"To Market, to Market" is the first episode of the sixth and final season of the American romantic sit-com ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', and the 75th episode overall. Carrie draws a comparison between the stock market and relationships ("Why do we keep investing?")Ruth Butler. "Smart-mouthed 'Sex' is back," ''The Grand Rapids Press'' (MI), June 20, 2003, page C1. inspired by her trip to ring the opening bell for the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

after her newspaper, ''The New York Star'', goes public.Amy Baldwin (Associated Press). "Sex and singed stocks — market no longer is off-limits - The market even figured prominently in the recent season premiere of the HBO series 'Sex and the City,'" ''The Grand Rapids Press'', July 20, 2003, page E9.

Plot

Carrie anxiously contemplates her first date with Jack Berger, while

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

considers the consequences of falling for her Jewish divorce lawyer, who insists he can only marry a fellow Jew; Miranda recognizes that she belongs with Steve, but resists her urge just long enough to discover he has moved on; and Samantha tries to get over Richard by resuming her promiscuous ways, this time with a stockbroker who has moved into her building.Tom Shales. "'Sex and the City' returns with all its charms," ''Washington Post'', June 21, 2003, page C1.David Blum. "One more time around the block," ''The New York Sun'', June 20, 2003."Sex and the City" (photo caption summarizing plot), ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (MO), June 22, 2003, TV section, page 1.

Reception

Reviewer

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...

of the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' praised the episode highly for highlighting the show's metamorphosis over six seasons "from a simple comedy into something more engagingly complex — a drama-comedy, a

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

, a commedrome, a dromedary, or whatever term might have to be invented to describe it. What counts is that a faithful viewer's emotional investment in the characters grows with each new season." The ''New York Sun'''s critic, on the other hand, expressed surprise at how unengaging the episode proved to be, predicting "After episode one, 'To Market, to Market,' only the rabid diehards will fail to share my sense of sadness at the direction ''Sex and the City'' seems to be taking in its final year." The reviewer expressed particular disappointment with Carrie's continuing failure to commit, noting that actress Sarah Jessica Parker had vehemently opposed her character's breakup with fiancé Aidan, and also what he viewed as misuse of

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Awa ...

's "great and underrated talent" by removing Samantha's first true love story and driving "this wondrous character oreturn to her shallowest roots." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' rated the episode B+ — together with episode two — summing up, "Though they don't rank among the series' best, the first pair of episodes rather slyly and elegantly acknowledge that it's time for the show — and its fans — to move on.""Sex and the City" (review)
''Entertainment Weekly'', June 20, 2003. Retrieved 2008-04-15.

References

External links

{{Sex and the City Sex and the City 2003 American television episodes