'The Carrie Diaries' Season One: Big New York Dreams, Little Castlebury Loose Ends

The (potential) end is here for Ms. Bradshaw.

Thirteen episodes have passed and this week marked the season finale for The CW's bubble series. Will it come back for another year? Chances are not but anything can really happen. The ratings have been lackluster at best and it didn't perform well with the big marketing push. However, The Carrie Diaries apparently is the network's second highest rated series online. Plus, The CW is so unpredictable that I've stopped guessing, especially after the last two years being wrong.

Instead of the typical recap review, I'm going to look over the past season and share my thoughts for what I'm hoping for in the (uncertainly long-shot) second season. I'll keep this quick and easy while trying to keep things moving steadily.

KYDDSHAW NO MORE

The teen power couple was bound to break up yet again; in fact, the pair made up and broke up twice in the same season finale. Normally a couple like this would find some sort of resolution in the following season but I think this is the end and it should stay that way. Carrie Bradshaw needs more experiences with dating and Sebastian was just getting in the way; he couldn't measure up and he simply reverted back to his old habits. Sleeping with Maggie (Carrie's best fiend) and breaking that trust was just one straw too many. Now that Carrie is once again single, she needs to experiment and learn a thing or two about dating beyond the hometown bad boy. Maybe an introduction to the boy who does take her virginity?

BEST FRIENDS FOR NEVER

The Carrie Diaries features an impressive ensemble cast of characters from Carrie's childhood hometown... and yet they somehow are never mentioned in the future. The obvious answer is because she grew up and a book/show can't bring up EVERY person in a fictional character's life. Now that Carrie is spending more time in New York and less away from Castlebury, new characters could be introduced while others are fazed out.

Walt and Mouse should be kept on as Carrie's closest friends. Walt's personal coming out story has been the one to watch and he might be the only one on par with Carrie who wants a New York lifestyle. Mouse, on the other hand, is hilarious and while I think she should be let go after their high school graduation, she still is the comedic character. Maggie, the former best friend, should be downgraded to supporting or fazed out completely. She betrayed Carrie and possibly triggered Carrie's narrow view of romance and dating. It would help her character development more if Maggie weren't around as a whiny and heartbroken main character but supporting or a guest star villain. Cheating is cheating and The Carries Diaries needs a kick of drama.

All photos courtesy of The CW and TV Guide

Donna and Dorrit are in this state of limbo for me. Donna has been underutilized and unless she becomes more of a villain or Carrie's friend, I don't see any purpose for her. She's become more of a supporting character than anything useful; a let down for the drama that's juvenile. Meanwhile, Carrie's little sister has grown on me and her relationship with Miller was the change she needed. (Anyone else feel creepy their father doesn't mind she's dating a senior?) Let's just hope she doesn't revert to her old angst ways.

NEW YORK OR BUST

Carrie and Walt are finally in New York to live the life we've all waited to see (for the summer at least). Now that they're in the city, The Carrie Diaries should add more references to the original series and start to introduce many of the staple characters like Stanford, Samantha and Miranda to name a few. These characters are what viewers want to see and I would love to have more origin episodes compared to teen angst. I'm not saying to abandon all the original characters that were introduced in Season One, but to expand the group to provide a healthy mix and explain WHY many of the The Carrie Diaries cast didn't transition to Carrie's life in Sex and the City years.

Final renewal news won't be revealed until May and even then I don't expect it to be good. The CW is clearly moving in another direction with their programming and the only thing that could save The Carrie Diaries is its potential. Online viewing does help (very small at least) to build on live ratings over the summer for fall and already being a midseason show had a major strike against its renewal chances. A full season is out of the question but a midseason might work to try a 13 episode order. Though in a realistic landscape, this could be the swan song for Carrie's early years before the city. I did like the series, there were moments that stood out and major changes that need to happen for the show to grow.

Do you think The Carrie Diaries will return? Share your predictions and season thoughts below in the comments.