Jillybean

Seema is no dummy. She's going to make TWO commissions off Carrie!

True, but I don't remember actually seeing her prepare it. And it was so terrible they went out to eat instead.

I haven't made it through the entire thread, so this may have already been noted...Seema's dad is played by the actor who played Pakistani busboy Samantha let kiss her after being stood up by William the salsa club owner in S2. I recognized him immediately. Perhaps I've watched the OG series a few too many times. ETA: oh yeah, I see now that I'm hardly the first to mention this. Also, I can't recall ever seeing Carrie prepare food before. ETA: although she allegedly made that apple pie in Suffern...

Unfortunately, yes. And in the New York Times, no less. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/30/arts/television/and-just-like-that-recap-episode-5.html

In thinking about all of this, the main reason I loved SATC so much is that it was relatable for me. Not their lifestyles or careers, but that they made it feel acceptable to be dating and having sex into ones 30s without real judgment. I myself was doing the same and the show made me feel seen and accepted. With AJLT none of it is relatable...none. I'm 52, not much younger than the 3 remaining OG characters, and there's nothing in their lives I can relate to. I'm not a wealthy widow...I'm not suddenly questioning my marriage and sexuality (I'm sorry, I refuse to believe that one can suddenly have a sexual awakening at age 55)...and I'm not a wealthy wife with a non-binary (?) child. They've gone too far to the extreme to be relatable to the average viewer. This, above all the retcons and character assassinations, is why the show is failing for me. They've taken once-somewhat-relatable characters and made them completely unrelatable. I hadn't planned to watch until we got a free HBO Max promo, and after this week, I don't know that I will again. They've already ruined SATC for me, and that's not nothing.

I've been wondering this myself.

I meant to mention this in my post just prior to yours. Will Miranda accept the same amount of blame that she heaped on Steve in the first movie? I don't see them coming back from this. From what Miranda told Carrie, she seems to have blocked out any memories of happy times with Steve. She didn't even seem a bit embarrassed, or ashamed, about hooking up while she was supposed to be looking after Carrie. She just kept stupidly grinning.

It's coming across to me more as though Miranda is unhappy and is self-medicating with alcohol and now, sex/infidelity. Self-destructive behaviors that we never saw from her back in her single workaholic days. It seems to me that the old Miranda took pretty good care of herself, but somehow she seems to have completely lost herself. I just don't understand how the Miranda we knew would ever have let this happen. It was sad when she realized that she had ordered the book herself, and didn't remember doing so. I hope that's a wake-up call, but I doubt it will be. As a side note, although Miranda has agency, I think Che is not a very good person for taking advantage of Miranda's drunken state and general apparent sexual confusion. ETA: the opioid addiction joke was in extremely poor taste.

And just like that, this show shit all over Miranda and Steve and the entire legacy of SATC. I seem to recall, when asked how the sex was with Steve, her response being "there are no words." Sure, that may fade over time but now we're expected to believe she was never happy or satisfied with him? And what about when they reconciled after the therapy and separation in the first movie? What happened to Miranda "never looked back?" I hate what AJLT is doing to SATC. They have ruined so much of it.

I just finally decided to try Season 2 last night, and I had much the same reaction (except that I'm not familiar with the lead actor). I didn't even make it all the way through this episode because it was about two people in committed relationships...come on. I was watching in bed on a 42-inch TV and couldn't make out many of the texts at all (apparently those of us over 40 aren't in the target demographic...maybe those with younger eyes or larger TVs could make out the texts). I doubt I will go back and re-watch on the 65-inch TV in the living room because I just wasn't invested in these two. And now I've lost interest in S2.

I, too, am concerned about a pregnant woman in her 50s flying in what is clearly her third trimester. There is so much to handwave in his show (hello Mindy who is supposed to be Chinese but is clearly American) but this takes it to the absurd.

She did say something in ep 1 during the lame explanation of Samantha's absence, to the effect of books or the book world being different today than what they used to be (I don't recall the exact wording)...and thus she no longer needed her essentially free publicist...hence why the very successful Samantha moved to another country and stopped speaking to everyone. Yep, it's as ludicrous as I type it as it was when I heard it.

Yeah, I posted about this in one of the episode threads, possibly ep 1. Something like, how does re-watching Carrie's journey with Big in the original series hold up now that we know it ends with her watching him die on their bathroom floor? I already hated the character assassination on Aidan in the execrable 2nd movie. Now they're just doing it to all the characters.

I like Adam, but this is the first time it seemed (to me) like he was auditioning for future Food Network opportunities, such as when he made a big show of chugging his champagne. His cake looked nice, but based on the judges comments I expected Sabrina to win even while knowing she wouldn't. They said she was the one who best met the challenge and they liked her decorating other than the missed opportunity for a black middle tier. Plus Nancy claimed to have gotten no raspberries. There were many more critical comments about both of the others. Adam is supremely talented but seemed to have been pre-ordained the winner from the jump.

I agree. She was in a cute 2019 Netflix movie called Holiday in the Wild with Rob Lowe (a movie which by the way reflects her love of and involvement with elephants) and I thought she looked great at the time!

🙋‍♀️I hate the podcast, too. I don't know why Carrie is doing it. I'm also not at all interested in Che. I never planned to watch this but we got 4 free months of HBO Max when we bought a Samsung TV, so here I am...hate watching along with many of you. I will say it's meeting my expectations, as they were rock-bottom.

His given name was Jerry Jerrod. Samantha dubbed him Smith Jerrod to help with his career. The ep was actually about her being the last to turn 36 (though she did say she'd decided to "stick at 35") but that does mean she turned 35 last, too. 🙂

And just like that, Peloton pulled their new ad.

Four in the finale, eh? I was expecting Adam, Jody, and Sabrina to be competing in the finale so the presence of Jose is just an annoyance. I don't think he stands a chance. I like the other three just fine and would be OK with any of them winning.

I love the new Peloton ad! Hats off to whoever handles their crisis communication. Damn, they didn't waste any time getting Chris Noth and Ryan Reynolds to do it, either. For me, the theme of this episode was cringe. I don't understand why Carrie is doing a podcast that she isn't comfortable with. She doesn't need the money, so she should pick and choose projects that she enjoys and that suit her. Is it a desperate attempt to stay relevant? She always said her columns were more about relationships than sex. I mean this is the woman who fled a party because her date and the other partygoers were bisexual/pansexual...the woman who wears her bra while having sex. As many times as she uttered the phrase "we can't stay who we were," she isn't the right person for this particular podcast. The discussion with Che and especially the masturbation discussion with Big were utterly cringe. Podcast is probably the wrong medium for her, since she had nothing to say to a roomful of Learning Annex hopefuls when given the chance. More cringing with Miranda's verbal diarrhea in class. I don't believe Miranda didn't know anything about her professor before arriving at class. Come on. Charlotte's face was also very cringey, but at least the photos released in advance gave us fair warning. I know it's unkind to comment on appearances, but when someone has so obviously screwed up their face voluntarily, I consider it fair game. It's very sad that Kristen D did that to her lovely face and I find it difficult to watch her scenes. But also, what the heck is going on with buying both daughters Oscar de la Renta dresses when one is so obviously not going to want to wear it? How is it that all these years later, Charlotte is still trying to mold everyone around her to fit some specific idea of perfection she has in her head? And what's up with expecting all of her friends and their offspring to attend Lily's concert? Newsflash, no one cares about your kid's performance except you. I'd love it if Rose turns out not to be straight. I really wonder how the original series will hold up in syndication and on re-watch now that everyone knows that Carrie and Big's journey ends with her watching him die on their bathroom floor rather than at least trying to get help. Glad to know that Kim is living her best life instead of participating in this trainwreck!

With Susan Sharon, Bitsy, etc. in the mix I really think they just brought back as many bit players from the series as possible in order to attempt to mollify the Samantha fans who are disappointed by her absence. I'm a big Samantha fan and the presence of random characters who were in 1-2 episodes is merely annoying. I do like the implication that Carrie pissed off Susan Sharon without knowing why, it speaks to how self-absorbed Carrie has always been. Now we know she alienated both Samantha and SS. Though I agree with everyone who has already stated the reason for Samantha's absence has been poorly executed and doesn't ring true to the character. Carrie introduced Miranda as her ride-or-die. Nope. That was always Samantha.

Aimlessly driving around the country for months on end with Jeon-Yi in the backseat, looking for Maddie...? I hope the actor had something better to do, because there was no reason to write him off the show because JLH is on maternity leave. This storyline is weak sauce.

I really thought Jody should have been the one to go. He failed to meet the challenge. I thought it was so nice that he said "Good luck, Marilyn" as they stepped forward for the elimination. Then he said "sorry" to her when Jesse said her name. I don't know why Marilyn chose a Jell-O mold. I've never heard of a raspberry orange Jell-O mold, but I thought she met the challenge. She didn't make a Jell-O mold, so what was the issue?

Is Chim still out aimlessly driving around the country? This is bullshit.

Interesting. Since they are capable of kidnapping, I could see a storyline where they kidnap her again and Max returns to the States and spends the rest of the season searching for Luna.