And just like that… Aidan Shaw has returned to Carrie’s life. At the end of And Just Like That… episode 6, Carrie finally hit send on the email teased in the series’ trailer.
Fans of Sex And The City tend to have big opinions on the Aidan Vs Big debate. Was Aidan the best boyfriend of the series, or the most annoying?
Nevertheless, our Ms Bradshaw has not been able to shake her rollercoaster relationship with furniture designer-turned-bar owner Aidan Shaw (John Corbett).
With his imminent return to the franchise, we’re looking back at the milestone stops on the Carrie & Aidan relationship journey.
Carrie And Aidan Meet
Season 3, episode 5 — ‘No Ifs, Ands, Or Butts’
After Stanford insists his bestie, Carrie, go downtown to see a “beautiful man selling beautiful furniture”, the official Carrie/Aidan meet cute happens when his dog (Pete!) hump Carrie’s leg.
“He only chooses the best looking women in the room,” he flirts. And so she buys a chair and they go to dinner.
Although Carrie’s smoker status threatens to derail the relationship from the first date (Aidan won’t date her if she smokes), she agrees to give up and, as they say, the rest is history. For a few months, at least….
Carrie And Aidan Move Things Forward
Season 3, episode 6 — ‘Are We Sluts?’
Carrie starts the relationship very confused when her new hunky make-out buddy won’t put out. The conclusion is that withholding sex is romantic (retro much?), and after sharing a bubble bath they finally do the deed.
Carrie Meets Aidan’s Parents
Season 3, episode 7 — ‘Drama Queens’
This is our first glimpse of Carrie’s Aidan-specific commitment phobia. As Aidan attempts to move the relationship forward, she pulls back. Case in point: She declines an invitation to meet his parents. However, a brief encounter with Big at the opera helps her change her mind.
Carrie Cheats On Aidan With Big
Season 3, episodes 9 to 11 — ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’, ‘All Or Nothing’ and ‘Running With Scissors’
After an awkward run-in at a furniture show, Big tells Carrie he’s leaving Natasha. Later that episode, Aidan offers to strip Carrie’s hardwood floors, causing her to flee to a nearby hotel. Big hunts her down and they make-out in an elevator before starting a three-episode long affair.
After an episode of sneaking around hotel rooms of decreasing sophistication, the tryst ends when Natasha catches Carrie in her house, falls down the stairs and has to go to hospital. Carrie dumps Big in the emergency waiting room.
Break Up #1: Carrie Confesses To Aidan
Season 3, episode 12 — ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
The midpoint of season three is marked by Charlotte finally getting the wedding of her dreams to Trey and Carrie finally telling Aidan she had an affair with her ex-boyfriend.
Carrie blurts out the news as they’re about to leave for the wedding. Aidan doesn’t go, but meets her at the gate after the ceremony and they split tearfully.
Carrie Runs Into Aidan (And Steve)
Season 3, episode 18 — ‘Cock-A-Doodle-Do’
Despite claiming to be figuratively haunted by the ‘ghost of Aidan’ — and getting mugged as a karmic consequence of her affair — Aidan doesn’t physically return until the season 3 finale, when Carrie and Miranda bump into him and Steve on a double date. Although it’s confusing how these two lads became friends, it is nevertheless a love story we hope endures into Aidan’s And Just Like That return.
Aidan does not look happy to see her. But that’s all she wrote for this season.
Aidan Returns (Sans Turquoise)
Season 4, episode 5 — ‘Ghost Town’
The next time Aidan and Carrie meet is when — in what could arguably termed the series’ most shocking twist — Aidan opens a bar with Steve.
Carrie gets an invite to the opening and, after a brief encounter on a back stoop where Aidan is smoking (second twist) a cigar, Carrie concludes her earthy ex is looking fine — specifically after shedding a few kilos and the turquoise jewellery.
Carrie Tries To Win Aidan Back
Season 4, episode 6 — ‘Baby, Talk Is Cheap’
And thus begins Carrie’s penance. She initially tries to breach the gap with Aidan via email, which fails, and then reaches out over the phone with a hair-brained scheme of a faux-platonic double date with Steve and Miranda.
When she walks him home and tries to kiss him, he rejects her, after which Carrie concludes “his words said no but his kiss said yes” — which Miranda accurately points out is the defence invoked by date rapists. Nevertheless, Carrie rushes to his house to make her big romantic gesture and Aidan declares his big “You broke my heart” moment.
By the end of the episode it is, of course, all systems go.
Aidan Gets A Key
Season 4, episode 8 — ‘My Motherboard, My Self’
Carrie gives Aidan a key to her apartment. Then he tries to Ctrl+Alt+Delete her Mac sending her into a meltdown.
Aidan & Carrie Go To The Country
Season 4, episodes 9 & 10 — ‘Sex And The Country’ and ‘Belles Of The Balls’
While their relationship re-run starts off rocky, they eventually move things forward with a trip to Aidan’s upstate hellhole (read: ‘country house’) in Suffern.
Over a multi-episode arc, we see Carrie struggle to fit in to Aidan’s world amidst squirrels and pine.
When, in an act of lunacy, she invites her new bestie Big to the cabin, Aidan (rightly) has a tantrum and the two engage in fisticuffs while Carrie shouts “Stop, you’re middle aged!”
Aidan Moves In — & They Get Engaged
Season 4, episode 12 — ‘Just Say Yes’
After Carrie’s building ‘goes co-op’, Aidan buys both her place and the one next door with the view of combining the apartments to make a Manhattan dream house. When Carrie subsequently finds a wedding ring, she spirals wondering whether or not she wants to marry Aidan — a theme that continues for nearly the rest of the season.
After plenty of fretting that she’s a “real estate bride” with a bad ring, Carrie finally says yes to marrying Aidan. Their engagement story somehow involves searching for poop bags for Pete, but it’s simple and sweet (or at least a metaphor for the s**t show to come).
Break Up #2: Carrie Won’t Commit
Season 4, episode 15 — ‘Change Of A Dress’
Carrie’s marriage anxiety peaks this episode, starting with a resistance to getting ‘Maui-ed’ (fair), followed by a power-tool triggered request to delay the wedding plans and, finally, a rash during a wedding dress experiment gone awry.
At a proceeding black and white ball, the pair don wedding garments, and
Aidan Evicts Carrie
Season 4, episode 16 — ‘Ring A Ding Ding’
After departing their would-be marital compound, Aidan serves Carrie a notice to vacate or buy him out. With the help of Charlotte’s island-sized wedding ring, she eventually gets a deposit.
Carrie Meets Tater
Season 6, episode 1 — ‘To Market, To Market’
Carrie and Aidan’s next run-in happens on the street, when we find out Aidan is happy and now a father to a baby boy, Tate — or Tater.
The pair’s encounter is brief and resonant but, as we know… far from the last.
Carrie & Aidan Kiss In Abu Dhabi
Sex & The City 2 (the movie)
I, personally, love how both the fandom and the show’s writers somehow tacitly agreed to pretend this movie never happened.
Nevertheless, it did serve another Carrie and Aidan plotline, when they bump into each other at a souq in Abu Dhabi. They share a romantic dinner and eventually kiss, but Carrie is, of course, married and devoted to her husband, Big.
Carrie & Aidan Start Emailing
And Just Like That, Season 2, episode 6 — ‘Bomb Cyclone’
Fans were tipped off regarding Aidan’s return when paparazzi scored a few pics during filming of And Just Like That’s second season. However, we still don’t know precisely how things are going to go.
The wheels started turning in episode 6 when Carrie first started debating whether or not to reach out to her former flame. We also found out he lives in Virginia, is divorced and recently sold his furniture business to West Elm. (Ka-ching!)
By the end of the episode, Carrie had hit send on an email to her former flame… and now we wait and see.
Carrie & Aidan Are Back On
And Just Like That, Season 2, episode 7 — ‘February 14th’
Carrie and Aidan go on their third ‘first’ date, around 20 years or so after their actual first date.
Now in their 50s, much has changed: except for Carrie’s apartment. While re-entering Carrie’s world physically remains a problem for Aidan (see above for the apartment story!), he is more than happy to return to her world romantically.
The episode ends with a kiss. They’re back on!
Where To Watch ‘And Just Like That…’
Every episode of And Just Like That… and Sex And The City 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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