6 Big Reveals From the First Two Episodes of And Just Like That, Ranked

Miranda Has Gray Hair

This is hands-down the best plot twist. Of course Miranda is the first to stop dyeing her hair, and of course Charlotte gives her grief. Plus, Carrie’s right: it looks fabulous. No notes!

Charlotte Has Two Kids

Again, a pretty inoffensive change, and one that makes sense with the character. But the true plot twist of her second daughter — the fact that she’s an apparent tomboy with a lot of disdain for Charlotte’s traditionally feminine style — is already making my stomach clench and we’ve only seen a few minutes of their dynamic. Charlotte: let your daughter wear whatever she wants! Return the Oscar de la Renta and put that money into a college fund! Given that Charlotte has notoriously not played well with women who think differently from her (*cough* Samantha *cough*), I’m worried about how all this could play out. 

Big is Dead

This is the biggest (pun intended) reveal of the series by far, and it also caused Peloton shares to drop by 11% the morning after the show was released. And while I definitely shed some tears, I agree with other reviewers that it’s not necessarily the worst direction for the show. Death happens, and it becomes a bigger part of your life the older you get. If Sex and the City was committed to showing dating woes of 30-somethings and And Just Like That is doing that for 50-somethings, it makes sense that they’d address dating as a widow at some point — which brings me to my one big note for this twist. I’m hoping we’ll get a big time jump ahead at some point in the season, so we can actually see what Carrie dating after this loss looks like. If this ends up being a show all about her grief, I think that’s a missed opportunity. 

Miranda is an Alcoholic

In episode 1, I and a number of other viewers I spoke with were all willing to let go Miranda’s 10:45 a.m. wine hankering — who among us hasn’t turned to liquid courage for a particularly nerve-wracking day? And anyway, if it had been a Saturday and a mimosa, no one would have been batting an eye. 

But in episode 2, as Miranda once again harangued a bartender into serving her liquor — this time a shot of whiskey before speaking at Big’s funeral — we began to fret. As she waved around a full-to-the-brim glass of liquor at the reception, the message sank in: Miranda, perhaps without realizing it herself, seems to have slipped into a dependent relationship with alcohol. 

While this is a painful plot twist, it isn’t necessarily a bad one — for one thing, I’d love to chalk up a lot of Miranda’s painful ranting at professor Nya (Karen Pittman) to being under some kind of influence. Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible for me to root for her and her well-intentioned, self-important white lady routine. I’m nervous the show won’t handle the issue as sensitively as it should, but I have hope that it could — and Nixon’s acting chops are certainly there to take Miranda through a meaningful journey. 

Stanford Is a Jerk

Seriously: What the hell is up with Stanford this season? Is it not enough that when we see Stanny on screen, we have to remember that actor Willie Garson is no longer with us? This season, Stanford and Anthony (which I maintain is one of the most offensive pairings in TV history) are seen bickering non-stop — but there are a couple clues that we’re meant to be on Anthony’s side of things. Stanford chooses to sit away from Anthony and Carrie at Lily’s recital, complains about Anthony’s cologne minutes after vowing not to sweat the small stuff, and bullies Big’s secretary into vacating her seat at Big’s funeral — not to mention making zero actual effort to hide as asked when Charlotte came by Carrie’s apartment. (I’m sure that was just meant to read as funny, but it annoyed me!) 

The series likely doesn’t have much Willie Garson footage left, so I’m curious to see how they’ll wrap up his storyline — and I sincerely hope they don’t have him leaving in disgrace. Which brings me to the final, worst plot twist…

Samantha Lives in London

Oh Samantha, what have they done to you? Since Kim Cattrall notoriously refused to return to the reboot amid her longstanding feud with Sarah Jessica Parker, the show had to explain her absence: and explain they did, over and over again. Within the first few minutes, there’s a joke about her being dead that’s quickly corrected to reveal that she now lives in London (“for work”), with another conversation soon thereafter revealing that she had a falling-out with the group, or more specifically Carrie, who has always been her only real friend in the group, after Carrie fired her as her publicist. 

In the second episode, Samantha’s ghost lingers almost as much as Big’s does: She’s sent a floral arrangement for the funeral with a note attached reading “Love, Samantha.” My eyes filled with tears as I saw the note — and then I filled with rage instead. In what world would Samantha Jones, jet-setter extraordinaire and fierce defender of her friends, not be on the next flight to New York City upon hearing the news of Big’s death? Samantha loves a bold entrance, and she would never let her “pride,” as Miranda put it, stop her from rushing to her oldest friend’s side in this moment of need. 

I’m glad they didn’t kill off Samantha — in fact, I explicitly requested that they not do that. But for a moment, the only plotline that made sense for why Kim Cattrall wasn’t walking on-screen was that Samantha was really, permanently no longer with them — and I can’t imagine that feeling fading as the season continues. Try as they might, they can’t fill their Samantha-shaped hole.