Sex And The City fans were devastated by the ending of the first episode of the series’ reboot And Just Like That... when (look away now if you've yet to watch it) Mr. Big took a Peloton class and then died of a heart attack in the shower.
The harrowing scene, which, bizarrely, saw searches for Pelotons shoot up by 230%, prompted one glaring question from hundreds of fans, including Don’t Look Up star Jonah Hill. The outraged actor vented to Instagram: ‘But why didn’t Carrie call 911 immediately?!’ We’re with you Jonah.
Confusingly, when Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker, of course) finds the supposed love of her life (Chris Noth) in a pile on the floor she calls out his name with breathy emotion, runs to him and cradles his body under the running shower as he takes his last breath. What she does not do is pick up the phone for life-saving medical assistance. Huh.
Surprisingly, the show’s creator Michael Patrick King has explained there’s a metaphorical explanation for Carrie’s hesitation. He told Entertainment Tonight journalist Lauren Zima that, while the heart-breaking scene might feel like a lifetime to us, it represents one elongated painful moment for Carrie.
Sharing the explanation with her Instagram followers, Zima said: ‘I asked him [King] about Carrie not calling 911 because I think many of us have had this reaction, we’re watching the scene going, “Carrie pick up the phone!”
‘And he [King] told me that that scene is supposed to be a split second for Carrie. What we’re seeing – Carrie looking at him – time's frozen. He wanted to play the moment out to have us all feel the pain, but that for Carrie it’s just a second.’
Despite the frustration for the viewer, this actually makes a lot of sense. As, according to scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, time seems to feel approximately a third longer in the event of an emergency.
When a person is scared, an area of the brain called the amygdala is more active, which creates an extra set of memories that are normally generated by a different part of the brain. Researcher David Eagleman explained to Live Science: ‘In this way, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories. And the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took.’
This isn’t the only illuminating detail King revealed this week. He also explained to Zima that he was determined to demonstrate Carrie’s resilience and evolution to become more independent, which is why Big had to die.
Zima reported to her Instagram followers: ‘The reason that Big needed to die is because the show’s always been about these real moments and real struggles, and because the core issue at the show’s heart… is the most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourselves. So, he wanted to see Carrie explore herself again through this huge loss.’
There’s an argument here that Carrie could surely have been portrayed as an independent woman without the love of her life being killed off entirely. Can’t you can have a boyfriend or a husband and still stand on your own two feet?
That being said, Big has long been criticised for his communication issues and unreliable yet controlling nature, which kept Carrie interested but fundamentally prevented her from trusting her own judgement.
Of the devastation Big’s death caused, Zima said: '[King] knows we’re upset. He said he loves we’re upset because that’s part of what made the show the show.’ Savage.
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