There are no words for what I watched and yet, I am pretty sure that I am going to have plenty to say about the shit show that is And Just Like That.
I can think of a ton of puns about how this show took the original and shit on it. But I am going to try to be somewhat kind, when all I want to do is yell about just how much they destroyed a legacy.
Lets break down this episode.
Carrie and Seema head to her apartment, where at the bottom of the stairs is a basket full of umbrellas. Now, living in New York there are a few things that impress me about this. One – that they were not all stolen; Two – that this lobby is so damn clean; and three – that all the mail just sits on a table in the lobby.
Carrie grabs one as a cane to head up the stairs. Seema remarks on it – and Carrie insists that it is just her age. But Seema isn’t having it, Carrie needs to see a doctor. Lucky for Carrie, Seema’s cousin is an orthopedist and she can get her in with him. Why is this lucky? Cause getting into seeing your doctor in the city is hard as fuck. Like no joke. My general doctor schedules out like 3 months, and if I have to go to City MD for an illness, well… that’s just a nightmare.
NIGHTMARE.
But, I am just saying.
Seema seems to be good for Carrie, bringing back that person in her life that pushes her in a way like Samantha did. She needs that. She definitely needs that familiarity in her life. I like Seema because she’s no nonsense and doesn’t take anyones shit. I think that it’s important to have friends like that.
At the doctor, Seema is giving her cousin shit for taking so long. You can tell that she’s just in control in as many aspects of her life as she can be. And one can’t hate on that. Her cousin barely lets her phase him, which I can also respect.
But it turns out that Carrie isn’t old. She has a congenital birth defect and needs hip surgery.
One of my favorite parts of Sex and the City has always been the meals that they have had together. We see them all with their guards down and making sure that they are being as blunt as possible with each other. So yes, I like that this is brought over into And Just Like That.
What I do love is that they invited Anthony and he brings a whole different dynamic to the lunch. I love his dry, don’t give a fuck sense of humor. They are all talking about Carrie getting hip surgery and of course Charlotte has a spreadsheet of everyones shift to take care of Carrie.
Carrie just doesn’t want to be alone.
Miranda, being Miranda, wants champagne at lunch, and Charlotte, being Charlotte, reminds her that it’s early. Charlotte is never discreet, but Miranda is taking it differently, because – well I think – that she feels guilty and knows she has an issue.
But I do have to respect Charlotte for not calling her out and telling her that she has a big problem.
Surgery. Carries biggest worry is not being able to wear heels. She wakes up, of course accessorizing her gown with her cardigan and pearls. Charlotte and Miranda are there with her, talking and ready to support their friend. Carrie wakes up, unsure if she has too pee, but then realizing she needs to.
Because she can’t wait, Charlotte helps her to the bathroom. Che shows up at the hospital and Miranda says that it’s fine for her to come up. But Carrie doesn’t want to see anyone, so Miranda goes downstairs to meet her.
Look, Miranda has never been my favorite, because she acts like a victim or as everyone has wronged her all the time. But the truth is that she has never been honest with people. She keeps so many guards up and is so mean and judgemental, because she’s in the habit of avoiding life and living lies. She is just miserable. She’s always been that way.
But Che does make Miranda happy. And seeing this different side of her is good, but if you’re like me, you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because with Miranda there is always another shoe.
Her happiness around Che, well, you hope that Miranda is going to be able to find happiness in all aspects of her life. But she just keeps showing that she has no personal responsibility.
Anyhow, she does show happiness again on her shift with Carrie, who is passed out from pain killers. Che shows up to bring Carrie a professional microphone and tequila. Rather than being responsible and going to sit with her friend like she’s supposed to, she invites Che in for a drink. One shot, turns into a lot and I am not sure that the tequila is for Carrie anymore. Things are getting really flirty and that turns to sexual in the kitchen. Miranda is a screamer and though Che tries to keep her quiet, Miranda could have woken up someone on Long Island with how loud she was.
Carrie wakes up, having to pee, but Miranda doesn’t hear her. Instead she can’t hear over her self. Carrie has to pee into a bottle, so no shock that she looses her shit on Miranda when Che leaves and Miranda acts like nothing happened.
Umm… if I had to witness my friend having sex – I would be beating her ass. Especially if I had to pee into a bottle and especially if I soiled my bed. Carrie is reading Miranda the riot act and Miranda is acting like nothing is wrong. Until she breaks and tells Carrie that she’s never been happy, but what was she supposed to say? The truth. She was supposed to say the truth.
It’s about time Miranda says some sort of truth. It’s about time Miranda faces the shit in her life and stops acting like a victim and realizes that she’s in charge of her own destiny. And maybe what she needed was something huge in her life to force her to see that she needed to do more, to be honest, and to stop acting like she’s a victim all the fucking time.
At home. she’s listening to Che’s podcast and laughing, making a drink, when she sees a notification that she actually ordered the book about quitting drinking and forgot about it. She was so ready to blame Charlotte, but forgot she was the one who actually ordered it.
It was a wakeup call. We see Miranda pouring out alcohol and you just want to stand up and clap for her. Finally, she realizes that she did something, that she can’t blame shit on anyone else. I hope that her wanting to not drink and to quit is something that she keeps to. After all, she’s gotta tell Steve she cheated on him and isn’t happy. Lets see how that goes.
And aside from Miranda, back to Charlotte. For once she’s not the person pissing me off.
Charlotte and all the other UES Moms are on a zoom, arranging all the stuff for their kids, when they all start talking about how much the love Rock. Who is Rock? Well Charlotte has no idea and thinks she’s missed a kid. All the Mom’s quickly get off the Zoom and LTW calls to tell her that Rock is Rose.
Wait.. Rose changed their name and didn’t tell their parents? When Charlotte goes to the living room to have it out with her family and figure out what is going on with Rose – they quickly admit that they changed their name at school. They figured people knew, after all, they put up a Tik Tok.
Instantly, I get upset. People who think that I put it on social media so you should know, well let me tell you that is bullshit. Conversations need to happen. You need to make phone calls. Especially if you’re telling your immediate family.
So, for the first time, I can understand Charlotte’s frustration that they told the world, before telling their parents.
Harry on the other hand, seems resistant to everything. He thinks that this could be a phase. When Charlotte and him go to talk to the teachers, the teachers say that in instances like this, they take their cues from the kids, and they respect Rock’s changing identity.
Charlotte is filled with fear over doing the wrong thing and thinks that she should follow Rock’s lead. Whatever Rock’s path – Charlotte wants to make sure that they know that tehy are not alone. As Charlotte struggles, it was Carrie (to me) that reminded her that her kid is amazing and gave the best advice, “a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Touche.
Sometimes I wish that we wouldn’t talk about Samantha, because this show just feels so different without her and it makes me angry. But what I also think is that the show hasn’t given up hope that one day she’s coming back. Maybe I am wrong, but they are making sure not to close that door indefinitely.
Carrie messages her and tells Samantha that she brought up the time that she had to dig to get Carrie’s birth control out. Samantha has her usual responses, quick, witty, and funny. But when Carrie says she misses her, Samantha stops responding.
And Just Like That... we’re reminded that something big is missing from this show. What is that? A piece of the puzzle…
Samantha.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Carrie getting carried into her apartment by one of Anthony’s hunks… dude that guy was built and I’d have hip surgery to get him to carry me.
- Carrie’s PT dude is hot as fuck. I’d pay out of pocket to see him too.
- I wonder sometimes why Carrie puts up with Miranda’s bullshit, because it seems time after time, she’s the person on the receiving end of Miranda’s fallout.
- I really love Anthony.
- Rock and Lily rapping was too cute.
- Brady’s girlfriend is annoying. Like really annoying.
And Just Like That is streaming now on HBO Max.