hot flash, Samantha is giving the speech she recited to Smith earlier on. Under the lights, she's perspiring heavily. In the middle of the speech, she tells the audience, who barely seem to be listening, that anyone who's having as bad a hot flash as she's having at that moment deserves a medal. She procedes to take her wig off, inspiring many members of the audience to rip theirs off too. This sparks a standing ovation.

Meanwhile, Charlotte is at Carrie's apartment picking up her mail and the recommendation letter that Carrie wrote. She walks into Carries bedroom and is sad when she sees Carrie's laptop sitting on the bed. She sits down and runs her hand over it. The phone rings and the answering machine picks up. It's Big. He says he knows Carrie never wanted him to call again, but that he had to try and that he can't lose her again. When he says, 'I love you', Charlotte picks up the phone.

Later on, the three of them are sitting and having coffee at their favorite diner when Big walks in and sits down with them. He knows he hasn't been favored over the years and Samantha heartily agrees with him. He tells them he knows he's made many mistakes many times but that he's changed and he loves Carrie very much. He asks them for their advice because they're the loves of her life and any guy would be lucky to come in fourth. He asks them if they think she's happy and that if they think she is, that he'll disappear and never bother her again. But that if they think she has any chance at all, he'll be on the next plane to Paris. The three women are silent for a moment and exchange looks. Finally, Miranda leans forward and looks him straight in the eye and says, "Go get our girl."

At a restaurant in Paris, Aleksandr gives Carrie a diamond necklace. He says he knows its not her Carrie necklace, but it's a necklace for Carrie. He apologizes for being so busy and promises that when the exhibit opens, they'll have more time together. Two of Aleksandr's friends show up at the restaurant and the episode closes with Carrie sitting in the middle of a conversation she can't understand a word of.