TV Review: And Just Like That… I’m In!
Watching the first few episode of And Just Like That!, I kept on thinking of why this show was underestimated. I imagine that it is the fact that “older women” having and discussing sex still makes people fidget in their seats, despite our collective agreement that reruns of Golden Girls are truly comedic gold. Yet, And Just Like That, similar to its originator, Sex And The City, is more than about sex. At its core, both shows ran on a concept of friendship: the women that make you love yourself as a woman. Seeing that such friendships last…. feels refreshing.
Again, Golden Girls comparison here, which, again, can feel too obvious and even tropism. Yet, part of why I loved both of these shows, and they became iconic, is that they proved women can have really long, genuine friendships where they are open about every single part of themselves, without jealousy, to other women. All my life, I feel like my friendship goals have been based on the love that I see in bromances. Yet, as we watch Carrie grieve her old life and explore her new one, we witness Charlotte and Miranda do the same in varying degrees, to which I realize; life is always about loss and gain.
We all know “Peloton-Gate,” and how it took Big away from us to our horrible surprise and our sincere excusing of why we do not go to the gym. Yet, in these new eps, we find a Carrie that is questioning what is joy after loss, especially a joy that you tried so hard to gain. Sarah Jessica-Parker gives such a whole-hearted performance as a woman opening herself up to life as herself: she achieved all she wanted…. Now what? While Sex And The City ran on the “will they/ won’t they,” it makes sense to have let it go. And Just Like That is more about how women define themselves after the husbands and families enter our lives, which is an aspect of our journey never seen because we think “motherhood” is a defining triumph, but life has too many victories to achieve. Think about it! How many of us really know about our parents’ lives without us: from pre-birth to after fleeing the nest? Enter Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) to give us glimpses on what it means to build yourself beyond those that have built you.
Seeing Charlotte struggle to not control her daughters’ lives is oddly adorable. She was always such a sweet, neurotic character, and the addition of Cathy And as Lilly and Alexa Swinton as Rose is wonderful, in part, because each carries their own wall they must tear down. It is so human to self-sabotage, and, sometimes, I think bravery is simply choosing to carry that tendency while choosing to cater your ambitions. Miranda Hobbs is going back to school, and her over-eagerness to impress her cool, lax professor, Karen Pittman as Dr. Nya Wallace, hilarious. Her chaos counters chillness with ease, and seeing their friendship bloom is warming. This also goes for the new additions of Sara Ramirez’s Che Diaz and Nicole Parker’s Lisa, each with their own lives, families, and achievements trying to find their identity beyond all that. I guess what I am trying to say is that… And Just Like That… is surprisingly existential.
Maybe, it is my generation and our capacity to find an existential crisis in a hotdog bun or, maybe, it is creators Michael Patrick King and Darren Star understanding that growth comes from the many plans we thought would work out and the surprises/ dreams born from when they didn’t. I have yet to see any age or human being that does not have plans, but, to be honest, dreaming always feels or seems to be portrayed as a “young person” thing like, something you can until you turn 23 and realize you have to pay for your college experience for the rest of your life while never, actually, using your degree. Thus, like Sex And The City, And Just Like That runs on its dreaminess and the feeling that as long as you imagine for yourself you can always become a stronger you.
