Sex and the City: The Essential Episodes

It's hard to believe Sex and the City has been off the air longer than the show was in production. In fact, this Saturday marks a decade since the series finale aired on HBO. Back then, we had no idea Carrie and the ladies would make a comeback on the big screen. The last episode didn't only feel like the end of a pop culture phenomenon, but also the last time we'd ever see our best girlfriends — the ladies who taught us all about modern relationships, sex, and discovering your self worth. And so we did the only thing we could do before Netflix streamed videos online: we fired up the DVD player and watched the episodes over and over. While the entire series is can't-miss television, we're rounding up the best of the best for old times' sake. Keep reading for all the highlights!

— Additional reporting by Nick Maslow

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Season Three: "Running With Scissors"

Carrie loses her mind and cheats on Aidan with Big. This is the episode she gets caught by Big's wife, Natasha — in Big and Natasha's apartment, no less. Natasha falls down stairs, and Carrie has to take her to the ER. It's a terrible and dramatic ending to Big and Carrie's affair made worse by the sweet Aidan waiting for Carrie back at her apartment, completely unaware of what his girlfriend has done. Grrr.

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Season Three: "Cock-a-Doodle-Do"

In this episode, Carrie and Aidan have broken up, and Big asks to meet up with Carrie. This is the last straw for Miranda, who's had it with picking up the Carrie's pieces whenever Big breaks her heart. The two friends proceed to have their first fight. The scene is so realistic, and I could really relate to it. It's the first time in the series when the friendships become multidimensional, and not just based on cocktails and sex talk.

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Season Four: "Belles of the Balls"

This is one of the most testosterone-filled episodes of the entire series, with Carrie's two loves, Big and Aidan, physically confronting each other. Carrie is back with a new and improved Aidan (and he looks ridiculously hot when he's reintroduced this season), but she's still friends with Big. There's talk of superheroes and Billy Joel songs . . . it's a lot of dude stuff and totally fun.

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Season Four: “Change of Dress”

Oh man, that picture says it all, doesn't it? Carrie can't bring herself to marry Aidan and cuts him loose for the last time. I can't even type this without tearing up, so moving on.

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Season Five: "The Big Journey"

Carrie spends most of season five single and focused on her career as a published author. In this episode, she heads to San Francisco where Big has relocated (Napa, technically) because she really wants to have sex. But he has read her book and just wants to talk about feelings. The role reversal is funny and kind of essential in keeping the Big/Carrie arc chugging along.

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Season Six: "A Woman's Right to Shoes"

This episode brings up one of the most awkward social situations ever. What happens if you attend a party where the host asks you to remove your shoes and at the end of the night they're gone? What happens when said shoes are designer and really expensive? It's a classic single girl vs. married-with-children girl episode, and it got a lot of people debating who was in the right. Plus, Charlotte and Harry adjust to married life, and they're too cute for words.

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Season Six: "One"

This is the episode in the final season that I think sets every character up for their last "hurrah." Carrie meets the Russian (you get a sense right away he could be as big as Big), Miranda and Steve finally realize they love each other, and Charlotte suffers a miscarriage. While the jokes are still there in a big way (Samantha dyes her pubic hair neon orange), the overall tone becomes a little more serious and more urgent.