HBO’s Sex and the City is a series that is filled to the brim with incredible character development. Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, Miranda Hobbes, and Samantha Jones are all fascinating individuals, and their unapologetic personas were considered revolutionary at the time when the series first came out.

These characters evolve greatly throughout the show’s run, and it makes us appreciate their journeys even more when we realize how much they have grown since season one. What are some of the biggest developments that we’ve seen from our favorite Manhattan-bound ladies and gentleman on Sex and the City? Keep reading to find out!

CHARLOTTE’S NEED FOR PERFECTION

Out of all the characters on the show, Charlotte probably experiences the most drastic character development. At first, Charlotte is an uptight perfectionist who has a very clear vision regarding what she desires out of life. She feels as though her ideal relationship would be with someone like Trey, a WASPy Ken doll type of man, yet she ends up falling for the total opposite person.

Throughout the show, she is a bit superficial and incredibly conventional to the point where her values seem pretty old fashioned. Yet when she ends up madly in love with Harry, the man she never expected to end up with, we see that she has truly evolved into someone who is less obsessed with perfectionism and more interested in experiencing true happiness.

CARRIE’S LOVE LIFE

Carrie Bradshaw is addicted to passion. She is also addicted to drama. If she doesn’t have passion and drama in her romantic life, she will literally break out into hives. This is exactly what happens when she finds herself in a comfortable relationship with Aidan, and it makes her physically ill. In Carrie’s mind, if there is no drama in the relationship there is no passion.

This is why she has an affair with Mister Big, so there can be some form of chaos in her life. Eventually, we see her character develop into a person who no longer needs to disrupt her own life in order to be happy and fulfilled. She is okay with settling down eventually, and simply being happy. This is evident in the second SATC movie where it’s the little things that matter.

SAMANTHA’S VULNERABILITY

Samantha is not the type of person who will give her heart to just anyone. For the majority of the series, Sam doesn’t believe in love or monogamy. It is just not something that interests her. Yet as we get older, our desires sometimes shift in ways that we would’ve never predicted. Everything changes after she meets Smith, the man who helps her become more vulnerable to love and relationships.

It’s a process because Samantha has been badly hurt before and she is not looking to experience that again. Yet she finally gives in and allows herself to be vulnerable with Smith, which ends up making her truly happy.

MIRANDA ALLOWING HERSELF TO BE EMOTIONAL

Miranda Hobbes is the type of person who leads with her brain rather than her heart. She has a very difficult time when it comes to emotions and she doesn’t really know how to be in a relationship. It all seems a bit too contrived and mushy for her taste. Yet as Miranda grows as a person, she allows herself to be open enough to enjoy love and all of the beautiful things it can offer. It takes time, but she eventually manages to get there with Steve and they both balance each other out in a nice way where he helps her loosen up and she helps him become more responsible.

MR. BIG TAKING A CHANCE ON COMMITMENT

Big may seem like a bit of a jerk due to his lack of commitment towards Carrie, but we have to give him credit where credit is due. He was upfront and honest with Carrie the whole time about what he was looking for. At the beginning of the series, Carrie asks Big if she’s “the one.”

He doesn’t know how to respond, because at that point, he genuinely doesn’t know if she is. Carrie is devastated over this, and it causes the two to break up. Yet in the Sex and the City finale, Big says: “Carrie, you’re the one” and it’s a lovely moment that reveals the character development between these two characters.

CARRIE BEING HONEST ABOUT HER AFFAIR WITH AIDAN

In season 3, we are given the messiest version of Ms. Bradshaw when she continually cheats on Aidan with Big. Even though Aidan gives her everything, she is the type of person who goes after what her heart wants (and it seems to always want Big).

Carrie spends a good portion of the season lying to Aidan by sleeping with Big behind his back, and it takes her a long time to finally admit what she has been doing. In the second movie of the SATC franchise, Carrie and Aidan kiss while running into each other on vacation, even though she is married to Big at this point. Instead of keeping this from Big, she tells him immediately because she doesn’t want to lie anymore. This shows maturity compared to how she acted in season 3.

STANFORD AND ANTHONY PUTTING THEIR PETTINESS ASIDE

Throughout pretty much the entire series, Stanford and Anthony are at each other’s throats. Stanford is Carrie’s best friend, while Anthony is Charlotte’s. When Stanford and Anthony meet, they instantly dislike each other and it creates a petty dynamic between them. It’s a beautiful moment in the series when we discover that they have fallen in love with each other and put all their differences aside. Even though they originally weren’t each other’s “types,” none of that mattered because they realized they were meant for one another.

MIRANDA CONNECTING WITH BRADY

Miranda is a bit concerned at first over the fact that she is not getting this supposed “baby fever” that all women apparently are supposed to get, especially when they first have their own child. When everyone around Miranda goes absolutely nuts with excitement over baby-related stuff, she just doesn’t understand what the hype is all about. During her ultrasound when the gender is revealed, she has to fake excitement because it doesn’t really interest her all that much that she’s having a boy. Yet it isn’t until Brady is born that she realizes they are actually pretty connected as mother and son, and it’s a beautiful moment on the show.

  MIRANDA, CHARLOTTE, SAMANTHA, AND CARRIE REALIZING THEY’RE EACH OTHER’S SOUL MATES

Throughout the series, the main focus of SATC revolves around these women and their dating lives as single women in New York City. After their dates, the women sit around and discuss all of their thoughts regarding their love lives. Sometimes they get so caught up searching for love, (or in Samantha’s case, a one night stand), that they forget the fact that their true loves are sitting right in front of them. The four of them come to the beautiful conclusion that they are each other’s soul mates and that the men in their lives are wonderful people to have fun with. This is a huge revelation for these women, especially for Charlotte and Carrie who seem so certain throughout the series that the only way they will find true happiness is through finding “the one.”

  MIRANDA, CHARLOTTE, SAMANTHA, AND CARRIE ACCEPTING THEIR UNEXPECTED PATHS

At the beginning of the series, it is safe to say that Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha, and Carrie had very different expectations for how they pictured their lives turning out. Their development throughout the show proves that sometimes we don’t end up exactly where we thought we would, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it could be the best thing to ever happen to you, as it is with these ladies. They fully accept where their lives have taken them even if at first it was not what they thought they wanted.