One of the things that disturbed me most about this reboot was Miranda. Not because she came out and fell in love with Che. But because the writers chose to make her an INCREDIBLY whiney wife from the 50's (sexless marriage; flipping out when she catches her son smoking weed and SHRILLY screaming at him in public, at a memorial service, no less; VERY uptight). This was not the Miranda from the original series and I couldn't help but wonder (yeah, I said it) if the writers did that just to show much her falling in love with Che changed her. Which is a writing 101 bore.
That said, I loved the best character brought back from the original series: the outfits/couture. Always a thrill.
I do hope it's renewed. But truly hope if it is, they get a whole new writer's room cause the one they have now (even the ones brought back from the original series) demolished a great chance for us to really catch up with these characters 20 years down the road.
28
Loved the original series. Was so looking forward to AJLT. Instead of focusing on what viewers loved from the series, the writers chose to beat us over the head with social issues in awkward, contrived scenarios. After barely surviving a pandemic, fans needed something to look forward to, to see their fav characters interacting, like old friends catching up; but nope! Let’s just kill off Big to set the tone for the rest of the season. Let’s watch the main characters who we thought were strong, smart women act helpless and confused. (Carrie sobs over Big as he lays dying instead of calling 911 and starting CPR, Miranda acts like an awkward teen falling all over herself and wanting to run away from her marriage with a stranger, Charlotte acting like a ditzy debutante). I miss Stanford and Big and all the things that made the series funny and feel like you were getting together with friends. I stopped watching after the second episode and I’ll gladly go back to watching the series reruns. What a huge disappointment this has been, and I know many friends who feel the same.
27
And Just Like That, Carrie is Dear Abby.
14
I'm a 50yo Black woman and didn't watch the show the first time around (despite loving NYC & being a fashion model in my teens and twenties), however...I'm *really* enjoying all of the discourse on AJLT and am tempted to watch it, even though I have no idea what platform it's on! (I don't own a TV.) So it seems like somebody did something good!
10
i seriously cannot believe how bad this show is. the bat mitzvah was in such poor taste it made me wonder.. talking about the real life dramas that actually did occur to these principal actors would have been a lot more interesting (Noth; Cattrall, Nixon).
9
The show certainly got better as it went along, but I still found myself "hate-watching" it most of the time. It just doesn't have the magic of the original series. The writing is the biggest problem - Miranda is unrecognizable, and her relationship with Che makes no sense, not to mention the two characters have zero chemistry.
If there's a season 2, I hope they write out Che. Having Miranda and Carrie as single women dating again in their 50s could be fun and interesting if handled well.
16
I know that there have been a lot of negative reactions to this reboot, but on the whole I have really enjoyed it, and looked forward each week to the next episode dropping. Maybe I liked it because I’m also in my 50’s, and it feels a little strange. At this age we’re not young anymore, bur we’re not old either. It wasn’t that long ago that the world belonged to us, but now it belongs to a new generation, and we’re just trying to navigate through unfamiliar territory. The show really touched on that a lot.
I’m hoping there will be a season two, but even if there isn’t, I enjoyed seeing these women again.
48
@Joe
Fully agree with everything this reviewer said!
9
Beautiful recap. I enjoyed the show, and I loved your summaries of it.
15
Such a disappointment - this episode and the entire series. SO MANY MISSED OPPORTUNITIES - to explore long friendships, long marriages, loss, sexual awakenings, parenthood, second chances....instead we got lazy plot devices and superficial answers to complex, interesting and relevant issues. I know it's not PBS, but SATC, with all it's outrageous, fun, incredible stuff STILL brought it all home.
17
And just like that, I no longer care what happens to Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte.
28
The entirety of AJLT, and in particular, the Steve-Miranda story line, contrived at best to FINALLY introduce sexual diversity through literally any other character than Samantha (- and no, Charlotte attempting to use the Power Lesbians to further her art dealer's career certainly does not count) is stomping all over any remaining good memories I have of the original series. It's like watching a horrid fever-dream version of the original cast. I also don't find the Che-Miranda romance to have any particular chemistry or plausibility, and this episode doubles down on those two points for me.
Agree with all comments I've read suggesting that the writers aren't really fans of women, and are too disconnected from issues regarding long-term, committed relationships and children to craft any sort of believable narrative based upon either, no matter where those narratives might lead. A true shame.
This reboot should end, and put the franchise out of its misery. Hard pass on any further episodes, and I'm going to have to wait a good while before even revisiting the original series.
20
For a newspaper that regularly decries inequality it seems a bit off to see all these items about what is basically a celebration of the la vie haute.
The characters are unrelatable and unlikeable. The sort of life they celebrate is a stain on our culture.
9
I thought they did a great job ending the season, but I agree that it feels like they’re just getting started. I never thought I’d say this after episode one, but I hope it’s renewed!
PS: if you like behind the scenes stuff, check out the documentary about the show. I found it highly entertaining to learn just how costume-driven the show is (and always was). And it’s great to watch a bunch seasoned pros at work, esp this group of very talented actors, some of them nothing at all like the characters they play.
Finally, it’s amazing to see just how many people these productions employ. From being a dazzling postcard for NYC tourism to giving lots of people jobs, I think it might be an important part of NYC’s pandemic recovery to keep this show going!
33
This show was so thin in content that it didn’t even achieve surface. It makes a terrific pairing with Fellowes’s The Gilded Age. See: second episode’s charity bizarre for orphans in tandem with AJLT's penultimate episode of wealthy people writing checks and ‘working’ on a women’s shelter. Both shows feature this class's influence jockeying, with nary a glimpse of the people who are the excuse for their public performances of status and position. Plus,the AJLT finale final, of Carrie in That Gown -- holy cow! - if that isn't neo gilded age, what is?
Why is it the historical gilded age is fun to watch, while this contemporary, it’s going-on-right-now, gilded age is nothing but cringe-worthy at best? Is it that today we know They think the rest of us shouldn't even expect personal bathrooms and should eat bugs instead of meat? Now this could make for a meaningful essay, but that's not where tv critics go, do they?
8
What episode 10 proves is that it took that long – ten shows – for the “And Just Like That” team to capture the essence and rhythms of “Sex And The City.” This is is the only episode clicking on all cylinders.
The primary question is this. Why did it take so long for Michael Patrick King and the writers to understand what SATC was about and what it should have meant to them and what it means to its loyal audience?
The early episodes of AJLT ranked from fair to terrible. True, there were moments of energy and bits of satire, but overall, the return was on weak footing from the start.
King and his people miscalculated the pall Big’s death would create. The shadow that would overwhelm the show. The distressed feeling it would generate in the audience, a feeling that would loom over every episode.
And yes, Big should have been in the dream sequence. Believe it or not, audiences are smart. We know the show is narrative fiction. We wouldn’t have been watching thinking: oh the actor may have done something wrong in his real life. We would have stayed in the moment with the storyline.
And frankly, there are so many of these accusations from alleged decades-old incidents that I no longer pay special attention to any of them. The studios and content creators need to stop as well.
People who may have done a bad thing years and years and years ago deserve a second chance. And concrete proof must be provided. Forgiveness has become the ugly step-child of social media.
72
@Carmela Sanford, I totally agree. Enough already with "Cancel Culture"!
15
@Carmela Sanford You started with a review of AJLT and ended up on a rant about the sexual assault claims against Chris Noth. I'm just totally confused now.
6
Such a disappointing reboot. In almost all respects. All three of our feisty, brave women from SATC have turned into ridiculous women. I can't think of any 55-ish women I know who are so clueless, inept and selfish. Everyone of the POC characters that the writers sprinkled in have more sense, more maturity and more self-awareness. Put this franchise out of it's tired, cliche, misery.
21
This show was an abomination. I'm glad Kim Cattrall didn't get on this trainwreck. Embarrassing last lap for overpaid creators.
21
Disappointed there were only 10 episodes. For season 2, maybe they can add more episodes. Enjoyed seeing the ladies again. Seemed like old times.
16
I enjoyed it overall. I like the new wisdom that Carrie possesses. She is less shallow than in the original series.
The Mizvah thing was completely unrealistic. Knowing Charlotte and the family’s wealth, they would surely belong to a top synagogue like Central or Emanuel. No way in hell (pun intended) would they allow the Mitzvah child to be unprepared (I know first hand!). And to the author of this piece: don’t learn your portion in Hebrew School, where you can “slack off”; you learn it one-on-one with a rabbi, cantor or tutor - one whole year in advance! So you can’t NOT know your portion.
39
I liked it a lot. It's bright, shiny TeeVee. The writing is sharp. The producers (I guess it was the producers) decision to engage with heavy duty issues was bold and brave. And the production is smooth as silk. I only noticed this when watching The Gilded Age, which seems kind of patched together.
All that being said, what I find most interesting is the passion of the commenters---both positive and negative. Somehow, this show made a whole lot of people care desperately that it meet their expectations. So many of the viewers who didn't like it are furious and those who did like it are asking for another season. I'm with the second group.
13
I don't care how expensive it was, the dress Carrie wore in the last scene was so ridiculous it distracted from everything that was going on.
33
Seema lost me when, during the phone call when Carrie is describing her first post-Big kiss, Seema embraced a hot, audible kiss from her lover. What kind of friend does that?
21
I loved the fashion-it was worth watching the series just for that. I liked the role of Sarita Choudhry as Seema. It was nice to see an Asian in a role as a middle age, liberated woman who is doing what she wants to do!
32
I loved the season finale; because for me personally, the characters remind me of real life characters around me: Miranda reminds me of a friend of mine; who uprooted herself from a prosperous job and moved to a different place following her gut on a love relationship. Charlotte reminds me of my sister; who married a prosperous attorney and converted to Judaism. Carrie's pain reminded me of the pain I have felt after someone i was engaged with, died suddenly. It is great to see these characters change, it's definitely entertaining for me personally.
33
Wow. This write up and the one today over on The Guardian are like two vehicles on a roadway, one going the wrong on the wrong side of the road and at speeds too great for the engine to bear, and the other one going within the speed limit, the driver enjoying their very pleasing, average, and unquestioning day. And then, just like that......
4
Please bring Samantha back in Season 2. Wishful thinking.
8
Many thanks to the commenters who pointed out that this finale included writers from the original SATC. The only part of the series that drove me nuts was the Miranda story line - cringing doesn’t begin to cover it. Otherwise, I loved the whole reboot. What annoys me, as a hip woman in my late 60s, still mourning for the NYC where I built my career before retiring, is that the show can’t somehow find hip, evolved, active writers in their 50s and up. For too many scenes of the series, they portrayed middle age as a horror show to be endured, and it was terribly ageist at times. Yes, as another actress said long ago, “Getting old ain’t for sissies” but the AJLT women aren’t sissies! They’re resilient and intelligent and hip, and yes, they would’ve met and loved diverse friends over the past 15 years. All that being true, I am in the camp of “more, please” but bring in writers whose education includes binge watching the entire Golden Girls series. And, just like that, we would be laughing, crying, and relating to AJLT all the more.
56
@Liz DiMarco Weinmann
I totally agree. Was Miranda's storyline supposed to be uplifting? Fine if she realizes she is gay, but she is still dependent on another (rather than herself) for her sense of self. In season 2 let's see how she falls apart and realizes how she's wasted her opportunities when the Che romance falls apart!
12
@Liz DiMarco Weinmann I confess to ffwd'ing thru Miranda's scenes, except for the ones with Steve.
3
@ShelleyG She's rich and highly educated; she'll be okay
There's no kind way to say this...this reboot was lame, poorly written and as my GenZ children would say...cringe.
Even the clothes are lame.
Really makes you wonder about the creative judgment of everyone involved.
Seems no one talks about this because perhaps it's taboo...but it's a real headscatcher to me that Miranda's storyline is basically Cynthia Nixon's poorly camouflaged biographical story...? And then, why make Miranda so lame? What's that all about?
36
If there is a Season 2, I’d love to see it shift to Steve. He was given such a short shrift in this reboot, and I think he is a great character with so much to offer to the story. I’d love to see him move on just as Miranda has, as Carrie has, as Charlotte has and Samantha has.
38
What I can't get over was when the podcast was having a "worst breakup" competition -- and Carrie went with for the win with Big's death (of course, not really a breakup) instead of what should have been the obvious (and best) choice: the infamous "post-it note breakup" by Ron Livingston's character. Such a perfect moment utterly wasted.
71
@AK Johnson I thought the same thing! I was laughing when Che was talking because I thought ha Carrie is going to tell the the post-it story and was so disappointed when she didn’t
15
It was great to see the girls again, like old friends dropping in from another fashion planet. I how Season 2 comes about.
18
And just like that, it's over, wrapped up in an orange sherbet bow.
It was nice to visit with these ladies again.
Was it over the top at times, yes.
But as always, they sure did make me smile.
59
The last episode worked better because writers from the original series contributed to the script. My husband died of a sudden heart attack in his late 50s, behind the wheel of his parked car one ordinary sunny morning five years ago. I certainly was in no mood to date for more than a year afterward, and so far, no handsome man at work has kissed me passionately in the elevator, but I agree with Carrie, whose last line was something to the effect of "anything can happen."
90
Very good article. I was disappointed that they did not better resolve the end of Miranda’s marriage. Last we saw Steve he was never going to move on. He is too important a character to have not at least been able to have a real reaction to rug being pulled out from under him.
119
I loved it. It had its flaws but in the end I found it really satisfying, healing even, like the series brought us on a journey through our collective trauma and grief of the past few years, into the light of a new New York, with new friends and growth, and losses annealed into something unexpected, all beautiful in their own ways.
54
The penultimates paragraph says it all. Thank you for encapsulating a feeling I had, but didn't think it through that far!
As a New Yorker it dawned on me a week ago, when I was dining downtown with a visiting Parisian friend at a crowded, hip and happening restaurant. We were older than most there, and it felt great to be feeling the groove...after long pandemic pauses. I said aloud "It feels like we are out of And Just Like That."
I recognized my earlier NY self all around (I'm same age as the SATC gals) and realized OUR New York verve is evergreen and timeless. I love the pulse that AJLT has shared with me in OUR city in a current and celebratory perspective! Yes, the show is outlandish and has its flaws, but the total sum is, in the last words of Carrie from both series...'FABULOUS.'
After dinner, we were inspired to walk to Bleeker Street and and enjoy a cupcake at Carrie's favored Magnolia Bakery, on the block next to her stoop. As my French friend (who lived in NY during the 90s) said "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
65
I like fashion but the clothes... C'mon. it seems they had no where left to go but OVER the top... yep- we all need to walk around with not one designer bag but 2 bags that cost a years worth of groceries.
16
@carolena (Just) like it or not, the clothes are a 5th character of the show (of course it's not realistic, but remember Carrie couldn't afford the down payment on her apartment because she had spent all her savings on clothes and shoes!)
18
1) I loved the orange dress with pink gloves, and the crazy braided hair-do. The whole look must've cost a fortune.
2) If Charlotte had really decided perfectionism was unattainable, she wouldn't have done the bat mitzvah, and would have been cool with people just eating bread and candy. But that's not Charlotte. She gave the people what they wanted.
3) Harry's attempt to bribe Rock with an Apple Watch, and then gasping when Rock said they didn't want to be identified as a New Yorker was priceless. He deserves his own show.
4) Are there pod casts that people can call into? Aren't those called radio shows? Pod casts aren't real time...so how does that work?
80
“Savage Love” for example, is a podcast featuring call-ins from listeners. I am older than the Fabulous Trio, so I know less about the ins and outs of podcasts than they do. However, I suppose some aspects of the show are live, and rebroadcast in podcast format for a future air date.
4
@Amy On the podcasts I've heard, including Savage Love, the callers leave a voicemail that the hosts respond to. They can also send in an email. It's not interactive.
4
@Amy I just want to know how you pack that orange dress in a suitcase if any kind.
Discuss.
7
Don't ask me why I stuck with AJLT to the end, but I actually felt they got it somewhat right in this final episode. The women were more like the characters we originally met, and Carrie appeared to grow following Big's death (although it did take 10 episodes for that to happen). I think the episode could be a good spring board for another season, but if that doesn't happen, I wouldn't be too disappointed.
18
I don't know but it was refreshing to see Jackie Nee (Bobby Lee) and Smoke (Bethlehem Million) get married. It's so rare to bring together an Asian man and a Black woman. That, was worth watching. Plus, they are funky and fun and smart and in love.
41
The scene at the bridge with that gorgeous orange gown, the pink gloves and the Eiffel Tower bag with the ashes. Incroyable. I cried.
I was so confused about the podcast producer though. He kind of looks like the teacher guy, but skinnier and better hair. I was not sure who I was looking at.
42
@carole I'm glad I'm not the only one who initially confused the producer with the teacher, especially when he first showed up at the wedding.
16
@carole It was such a scene at the wedding when the producer spoke to her that I just kind of knew there was going to be something going on between him and her. The presentation was just too typical of the way TV does that.
5
I find the Miranda storyline the hardest to take. There was no real sense that Che would have asked her to California with them. Charlotte is still ridiculous and I can't believe she would let Rock just bail on the mitzvah. Was her awful dress a hint at it?
I do like that Carrie ended in Paris with some détente with Samantha though.
45
The feminist in me is disappointed that Miranda didn't pursue the prestigious internship or whatever it was... Why is it OK just because Miranda is not 'young?' These characters all seem so clueless and self-centered. They are not like the savvy women I know who are in their sixth decade. And, other things I can't stop thinking about:
Why is Carrie acting as if starting a podcast is a challenge on par with taking over the editorship of Vogue? (Now that's a job I could see her doing, in a fictional universe, of course.) Podcasts don't seem to have much quality control--she needn't worry.
Why didn't Carrie let Big's father have the ashes? Sheesh--now they are just gone, in France. Not sure why this troubled me so... I don't think we needed to know that he wanted them. Just made Carrie seem a bit thoughtless.
45
@Jghr it was his brother.
22
@Biff
Oops--silly mistake on my part. I guess a brother has less of a claim, but I still don't see why the writers included that scene. If Carrie wanted to come to terms with Big's death and move on, why not do so with a gesture that would console his family?
20
I’m a widow, my husband died of cancer and was cremated. The small amount of ashes that Carrie released over the Seine (BTW an act that I’ve heard is against the law in France), was not “all” of John/Big. She would have much more left over…and maybe could share some ashes with Big’s brother, for the family plot in CT. Or not. I think John’s brother, and his conversation with Carrie was to point out to the audience it’s been almost a year since John died (as if Carrie would forget), and there are expectations from others about “a final resting place.” I think her decision worked for the character (and John/Big), and helped her move forward.
39
I had my gripes about the show and the many. many cringe, awkward, on the nose, get real moments. But in the end, I like these women and would watch more. Just hopefully with better writing and far fewer finger points at ISSUE TOPICS. Lastly, would've loved a Paris nod to Alexandr -- even if just a poster of his exhibition with a tinch of French graffiti.
61
All join hands! Let us pray: Oh, Jesus, please, please, please spare us from more of these miserable, inept. rehashings of shows that were awful to begin with and are now the equivalent of eating the reheated tuna casserole your grandmother made ... in 1997. Amen.
37
@Kurt Freitag Funny, but the original series was great. We were 22 and just starting in our first jobs and a whole crowd of guys and girls would gather in our apartment and order pizza on Sunday nights just to watch this half-hour show, and then watch Six Feet Under after.
20
Feel free not to watch. One person’s rehash is another’s sweet spot.
24
Well, you don’t have to watch!
Agree with many that there were many cringeworthy moments. And yet…
I can’t help but have an abiding affection for these women—especially Carrie’s character. I happily watched and enjoyed it.
23
I enjoyed the entire reboot. I hope it is renewed for season 2. Some parts were cringe worthy such as the tampon episode that should have been on the cutting room floor. I loved seeing the fashions and all of the NY settings. I looked forward to the new episodes on Thursdays and hope there will be more.
62
@Nancy Reigle
I really related to the tampon scene. When I first used a tampon with the help of friends, they neglected to tell me to remove the cardboard applicator so I walked around bow legged until I was clued in, but you probably don't want to hear this either. I think many women can relate to this scene.
33
I agree with so much of what Ali Trachta wrote here. I think the story ended where it needed to but it was so awkward and uncomfortable getting there.
I suspect this is because the creators of the series are scared to death of growing old and exploring the full implication of this - both the negative and the surprisingly positive.
Although I've read the actress who played Samantha did not want to be in this series, I think it's also because the creators of "Sex in the City" had no idea what to do with the character. Last we saw Samantha in "Sex in the City 2" the movie, she was exhibiting all the grotesque signs of a woman unable to deal with the passing of time and how it changes her. The amount of humiliation the character endured was hard to watch. So, where can you take a character like this in the reboot, where the creators seem afraid of growing old?
I have a friend who lost her husband, the love of her life, and now she is widowed in her late fifties. Like Carrie, she had a hard time letting go of her love, especially because they were childless and had lived for the last decade for each other. An interesting storyline that was never fully explored is what happens when you are a childless couple, deeply in love and one of you dies?
The original series had a lot more courage than this reboot.
76
@Bulldozerbunny "An interesting storyline that was never fully explored is what happens when you are a childless couple, deeply in love and one of you dies?" - this was exactly the storyline that was explored here with Carrie.
Yes, who can forget Samantha throwing condoms around the market in Dubai in the execrable SATC 2. So much humiliation for Catrall.
5
@Ovid gosh that movie was so awful I forgot
1
@Ovid I hear ya! I know the creators want us to believe AJLT was about a childless couple, deeply in love, then one dies - but I never bought this part of the story. Not one of the main characters (except for Charlotte) seemed like themselves in their 50's. I mean BIG DIES and Carrie is sad for a while but then her friends (minus Samantha) and shoes and dresses lift her? C'mon!
It was a rollercoaster of a season and difficult to watch at times because it was such a departure from the original and felt like it was all over the map (like our world these days) but I really liked the final episode, particularly the exploration of the bonds of friendship. Well done ladies and gentleman on AJLT.
21
So is Steve just going to wear his wrong forever? And are we supposed to like that Miranda dyed her hair again? I went gray during the pandemic and it is so liberating.
37
Should say ring. What a Freudian typo!
41
In a scene worthy of Bridget Jones, not SATC...Went to a friend's Thanksgiving dinner and her mom tried to push the friend's divorced next-door neighbor on me with a really embarrassing, over-the-top introduction. Mom didn't realize two things: 1) I had met him before, so I already knew 2) He still wore a wedding ring on his left hand, three years after his divorce and two years after his ex remarried.
17
@MiriamI
I was shocked when Miranda appeared with her hair dyed. It felt like a betrayal to all middle age women who elected to go natural during the pandemic. Such a disappointment.
16
I teared up at the lovely writing in this column/recap. SO needed (at my age) to hear "Most important, we might go on believing that all of the exciting, messy, fun, surprising stuff has to happen when we’re young. It doesn’t. Your story isn’t over just because your youth is."
And, coincidentally, I just scattered my mom's ashes over the Seine in Paris, our second home. So loved that's where Big's were laid to "rest" (or float, as the case may be).
81
72 years old and *still* having the time of my life—including throwing an event in April the UK for an international community fixated on HBO/BBC’s Gentleman Jack, aided by a devoted all-volunteer team and a rabid fan base. Life is an amazing journey, as long as we’re willing to understand that the possibilities are all within us.
8
I’m old enough to remember that SJP and Matthew Broderick did the same thing….
Fabulous recap, loved this show and pray it comes back.
28
@GWE What "same thing"?
15
@Patou I believe @GWE was referring to the surprise wedding ceremony.
8
Yes sorry. They invited friends for a party and then got married.
2
The best episode of this cringe-inducing season, by far. Finally, some halfway decent acting and writing. For the first time in 18 years, I felt something for these characters.
44
"Most important, we might go on believing that all of the exciting, messy, fun, surprising stuff has to happen when we’re young. It doesn’t. Your story isn’t over just because your youth is."
I'm 60, and boy, I needed to hear that. And BTW, I found this show to be exactly what I expected, and quite frankly, needed during this impossibly difficult times.
144
@Constance Why did you need to hear it? How does it change your life or perspective? Just turned 53 and I don't have the money or opportunities of any of these characters... And they ignore the real life ageism that exists everywhere in this country. This show has nothing to do with reality.
17
@Constance I am 70, and I can attest that it's true, all true.
11
@marion dee
yep. at sixty-five. you do never know!
5