And Just Like That… recap: Let’s resurrect the Aidan-Big debate

Maybe this is just the Aidan-lover in me talking, but did this feel like an old-school episode of Sex And The City? Some quippy, corny humor; an overarching storyline that has stakes; and some moving meditations on both friendship and romance? Oh no, I’ve been sucked in!

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Aidan (John Corbett) have been holed up in a hotel room for enough time that they’ve established a routine over who has to close the curtains to block out the sun in the morning. They’re in that blissful new-relationship stage, with the added benefit of familiarity that comes from years of history. Where are his kids (aged 14, 17, and 20), you ask? Aidan alternates weeks with his ex-wife, freeing him up to spend every other week in New York with Carrie. No one on this show works, if you were wondering. (Just kidding. Miranda and Charlotte both have new jobs this week.)

He wants her to come down to his beautiful farmhouse in Virginia to meet the boys, sharing a “cute” story about a chicken who lays eggs in one of his children’s beds. But Carrie jokes that a chicken entering the house is a “home invasion,” and alarm bells are going off in my head. Carrie and Aidan didn’t work out for a reason. They have wildly incompatible lifestyle preferences. Aidan wants her to meet his boys, but I want Aidan to slow down. Protect your heart, man! Don’t let the sex scramble your brain into forget that this woman once obliterated you.

Carrie’s friends are on the same page. Over brunch, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Seema (Sarita Choudhury) are skeptical. Even Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is like, “Bitch, this is fast.” But Carrie is undeterred: “If it feels right, and it does, why slow it down?”

Miranda prods a bit more after brunch, but her doubts are quashed when Carrie shares that she’s been having the best orgasms of her life. Miranda basically decided to leave her husband after Che (Sara Ramirez) gave her an orgasm in Carrie’s kitchen, so that tracks, but I say these people are making too many orgasm-based decisions.

But here’s the bombshell: Carrie thinks the orgasms are better than ever because she was holding a part of herself back when she was with Aidan before because of Big. “I’ve been asking myself: Was Big a big mistake?” Carrie looks stricken, and Miranda is speechless. As a longtime Aidan advocate, I obviously understand this sentiment. In fact, after last week’s episode, I did a very scientific poll in my Instagram stories, asking people if they were a.) Team Aidan, b.) Team Big, or c.) Used to be Team Big but became Team Aidan with age. Do you know how many women selected Team Big? Zero. Maybe you were a Big fan in your youth, but supporting Big now? In this economy?

However. If your best friend starts to doubt her choice to marry the husband who recently died, I would highly recommend you talk up said dead husband and reassure her that she made the best choice for herself. Anything else is cruel. The man is dead! What is to be gained by rehashing your choice from more than two decades ago?

Instead of continuing to spend a fortune on hotel rooms, Aidan and Carrie decide to Airbnb Che’s apartment whenever he’s in town. This is really the only way they can think to keep Che in the show, huh? Unfortunately, Che’s apartment is devoid of any kitchenware, so Aidan and Carrie go shopping. Considering they buy a knife set and a Nespresso, I have a hard time believing this is a cheaper arrangement than hotel rooms.

Che stops by the apartment and observes the cheesy Aidan-Carrie chemistry. He’s cooking chili. She’s opening beers. They’re floored by the ease between the two. “I mean, come on,” Che says. “Why did this not work out the first time?” Carrie looks at Aidan as she replies that she made a huge mistake, and the two of them hug so intimately that it must be awkward for Che.

Is this the position of the show? I mean, I have been saying for years that any woman looking for a healthy relationship would have gone for Aidan, but Sex and the City, followed by And Just Like That…, always seemed to posit that Big was Carrie’s soulmate and she couldn’t have been happy with anyone else. Has the show also outgrown Big with age?

The happy couple wants to take Charlotte, Miranda, and Seema out to dinner, and everyone is on board except Seema, who is suddenly dodging Carrie’s calls and texts. When the two run into each other at the salon, Carrie forces a conversation and Seema comes clean. Carrie’s quick obsession with Aidan made her doubt their plan to share a seasonal Hamptons house, because who wants to third wheel all summer? Carrie has had two great loves, and Seema has had none, and even though she feels petty and pathetic, she wants some space.

It’s a really lovely scene that underlines the push and pull that comes with friendship, something the show has been light on in season two. Carrie does not mention Samantha, but she doesn’t have to; her panic at the thought of space becoming a rift is evidence enough. In the end, Seema swallows her complicated feelings and shows up to dinner, and Aidan effortlessly grabs her an extra chair. The payoff might have been better if the “space” had lasted more than a quarter of an episode, but it’s still a nice moment between Carrie and Seema.

Stray observations

• The main arc of the episode was all Carrie and Aidan, so I’ll highlight the supporting characters in the bullets this week. Other than her friendship drama with Carrie, we get a quick scene of Seema getting a new real estate client. A single (!), rich (!), Marvel movie director (?) looking for an apartment to rent. I assume we’ll see more from him in future episodes. Also, Seema’s office is fabulous.
• After turning down a prestigious internship with Human Rights Watch to follow Che to Los Angeles last season, Miranda begs for it back. (Just goes to show you: Never turn down a career opportunity for a quasi-relationship.) She’s immediately given more plum assignments than the younger interns who have been there longer, enraging them. They’re going to be so excited to find out that after just a few weeks on the job, Miranda has been appointed as her supervisor’s maternity leave backfill. Even with Miranda’s 30 years in corporate law, this is insane? They’re giving a supervisor role to a brand new intern?
• Charlotte informs her family that she’s beginning a full-time job at a gallery, assuming they will be distressed that she’s not around all the time, but no one cares. She spends the entire episode obsessing about her first day of work outfit and how it sits on her body, even living on bone broth for a week to try to lose five pounds. (Gwyneth Paltrow’s diet, is that you?) She also bizarrely yells at an attentive saleswoman who suggests more flattering outfits. It’s all very bizarre, including when Charlotte arrives at the gallery and is greeted by a plus-size coworker, giving her the confidence to throw her shapewear away in the bathroom. AJLT really thought it was doing something here, but having a thin, 50-something woman learn to accept her body because she met someone heavier is extremely condescending.
• The best subplot of the week goes to Anthony (Mario Cantone), who, upon learning that Giuseppe (Sebastiano Pigazzi) is gay, spends the episode trying to fire him. Anthony is too attracted to the hung Italian poet now that he knows he’s gay. Giuseppe gets two amazing lines in this episode: “Girl, take a chill pill” and “Crazy isn’t my first language. Maybe you can translate it?” In the end, Giuseppe quits and they kiss. Yay for love!
• Bonus points for the way Charlotte and Anthony call to complain about their issues to each other, each one having a one-sided conversation since the other isn’t listening.