Following the success of the first season of the Sex in the City reboot comes the much anticipated second season and if you’re into high fashion, incredible designers and fantastical, unrealistic depictions of life in Manhattan then this is going to be right up your street. Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte return in their new iterations. Carrie, the still grieving-but-moving-on Widow of Mr Big who spent the entire of the first season navigating her loss and struggling with a dodgy hip. Miranda is embracing her new sexuality deep in the throes of a new romance with comic Che Diaz and Charlotte is still Charlotte. However, we now have additional characters, all with their own plot lines and this is what makes the first two episodes a little shallow, as the main protagonists storylines are diluted down to allow time for the new ones, which are brief and unrealised making an emotional connection difficult.
The development of Carrie is an interesting one as she has found herself having a casual, sexual relationship with her podcast producer who just so happens to be an incredibly handsome, single man in his early 50’s with seemingly no baggage. A perfect catch for our Carrie. Even in the first few minutes of the episode we see how she has changed so much from last season, hey, she’s changed from the Carrie we all know and love, making a casual throwback to how stoves are not just for storing clothes and admitting she has tried (and failed) to cook an egg for her new beau. Oh to be able to afford take out every day of the week and keep the pounds off. Carrie, you continue to amaze us.
Miranda is almost the exact opposite to how she was. She has left behind her family in New York to move to LA with new lover Che Diaz who is the star of a new comedy series. Miranda is spending her days ‘filling time’ while Che is in the studio and unfortunately for her this is causing her neuroses to rear its ugly head as she panics her relationship with Che is purely sexual as Che pushed her away, once, in a bar. However we come to learn that this is because Che is actually conscious of their weight, which they decide to fob off and order a pizza. So alls well that ends well. Poor Steve.
Finally Charlotte. What is there to say really? Charlotte was never really privy to deep and meaningful storylines back in the day save for her adoption story and converting to Judaism, which is a drop in the ocean compared to everyone else. It looks like And Just Like That…is going to be no exception to this. The only real threat to her right now is that her precious daughter Lily is potential pursuing a pop music career after performing something other than classical music on her piano. Charlotte will of course support, but she probably won’t be happy about it.
At this point it is only really Carrie and Miranda who seem to have a potentially interesting storyline stretching in front of them, personally I would love to see the show writers really fuck up Charlottes chi, have her lose all her money or Harry have an affair or something like that. Really try and shake things up for her. The promise of Samantha’s return hangs in there as Kim Cattrall recently confirmed she will be reprising the role, but only from the phone. She hasn’t been in the same room as her fellow co-stars. Regardless, its a return that will (and is) highly anticipated by the hardcore SATC fans.
One problem than I can see occurring here is that the show is now slightly overrun with female leads. Each one is interesting and brings a lot to the table but it is diluting down storylines as too much is being crammed into one 45 minute episode. As well as Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte we also now have Seema, Lisa and Nya to invest our time in, as well as Che who despite being an extension of Miranda actually has their own storyline going on as well (more so than other partners like Harry or Herbert). Seema is apparently doing similar to Carrie and experimenting with dating for longer than a single sexual encounter and has been dating a Frenchman, but when she learns that he is still living with his ex-wife, she bolts. But she learns that bolting is sometimes the easiest option but not the one thats going to make her happy. Ah, an important life lesson a woman in her mid-50’s should probably have figured out. Meanwhile Lisa is navigating an overbearing mother-in-law and wrestling with an important deadline while also trying to get ready for the Met Ball. All pretty normal stuff. However, the most interesting of the three is Nya, who’s childhood sweetheart husband is away on tour and she is finding that pretty difficult. She innocently flirts with another man at a bar after a couple too many glasses of Merlot and heads back to her apartment for some sexy FaceTime fun with her husband, only to see that he is alone in his hotel room with another woman, causing her to immediately break up with him. A decision that she actually doesn’t regret once she has sobered up. He admits that he hasn’t cheated on her, but adds a crucial word…’yet’. This is an interesting one, as a couple who have only ever been with each other, what happens when the magic fizzles away and you settle and love your life but then are deeply challenged with fertility issues and work related separation and then someone new comes along…
My final thoughts are that there is something missing from this. Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte used to be pretty relatable, but every single person in this show is disgustingly, filthy rich and everywhere they go they are treated like royalty. Money is no object to whatever they desire. If they want it, they have it. This notion is tough for the average viewer, like me, who cannot even remotely relate to this sensibility. The first episode saw them all casually invited to the Met Ball and the entire episode was centred around that and their bespoke designer outfits that “Anna will love”. It’s just not what it used to be, but thats not to say it isn’t enjoyable. I just wish it would come down to earth for a second. Even when at the end of the second episode, Carrie discovers that her podcast has been cancelled which seems to be the only source of income she has, she is not even remotely phased. She’ll be okay. She doesn’t need money. Mr Big has made sure of that.
And Just Like That season 2 continues on Max on Thursday nights.
