I started these recaps to be fun and silly about a show that is, ostensibly, fun and silly.
And yet, somewhere between Carrie and Aidan’s renewed romance and the end of this episode—things got *pretty* dark.
While episode 10, ‘The Last Supper: Part 1′, starts with a wholesome trip to Coney Island (where Steve is opening his new “hot dogs and clams” eatery), it ends far, far away from ‘family fun’ and firmly within the realm of ‘family strife’.
In fact, I might even pop a trigger warning right here:
TW: This recap contains mentions of miscarriage, possible self harm and, in terms of Che’s incessant gaslighting, domestic abuse.
While this season’s penultimate episode contained glimmers of light—Charlotte’s hair, Sam Smith in duck-egg blue, Seema laying into Carrie’s downstairs neighbour—there weren’t many laughs to be had. There was, however, a major vibe shift.
Before we dive into the episode’s specifics, here’s where you can catch up on recaps for previous weeks:
- Episode one
- Episode two
- Episode three
- Episode four
- Episode five
- Episode six
- Episode seven
- Episode eight
- Episode nine
LTW’s Pregnancy
As we learned last episode, Lisa Todd Wexley (LTW, played by Nicole Ari Parker) is pregnant—expanding her brood of three children to four. In this episode, we learn her career is also growing, with the expansion of her documentary project to a 10-part series.
When LTW finally confesses the news of her untimely pregnancy to Charlotte, she’s met with a response of “oh, don’t worry. You can do it.” Lisa’s husband, Herbert, offers the same response.
We’ve come to know LTW as a person who can do everything without breaking a sweat or ‘showing the work’. She’s cool, calm, collected and in control. But this “you can do it all” rhetoric is obviously not what she wants to hear. In fact, there’s a good chance she’s one mayoral benefit away from faking her death and fleeing to Argentina.
By the end of the episode, however, it seems LTW’s fate might have turned. Still cool, calm and collected, she wakes her husband to say they need to go to the emergency room because she’s “bleeding” and she “thinks it’s too late”. While we can surmise the meaning, I suppose we won’t know for sure until the finale.
Stanford Returns In Spirit
Occasional mentions of Carrie’s long-time bestie, Stanford Blatch, tend to sting.
As fans will already know, Willie Garson, the actor who brought ‘Stanny’ to life, tragically passed away during the show’s first season. The writers then scrambled to explain Stanford’s absence, saying he had fled to Japan for work.
As we delved deeper into Anthony this season (pun intended), the Stanford question was bound to come up—and we have resolution.
It seems “Rick9+” has turned to God, and Stanford is staying in Japan to become a monk.
While it seems like an odd choice, one can’t complain about how the show chose to farewell Stanny, with the scene between Carrie and Anthony serving as a clear tribute from them to their beloved Willie.
Che’s Stand-Up Remains Awful
In their grand return to stand-up, Che’s routine takes aim at everything Miranda—her divorce, her kid, her sexuality, her identity confusion: the whole shebang.
In an attempt to correct a habit of “cutting out” her exes, Miranda makes a surprise appearance at the show, realises she’s the butt of the joke, gets upset and leaves. With zero attempt to console Miranda, Che instead offers the mother of all gaslighting lines: I’m a comic, this is what I do.
Nope, sorry. Not a thing.
They then follow it up with a pity party about always having to explain themselves. Sigh. My sympathies are wearing thin.
Wyatt Is In Trouble
While the audience is not privy to exactly what is going on with Wyatt, the poor kid has got an undisclosed issue or two. His parents tend to talk about him as being both problematic and sensitive. He’s constantly worrying about dad and is uncharmed by Carrie.
By this episode’s end, Wyatt has had a fight with mum, hitchhiked solo back to his dad’s farm, had a few beers and then driven his dad’s truck into a tree. Was it purposeful or an accident? How dark is this going to get? Either way, a 14 year old has had an accident while drink driving, so, in the words of Ms Bradshaw… it ain’t good.
And yet, Carrie, offers this for her final sign-off:
“And just like that… For the first time, I was worried.”
While optimists might say she was worried for Wyatt and Aidan (yeah… right), it seemed a lot more like reality was dawning on Carrie and she finds herself, once again, worried about the depth of her commitments.
Also, this wouldn’t be the first time Carrie has landed on herself during a loved one’s personal crisis. Eep.
We’re Officially Watching A Whole New Show
This series is definitely undergoing a major tonal shift. I would argue it started last episode when Carrie invested in an actual family home (and adopted a cat, apparently).
While Miranda’s foray into Pride and Prejudice-themed dating was a goal scored for Sex And The City fans, this episode moved And Just Like That… out of “sexy episodic dramedy” and well into the genre of “family-centric soap opera”. We’ve got Aidan crying in a car, Charlotte juggling kids and work, LTW in the same boat, and Seema apparently ‘in love’. It’s basically This Is Us. Seriously, what in the Bush administration-era of prime time television is going on?
And while many of us grieved the loss of Samantha Jones, we might have missed the simultaneous departure of Sex And The City’s oft-referenced fifth character: the city.
As the gals snacked on their vegan brunch and wandered around the “new New York”—clean, shiny and gentrified—it is clear the city, and its charm, has left the building. New York is no longer present in these New Yorkers’ lives. The characters exist solely in their family bubbles—and, if they continue down this path, they may exist solely on a sound stage.
While the vibe shift will no-doubt alienate old fans, I remain hopeful And Just Like That will find its niche. As much as we’ve enjoyed the throwback, there was always something a bit off about And Just Like That. It just couldn’t find its voice. Perhaps the creators have realised that being “good-in-a-bad-way” will only get you so far, and if it wants to survive beyond two seasons, it needs to cut the identity crisis.
Either way, let’s just hope the mood shifts back upward in the season finale.
Where To Watch ‘And Just Like That…’
Season two of And Just Like That… is now streaming on BINGE. You can also catch up on every episode of season one. New episodes of season two arrive every Thursday at 5pm.
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