By Carla Patton
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Carrie wishes for privacy and solitude in a world (high school) where she always seems to run into Sebastian, who she almost dated for a hot minute. Halloween offers even less privacy than usual, because the hallways are so crammed with decorations there's limited walking space. Sebastian is throwing a Halloween party without costumes, which basically means he and his buddies will be getting drunk like any other Friday night. Carrie is taking Walt to Larissa's Halloween party at her loft in Manhattan.
Mouse and Maggie go to Sebastian's party to check in on Sebastian and confirm that he is a jerk. Sebastian is not a total jerk, challenging Mouse to a game of Pac-Man and getting her high, but he is rich and dumb and almost gets everyone in trouble for throwing such an open party with underage drinking in a diner.
Dorrit is rude to her dad, but after getting scared watching Poltergeist alone, decides Dad is not so bad after all.
At the main event, Larissa's party, everyone is taking ecstasy. Carrie does not take hers and ends up taking care of everyone who did. Walt and Carrie meet Bennett, who is hot but obviously gay. It is obvious to everyone except Carrie, who obsesses over the best way to shake responsibility and flirt with him all night. But she has to keep Larissa from falling down and jumping off the roof and getting "taken advantage of" asleep in her bed.
Larissa evolves as a more interesting character in this episode, as she is being taken advantage of in more ways than one. She has all these people at her party, but only her weird high school friend will actually talk to her or take care of her when she has taken and mixed too many substances. Larissa notes, high in her bed, that every man is an island in Manhattan, which Carrie writes off with her own philosophizing about how great it would be to be able to get away from her high school drama. Then, Carrie stops a guy dressed up like Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats (or one of them, anyway) from raping Larissa and feels kind of bad about leaving her to flirt with Bennett.
Bennett had other flirting on the brain, though, tossing out DHVs for Walt, who isn't so sure about city life. Outside the loft, Walt has Bennett feel his beating heart and they kiss. Walt leaps up in a fit of denial, calls Bennett the other f-word, and re-convinces himself he's not gay. As if it mattered.
Carrie leaves Bennett to take care of Larissa (then realizes that Bennett is gay because of the way he was folding the blankets or something; or maybe seeing your friend almost get raped is particularly sobering), as she goes back home with Walt. Walt goes to Maggie's to have sex with her, because it's easier than being honest with yourself in high school. Carrie sees Sebastian taking care of Mouse and decides maybe he isn't so bad and it's good to have friends instead of being fabulous and alone and almost-raped in the city. To this episode's credit, it's the first time the city was anything less than magical and perfect for Carrie. To this episode's discredit, everyone acted way more high than they should have been.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!I am pleased that this week's episode is a Halloween episode because at least now we can have some fun. Plus, Donna LeDonna and the Jens might do something Plastics-esque, if this show is smart enough to emulate Mean Girls. We know it's a Halloween episode because Carrie is walking through the highly-decorated hallways of her school, where many students are dressed in full costume and face paint. People get really into Halloween week in Connecticut, we can only assume.
And who put the effort into decorating the shit out of these hallways? Some over-zealous pagan teacher? The Patty Simcox of the 1980s? Anyway, no mountain of Halloween decorations can hide Carrie nor keep her from running into Sebastian between these classes they never go to. Sebastian is pretty good at avoiding eye contact and pretending that Carrie and her gorgeous, voluminous head of hair don't exist. Walt tries to relate to Carrie because he just went through a breakup, but I bet in his head he's thinking how annoying she's being about this guy she was barely dating for a couple weeks.
Carrie is already treating Walt like her gay bestie, even if he's not out yet, because she admits she's so excited she gets to have him for Larissa's party that night. Walt doesn't seem to question Carrie's intentions, and Carrie doesn't question whether she is breaking girl code by taking her friend's ex-boyfriend to a party. No one questions anything. Not ever, and certainly not on Halloween.
In the hallway, the ubiquitous Sebastian is telling some uncredited extra, "lots of liquor, no costumes." He is obviously planning on a party, or at least nakedly getting drunk with some dudes. Sebastian calls her over, with nothing in particular to say, leaving Carrie wide open to stupidly ask him if she has plans tonight. Is it high school where we learn to ask questions we already know the answer to?
Carrie says she is surprised Sebastian didn't invite her, and Sebastian speaks honestly, telling her it wouldn't have been polite, it would have been awkward, especially since 1984 Carrie Bradshaw is a big wet blanket. Her makeup looks so pretty, though, you'd think her Day Costume was Helen of Troy. Yes, Day Costume.
At the diner, which is apparently the cool hangout where these kids spend all of their disposable income, Carrie laments that Sebastian didn't even tell her about the party. Maggie and Mouse agree, but Walt brings up a very good point.