After 27 years, we bid farewell to some of television’s most memorable characters. In Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw shared her tales of love, heartbreak, fashion, and friendship, all while sipping cosmopolitans. Now, in its spin-off And Just Like That, we see Carrie, now in her 50s, ending her tumultuous 20-year romance with Aidan. This reunion with a character from the past came with its own set of twists and tones.
The show kicked off in 2021, with a jarring moment—Carrie’s husband, Mr. Big, dies from a heart attack while exercising. Some fans were taken aback, feeling it didn’t do justice to the original series’ legacy, yet it hinted that this new narrative wouldn’t tread lightly over the past.
Losing Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, was a blow. Samantha’s absence was palpable when new characters like Lisa and Seema entered, trying to fill the gap but often feeling like mere distractions from the original cast.
The absence became a running theme: Cattrall made a brief appearance in season two just to decline an invitation, a bittersweet reminder of what was lost.
And Just Like That quickly became a show people loved to criticize. One of the more controversial arcs was Miranda’s affair with Che Diaz, a non-binary comedian. Many viewers found Che hard to relate to, and the writing felt off.
Instead of exploring the complexities of aging and change, the show often left characters feeling bewildered by the modern world. The clever humor that so defined the original series felt muted. Instead of wit and insight, viewers got a snapshot of characters grappling with change, often without depth.
In its finale, the focus drifted from the core characters. Charlotte’s storyline, involving her son and his friends, felt disconnected from the essence of what Sex and the City once was. Carrie seemed lost, wandering in high fashion without a clear goal or passion except for vague romantic notions.
Recently, a survey revealed that 73% of fans felt disappointed with the series’s direction, citing a lack of character development and meaningful arcs. Additionally, experts in television critique note that many modern reboots struggle to capture the original’s essence while appealing to a new audience.
As the showrunners announced the final season in August, they acknowledged that this was the right moment to conclude. Yet “wonderful” might be too strong a word to describe the series’s last bow.
And Just Like That has been a four-year journey filled with mixed emotions—a nostalgic venture to revisit beloved characters that ultimately fell short. It seems clear that while the series found some footing in addressing modern relationships, it missed an opportunity to deliver a satisfying conclusion to fans who cherished the original.
For those interested in further exploration of this topic, research from Pew Research Center shows that audiences increasingly crave authentic storytelling that reflects their realities, something that this series struggled to achieve. The journey may be over, but the conversations around it are likely to continue, reflecting the complexities of life and love in a changing world.
