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And Just Like That… wanders into uncomfortable cringe territory

Episodes like this one raise the question of whether this show should have come back at all

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And Just Like That… wanders into uncomfortable cringe territory
Nicole Ari Parker Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max

Whenever you bring back a beloved property like Sex And The City, there is always the danger of harming the memory of the original (case in point: Sex And The City 2). Or making something so inconsequential it’s difficult for the reboot to look anything else but a chance to cash in on said beloved property (looking at you, Mad About You and Will And Grace). In only the extremely rare instance does a reboot/return actually add to the legacy of its source material (I really liked what the meta 2019 90210 reboot was attempting to accomplish, was disappointed when it didn’t pan out).

Beloved it may be, but we all know that the original Sex And The City was not without its problems. The cast was uniformly white (except when one of the women would occasionally date a person of color like Blair Underwood or Asio Highsmith) and for such a sex-positive show, was fairly narrow-minded when it came to topics like bisexuality, for example.

So on one hand, it’s obvious what And Just Like That… is attempting, to try to make amends for missteps in the series’ past. In this episode in particular, the pointedly titled “Some Of My Best Friends,” all three women branch out into friendships with women of color. Some of these outings make more sense than others. There is no reason on earth for a respected law professor like Nya (Karen Pittman) to have dinner with her inherently awkward student Miranda, even if they are around the same age. Although it is nice to see her at home with her husband, so that hopefully Nya may expand into a character that’s more than Miranda’s professor who’s undergoing fertility treatments and sometimes has a hard time getting into buildings and restaurants. But it still seems hard to fathom that Nya doesn’t seem to have anyone else to talk to about motherhood. That said, a mom of teens is going to have a very different viewpoint than a kindergarten mom, say, who is still in the rapture of cuteness, but the exploration of whether Nya ultimately wanted to be a mother at all was very welcome.

But even the puzzling Nya-Miranda outing did not bug as much as Charlotte and Harry’s immersion into the world of Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker). Make no mistake, Lisa is far and away my favorite of the new characters on this show; she reminds me how, in my own mom group at my kids’ elementary school, I was amazed by women like this, who manage to push things forward and steer the conversation without anyone else in the group feeling slighted.

So I can definitely empathize with the sometimes tough transition from mom friend to real friend, from meeting up with a coffee at dropoff to actually entering each other’s homes. But nearly everything Charlotte did this episode—like Miranda’s actions in the previous three—was just so straight-up cringey. And not the good kind of cringe, like watching Larry David on Curb, but just really really painful, like why is this character I am purportedly supposed to like pestering her neighbor in a really annoying manner to get her to come to a dinner party just so there will be another Black person there?

My wise TV editor Danette Chavez pointed out that this is what uber-WASP Charlotte does when she is faced an unfamiliar situation, like how much she dove into Judaism when she started dating Harry. She also posits that we are absolutely supposed to think that Charlotte and Harry are ridicule-worthy this episode; even the episode title “Some Of My Best Friends” alludes to clueless white people who don’t realize they’re misstepping. Charlotte scrambles so hard to find another person of color to come to her dinner party because she really doesn’t know any other people of color. And she could have mistaken another mom for Gwen in any situation, but since it immediately happens at Lisa’s party to get her off squarely on the wrong foot, it’s devastating. But Harry blurting out that line about Zadie Smith—I might have smacked my own head for real.

It’s all so awkward, what almost gets lost is that Charlotte’s intentions are apparently good? She’s desperate to be actual friends with LTW (I totally get it) so she tries to un-vanilla her social circle, even though she’s about as vanilla as you can get. Her shining moment at Lisa’s party was her art speech, which was so impressive that it actually came across as scripted (which of course, it was: “early sheet music by Mozart”?) But it was nice that Charlotte and Lisa had an actual moment afterwards when they opened up to each other about worrying about the diversity of their respective friend groups. It is harder to make friends after a certain age, and I am pulling for Charlotte and Lisa only because I want to see more of Nicole Ari Parker in her own separate scenes, preferably sparring with Lisa’s cantankerous MIL (Pat Bowie).

So of the three storylines, the one between Carrie and Seema (Sarita Choudhury) seemed the most genuine. It’s totally understandable that Carrie would want to sell that now haunted-by-Peleton apartment, and she and Seema have enough in common to kick off a friendly acquaintance. I even appreciated Carrie’s freakout about the picture frame at the end, because it showed how much she’s still grappling with her grief, and Seema’s call that Carrie’s “good for you for getting out there” comment was condescending was spot-on.

Seema, more than the other women (sorry, Lisa), displays the advantage of making a new friend at this stage of life: someone who hasn’t heard all your stories yet, someone with a whole new viewpoint you’re just starting to find out about. Hopefully Seema, like Lisa and Nya and Che (Sara Ramirez), can add some more life to this show—because judging by this episode, our main characters could definitely use a fresh perspective to help keep that original Sex And The City sparkle intact.

Stray observations

  • So that was Stanford’s sendoff, huh? While the “In memory of” cards at the end of the episode were welcome, that was a pretty horrible ending for a character who’s been there since the series’ beginning. Dumping Anthony to chase a TikTok client across Japan? Stanford—and Willie Garson—deserved better.
  • Seema is the new Samantha… right? Fabulous, owns her own business, and is a frequent dater (although the opposite of the commitmentphobe that Sam was). Also, I noticed at the end while waiting for the Willie Garson memorial card that Choudhury is listed with the regular cast, while Parker and Pittman are still under guest stars.
  • I really hate scenes like the one with Charlotte and the moms organizing the field trip. My kids are in public school, so maybe it’s different in posh private institutions, but there’s no way that these women would/should be in charge of something at the school that’s related to the actual curriculum. Fundraisers, sure. Field trip volunteers, absolutely. But setting up the field trips themselves? Nope.
  • Miranda and Nya’s banter like, “Counselor, are you leading the witness?” and “Is that your closing argument?” still would have been corny in an episode featuring a dinner date between two of the barristers on L.A. Law in 1989.
  • I guess it’s understandable that Carrie would start smoking again, if a little disappointing. Or maybe I’m just jealous: I quit even my social smoking habit when I got pregnant, plan on taking it up again on my 80th birthday.
  • Favorite outfit: Okay, maybe it was a bit on the nose, but I loved Carrie’s striped top with the giant white tulle skirt (a nod to her original opening credits outfit?). It signified what fashion can actually do (says the person who has been basically living in stretchy pants for 20 months now): Carrie returns to her old apartment and chooses an outfit reminiscent of one she would have worn years ago, both to reconnect and to raise her own spirits. The mismatched separates, which even receive a look of confusion from a fellow bodega customer, could only be pulled off by someone with Carrie’s fashion confidence.
  • Next week: Carrie has hip surgery! See you then, and by the way: Thanks for reading, and hope you’re having a wonderful winter break, or at least a few welcome days off, over the next week or so.

94 Comments

  • cjob3-av says:

    I mean… it’s been cringe since Sex and the City 2 which was basically Cringe: The Motion Picture

    • crankymessiah-av says:

      Or a surreal sci-fi masterpiece. Whichever.

    • hatethedrake-av says:

      I thought one was fairly cringe and narratively unnecessary. The series ended on a mostly perfect note. All the first movie did was completely negate Big’s arc into a have decent person.. 

  • kinjacaffeinespider-av says:

    That guy’s whole head looks like it’s made of Botox.

    • MelanieAudy-av says:

      Whose head?

      • drips-av says:

        Evan Handler I assume.  I only know him from Californication, and I have no idea how he keeps getting with these gorgeous women.  Dude looks like Gollum.

        • youngjeune1-av says:

          If I recall from the original show…Harry was kind, funny, well off and great in bed.

          • laurenceq-av says:

            In this series, Harry is just basically…there.

          • youngjeune1-av says:

            Gotcha. So, basically another reason not to bother with this continuation.

          • peterjj4-av says:

            Anything I read of this show seems like Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker, high off their own supply of limited creative talent, have managed to stomp out anything of worth in the original program. 

          • youngjeune1-av says:

            Which makes me a little sad. I as a kid watched ‘Square Pegs’ and have been a fan ever since. She’s so talented and has since done great work in theatre, film and TV, but SATC and all it’s drama is what follows her.

        • pogostickaccident-av says:

          It made sense on SATC. Charlotte’s first husband (Kyle MacLachlan) was gorgeous but the marriage was a disaster. Evan worshiped her and made sure she knew how lucky he felt to be with her.

        • austin2603-av says:

          He’s packing about 14″ with a head like a small orange.

      • kinjacaffeinespider-av says:

        bald head

    • luasdublin-av says:

      I’ve never watched any of these shows properly (from what I’ve seen its about the kind a lot of rich shallow people banging other shallow people and feeling self important , also clothes. But to be fair I’m not the target audience .) but based on the photo above I was wondering why Jeff Bezos was a character in it.

    • austin2603-av says:

      You should see his fucking dick!

  • tobias-lehigh-nagy-av says:

    BRB, gotta go update the Kristin Davis Wikifeet page.

  • kim-porter-av says:

    Was waiting for the moment when professional critics start using the term “cringe” as an adjective. Now to run a bath and end it Pentangeli-style.

  • ohnoray-av says:

    I actually really enjoyed last episode, sad it dropped itself again this episode. I’m all for the show leaning into the waspy nature of Charlotte coming to terms with what her waspy privilege means. But this should have been some other random persons storyline in Charlotte’s social circle having the dinner, and Charlotte seeing how suddenly trying to accumulate Black friends simply because they are Black is wrong too.Also I was sort of upset at how they depicted Miranda being so unaware about race as a lawyer in NYC, until I did an inclusivity training with a bunch of other lawyers this week and saw that most of them truly are exactly like Miranda. Good intentions but centre themselves again and again, no matter how much experience they have in the profession.

  • MelanieAudy-av says:

    Favorite outfit: Okay, maybe it was a bit on the nose, but I loved Carrie’s striped top with the giant white tulle skirt (a nod to her original opening credits outfit?). It signified what fashion can actually do (says the person who has been basically living in stretchy pants for 20 months now): Carrie returns to her old apartment and chooses an outfit reminiscent of one she would have worn years ago, both to reconnect and to raise her own spirits. The mismatched separates, which even receive a look of confusion from a fellow bodega customer, could only be pulled off by someone with Carrie’s fashion confidence.She wore the skirt/booty combo in the original show I believe.Also, Charlotte and Harry made me die at least five times inside this episode. 

  • heartrux-av says:

    I’m discovering that i’m enjoying your reviews on this series more than the actual series, Gwen! Have a great holiday

    • gihnat-av says:

      Aww, thanks Hets. Happy holidays to you as well!

      • elgeneralludd-av says:

        How bizarre to call a show problematic because it’s three main cast members are white. Gwen, I’m genuinely curious how one arrives at this reasoning. There’s nothing exceptional about four white people being friends – should TV avoid looking like real life? Does that make it *more* relatable?

    • laurenceq-av says:

      The only reason I watched the entire first season of “You” was to read Vulture’s snarky recaps.But I definitely agree with you about the reviews here.  Keep ‘em coming, it makes the episode worthwhile!

    • geralyn-av says:

      The series (so far) is insufferable.

  • sicksadworld-av says:

    I know it’s terrible. But glad to hear she’s smoking again, if only because the removal of it was only due to regulations at the time. Had it been a more genuine transition, sure. But it was, then it wasn’t, then it was, and then nothing again – not even in the movies.

  • mdiller64-av says:

    I guess it’s understandable that Carrie would start smoking again, if a little disappointing.I’ve noticed that Sarah Jessica Parker very frequently plays a smoker – and I’ve seen her puff on a cigarette so sensuously that it nearly gave the film a NC-17 rating. My guess is, in this case, it’s as much the actress as the character.

  • ferdinandcesarano-av says:

    I don’t care about this show, and in fact clicked on this article by mistake. But before I realised my error, I read far enough to get to the mention of Will & Grace. And I can say that your take on that reboot (that it just cashed in on a beloved show) is indifensible.

    The revival of Will & Grace not only returned to the show’s former level, but often exceeded it. The characters all had interesting arcs, while staying true to their cores. This is to be expected, as the writing staff and the director returned, in addition to the outstanding cast.

    I have no idea whether the return of Sex and the City is any good. Probably not, given the low quality of the original. But the second go-round of Will & Grace was, without question, a total artistic triumph.

    • skoc211-av says:

      Came to reply the same thing. The Will & Grace revival was uniformly fantastic and brought the original series into the 2020s in a meaningful way. I also loved how much gayer it was allowed to be! This scene alone made the whole thing worth it:Debra Messing doesn’t get nearly enough credit for her dramatic skills.

      • sbell86-av says:

        Wow thanks for sharing this! I had wondered what the other commenter meant about how this reboot was done better, but realized it would take many many hours to be able to appreciate it, since I only ever saw maybe two episodes of the original.

        But even just from this three minute scene, I can see more heart, and more WIT, and more clever self-awareness in the “assignment” of “waking up” a 20-year-old pop culture juggernaut. If this scene is indicative of the whole project, then I would say it must have done a much better job than AJLT at the admittedly very difficult task of trying to imagine – “realistically” – what these characters would have grown into and how they might acknowledge their pasts.

    • economistman19-av says:

      Totally disagree with you.  I felt the new Will and Grace was a disaster, and I think the mistake was that they didn’t pick up with the series where it left off and gave them both grown children, but made them go back to the characters they were when the show begin only it’s a million years later.  I totally get the writer’s point.  I wanted the show to be good, but with rare exceptions, the scripts weren’t up to par. 

  • mykinjaa-av says:

    What do you expect from old people? Progress?

  • baloks-evil-twin-av says:

    and for such a sex-positive show, [Sex and the City] was fairly narrow-minded when it came to topics like bisexuality

    Let me fix that for you: For such a sex-positive show, Sex and the City was fairly narrow-minded (or at least prudish) when it came to topics like, well, sex.

    • laurenceq-av says:

      Yup.  Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte were all basically tied in the prudish category with only Samantha having a healthy, sex-positive attitude which was routinely mocked by the show and its characters.

    • austin2603-av says:

      Just because they didn’t show it too much doesn’t mean they didn’t do it. I have it on fairly good authority that the girls got up to to things like rim parties pretty much every week…you know those things where girls lick each others asshole in between sips of wine.  Can’t wait until that stuff makes it onscreen.

    • sbell86-av says:

      I’m seeing this sentiment a lot, about it being so prudish for being about sex, but it’s so much about WHEN this series aired – it doesn’t seem that long ago to some, but 1999-2004 this was GROUNDBREAKING. It truly, truly was. And I think this reboot is attempting to (albeit clumsily, at best) acknowledge that we can age out of our own progressiveness and truly find ourselves out of touch with culture, even as we took it totally for granted 20 years ago.

      And in my opinion, it wasn’t ever about HOW sexually open the characters were (all 4 of them held a specific place on a spectrum of Charlotte to Samatha), but the fact that women on mainstream television were talking about sex – specifically sex outside of marriage – at all.

      I truly believe we have this original series to credit for at least a small part of the “wokeness” that this reboot is being judged by.

  • chronoboy-av says:

    Why would there be barristers in LA Law? Did that show take a left turn somewhere? 

  • pogostickaccident-av says:

    It was disappointing that Charlotte’s experience with Judaism didn’t make her sensitive to the broad issues that minorities face. She could be dopey but she was never stupid so I don’t understand that writing choice. 

    • hutch1197-av says:

      I don’t know that Caucasian people of Jewish faith face the same challenges as people of color. Sure, antisemitism is still rampant. But I’d say it’s a safe bet that Harry has an infinitely lower chance of being shot by the police than any of the black people sitting at his dinner table. No, it’s not the same “minority experience”.

      • pogostickaccident-av says:

        It’s almost like I literally referred to Charlotte’s lack of sensitivity to overall minority awareness. Please find the statement in my original comment where I said that the Jewish and Black experiences are the same. However, since you brought it up, it is gross to minimize the experience of a minority group. Jews may not get shot by cops on sight, but they experience 50% of all religious-based discrimination in the US. If you’re making the claim that we don’t live in fear or experience violence, that is factually untrue. And that’s not even what I was talking about. Is it really so hard to glean that I was merely wondering why Charlotte’s experience with a minority religion didn’t result in empathy and understanding for people who aren’t exactly like her? What do you gain by making such a bad-faith interpretation of my statements and then acting as if I’ve said things that I simply did not say?

        • hutch1197-av says:

          Because Charlotte and Harry are not having a “minority experience”. They are white people. When you’re pulled over in a traffic stop by the police or being followed by the clerk in a retail store, they can’t see Charlotte or Harry’s Jewish faith. They see the color of their skin. They are living a white experience. There is NO comparison. It’s not “X and Y”. It’s “X and something not even remotely comparable to X”. That’s my point.

      • iamtheegg-av says:

        Your casual anti-semitism and comfort with your own ignorance is astounding.

        • hutch1197-av says:

          If the police pull Harry or Charlotte over in a traffic stop, the officer is not going to know that they are of Jewish faith. He’s going to know that they’re white. And even if he did know their faith, they still would likely not receive the same treatment as their black peers. To somehow compare Charlotte’s so-called “minority experience” to that of her black peers is illogical. How in God’s name is that antisemitic? There was a nationwide protest about this issue last year.

      • moggett-av says:

        It doesn’t have to be “the same” to give empathy a boost. “Because I experienced Y, I can understand something about the people experiencing XYZ,” is a pretty simple concept. 

    • lenene247-av says:

      I also thought her relationship with Harry was supposed to mark her growth as becoming less superficial, but it feels like her reboot character’s only personality trait is that she’s obsessed with appearing perfect.

  • paulfields77-av says:

    This reminds me of the (UK) Office where David is trying to convince a black colleague of his non-racism by talking about watching a Denzel Washington film.  When he then said that Denzel wasn’t his favourite ever actor, I just closed my eyes and said “please don’t say Sidney Poitier” and of course…

  • pbutler111-av says:

    Nya and Miranda are not “around the same age”. They mentioned on the show that Miranda is much older than Nya. And Cynthia Nixon, at 55, is, in fact, 20 years older than Karen Pittman.

    • rkmarks25-av says:

      I don’t even understand that comment, “around the same age.” Nixon is nearly 60, and Nya is still trying to get pregnant, for cripe’s sake. And also looks very young. The hell?

  • odinocka73-av says:

    With each episode, this program is showing itself to be a cash grab on the part of Michael Patrick King & Sarah Jessica Parker. I watched the original show, and while it had many clunky issues, I loved the show. This thing is just horrible. With each episode, the writing is getting progressively worse, and the three leads are becoming increasingly unwatchable. Instead of Kristin Davis bitching about people saying she, Cynthia, and SJP look old on social media, she *should* be bitching about the fact that she is on a show that is not particularly good AND never should have been made.

  • longtimelurkerfirsttimetroller-av says:

    It’s Nicole Ari Parker, right?

  • laurenceq-av says:

    The way they wrote out Stamford was atrocious.  There’s no reason they couldn’t have just continued the season and never mentioned him again and then brought it up if there’s another season.  That was absolutely awful. 

  • cheesyblaster-av says:

    When Carrie goes for physical therapy will the Peloton make another appearance?

  • antsnmyeyes-av says:

    Well, damn. I really enjoyed the episode. It wasn’t very subtle with the “each girl gets a POC friend”, but I like that they are giving each of these new characters depth and they feel like they are more than just props used to diversify.I do wish they would have time jumped after Bug’s death. I’m already ready for Carrie to start dating. 

    • higgeldypiggeldy-av says:

      I agree, it was fun. Cringey but so is being middle aged

    • ohnoray-av says:

      I think the whole dinner party lead up was annoying, but Charlotte has always been in a battle with appearances and politeness, it’s kind of her flaw. the exchange between her and LTW seemed genuine afterwards at the coffee shop at least. I believed their friendship in the end.

    • yllehs-av says:

      You may get your wish next week, as it looks like Carrie is ready to sleep with her physical therapist.

  • discoskeletor-av says:

    That whole Stanford scene felt VERY tacked on, but I guess they didn’t have much time to come up with something more satisfactory. Him asking Anthony for a divorce wasn’t that surprising, though, they’re clearly at different places in life right now.Seema…seems to kind of be an amalgamation of the new Samantha and something of a distaff counterpart to Big. It was interesting that she was credited as a main instead of a guest, though! Carrie’s outfit was so great. A wonderful call back to the many tulle ensembles she’s had – the opening credits tutu, the tulle skirt and Dior top from SATC:TM2, the minty jade tulle skirt in the finale of the original series…Carrie having hip surgery is a much more interesting storyline than the Carrie-has-signs-of-dementia thing that watchers were talking about over the last couple of weeks. 

  • kian7609-av says:

    Happy Holidays to you too! ☃️🎄

  • locomotionoo-av says:

    The quote is early sheet music by *Beethoven.*
    All musicians cringing at the mixing up of these two composers of completely different eras.

  • rs375-av says:

    Aw gee, people of whatever color acting like people of whatever color. How annoying. Since COVID doesn’t exist in this world (and for that matter, neither does NYC) all of them can be as stupid as needed. I’m curious as to how any of these people own the homes they live in? BIPOC or not they might as well be Friends

    • whylime-av says:

      All the characters and wealthy and extremely privileged.Charlotte married rich. Trey was a doctor from old money and Charlotte got the apartment in the divorce. Harry’s also a divorce attorney that makes good money.Miranda and Steve bought a fixer upper townhouse in Brooklyn in 2004, which is before the housing surge. She was already partner at her law firm, and owned an apartment in Manhattan, which she probably sold in order to afford the townhouse. Carrie married rich. Big had enough money to buy a vineyard in Napa. He also had enough money to leave his ex a million dollars as a mea culpa. He bought the giant penthouse. Carrie’s apartment was probably the most unrealistic before marrying Big. Her old apartment was huge considering Carrie had absolutely no savings and how much she spent on shoes and going out. Definitely lived outside her means during the run of the show.

      • moggett-av says:

        They explained Carrie’s apartment by saying it was rent-controlled. And she eventually bought it because her wealthy friend gave her a “loan”. 

    • moggett-av says:

      Your curious why people who are described as absurdly wealthy own nice homes?  Like, the show isn’t shy about the characters all being pretty wealthy. 

  • niniisawes-av says:

    Was just saying how much I love that you’re reviewing the show, Gwen!!  

  • alanisfoundherrocknrollheart-av says:

    Hideous, just hideous.Also: Chekov’s colonoscopy. 

  • dmaarten1980-av says:

    The cast was uniformly whiteOH NOOOOO 😱😱😱😱

  • midnightaction-av says:

    This is by far the worst Golden Girls reboot yet. Blanche Smoking? Rose only having white friends? Dorothy having lunch with her Professor? All poppycock! Bring back Sophia!

  • adohatos-av says:

    “Bunch of assholes try to prove they’re not racist by rounding up acquaintances of color” doesn’t seem to work for this show but would probably make a great episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

  • auntie-vida-av says:

    Unlike the original show, this iteration won’t bear repeat viewings.

  • alanlacerra-av says:

    The Stanford sendoff bugged me, too. I mean, I get it. They just wrote one major character out of everyone’s lives for behind-the-scenes reasons, and then, they killed another major character for plot(?) reasons. What was left to do about Stanford in the wake of Willie Garson’s sudden death? Killing Stanford would have demanded a huge plot impact or else seemed like a slight. Also, Stanford’s death would have invited comparisons to Willie Garson’s own, complicating things. So, they went the other route and had Stanford be kind of a horrible friend and husband.I understand, but still, it doesn’t sit right.

  • barrycracker-av says:

    How strange to watch a series jump its own shark within the first twenty minutes of the reboot. The constant calling attention of its own good intentions is cringey beyond belief. Living in NYC- or Chicago or any city—- it doesn’t actually take INTENTIONS to befriend any person of color. We’re all here crammed together and it happens as naturally as the sun coming up. No story line on SATC ever needed to be Lampshaded about WHY I’M FRIENDS WITH ‘A GAY’. And there’s no need now to explain why any of these characters would be friends with these new awesome bodacious women!! It feels icky— like—- SEE WE’RE DOING YOU ALL A FAVOR. It’s gross in the absolute unnaturalness of the story telling.

  • barrycracker-av says:

    So— does anyone else want to comment on Carrie’s Ballerina Outfit?It was a hate-crime. It was a four-year old playing princess dress-up rendered as a 55-year old woman in mourning dry-humping Disney.What a fucking fashion rape. What an embarrassment.

  • attentionbajoranworkers-av says:

    it really amazes how little critique of actual characterization, script and shot-composition there is on sites like this. It’s all stuff about whether or not a show is problematic or not. is that the only thing that gets clicks now?

  • nickdemo-av says:

    This is exactly where the “get woke go broke” saying comes from.The show is getting more critique for its ham-handed attempt to be inclusive than it would if they just stayed with the status quo of its roots. 

  • cannabuzz-av says:

    No surgery is going to make Carrie any more hip.

  • mamakinj-av says:

    and for such a sex-positive show, was fairly narrow-minded when it came to topics like bisexualityAt first glance I swore that said beastiality.

  • griefo-av says:

    I’m really enjoying this show. There may be a few missteps here and there, but overall, I’m glad to be hanging out with these people again. Trying to avoid cynicism and just basking in the nostalgia of it all. I really do miss Samantha though. I hope she comes back if they do another season.

  • mosam-av says:

    The error in the review is here: “why is this character I am purportedly supposed to like…” If there is a true excellence to this season/series, it is that it is willing to dissect characters and reveal they (like EVERYONE) is not likeable uniformly. Carrie is a straight garbage friend, and always has been. So, she shrugs when Charlotte wants to talk about Miranda’s alcoholism because the spotlight might momentarily leave Carrie and her problems. She’s always been like this, but the show is now really pushing it.
    Similarly, these women HAVE LIVED IN BUBBLES. This was documented for years. It was one of the central problems of the series. If AJLT came in and the three leads suddenly were different, that’s a different show.

    And I love your work, Gwen, but I worry this slips into a general criticism I have for media these days.  THERE ARE UNLIKABLE LEADS IN GOOD STORIES.  Succession is a great show.  LITERALLY every character in it is awful and should die, even the general counsel and old COO.  They’re horrible humans and I’d be glad to see them in prison.  I would NEVER want a friend like Carrie Bradshaw.  She’s mean, vain, and self-involved.  But darn isn’t she fun to watch?  If we don’t want unlikeable leads, well there are decades of shows to purge.

    • moggett-av says:

      I mean, I think the issue is that SatC clearly expected us to like the leads. Like, the framing very clearly shows that. 

      • mosam-av says:

        I disagree? I think Carrie in particular is set up to be a jerk. If we are meant to like and approve of her, the show just doesn’t work.

        I would contrast this to the (much dumber, improperly compared) Entourage which didn’t have much of a thought in its glossy little head. SatC can be airy at times, but it is rarely stupid.  I don’t have the encyclopedic recall for the show, but the show does not always “side” with the leading ladies.  It has enough critical distance to let us not like all of their choices.  It’s not The Americans or the Shield, but it is also definitely not Entourage or Weeds or Dexter.

        • moggett-av says:

          It didn’t alway “side” with them but we were plainly supposed to like them and love their beautiful friendship. Why else did the finale treat Carrie leaving NY as some kind hideous potential tragedy?

          • mosam-av says:

            Honestly?  Because I think the show is very much about THE CITY.  Maybe I read the show wrong, but I really think it’s in part the story of one vain woman and her very kind three friends who put up with her.

  • uesdedalus-av says:

    One and one half episodes make clear – it is a wildly obnoxious, searingly vulgar, flimsy story that celebrates the most extremist, far-Left fantasies. 

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