Although it's perhaps best known for being a show about the joys and perils of dating, Sex and the City just as often concerns itself with powerful friendships. Something Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha find time and time again across the show's six seasons is that while boyfriends may come and go (and be great fun while they're around), their friends are their real soulmates.
Perhaps the most solid friendship developed across the series is between Carrie and Miranda. With similarly sharp senses of humor but often differing perspectives on love, the duo gives Sex and the City much of its heart and wit. While many episodes concern Sex and the City's central foursome in its entirety, there are some that highlight Carrie and Miranda's friendship in particular.
"Ghost Town" (Season 4, Episode 5)
In this episode, Carrie and Miranda are united in their discomfort about the upcoming opening of Steve and Aidan's bar, Scout. Even after Carrie discovers she was invited by Steve and not her ex Aidan, Miranda convinces her to come along and both women manage to achieve a shred of closure at the party.
In the same episode, Carrie comes through for Miranda in a different way. When Miranda is spooked by a ghost in her building, Carrie appears with cookies for a comforting sleepover.
"Escape From New York" (Season 3, Episode 13)
In this destination episode, fans get to see Carrie and Miranda embark on a lavish girls trip. The pair share a room on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Los Angeles and, along with their travel companion Samantha, experience the culture shock of life on the West Coast.
It's a friendship-centric episode as the girls end up at a rodeo bar where Miranda, having enjoyed her taste of L.A.'s sex-forward ethos, undresses and rides a mechanical bull to Carrie's delight.
"The Agony and the 'Ex'-tacy" (Season 4, Episode 1)
In the season four premiere, Carrie and Miranda band together when they feel like "enemies number one" as singles at a party filled with married couples. When Carrie receives a pamphlet for 'singles' in the mail, Miranda eviscerates it in a show of support for her friend.
But when things take a turn for the serious and Carrie's loneliness is exacerbated by her birthday dinner going terribly wrong, Miranda is there to comfort her and tell her she isn't alone. It's a touching show of friendship at a difficult moment for Carrie.
"Anchors Away" (Season 5, Episode 1)
In the season five premiere, new mother Miranda finds herself insecure about missing out on the formerly fabulous lifestyle she shared with her friends. She feels like her child is getting in the way of her friendships, particularly with the baby-averse Samantha.
But in the perfect display of solidarity, Carrie drops by Miranda's apartment unannounced with chocolates to reassure Miranda her friends aren't going anywhere, and even offers her help in whatever form Miranda needs.
"Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women" (Season 2, Episode 7)
When the girls spend a getaway weekend in the Hamptons, Charlotte is preoccupied with her younger boyfriend while Samantha quarrels with her former PR protegé Nina G. Carrie and Miranda, to the delight of their fans, are largely left to their own devices.
Miranda is in high spirits and makes everyone a market-fresh dinner, but things turn sour later when Carrie runs into Big and his new girlfriend Natasha at a beach party. Thankfully for Carrie, Miranda is there to console her (and to hold her hair while she is sick).
"Change of a Dress" (Season 4, Episode 15)
In this bittersweet episode, Miranda's pregnancy is coming to an end while Carrie's wedding looms. The girls bond over conflicted feelings around their upcoming significant life events, with both feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to seem enthusiastic all the time.
It's all fun and games as Miranda cheekily convinces Carrie to go wedding dress shopping, but when Carrie has a stress-induced panic attack and rash in the changing room, Miranda is standing strong by her side. In a difficult time for the emotionally taxed bride-to-be, her best friend handles the situation with care and empathy.
"My Motherboard, My Self" (Season 4, Episode 8)
This somber episode finds Miranda at a low point and Carrie coming through for her just as a best friend should. When Miranda's mother falls ill and later passes away in Pennsylvania, she insists her friends not trouble themselves by attending the funeral. Carrie rallies the girls to go to the neighboring state and they arrive to support Miranda at her most vulnerable.
In the episode's most touching moment, Miranda breaks down in the aisle after the service and Carrie rushes to her side in a show of support.
"I Heart NY" (Season 4, Episode 18)
A very pregnant Miranda offers Carrie some sage advice to avoid Big on the weekend of his departure to Napa and dismisses Charlotte's claims that he's 'the one.' While Carrie goes ahead with her date with Big, she cuts the momentous occasion short as soon as she finds out Miranda's gone into labor.
She acts as a buffer between Miranda and her preppy nursing staff, ensuring her friend's comfort in an extremely taxing situation. In one of the show's most intimate moments, Miranda gives birth holding her best friend's hand.
"Cock-a-Doodle-Do" (Season 3, Episode 18)
In Sex and the City's season three finale - and one of its most memorable scenes - Carrie and Miranda fight like viewers have never seen before. When Carrie divulges her lunch plans with Big, an unsympathetic Miranda claims she won't baby Carrie through another breakup, while Carrie retorts that Miranda coldheartedly threw her ex Steve away.
The pair don't speak - a rarity in the show - until Carrie calls to make amends and the two offer mutual apologies. This memorable episode demonstrates that working through issues is the tougher but no less valuable side of any friendship.
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (Season 2, Episode 1)
Sex and the City's season two premiere finds Miranda dismissing Carrie's sensitivity about running into her ex Big and urges her to move on. When Carrie won't stop bringing up her "revenge date" with a baseball star, Miranda snaps at the girls for only talking about men.
An insomniac Carrie calls Miranda out of the blue and asks to meet at 'their place,' and having experienced a run-in with her own ex, Miranda assures Carrie she can take all the time she needs. It's one of the pair's sweetest and most memorable scenes that attests to their unshakable bond even in times of difficulty.