It’s been a dark time for ‘Sex and the City’ fans since our favorite five-some arrived home from their trip to Abu Dhabi in the second movie.
SATC fans thought hope was restored in December of 2021 when season 1 of ‘And Just Like That’ with almost all original characters (apart from the beloved Kim Cattral—the one and only Samantha) premiered on Max, but then were left questioning whether it would ever be the same. Or at least that’s how I felt and what seemed to be the popular opinion circulating on Twitter around the premiere.
It was hard to binge-watch the first season of ‘And Just Like That’ in all honesty. I wanted to throw in the towel and watch reruns of the original, but I stayed the course. I tried to keep in mind that the original ‘Sex and the City’ aired from 1998 to 2004 and was being rebooted in 2021. Completely different times. So, I tuned in with bated breath for the second season which premiered in June of 2023.
After being such a huge fan of the original ‘Sex and the City’, any kind of reboot (even one with original characters) is going to be hard to watch without being critical. The season as a whole was a whirlwind that you have to watch to understand fully, which I enjoyed because it was fitting with the old SATC that was full of drama and lessons to be learned each episode.
My personal favorite episodes happened to be ‘The Last Supper Part One: Appetizer’ and ‘The Last Supper Part Two: The Entree’. I’m not going to say that there’s a huge overarching plot to season 2 (which is the reason why they’re hard to watch if you’re not a huge fan of the original), but there’s a coming-into-your-own-and-figuring-out-what-you-really-want flavor to the last two episodes that’s hard to resist.
Both episodes had moments that brought me back to the original ‘Sex and the City’. ‘The Last Supper Part One’ where Charlotte makes a huge painting sale to Sam Smith: Her coworkers informing her that drinks are a tradition after a large sale so she participates, throwing her phone in a pitcher of margaritas, and returning home to inform Harry, Rock, and Lily that she is a person and was always more than just their moms and Harry’s wife; the latter warmed my heart. This is the iconic Charlotte York that informed Bunny McDougal she was worth a million. Charlotte questioned herself a lot in the original SATC, gave up her career running an art gallery to be a mom and to have children like she always dreamed of. To see her stand as a proud, grown woman that is aware of her worth and capability was a genuine full circle moment for her. I am so excited to see where Charlotte’s character goes in the next season.
Carrie drinking the whole Martini after informing Anthony about Stanford’s new status as a Monk in the ‘Last Supper Part One:’ It was a beautiful tribute to Willie Garson (the actor who played Stanford in ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘And Just Like That’), who unfortunately passed away, and reminded me of Carrie and Stanford drinking martinis while flipping through fashion magazines.
Miranda going to talk to Steve at his new restaurant in Coney Island in the ‘Last Supper Part Two’: Miranda and Steve will always have a special place in my heart. The writers of ‘And Just Like That’ took her character in an entirely different direction, but certain moments really do feel like Season 1 Miranda from 1998. Miranda telling Steve she doesn’t want to throw him away and that she doesn’t want him to throw away the moments they had together (they also have Brady their son together, so Steve and Miranda will be around for a while as a duo) is a rare moment of Miranda, who is portrayed as strong, being vulnerable. Miranda also realizes that she does throw away her exes and tries to fix that. There’s a lot of growth in her character that never occurred in the original, so although it’s taken a lot of work to get here, Miranda is starting to feel like herself again. They softened her character a lot in ‘And Just Like That’, and I can’t wait to see where they take her next.
Kim Cattrell’s 70-second cameo in the Last Supper Part Two: My poor ‘Sex and the City’ heart broke. Nothing will ever replace Samantha or Kim Catrell in the reboot, but well wishes to her. She will always be a staple to the original SATC and fans will most likely always wish, in vain, that she would return to the reboot.
These were all very heartfelt moments from both episodes that personally made me excited to see what Season 3 will be like. I watch reruns of the original ‘Sex and the City’ all the time so the original characters are really special to me, which makes the new characters’ stories in ‘And Just Like That’ seem unimportant to me.
Seema is a new favorite that seems to be replacing Samantha in a way. Seema is a great character that I have grown to love for her samantha-esque flair. The other characters’ stories are something you have to watch the new season for.
The most unsurprising thing of the whole season and last two episodes was what Carrie did for Aiden. Carrie spent all of ‘Sex and the City’ running after Big, she sabotaged things with Aiden, she centered her world around Big for the whole 6 seasons, and she consistently put her relationships over that of her friends.
Maybe I’m grumpy because the single girl her apartment should’ve gone to was Miranda. They have been friends for years and Miranda tried to give her half the money to buy the apartment back in Season 4 when she had no money to buy it.
Either way, I adore Carrie Bradshaw, but it’s giving bad friend vibes this season. Her love for Aiden is her entire focus, and her friends and their lives have no space in the fairytale she is living. Looking back at the old seasons, Carrie has always been this way, but they could’ve given her some growth in ‘And Just Like That’. Charlotte and Miranda are becoming newly grown, changed women, and Carrie is still trying to make something work because it feels right. If the writers spin the Carrie and Aiden fiasco like they did all the other train wrecks that happened in the original ‘Sex and the City’, they will get a round of applause from me.
If you are a new ‘Sex and the City’ fan, I am so sorry because this is all so very confusing. The whole franchise and show over the years has been so iconic and I feel honored to have watched the original in its entirety and see a project like ‘And Just Like That’ be created in 2021 as a continuation of the original. If you are interested in ‘Sex and the City’ but don’t know anything about it, please watch the original series from start to finish. If it’s not your thing, you tried, I get it! Yet, seriously if you have never seen this series or given it a try, it is something you must try. ‘Sex and the City’ as a whole is a funny, blunt, refreshing, emotional, dramatic, and sometimes relatable world to get lost in and will always remain one of my favorite TV shows to date. And Just Like That came closer in season 2 to incorporating elements of the original, but still remains its own project entirely. It will be very interesting to see the future of this reboot, and you know I will be tuned in and watching.