, however, there’s not just a standalone moment addressing periods, but a whole narrative. It begins at brunch with Carrie and Miranda, where Charlotte announces that she hasn’t had her period in four months, and so must be in the menopause. In classic Smug Charlotte fashion, she also tells her friends that she hasn’t experienced any of the “awful” symptoms: breast tenderness, sweating – in fact, she hasn’t noticed any difference at all.
Even after Lily’s moment of victory over the tampon, their journey with periods has only just begun. At a volunteer day at a women’s shelter in Brooklyn, where Charlotte and Co have joined Miranda to help paint the building, Charlotte hits another road bump. Lily declares that she’s lost the string to her tampon and promptly barricades herself in a port-a-potty.
It’s only after Charlotte is on the verge of losing it completely, of course, that Lily unearths the tampon string. But Lily, it turns out, isn’t the only one dealing with the hassle of periods. As Charlotte walks away from the port-a-potty, we find out that Charlotte hasn’t in fact waved goodbye to her periods, because she has a bloodstain on the back of her pristine white overalls. Not a few dainty droplets, but a significant patch of red seeping across the fabric.
“I think you got a flash period,” Miranda declares. “It happened to me once, months after I thought I was done. I was arguing a case in court and the opposing counsel literally signalled me to look at my ass.” It’s a worst-case period scenario that makes you laugh and wince simultaneously – and not because any disgust is shown at the sight of the blood. In characteristicfashion, the casual on-screen representation tells it like it is: that the body’s functions are perfectly normal and natural, even if they are bloody frustrating.