The gals each receive an invitation to their friend Laney’s baby shower. She used to be wild, and now she’s settled down in Connecticut. They flashback to a party where Laney strips for everyone. Completely embarrassing.
As Carrie is adding the date of the shower to her planner, she realizes her period is four days late. And when she is meeting up with everyone to drive to the shower in CT, she is now seven days late.
She is so preoccupied with this that she forgets to buy Laney a shower gift, just one of the many reasons she is the worst. Here are the others:
#1 – She sends Charlotte back to the car to get THEIR gift. Since Charlotte bought the only relevant one, Carrie decides to put her name on THAT card. (The gift is a Bellini baby basket, which all of Laney’s suburban mom friends freak out over because OMG such a great gift, I guess?)
#2 – As Carrie watches Laney open all her gifts, she wonders if she’s next.
SIDEBAR MIRANDA THINKS THIS IS A CULT: Miranda lets us know numerous times that she thinks motherhood is a cult. She sees Charlotte swooning over all Laney’s gifts, and that they can’t separate, otherwise it will be all over for her.
#3 – Carrie is freaking out that the party is a preview for a life she doesn’t know if she wants or is ready for.
SIDEBAR LANEY TRASHES CHARLOTTE’S (AND EVERYONE’S) LIFESTYLE:
In addition, Laney’s friend reveals her baby names: Todd if it is a boy and Shayla if it is a girl. Shayla is the name Charlotte has selected for her future daughter and is furious that Laney has stolen it. Charlotte made this name up when she was 11 and swore all her friends to never use it. So, dibs, I guess? Anyway, when Samantha comes in to hear Charlotte yelling about this injustice, Samantha has her back and addresses Laney thusly:
#4 – At a bar on the drive home, Carrie announces to Miranda and Samantha that she’s late. This comes up as she is trying to convince everyone that you can still be a mom AND have a career, vs. the group of women at the baby shower that all left their jobs. The next day, she and Miranda go shopping for a pregnancy test. When Miranda grabs a pregnancy test on sale, Carrie responds with “Sweetie, I just spent $395 on a pair of open-toed Gucci’s last week, this is not the place to be frugal.” WHEN HAS SHE EVER BEEN FRUGAL?
#5 – Laney calls Carrie to whine about how they should all hang out more. Carrie tries to rush her off the phone, and when Laney asks why, Carrie mentions that Samantha is throwing a party. This bums Laney out mucho and is mad she didn’t get an invite. Outside of being eight months pregnant and her and Samantha hating each other, there’s probably a great explanation for her missing invitation.
Unfortunately, Laney shows up uninvited and wants to strip for everyone, just like the good old days. Luckily for everyone, she realizes she can’t, and Carrie puts her in a cab home. Carrie finally gets her period the next day. The end.
Carrie Bradshaw is the Worst 
There was no way Carrie was going to be pregnant in Season 1. That’s why this episode feels so flat to me.
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Charlotte’s baby name is Shayla: THAT’S the headline.
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4. Somehow ✨forgets✨to get a gift even though that’s the whole freaking point of a baby shower (to shower the parents with gifts) then adds her name to Charlotte’s gift (presumably without asking her), THEN says “don’t forget our gift in the car” the LEAST she could do was CARRY THE GIFT INTO THE HOUSE
5. Continues to drink knowing there’s a real chance she’s pregnant (I didn’t see her smoke, so that’s *something* at least)
Side note: It absolutely sucks when someone doesn’t keep their word, especially a friend, but in reality no one owns a name. Who cares if some girl who used to be your friend years ago uses your baby name, name your baby what you want to, guaranteed, either way your kid won’t be the first or last Shayla. I did love the way Samantha was immediately enraged for her
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Samantha’s reaction felt genuine to me and not just like she was trying to leave early. Even though Samantha probably wasn’t planning out her future kid’s names at eleven years old, she knew how much it meant to Charlotte.
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