The Lyin', the Wig and the Wardrobe

Carrie Diaries

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Carla Sparks: C | Grade It Now!

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The Lyin', the Wig and the Wardrobe

By Carla Sparks | Season 1 | Episode 11 | Aired on 03.25.2013

In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description!

Spring Break is here, so of course everyone is working. Mouse has the basketball team to manage, Tom is trying to relax at a meditation class, and Walt is working to figure out who he is. Most importantly, Carrie is working full time at Interview Magazine, still as an unpaid intern. Working full time at Interview is not too different from working one day a week, it would seem, because no one is ever really doing anything there.

Carrie makes the mistake of answering the phone at Larissa's desk while Larissa is out. She is asked to have Larissa pick up a package for Andy Warhol. When Larissa doesn't show up, Carrie goes to the store and must pose as Larissa to get the package. It's a Shirley Temple movie without the blackface.

Being Larissa has its perks and its drawbacks. Carrie gets to try on lots of clothes, but is attacked by the girlfriend of the regular package deliverer because Larissa sleeps with her boyfriend. Carrie escapes the scene with the package, which she briefly thinks is cocaine but turns out to be Andy Warhol's wig.

All the while, Sebastian's separated parents have been having sex, Mouse decides to get herself fired as team manager to reunite the basketball team, and Tom makes out with the most annoying, but hottest, woman in his meditation class. Walt is questioning his sexual identity, but he joins Carrie in New York for the Adventures of the Wig and the Mistaken Identity.

Carrie, Walt, and Bennett decide it's not too late to get the wig to Andy Warhol at this club. The club is a secret, traveling club, and this week it is in the back room of a children's clothing boutique. Carrie's attempt to be Larissa again fails, but she learns the valuable lesson that it always pays to be yourself. The bouncer lets Carrie give the wig to Andy Warhol's assistant, she doesn't lose her job that was never paid or in danger, and the whole thing is very ya-dada-duhnuh-nuh, FART.

It could have ended there but does not. In fact, several more endings happen, as Walt almost sort of maybe comes out to Carrie and himself, after getting jealous of a guy talking to Bennett. Then Mouse realizes West might like her as more than an academic competitor, and Sebastian and Carrie hang out and Sebastian doesn't tell Carrie he saw her dad sucking face with some stranger in a car. Maggie got a fake ID somewhere along the way, and Donna LaDonna's screen time was far too short, but memorable nonetheless. Over budget and therefore missing from this episode: Dorrit and Larissa.

Want more? The full recap starts right below!

In a matter of weeks, The Carrie Diaries has caught up with us and it's spring in 1985. And with spring comes spring break for high school students. Carrie is taking advantage of spring break to work at Interview magazine all week. Walt will take this opportunity to visit Bennett, his gay crush, and Maggie will take this opportunity to be boring. Meanwhile, Sebastian will be complaining about his flighty, rich mom, and Mouse is managing the basketball team.

Sebastian's mom shows up at the high school to unload on him between classes. The poor acting in this role tells me Sebastian's mom is not long for this show. She cries to Sebastian like he's her therapist, and Sebastian unpacks his mommy issues on Carrie. Even though it's not entirely descriptive of an unpaid internship, I like that the show utilizes "She Works Hard for the Money" to transition Carrie into the work week at Interview.

Carrie arrives at Interview on Monday morning bright-eyed and bushy-haired, trying her first sip of coffee. This is in the days before the Frappuccino, the gateway drink into the world of coffee. Carrie answers a trendy looking phone perkily and Andy Warhol's assistant is on the other end requesting that Larissa pick up a package. Carrie tells them Larissa will be on it right away, not knowing that, according to Bennett, "Larissa's field trips can last for days... everyone knows that."

Bennett puts the pressure on Carrie, telling her she needs to figure it out or else. Carrie, who has nothing better to do at this job, picks up her bag and heads out to get that package on a cab fare she can't expense. When she arrives at some store or gallery, a shop girl Pretty Womans her away. Filled with shame for looking her age, Carrie decides to pretend to be Larissa. She tucks her infamous name necklace under her shirt and turns her "Carrie" bag around, ready to go in for the kill.

I actually enjoy the charm in this Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) moment. The accent is more like Madonna's than Larissa's, but the wording and the attitude are right, having me think that this Carrie Bradshaw is a quick-thinking, fun character who knows how to find her way out of a jam. The salesgirl thinks the same thing of fake Larissa, and offers to let her try on their fall line while she waits for the package that isn't there yet. So, this package might not be so urgent after all, if it's still not where they asked her to pick it up at least two hours later.