Carrie On (Television Review: The Carrie Diaries, CW, Season Two...So Far)

Last year, I finished watching the whole first season of "The Carrie Diaries,"  and I liked it. I didn't love it enough to obsessively wait for episodes, but I would binge watch after two or so episodes were recorded on my DVR. I liked the season finale, I remember: so many possibilities for great story lines with Carrie spending the summer in New York City. The second season picks up just a little further from that time: It's still Summer and Carrie and Walt are still in New York City, though the new school year - their Senior year - is looming. Carrie is still an intern at Interview Magazine, and is starting to be an expert in navigating the city. She is still kind of pining for Sebastian, who is in Castlebury. Walt has discovered himself: he has come out, at least to himself, and again he is navigating his new found realization and the city while in the city. But the best part of the season is the introduction of one of Carries' best friends: Samantha Jones, played by Lindsey Gort. Gort is fantastic - she has perfectly mastered the Samantha Jones persona, albeit the younger more-naive version of it. The episodes sparkles as they handle the city, and their shenanigans are cute fun. On Friday's  episode (Episode #3: "Strings Attached") the kids go back to school in Connecticut, and I was less enthralled. Although it is mildly interesting to see how they handle life as they adjust back to suburban life, they (and we, as viewers) know that Carrie and Walt's heart was left in NYC. And the on-and-off again love angle with Sebastian is getting kind of tiresome: Carrie needs a new love interest, stat, as much appealing as Austin Butler is. I hope this series doesn't get lost in the CW shuffle: it's timeslot is in the dreaded Friday graveyard. I, for one, would love to see the transition from this Carrie to the ones we know and love from later years.