Welcome back to yet another “And Just Like That” recap. If you’re just tuning in, make sure to check out all of my old recaps here. If you’re tuning into the franchise for the first time and have never even seen Sex and the City, read my recap of the original series. If you’ve been following along, then you’re in the right place! This weeks episode was hands down my favorite of the entire season because it was the first one where I felt like all of the characters made sense and were also likeable. It’s crazy how low my standards are when it comes to this television show!
The episode opens with our three main women out at lunch and providing us with some narration of everything that’s going to happen in the show to come. Carrie has a date with the hot teacher, Charlotte is going into menopause (very smoothly, she might add. Way more smoothly than either of her friends), and Miranda is both painting the women’s shelter with Nya and getting pretty serious with Che. Miranda tells her friends that they need to come help her paint the women’s shelter, and Carrie says she’d rather write a check. Miranda tells her she can’t be the white lady who just writes a check, and I’d like to say that checks are also very helpful and you should do both! Carrie does end up doing both, which is great. Love to see it.
Carrie’s big (no pun intended) crisis this week is whether she should wear her wedding ring still. I don’t fully understand why she has to take it off if she doesn’t want to, but she seems to think that she should have to fully move on from Big and lock up those rings before she even thinks about going on a date. This is all inspired by young downstairs neighbor Lisette giving Carrie a ring she created in exchange for a post on her Instagram. Lisette, despite being a huge fan of the podcast (lol), doesn’t realize that Big has died, and asks if they’re long distance. Carrie says yes, sort of, but the long distance is the “from the grave” sort. Lisette is clearly very uncomfortable with the situation she put herself in.
The person who’s not uncomfortable with any of it? Hot teacher man. Carrie shows up to their date to tell him that she in fact does not want to go on a date, since when she went to take off her wedding ring she put Big’s on instead. Hot teacher man says that he listens to his wife’s last voicemail every single day so he understands, and that this is just strike two for them. I’m a little bit worried that they’re trying to play another long game where hot teacher and Carrie will be on again off again for 4 seasons before getting married again. I hated that the first time! I will not tolerate it a second! For now though, they have a cute sendoff and go their separate ways.
Meanwhile at Charlotte’s household, both of her children are having a coming of age. Rock is studying the torah for their they-mitzvah (which Charlotte decided is a gender neutral alternative for the celebration!) despite not wanting to go through with it at all. Lilly is having a crisis because her period is supposed to come on the same day as this big pool party she wants to attend, and she hasn’t figured out how to use a tampon yet. This sets us up for potentially the funniest moment of the show so far- a Charlotte Tampon Tutorial Montage. Reluctant tampon user Lilly finally gives into the fact that she’d rather wear a tampon than not swim just seconds before their dinner with Anthony + guest is supposed to begin, and so Charlotte abandons the kitchen to help her. Like I said, this was one of my favorite scenes from the show thus far because it was genuinely funny. Charlotte has been a true star of this series.
Who is not a star? Anthony’s new boyfriend. Upon hearing that they are going to eat challah, he instantly announces that the holocaust is a hoax, and Anthony kicks him out of the house. Yikes.
For some reason we completely ignored the Miranda on a plane ending to last episode, which is fine because it was ridiculous anyways, and skip to Che and Miranda having a dinner date. Che says that Miranda is really fun even out of bed, which makes it seem like this is their first time talking but yet they’re ALREADY IN LOVE??? I think I’m just going to have to accept that as movie magic or something and move on. Miranda tries to compliment Che but doesn’t know what appearance words are most affirming and it’s very cute and wholesome and I’m happy for her. On the date, these two girls run up to Che and ask if they can take a photo with them. They want to know if Miranda is famous too, but Miranda says no, she’s just the girlfriend. The look on Che’s face is… not in agreement with this.
A few days later, Miranda arrives at Che’s house completely unannounced with a box of cookies. I would like to note for the record that I enjoyed Che’s character this episode. It seems like they’re leveling somewhat, and a lot of that has to do with this scene! Che is obviously shocked that Miranda is at their door unannounced, and asks if they blanked and forgot plans. Miranda says no, she was just being spontaneous. She wants to know if Che is hooking up with someone else right at that very second, but Che says no, it’s just them there but they were writing and wishes Miranda texted before SHOWING UP AT THEIR DOOR. Fair.
Miranda runs away like a child. She is being the most dramatic person in the world and Che is just asserting healthy boundaries! Che says that this “isn’t going to work” and Miranda spirals even harder. “This has to work”, she says, with all the conviction of someone who just left their husband for a nonbinary hottie who isn’t into commitment before asking if they believed in monogamy. Che didn’t mean them and Miranda though- she meant the guy/girl cosplay that Miranda is doing.
They are not dating. Miranda is not their girlfriend. They’re just two people getting to know each other!
This would absolutely not work for me, I would want to be able to use the word “dating” for someone I was dating (although I agree that the girlfriend part is a little premature), but Miranda is fully placated by this and takes her cookies and leaves. Che also shares that Miranda’s the only person they’re sleeping with right now, which makes Miranda happy but is also said in a way that makes me feel like Che would not be opposed to this changing at some point, and so I don’t know if it should really make her that happy! Maybe I am just speculating because Che’s “nontraditional” statement makes me assume they are polyamorous. For all I know this relationship is going to go great! It does seem like Che enjoys the Mentoring-Baby-Gays role, otherwise I don’t get why they would be into Miranda.
Our whole cast converges to end the episode painting the women’s house. Carrie invited Seema when the two of the got dinner (and got rejected from entering a club) earlier that episode, and Charlotte takes the entire Wexley family with her. Even Steve and Brady show up! Steve is notably acting more like his original self than he has at any point in this season so far, and I wonder if it’s because we see him through Carrie’s perspective this episode as opposed to Miranda’s.
Lisa and Nya hit it off instantly, and Lisa ends up saving the day by ordering a taco truck to cater the event. Unfortunately, Lisa’s husband and children dreg up a lot of unresolved feelings for Andre (Nya’s husband) and he ends up saying that he doesn’t think he can ignore his desire to have children. This looks like the end of the road for Andre and Nya– who really does not want to be a mom– and I’m sad because they had the most chemistry of anyone on this show.
Steve and Carrie end up painting a room together, and Steve wants to get details on Miranda and Che’s relationship. When did it happen? Did Carrie know? Has Miranda always been interested in women? The whole “is it about women” plot feels very weird to me given that Che is not a woman. I feel like the writers should have been a little more careful with this somehow. Carrie says that all she knows is that Miranda said it’s not about women, it’s about Che. My heart breaks for Steve 10000 times over in this episode, especially when Carrie drops Big’s wedding ring down the sink and he gets it back for her, prompting him to announce that he’s never going to take off his wedding ring. He doesn’t care what Miranda does, it’s still “death do us part” for him. HE’S SUCH A GOOD GUY. It seems like he would have been open to an open relationship, and the Steve/Miranda relationship seems really cute in their home, so I don’t understand why they couldn’t have gone about it this way! Ugh!
The Lilly period storyline continues when she can’t find the string to change her tampon. Charlotte runs around helping her, and doesn’t even notice when she gets a flash period! Apparently that’s a symptom of menopause and Charlotte shouldn’t have been so cocky about everything going smoothly for her.
The other Charlotte interaction I wanted to point out was with Rock. Rock says “mom stop being so ocd” about painting the wall. Saying things like this is very not okay because it perpetuates harmful stereotypes about what OCD is, and it’s also just casually ableist. I don’t think it’s realistic that Rock, who is portrayed as a pretty woke character, would say something like this and it betrays the ignorance of the writer’s room!
The episode ends with Carrie taking off her wedding rings and heading to the club with Seema. While sitting outside the women’s shelter smoking (Seema does not do labor) she met the guy who owned the club next to the shelter and they hit it off. It was cute and flirty and I can’t wait to see where this goes!
Overall, definitely one of my favorite episodes of the season, and one where Che was a normal human being and I was able to relate to them! Go AJLT! 9 episodes in and we’ve got it!
Write Through the Night 