And Just Like That… recap: This show is trying to do too damn much
Once again, Nya and Seema are brushed aside in a ridiculously plot-packed episode
TV Reviews And Just Like That...
I will admit that there are plotlines this season that have caught and held my attention. The Carrie-Aidan relationship proved to be more than a glorified cameo and has instead provided thoughtful reflections on love, friendship, and how your perspective changes with age. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has had a lovely and often funny arc from momager to working mother trying to make her family see her as more than an extension of their own needs. Lisa’s (Nicole Ari Parker) battle to have and do it all is crushing her in a way that feels completely relatable.
And yet…
There’s too much going on! In this episode, we have all of the above, plus: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) plans a final dinner in her apartment, Che (Sara Ramirez) returns to standup, Steve (David Eigenberg) opens a new food joint on Coney Island, Seema (Sarita Choudhury) accidentally says “I love you” during sex, Nya (Karen Pittman) receives a baby shower invite from her ex, Anthony (Mario Cantone) squabbles with his lover because he doesn’t want to bottom, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) feels insecure about both her exes while also taking on new challenges at work, and for some reason, we find out that Stanford has become a monk, disposing of his character forever after Willie Garson died during the filming of season one.
It’s too much. Very few of these characters are getting a fair shake because there’s just not enough screentime to go around. Nya is awesome, but what have we watched her do this season besides have sex and make a chocolate soufflé? That’s not a character! If the writers could just cut out a few people to give more real estate to the more interesting things happening—for the love of god, please let Seema have actual space to breathe on this show—everyone would be better for it.
But let’s get into it. Carrie and Aidan (John Corbett) are preparing to move into “our new place,” the massive four-bedroom apartment she bought because he still won’t set foot in her pad, the site of their past demise. Carrie has sold said apartment to Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum), the cool girl downstairs, for a price that seems to enrage Seema, but all seems well between the couple, save for some rising tension with Aidan’s difficult 14-year-old, Wyatt. I’ve seen a lot of people argue that Aidan was a horrible match for Carrie because he always wanted her to be someone she wasn’t, and even Aidan seems to realize that now. He says he made mistakes by trying to lock her down with marriage or even the lease on the apartment.
But right in the middle of this reflection, he gets a call from his ex-wife who tells him that Wyatt crashed Aidan’s truck into a tree. Apparently he got into a fight with his mom, hitch-hiked the 30 miles back to his dad’s farm, drank some beers, and then tried to drive the truck back to his mom’s. Wyatt broke his collarbone and his leg in two places, and Aidan is beside himself with grief and guilt that he should have been there to intercept his son. Carrie, fielding his call from their new bedroom, is worried about them for the first time. If they’re going to break up Aidan and Carrie again, it will be nice if it’s for a real practical reason like him not willing to put the distance between him and his sons, as opposed to Carrie just being a complete asshole. Again.
Meanwhile, Charlotte is in the middle of selling a painting to Sam Smith when Rock (Alexa Swinton) calls to say they forgot a notebook at home and need Charlotte to drop it off. Charlotte calls Harry (Evan Handler) and tell him that he needs to help Rock because she’s in the middle of something at work. Harry balks, and Charlotte understandably starts to tear him a new one about the load she’s had to carry as a mom. Let me just save both of you some time and offer you a page out of my mother’s playbook: Refuse to bring the forgotten homework and let them take the bad grade. They’ll learn the lesson, and you won’t be fielding these calls for the rest of your life. Parenting!
Lisa is dealing with her own version of this struggle because she finds herself pregnant right as her career is taking off. She’s worried about how she’ll be able to deliver a 10-episode PBS documentary with three older kids plus a newborn. “I will be missing deadlines, I will be pumping around the clock, I will be failing at both jobs,” she laments to Charlotte. “I thought it was finally my time.” Oh, Lisa. This is so hard.
It comes to a head when Lisa is tossing and turning in bed and Herbert (Chris Jackson) asks her what’s wrong. She demands to know why he didn’t get a vasectomy after the birth of their daughter eight years ago, and he admits he wasn’t sure if she changed her mind after she got through her postpartum depression. Lisa doesn’t know how she’s going to make it work, and Herbert offers this gem: “If anyone can do it, you can. And I’ll be here to help.” Here to help! Like it’s her job and he’s just along for the ride. This absolutely made me see red. When that doesn’t appease her, Herbert asks if they should be having a different conversation—and that he will support her in whatever she does. They never use the word “abortion,” but it’s very clear that’s what they mean when Lisa hugs and thanks him and says that while she’s thought about it and is glad to have the choice, she couldn’t go through with it.
And here’s where I’m going to get irritable. Why the fuck not? Later in the episode, Lisa and Herbert go to the hospital because she’s bleeding and something is wrong, clearly setting up the couple for a miscarriage. Well isn’t that convenient? If Lisa’s character is against getting an abortion, even though she very clearly does not want another child, for religious reasons, tell us that. Otherwise, And Just Like That… missed an opportunity to showcase a wealthy mother of three choosing to have an abortion for the simple reason that she wanted to focus on her career without having to worry about a pregnant and infant in her forties. Wouldn’t that have been something?
And finally, we have Miranda. Miranda is a mystery to me, I will admit. In the back half of the season, she feels like the old Miranda—driven, judgy, cynical. But even as she makes strides in her new work as a human-rights lawyer, the reckoning of her behavior feels light. What does she think about not just her time with Che, but also her move to Los Angeles and her detour from all her previous choices? How is she feeling about the aftermath of her marriage? We don’t see Miranda grappling with this at all. It feels hollow.
After Nya comments that Miranda cuts all her exes out, Miranda decides to join Carrie and Aidan and Che’s first standup show in a while. Che does not know Miranda is in the audience, so when they launch into their routine with, “I just got out of an eight-month relationship with a married straight white woman,” things get uncomfortable fast. The harshest part, without a doubt, is: “She was confused about everything, and I was confused about why I was fucking her.” Why was Che ever into Miranda, especially in a serious capacity? Apparently, even they don’t know.
Miranda understandably leaves, and Che sees her on her way out and abandons their set to catch her on the street. They have a bit of a yelling match, and once Miranda is gone, Che’s new love interest runs up to ask if they’re okay. “Why am I always having to explain who I am?” Che asks, angry that Miranda doesn’t understand what a standup does, just like they’re angry at the vet at the clinic constantly having to be reminded of their pronouns. I just don’t understand why Che is a main character on this show now. What. About. Seema?
Stray observations
- When Miranda’s boss comes back from maternity leave after five weeks, she’s feeling a little insecure. “How much time did you take?” “Twelve weeks,” Miranda says. “Felt like 100.” I get this sentiment personally, but I also find it icky to normalize five weeks of maternity leave when that is really not normal. After five weeks, you’re not even cleared to have sex yet.
- Carrie wins an at-home dinner prepared by a Michelin-star chef for 16 people. She asks, “Do I even know 16 people I want to eat with?” Relatable.
- Seema comes to Carrie’s apartment and says there’s been a disaster (telling Ravi [Armin Amiri] she loves him during sex), and Carrie immediately jumps to the conclusion that something is wrong with her new place. Carrie, not everything is always about you. Let her speak for the 30 seconds she’s onscreen, please.
- When Seema shares very mild sex details, Carrie is like, “Please, I’m eating.” Babe, I’m begging you, a sex columnist, to please grow up.
60 Comments
This season is a return to the soul of the old show. There is NOT, except for Ché, a new character that I do not absolutely love and Seema is my fav. Even this season, Ché is tolerable and human. Charlotte stole the season, I have never laughed so hard. Miranda is annoying and her whole lesbian thing and leaving Steve was a bad decision but having Aidan back, even though I was never a fan is amazing. Love, love, love every episode. Really back to the roots of SATC. I pray for a Season 3. We’ll see!
I was all about Miranda during SATC but now? Charlotte is slaying it.
I am enjoying this season more than the previous one. It seems like a visit with old friends, warts and all.
Charlotte, for me, has been the reliable link to the past. She’s the Charlotte I’d expect her to be, I really have been enjoying her segments.
The show used to be a “half hour”, they should have stayed with that format. The new characters are so they can fill out the extra 20 minutes without burning through too much story for the original cast. If they get another season they should go back to the original time format. The pacing will be better and we won’t feel like they are cramming in storylines. They also would get a longer season if that would work for HBO.
“Che (Sara Ramirez) returns to standup”
How did Che ever become a quasi successful stand up comic? Not remotely funny.
And they act like they’re owed a bigger career and would have it if they weren’t non binary. Nope you’re just not funny
They could just as easily have made Che an actor/singer. Ramirez is a Juilliard trained Tony winning performer. There’s nothing about the character that screams that they must be a stand-up.
Oh that would have worked better for them: particularly if they leaned into their success prior to coming out and what it means
Turns out, Cheryl Diaz was also not funny!
At least it’s not a comedy concert!
“Che asks, angry that Miranda doesn’t understand what a standup does,
just like they’re angry at the vet at the clinic constantly having to be
reminded of their pronouns.”If this person were real I’d say they need help. Since they’re fictional, they just sound badly written.
Well it’s official. Che is an asshole. I’m sorry, but not all stand ups, and especially the great ones, trash their exes for laughs. I’ve seen a lot of great stand up comedians and not a one said a word about a former partner. Even if they talk about their current spouse, it’s usually a man talking about how his wife thinks he’s an idiot.Lisa was never pregnant. She is perimenopausal. Your period comes and goes for a year or so, til they stop for good. Notice she never said a word about seeing her doctor. This is all a misdirect. It’s too easy for her to have a miscarriage and write off the abortion option. And I’m sorry Lisa but if his having a vasectomy was so important, why didn’t you follow up to be sure he did it? He’s a man. They usually have to be led around by the nose to make sure they get shit done. This ain’t your first rodeo, sweetie. It sucks because it’s true.If the show got renewed for another season, maybe Aidan and Carrie go on a break til they can figure out Wyatt’s issues. We’ll need a cliffhanger, I guess. I loved Charlotte’s rant. Her daughters are old enough to feed themselves, and yes Rock should have been shown that when they screwed up, there were consequences. I told my sister this for years about my niece. Stop fixing everything, let them fail and they’ll become responsible. Or not. But at some point kids have to learn to fend for themselves. Keep doing it and you have an adult who is a whiny little asshole who wants the world to revolve around them.
Narratively, it was also an actual opportunity to redeem Che. If it had seemed like she was about to trash Miranda and instead has some amusing epiphany about her own awful behavior, it would have worked well.I can appreciate that Charlotte at least acts like Charlotte. I would expect her to helicopter parent her kids and be terrified of a bad grade etc.
You don’t need a doctor to tell you you’re pregnant. A home pregnancy test isn’t going to say you’re pregnant if you’re perimenopausal.
From University OB/GYN Associates, Syracuse NY web site:A fertility drug might also produce a false positive, as can an ectopic pregnancy, perimenopause, or an illness that affects the ovaries.
Can you (a) find a website from an organization I’ve actually heard of and (b) learn how to cut and paste better?
You haven’t heard of Syracuse University? I tried to fix the way that text pasted into my comment, this web site kept changing it.Just because it’s a fact YOU didn’t know doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Cleveland Clinic good enough for you? Let me know if there are any words you don’t understand. https://www.ccjm.org/content/88/11/635
This show sounds so bad, but I enjoy the recaps. I do wish AVClub would recap good shows, though.
I am curious how they choose which shows to do this for. Like, it made sense 10 years ago, in the heyday of GoT, to have two simultaneous recap articles for one show.
But now? GoT probably had more crew members than this show has consistent viewers. Maybe it’s just residual HBO loyalty that keeps them doing the recaps for this?
I think because it’s a “buzzworthy” show. Something people are talking about? Or maybe because it’s the child of a previously popular show, though by that theory they should be recapping Justified: City Primeval. I don’t know. I think they just ask hey is there anything anyone feels like recapping and just let them do what they want. Since AVClub’s staff these days consists primarily of AI, instead of people who love TV and movies like in the old days, I can see why they are low on volunteers for recapping duty.
This show makes sense to recap because SATC really was groundbreaking television. It’s shocking how they continue to rob these characters of who they were (in no way is it intentional, but the show feels like an unconscious meta commentary on wealth and it’s disconnect via the characters via SJP/Nixon/Davis via the King)
SATC *was* groundbreaking television, but this show sure ain’t. And the really sad thing is that even original recipe SATC doesn’t hold up 20 years later. Looking back I think I enjoyed it because I was in my teens and 20s and stupid. This show does (appear to, as I said I don’t watch) rob the characters of who they were, but who they were really wasn’t shit in the first place. Samantha was the only one who was halfway decent.
I think it was pretty rad they let women characters on television and actually let them fuck and be assholes. Now it’s very difficult to find something relatable because they have been so clumsy at handling the characters privilege. Carrie was scrappy in the OG run, I miss it!
here you go: https://episodicmedium.substack.com/s/justifiedfair warning though, none of us are really that into it. it’s definitely lacking the spark of the original in more ways than one.
Whoever currently owns this site would hate the idea of hiring two separate writers when “none” would suffice.
I miss TV Club. What a time.
It was a great time! I found this site after Television Without Pity went defunct, and I was really happy to find a place that discussed a wide variety of shows and provided a community to talk about them with since a lot of my friends weren’t watching the same stuff.
if you want to chat with a bunch of old school AVC heads, check out Episodic Medium (https://episodicmedium.substack.com/) run by Myles McNutt. (there’s a ton of former TV Club writers recapping shows there too. the comment section is smaller than AVC in its heyday, but the enthusiasm for talking TV is definitely there.) it’s $5/month to access all of the content, but i find it’s worth it. (especially if you wanna catch up on Donna Bowman’s Better Call Saul recaps!)
It’s gotten a lot better in the last half of this season, I’m finding a lot to like. There are still infuriating elements but it’s worth watching finally
It’s almost like the show gave Ramirez a contract to be a full cast member in season 2, then realized how bad Che’s storyline with Miranda is and now can’t figure out what to do with them.Like that ‘Don’t you understand stand-up’ part was just absurd and I can’t figure out if they really imagine anyone see them as a sympathetic party there.
I’m going out on a limb and saying that the producers don’t want blowback for dumping the queer, non-binary character. But the fact remains, Che was a horribly written/acted character, regardless of their identity/sexuality.
There’s another non-binary character on the show: Rock. Che really is not needed to have non-binary plotlines. She broke up with Miranda and the insufferable character should have exited the show forever. I don’t want to see a stupid scene where an older person misuses pronouns. I want to see Seema; the best of the new characters on the show.
Seema is the only new character they needed, I honestly groan when the others appear.
Agreed. She is the female version of Samantha who was a gay man played by a woman.
Not completely agreed, but what makes Che so baffling to me is how utterly oblivious both the show and Ramirez seem to be about the multitude of issues relating to the character.Like not only Ramirez’s public comments on the project, but also if these are the attempts to course-correct, woooof.
The problem is the script written for Che is essentially: “Hi, I’m queer non-binary. Did I mention I’m queer, non-binary? Also, I’m queer non-binary. P.S. Still queer non-binary.” So, to your point, we got neither a 3-dimensional character, nor the depiction of a realistic experience. Just a checked demographic box.
You forgot “Why am I always having to remind people who I am.”
At this point I’m starting to think they’re leaning into Che being a pretty shitty person. I can’t imagine any other character getting away with calling their queer ex straight and making jokes about her kid
The idea that Carrie Bradshaw, borderline billionaire 60ish year old, would opt into a relationship that includes a contentious, shitty 14 year old boy is absurd.
lollzzz and no way she’d still be sleeping in her old apartment. she’d keep it as a memento that she’d get her driver to stop at once a winter.
a closet for her off-season clothing
Or I mean…an office? Property is expensive in NY, but she could take a nice tax write off on that place, have a potential place to crash that she loves and remember that she’s fucking loaded.
She’s always loved Aiden, even though she loved Big more. I’m not surprised she’s willing to try
Well, worth $50 Million at least, by my estimation.
I’ve been a John Corbett fan since Northern Exposure and he’s always a welcome addition to any show. But that was the worst stage cry I have ever seen.
Apparently he was “behind himself with grief” I mean give him a break!!!
I’m not sure if I found John Corbett’s bawling scene impressive or cringeworthy. I still can’t decide.
Che saying “she brought 4 people to bed: me, her, her husband and her son”, after that whole ex husband threesome attempt? For someone complaining about having to explain themselves constantly, that’s some serious lack of self awareness right there.
“He says he made mistakes by trying to lock her down with marriage or even the lease on the apartment.”ha, i love how this show completely retcons the entire apartment saga. there was no lease! Aiden bought the apartment next to Carrie’s and knocked down the wall! Carrie had to buy it back from him using Charlotte’s engagement ring as a down payment. it was a whole thing! y’know, i’ve been joking for weeks that it feels like this series is being written by AI for maximum WTF but at this point i think it’s an actual possibility.also, aside from the Che of it all, certain things about this show are so unbelievable i can’t help but comment on them, for example, there is ZERO CHANCE (ZERO!!) that the York-Goldenblatt residence does not have a single person on staff in the home. (A nanny, chef, housekeeper, etc.) There is absolutely NO WAY Charlotte was keeping that massive apartment spotless and managing her children’s lives on her own, that is simply not how things are done by that Upper East Side set. so when Charlotte calls Harry at work to tell him to go get Rock’s notebook i was like, “girl, just call the help at home.” (This goes double for LTW and her storyline. Ain’t no way a woman living and dressing like that in Manhattan does not have domestic help of some kind. It really does the show a disservice to display this level of wealth yet unrealistically portrays all of these women as upper middle-class housewives struggling to “have it all” when in fact they are actually 1%ers. you really mean to tell me LTW doesn’t have at minimum an assistant? PLEASE.)
I was also thinking “surely, Harry has an assistant who can do this?”
BEHIND himself with grief?! Wut?
I know reboots feast on nostalgia, but how nice would it be to just watch Carrie meet someone new. Am I the only one who wants that? The relationship didn’t end well, but I enjoyed watching her have a relationship with Petrovsky and not quite knowing what the beats would be and not quite knowing if he was cool or a dick. Can we just have a new person?!
I vote for new thoughts/ideas/characters/behaviors/plotlines. I agree—reboots do incorporate a lot of nostalgia but the smart ones bring in new stuff for a fresh perspective. But people go nuts if not same=same. Of course even though there are countless options of stories in the galaxy, 45+ years later we are still bringing in the Skywalker clan in every new movie or series, and most seem fine with it so I am probably in the minority!
I’m curious what the friends and family of Willie Garson think of Stanford’s character changes. I don’t know why the movie had Anthony and Stanford marry in the first place, it’s their choice, whatever… but I found their exchange after a fight early in Season 1 (after Big died) to be really sweet. And totally relatable. Then, after Garson passes away, they turned the character into a total asshole who leaves his husband out of the blue? It’s just so disrespectful to Garson. I get that maybe they thought two back-to-back deaths in the show would be too much. They could have had Stanford taking a fabulous job somewhere and Anthony occasionally coming back to visit. They could have had celebrity cameos appear throughout the show, all talking about how much they love Stanford, or whatever, as a tribute to Garson’s legacy. I don’t know. I’m not a writer, but I think I could have come up with something more respectful and a joyful celebration. Was Garson Buddhist? Is that the angle? I am so confused.
Finally, we will gwt THAT Samantha cameo next week. the teaser trailer made me lol. we’re nearly there, people.
Yeah, the “abortion but let’s not say the word” scene and the “trying too hard not to shame women who take maternity leave” scene were icky moments. I agree with another commenter who said it feels like this show is being written by A.I. My suspicions began a couple episodes ago when the show declared Aidan was living on “a farm in Norfolk, VA.” Ladies and gentlemen, I have lived in the 757 my entire life. Nobody is living on a farm in Norfolk. There are dozens and dozens of other cities or towns the show could have used, but ChatGPT went with NORFOLK.
Why wouldn’t Carrie just rent her apartment to Lisette? Doesn’t seem like she needs the money.
Who gives up real estate they own in New York? Doesn’t make sense.
Fantastic recap. I had the same furious reaction to the Lisa storyline (who I’m convinced is 50, BTW). She lists reason after reason why she should get an abortion, and then says what I find to be an offensive line about being grateful that she has the option of the medical procedure that shall not be named. Grateful! For something that should be a guaranteed civil liberty – the right to make medical decisions for oneself in private. Holy shit. If we don’t have the courage to say it, we deserve to lose it. Thanks to the AJLT writers for reminding me of this fatal flaw in our society. But you know what made me almost as upset? Seeing Miranda having to sit through the first minute of Che’s stand-up routine while Carrie just sits there, failing to protect her. Late 90s Carrie would have blindfolded Miranda, put on ear protectors, and whisked her OUT OF THERE. Now, in the 2020s, Carrie is just a giant asshole. AN ASSHOLE! UGH!