I watched the Sex in the City reboot (And Just Like That) so you don't have to. You're welcome

12/12/2021

I'll be honest. I wasn't a huge fan of the original Sex in the City. But I watched enough of it to form some opinions. First of all, Carrie was a crap friend and an even worse person. Aidan deserved better. Mr. Big and Carrie (both a couple of big fat cheaters) deserved each other (and I don't mean that as a compliment). Samantha was a better person and friend than she ever got credit for. And finally, Harry Goldenblatt was the best, kindest person on the show and he deserved THE WORLD. So, all that said, I went into the reboot, And Just Like That, with SUPER low expectations. What follows is everything I got out of the first 2 episodes. And just so you know, I'm dropping BIG spoilers (pun intended), so proceed at your own risk:

I repeat: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

OK, so now that everyone who is spoiler adverse is gone, let us begin...

Samantha

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First of all, as you've probably heard, Kim Cattrall, who played the fabulous Samantha in the original series, isn't a big fan of Sarah Jessica Parker, so she declined (in a big, loud way) to participate in this reboot. I totally don't blame her. But the reboot suffers HORRIBLY from her absence, in my opinion. The way the writers chose to explain her absence was SHAMEFUL. In episode 1, we're told that Samantha got pissed when Carrie fired her as a publicist, and subsequently moved to London and ghosted her friends. I'm sorry...what? Samantha was NOTHING but the most loyal and loving friend to Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte in the original series, and you expect us to believe that she abandoned them over a silly little job as Carrie's publicist? Nope. I'm calling bullshit. This was an immature, spiteful character assassination, and I blame vengeful writers who were pissed at Kim Cattrall for not coming back to be in their stupid little reboot. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Miranda

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And speaking of character assassinations...in the first two episodes of the reboot, Miranda, who was a super intelligent, open-minded woman in the original series, has turned into a white liberal NIGHTMARE of a person who probably has a drinking problem. Her interactions with her black professor were the most cringe-y interactions I've ever seen. So. Many. Microaggressions. It was painful to watch. She goes full-out Karen more times than I care to count. Miranda of 2002 would've HATED Miranda of 2021, probably as much as I do. And honestly, I don't even care that the writers seem to be leaning into her drinking problem. Maybe she'll learn not to be a horrible person and get some help at some point, but...meh. I probably won't stick around long enough to see it. *shrugs* (And don't even get my started on the fact that she has a huge problem with her 17-yeard-old son smoking pot, but takes no issue with him banging his girlfriend LOUDLY in the bedroom next to hers.)

BIG DIES!!!!!

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You read it right, folks. At the end of episode 1, Mr. Big drops dead of a heart attack after riding his Peloton. If Chris Noth didn't want to be in all the reboot episodes, I wouldn't have blamed him at all. He's a busy guy, after all. But seriously...THIS is how the writers choose to explain his absence? You couldn't have...I dunno...had him be away on business for the duration of the reboot? Or have him and Carrie be in the middle of a separation or something, so that they could make up in the last episode? Nope, apparently not. They killed off one of the more interesting characters on the show like it was nothing. Now, don't get me wrong. I was always Team Aidan. But, hell...this was cold even by my standards. Why is that Hollywood writers these days are SO against happy endings???

Charlotte

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Charlotte annoyed me on a couple of different levels in the reboot. First of all, she forces her daughter to wear a pretty dress when the child clearly has ZERO interest in looking like mini Charlotte. Why couldn't she just let the child dress however she wanted? What's the worst that could've happened? But no...God forbid the ritzy crowd at the private school piano recital see one of Charlotte's kids looking like anything less than an ad for Oscar de la Renta. *severe frown*

Then, after Big dies, Charlotte falls apart at the mortuary with Carrie, forcing CARRIE TO COMFORT HER. See, Charlotte feels guilty that she made Carrie go to her daughter Lily's piano recital instead of going to the Hamptons with Big like she'd originally planned. So, instead of being a supportive friend, Charlotte manages to make Big's death all about her and forces a grieving widow to comfort her, a DAY after losing her husband. Not cool, Charlotte. Not cool.

Carrie

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I was never a fan of this character. I'm sure Sarah Jessica Parker is a lovely person IRL, but on this show (the original AND this reboot)...man, I wanted to smack her a few times. First of all, she hasn't grown as a person or as a character at all. She's exactly the same as she was back in 2002. So, that's good news for you if you liked Carrie back then. But for me...meh. She didn't do anything as egregious as Miranda and Charlotte to make me dislike her in the first two episodes (other than being a former sex columnist who clutches her pearls on a podcast when someone mentions masturbation, and not immediately calling 911 when she finds her husband in the middle of a heart attack), but all I see when I look at her is the same self-obsessed, judge-y, uptight woman I saw when I watched the original show all those years ago. I almost wish they would've killed HER off instead of Big. Now THAT would've made for an interesting episode 2.

Willie Garson

Knowing that the fabulous Willie Garson, aka Stanford, died in real life made watching his scenes in episodes 1 and 2 kind of painful to watch. He will be terribly missed.

Some good parts

1. Harry Goldenblatt is still a golden retriever in human form and I love him dearly

2. Lilly, Harry and Charlotte's daughter, is Ah-May-Zing on the piano. A real artist (I mean, if that's really her playing, which, it looks like it is. Regardless, whoever is playing that piano is incredible.)

3. The new characters who were introduced (even if they were introduced kind of in a clunky way) were interesting, especially Carrie's podcast boss, Che, played by the amazingly talented Sara Ramirez of Grey's Anatomy fame. Che and Miranda had an interesting kind of sexual tension (unless I totally misread their scenes), and I'd love it if the show would explore THAT, but I'm guessing they won't. (Just a hunch based on all the other stuff they got wrong so far in this reboot.)

4. The clothes are still amazing.

In conclusion

I'm not sure I have the emotional fortitude (or the patience) to carry on with this reboot. I think I've seen enough. In the words of the great Roger Murtaugh, I'm too old for this shit.