Photo:Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the third episode of season 2 of Max’sAnd Just Like That…
Living in New York City is like being involved in a love/hate relationship, as the third episode ofAnd Just Like That’ssecond season set out to prove.
As Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) leisurely strolled past Bryant Park in New York City, she ran into her downstairs neighbor Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum), who told Carrie she was watching organizers put up the party tent for her upcoming jewelry show. (Bulgari apparently christened Lisette one of their “designers to watch.”) Lisette double-checked that Carrie would coming to her show that Friday.
“You’re the only one I care about,” Lisette said. “You … and the buyer from Neiman [Marcus] and Saks [Fifth Avenue].”
“I splurged on that bag as a gift to myself after my very first big sale,” Seema said. “I bought it so long ago, there wasn’teven a waitlist.”
Later at a PTA meeting, Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) were quietly chatting when the Head of the PTA (Tim Bagley) revealed that some of the students at The Arbor School had compiled a “MILF list.”
“We aretotallygetting on that list,” Lisa whispered to Charlotte.
In the recording studio, Carrie tried to narrate the audiobook for her memoirLoved and Lost. But when she reached chapter 3 about Mr. Big’s (Chris Noth’s) death, she struggled while emotionally reliving the moment she came home andfound him having a heart attackjust a few feet from his Peloton.
Over in Los Angeles, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) helped Che (Sara Ramirez) run lines for the scene from Che’s sitcom pilot when their character was going to come out as nonbinary. Che hated the contrived scene and started to tear up because they felt like they couldn’t push back with the producers after nixing several other asks, including dyeing their hair blue.
During a group lunch, Lisa received the MILF list, revealing that she and Charlotte ranked second and third, respectively. They alternated between feigned disgust and delight.
Back in the recording studio, Carries tried recording chapter 3 of her audiobook again but started tearing up. The producer offered to skip the chapter and come back to it later. Walking back home after, she ran into Bitsy von Muffling (Julie Halston),who told Carrie she’d preordered the memoir and couldn’t wait to read Carrie’s perspective on losing a husband.
Carrie crumbled, revealing howshe “lost it” reading the chapter about Big’s death. “I thought I was doingsowell,” she said. “I got through that whole first year.”
For Carrie, that meant retail therapy — specifically, raiding Bergdorf Goodman for nearly a dozen pairs of fabulous heels and pumps. As she started to reread chapter 3 to herself, Carrie shook her head. She just couldn’t do it.
So she called her audiobook producer and lied that shejusttested positive for COVID. “You’re going to have to get an actress to record it,” she adds. “I’m so sorry.”
During another parents meeting later, the head of the PTA reported that he’s received a complaint that a group of Arbor School mothers were overheard “objectifying” a male student in the hallway. Who could the guilty ladies be? Lisa and Charlotte feigned surprise.
In an emotionally charged scene on the studio lot, Miranda and Che argued about Miranda’s big faux pas. Che didn’t think Miranda needed to fly back to New York City to shepherd Brady through his breakup, but the couple agreed to end things on a positive note before Miranda headed to the airport.
When Seema visited Carrie at her apartment, Carrie admitted she faked having COVID and explained why. “Carrie, something horrible happened to you,” Seema replied. “You are allowed to feel sorry for yourself. And if you don’t want to go out of this house, don’t. Just crawl into that bed, lay down, pull the covers over your head and just feel whatever you need to feel.” But Carrie vowed to go to Lisette’s jewelry show later.
Lisette’s big night quickly went awry when a cater waiter stole her jewelry and threatened Carrie and Seema for their valuables, too. Security was nowhere to be found, but Carrie decided to double-dip on her foolproof get out of duress free card and shouted out, “I have COVID!”
Though the room was cleared, the thieving waiter remained. Carrie begged him to let her keep her necklaced because it “means everything to me.” He was unmoved, but Seema pulled out what looked like a gun, prompting the waiter to flee. (It turns out, Seema’s “gun” was actually a fancy cigarette lighter.)
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The next day, Miranda hugged Brady when he came home. Seema, meanwhile, fortuitously found her stolen Birkin bag lying in some bushes on her walk home. She clutched it, smiling in relief as if she’d seen an old friend for the first time in years.
Later that day, Carrie checked in on Lisette, who was (understandably) wallowing in bed. “I have to start over,” Lisette said.
“I know how you feel,” Carrie said after crawling into bed next to her. “At some point, we’ll have to get up. But not now.”
Carrie took her own advice and returned to the recording studio to finally tackle recording chapter 3. Obviously she nailed it.
Later that evening over cosmopolitans and dinner, Carrie and Seema toasted to New York — the “good and the bad.”
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New episodes ofAnd Just Like That…drop Thursdays on Max.
source: people.com
