John Wilson reflects on the delicate balancing act of making – and safely redirecting – casual conversation, highlighting the rewards and risks of small talk.

Office politics heat up when Will and Diane ask Cary and Alicia to face them in a mock trial; Eli tries to maintain his position on Peter’s campaign.

When the Justice Department refuses to reveal who will be testifying against Eli, Elsbeth takes Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Perrotti to civil court for defamation in order to force him…

Carrie decides, after a broad-daylight Manolo mugging, that she must clear herself of bad karma and decides she needs to talk with Natasha about her affair with Big. Miranda dates…

Carrie meets with Big for the first time since his marriage ended. Miranda gets frustrated when she thinks the Chinese take-out girl mocks her stay-at-home lifestyle. Charlotte moves back into…

Carrie feels guilty and wants to quit her affair with Big. Miranda enjoys phone sex with a co-worker from Chicago. Charlotte negotiates the terms of her prenuptial agreement with Trey’s…

Carrie struggles to find the right time to tell Aidan about her affair. Miranda tells a guy she’s a stewardess in hopes of getting a date. Charlotte has her dream…

Carrie meets with actor/producer Matthew McConaughey in LA to talk about optioning her columns to make a movie. Miranda wrestles with the level of open sexuality in Los Angeles. Charlotte…

Carrie meets a publicity agent for celebrities who shows her the perks of the rich and famous in LA. Miranda meets an old friend from New York who’s lost his…

Carrie dates a hunky comic-book store owner who still lives with his parents. Miranda gets braces. Charlotte is shocked when she catches the supposedly impotent Trey masturbating. Samantha’s latest client…

Carrie teaches at The Learning Annex—only her course on “How to Find Love” is as successful as her own love life. Miranda dates one of Carrie’s ex-boyfriends (known as Mr….

Carrie obsesses about her perfect relationship when Aidan suggests she meet his parents. Miranda enjoys her intimate life with Steve. Charlotte gets upset when a married friend won’t set her…

Carrie runs into Big who confesses that he misses her and can’t stop thinking about her. Miranda gets annoyed with Steve’s childish habits when he suggests they have a baby…

Big tells Carrie that he’s leaving his wife. Miranda deals with her breakup and Steve moving out of the apartment. After meeting the MacDougal family matriarch, Charlotte maneuvers Trey into…

Carrie finds time away from stay-at-home boy Aidan with a gay Aussie shoe distributor at the exclusive Bungalow 8. Charlotte and Trey separate permanently after their apartment is photographed in…

Carrie is shocked to find out that Big is moving to Napa, California and plans to give him a New York send-off. Charlotte begins dating another recent divorcé. Miranda prepares…

Carrie is dragged to Aidan’s country home in Suffern, New York. Charlotte visits the MacDougal “compound” in Connecticut. Miranda yells at Steve when he tells her he has testicular cancer…

Carrie invites Big up to Aidan’s country home to talk. Charlotte tries to discuss her and Trey’s infertility problems. Miranda sleeps with Steve to cheer him up after he has…

Carrie is reluctant to tell Aidan that she had an abortion when she was 22. Charlotte discovers she only has a fifteen percent chance of getting pregnant naturally. Miranda finds…

Aidan proposes to Carrie. Charlotte discusses adoption with Trey, but hits a wall when Bunny finds out that the baby could be Chinese. Miranda tells Steve she’s having his baby….

Carrie and Aidan have a huge fight over the clutter in her apartment after Aidan moves in. Charlotte and Trey have a huge fight when he brings home a cardboard…

Carrie thinks about men and the future when no one shows up for her birthday party. Miranda confronts her married friends about her single life. Charlotte tries to deal with…

Carrie meets a jazz musician while on a pseudo-date with Big. Miranda tries to get more comfortable using the bathroom in front of her date. Charlotte is dismayed that Trey…

Carrie continues to date Ray King, the jazzman, but finds he has an ADHD problem. Miranda substitutes chocolate for sex. Charlotte deals with Trey getting a little too overconfident in…

Carrie gets an invitation to the opening of Steve—and Aidan’s—new bar, Scout. Miranda thinks she has a ghost in her apartment. Charlotte butts heads with Trey’s mother, Bunny, when redecorating…

Carrie realizes she wants to get back together with Aidan. Miranda gets a surprise when she sleeps with “marathon man”. Charlotte and Trey decide to start trying to have a…

After Nibbler falls ill, the crew shrinks down for a dangerous mission into a desert world contained within his litter box.

Francine becomes a conspiracy theorist when she finds out Stan has been shielding her from unhappy news; Klaus and Steve help Snot pimp out his basement.

Barney reluctantly attempts to sell his apartment by holding an open house, during which Ted and Marshall get mistaken for a couple. Tension arises between Lily and Marshall when her…

When The Captain asks Lily to move to Rome for a year as his art consultant, she fears that Marshall will resent her. Meanwhile, Ted and Barney become obsessed with…

When Ted receives an unexpected call from The Captain, the gang reminisced about their last awkward encounter with him.

Marshall asks Barney and Ted for help figuring out where Lily went in the middle of the night during their argument.

When Ted’s new friendship with Zoey tests the theory that single men and married women can’t be friends, he invites her husband, “The Captain,” to hang out with them. Meanwhile,…

Marshall becomes obsessed with saving the environment after seeing a documentary on garbage. Ted runs into The Captain. Barney admits he has feelings for a woman.

When the gang goes to a black tie event at the Natural History Museum, Ted gets introduced to Zoey’s husband, The Captain.