Spoiler alert! If you haven't seen season 2, episode 4 of And Just Like That, proceed with caution.
Is And Just Like That finally hitting its stride? The Sex and the City reboot is four episodes into its sophomore season, and Thursday's episode proved to be its best yet.
With Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) back in New York City, the original gang, including Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and honorary member Anthony Marantino (Mario Cantone), is able to meet up for lunch for some gossip and dirty talk, just like the old days.
There are quips about Miranda's new fluid lifestyle with Anthony calling her "Rachel Maddow." There are not-so-subtle euphemisms on Charlotte's part -- mayo, confetti, and a finale of fireworks (Happy July 4th!), no less -- and at the heart of it, there's the friendships fans of the original Sex and the City series have come to know and love.
But Miranda is also forced back into all parts of her old life, including staying in her former home with ex Steve Brady (David Eisenberg), who has taken to shirtless boxing with a punching bag and her depressed son, Brady (Niall Cunningham), who is home recovering from a tough breakup. The family goes to therapy, and Brady verbalizes what we've all been thinking as Miranda stays silent.
"This is not who she is, just so you know," he tells the therapist.
And it's not who Miranda is. The outspoken former lawyer has become docile and appeasing in the worst way. She admits as much to Carrie later, saying that she doesn't speak up to Steve, "because I blew us up, and we all know it."
Cue Miranda's new partner, Ché Diaz (Sara Ramirez), and her former but still legal husband, Lyle (Oliver Hudson). Inexplicably, Ché is moving back to New York despite their Los Angeles pilot still being in production. And tragically, Miranda is back to referring to the nonbinary comedian in the third person.
"Ché with an elevator is even hotter than Ché in a five-floor walk up!" she declares to Ché before we as an audience had time to stop cringing from last season's "I was craving me some Ché."
Carrie introduces herself to Lyle, and we learn that he's a former Beverly Hills hairdresser who was open to polyamory while in an active marriage with Ché, as Ché declared that they and Lyle were "poly pioneers."
Of course, Lyle ends up falling asleep on Ché's bed and when Ché and Miranda start getting intimate, he tries to join them. Miranda is hesitant at first before jumping into the threesome only to get a charley horse cramp and tap out.
Fans of SATC will remember that in the season 1 episode, titled "Three's a Crowd," Miranda sought out a threesome after feeling rejected by her friends, answering a couple's Craigslist ad for one. But though the couple was interested, Miranda walked away with the validation rather than the experience. And it seems Ms. Hobbes still isn't ready for that particular sexual exploit, telling Ché, "This just isn't me. You should carry on."
But apparently Ché is craving them some Miranda and spends the night on the broken couch with her instead.
Meanwhile, Carrie is horrified about being asked to join an online magazine, Vivant, which is catering to an older demographic and run by her former Vogue editor, Enid Frick (Candice Bergen).
She's invited to an elite gathering of women, including Gloria Steinem, whom even Carrie can't avoid fangirling over.
But when Bitsy von Muffling (Julie Halston) tries to get involved in Carrie's love life and sends a d**k pic to the former columnist, it ends up being a pricy text as the d**k in question belongs to Enid's boyfriend, who has been texting Carrie in an effort to woo her. The awkward exchange leaves Carrie indebted to Enid, who requests a donation to Vivant in exchange.
This week's offering had all the trimmings of a classic episode of the beloved franchise. And if it's any indication of what's to come, we can't wait for more. And that's even before viewers have been given any hints of the promised returns of Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) or Aidan Shaw (John Corbett).
New episodes of And Just Like That stream Thursdays on Max.
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