Charlotte York is one of the most controversial characters on Sex and the City. The traditional and conservative character is somewhat out of place next to the likes of the liberal Samantha Jones and she makes several decisions throughout the series that rub some viewers up the wrong way.
Nonetheless, Charlotte is often a loyal and caring friend to Carrie, Miranda, and Samantha. There are also times when she makes the wrong decision with regards to how to treat her friends, but overall, she cares a lot about the other women. Check out these 5 times Charlotte was a good friend, and five times she was a terrible one.
Perfect Friend: When She Said That The Girls Were Her Soulmates
You know you’re dealing with a true friend when they tell you that you’re their soulmate. Out of all the girls, Charlotte seems to place the most importance on finding a relationship. It’s her life goal to become a wife and a mother, and her journey involves the struggles she faces as she pursues those things.
It’s a big deal for Charlotte to tell the girls that they can be each other’s soulmates because when you consider how much of an emphasis her character places on romantic emphasis, it shows that she really loves Carrie, Miranda, and Samantha a lot.
Terrible Friend: When She Shamed Samantha For Her Life Choices
Out of the main characters on Sex and the City, Charlotte and Samantha are at odds with each other the most. While Charlotte is extremely conservative and traditional in her views, Samantha is the opposite. There are a few points in the series where they criticize each other’s choices.
One of the most memorable—for all the wrong reasons—is when Charlotte asks Samantha if a very private part of her body is in the New York guidebook because “it’s the hottest spot in town" and "it's always open.” This type of shaming is not okay but at least Charlotte sees the error in her ways and apologizes.
Perfect Friend: When She Went To Brady’s Birthday Party Despite Her Own Pain
Part of being a good friend is making sacrifices for the people who care about and putting their needs ahead of your own from time to time. Charlotte is a selfless friend in general, but it’s really obvious toward the end of the series when she suffers a miscarriage around the time of Brady’s first birthday party.
At first, Charlotte understandably decides that she can’t go to the party because she’s too emotional. But then she decides to make the effort and go to Miranda and her family, despite her own pain.
Terrible Friend: When She Was Judgmental Of Carrie’s Marriage
By the second Sex and the City movie, Charlotte has everything she’s always wanted: a loving husband and two daughters. But she finds that it’s not all that she thought it would be and struggles with her daughter as she goes through the terrible two’s.
Charlotte is quite stressed for most of the movie, so we’ll excuse her being a terrible friend by judging Carrie and Big’s personal marriage decisions. In the end, thankfully, Charlotte comes around and sees the value in their idea to take some time off from their marriage.
Perfect Friend: When She Confronted Big For Carrie
In the first Sex and the City movie, Charlotte is a much better friend to Carrie than she is in the second. Although her strong facial expressions as she pulls Carrie away from Big at their nightmare wedding are almost comical to viewers, they really do show how much she loves Carrie and will always come to her defense.
Towards the end of the movie, Charlotte runs into Big and says, “I curse the day you were born.” Friends who confront the people that hurt you like this are few and far between.
Terrible Friend: When She Was Angry With Miranda For Having An Abortion
One of the most emotional moments on the show takes place when Charlotte tells the girls that she is having a hard time getting pregnant, and then Miranda reveals that she is pregnant over the same breakfast. When she its that she is going to have an abortion, Charlotte leaves the café.
It’s understandable that Charlotte reacts with so much emotion because of her own experience with trying to conceive, but Miranda is under a lot of stress and pressure and doesn’t need to be made to feel guilty by her friend. Again, though, Charlotte comes around in the end and is there to Miranda.
Perfect Friend: When She Rallied The Girls To Go To Miranda’s Mom’s Funeral
All of the four main characters have their strengths. Carrie has all the advice, Samantha has all the connections, Miranda has the smarts, and Charlotte is good at organizing things. When Miranda’s mother es away, Charlotte relies on her organizational skills to rally the other girls to travel to Philadelphia and have a wreath of flowers sent to Miranda.
Times of grief are when we need our friends the most, and although it’s not shown, we’re sure that Miranda would appreciate Charlotte going to all the effort that she does.
Terrible Friend: When She Ranted At Miranda About Quitting Her Job
Sometimes, Charlotte allows her own insecurities to get in the way of her logic (and her ability to be an amazing friend). Case in point: when she decides to quit her job after marrying Trey. When she tells the girls that she’s going to quit her job, they challenge her about it and want to make sure she thinks it through. This upsets her and she rings Miranda to yell at her about it.
Although the women’s rights movement is about choice, the other ladies are being good friends by questioning Charlotte’s choice and making sure that she’s sure about it. Miranda does not deserve to be ranted at.
Perfect Friend: When She Was There For Carrie After The Paper Ran Big’s Wedding Announcement
Many fans agree that out of all the main characters, Charlotte is the most sensitive and caring friend. She has a knack for cheering the other girls up when they’re down and sensing when they need her , even if they don’t ask for it.
When Carrie reads the paper runs Big and Natasha’s wedding announcement, Charlotte walks Carrie home so that she doesn’t have to be alone with her thoughts. She even offers to stay and rent a movie with Carrie like a true friend.
Terrible Friend: When She Got Angry With Carrie For Being Brady's Godmother
Though she’s mostly a great friend, there are certain points throughout the series where Charlotte allows her emotions to get the better of her. This is the case when Carrie tells her that Miranda asked her to be Brady’s godmother. Disappointed that she wasn’t asked, Charlotte tells Carrie that they’re “not talking” which is totally unfair to Carrie.
To be fair to Charlotte, she’s already feeling frustrated at this point because her new attempts to believe in love again haven’t helped her and she’s fed up with Carrie’s negativity.