The head-over-heels couple ends things on a vague note in the season 2 finale of 'And Just Like That.'
Spoiler alert! If you haven't seen the season 2 finale of And Just Like That, proceed with caution.
And we couldn't help but wonder, what exactly is going on in Manhattan? The season 2 finale of the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, was more vague and open-ended than Anthony's Italian boyfriend's poetry career.
It started off on a good note with Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) taking a delightful phone call from her former bestie, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall). The previously teased exchange was light and fun, with a little reference to a past Sex and the City bit.
Things were on the upswing as a hungover Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) informed her husband, Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), that he was not, in fact, doing the most but rather the "bare minimum" in an epic soft-spoken feminist monologue to rival that of America Ferrera in the Barbie movie.
"You are not doing it all. I know because you made a few breakfasts and ran a few errands that it feels like you are, but, in fact, you are doing the bare minimum of what I and other women have been asked — no, expected — to do around the house for years and years and years," Charlotte informs her husband in hushed hangover tones. "And now, I am asking — no, expecting — you, to help me with part of it. Not all of it. Because I love my work, and I'm good at it. I want to keep doing what I am doing, minus the blackout drinking. So I need your help and your support, not your words of help and support."
Who would have thought that Charlotte would be the breakout boss of the season? The former housewife reclaiming her professional career has been far more interesting than Carrie's career-less, lovesick existence, Miranda's complicated sexual journey, or any of the C-level newbies' storylines.
And let's talk about Carrie for a second. Manhattan's former sex columnist is now a bizarre cat lady, cooing over her small fur ball named Shoo/Shoe(?) as she whisks around her apartment setting up for her Michelin-star "Last Supper" meal with her unique gathering of friends. Somehow in Carrie's extensive stint in the city, she's only managed to gather two of her OG friends, their friends, and some strange stoner former podcast co-hosts. Guess Bitsy Von Muffling's invitation got lost in the mail.
Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) is noticeably absent from the festivities after his teenage son, Wyatt, was in a serious car accident. Still, Carrie shows no concern over her man's vacancy, proudly hosting her glamorous event despite the fact that no one really seems to want to be there.
Carrie forces her guests to go around the table and give a one-word answer for the things they want to give up, which seems like an excuse for her to give a lengthy speech about releasing expectations. It's a clear foreshadowing to whatever is going on with Aidan.
And what is going on with Aidan? The furniture designer tosses pebbles at Carrie's window in a callback to a past Sex and the City episode, strolling back into the apartment he vowed to never set foot in. He sits Carrie down for the big (pun intended) talk, which makes little to no sense.
Apparently, Aidan's ex-wife Cathy is some sort of maternal monster, who is always jet setting around the world with an unidentified boyfriend, and Aidan has been the "constant" in his sons' lives. From all we've seen of Cathy, she has appeared to be a concerned parent, simply asking Carrie to leave her boys out of her writing and supporting Aidan's decision to abandon Virginia and their children in favor of playing house with Carrie in her new mansion.
Aidan declares that Wyatt "needs a lot of watching now." Seems like maybe someone should have been watching the 14-year-old before he dipped into drugs and alcohol and totaled his father's truck by slamming into a tree, but far be it from us to judge.
Carrie reasonably offers to visit Virginia while her man is away, and he shoots down this idea by saying, "No, I'd only be thinking of you."
It's a bizarre turn of events for the obsessive pair for Aidan to suddenly claim that he needs to solely reside in Virginia and that he can't even see Carrie for fear of neglecting his children. It seems to be just further proof that these are not realistic adults making compromises and decisions together as a team.
Aidan then essentially asks Carrie to wait for him for the remaining five years it will take for Wyatt to get out of his teens in a move reminiscent of that Pirates of the Caribbean storyline where Orlando Bloom can only visit Keira Knightley and their son once every ten years due to some pirate curse.
"No matter what happens, this, and this was not a mistake," Carrie says, pointing to her and Aidan and her new, empty home.
"Nothing's going to happen," Aidan assures her.
The pair have a passionate sex scene and then Aidan rolls out of Manhattan, perhaps forever? Everything is incredibly vague and confusing, and ends with Carrie and her pal Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) on a beach in Greece, musing about the return of their men.
"What if they never come back?" Seema, who has fallen for a film producer, asks Carrie.
"Oh, there will be more," Carrie assures her.
"Men?" Seema asks.
"Cocktails," Carrie cheekily replies.
So after all of Carrie and Aidan's excruciating season 2 love fest, her many contradictory declarations, and those horrific tighty whities, it seems that Carrie is just expected to wait for Aidan in her Manhattan mansion as she rambles on to her cat for the next five years.
"Now I get the perks of having a pet — a conversation with no feedback," Carrie declares, as if she hasn't been narrating this entire franchise to no one in particular for the past 25 years.
As for Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), she is trying to reclaim some of her boss lady energy, but after seeing how quickly the former lawyer can flip her entire personality based on whatever person she is interested in, the storyline feels flimsier than it did on SATC.
She does have a nice visit to Coney Island to support her ex-husband, Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) and his new hot dogs and clams stand. And honestly, good for Steve. The Brooklyn-bred former bartender seems content in his new digs, and when Miranda tells her ex she wants to be a part of his future, he asks, "You're not going to flip it around and go straight again because I can't go anywhere near that rollercoaster." Smart man.
And though Carrie previously said that Steve was supposed to come to the Last Supper, he bails on the gathering without explanation, and Miranda is left to face her ex, Ché Diaz (Sara Ramírez) alone. The former pair agree that they were a "good train wreck" in an awkward exchange.
Miranda then has to rush away from dinner to make an impromptu appearance on the BBC, which considering the time difference, airs in the middle of the night U.K. time.
The nervous former litigator checks out her wrist tattoo, which reads MH, her initials, before delivering an impassioned interview.
The episode ends with a montage sex scene of almost all of the characters getting it on, as a reminder that, yes, sex does still happen on this show. And since And Just Like That got renewed for a third season, perhaps we will eventually get some answers on what exactly is going on. Or, considering the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and Writers' Guild strikes, maybe it will actually be five years before Carrie and Aidan's story picks up. In the meantime, might we be so bold as to pitch a spin-off with Charlotte and Samantha as an unlikely odd couple of bi-continental working women who occasionally agree to brunch with their sad former friends for a laugh?
Seasons 1 and 2 of And Just Like That are currently streaming on Max.
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