And Just Like That... finale, review: admit it, you couldn’t stop watching this infuriating show either
A funny thing happened after I started watching And Just Like That… (Sky Comedy). I fumed about its cack-handed attempts at wokeness. I seethed about the way it has turned Miranda into a blithering idiot. I was outraged on behalf of Samantha, whose reputation was trashed in the opening minutes. And then… I found myself eagerly looking forward to next week’s instalment.
Why? It’s certainly not because the show is great, although it definitely improved from the dreadful opening episode. I suppose it’s the TV equivalent of snooping through your ex’s Facebook posts or scrolling through other people’s Instagram feeds: you can’t help wanting to know what they’re up to.
In the finale, this involved Charlotte (Kristin Davis) hiring a transgender rabbi (yup) to officiate over the they-mitzvah (yes, really) of her non-binary child, who now goes by the name of Rock. Meanwhile, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) decided to move to Los Angeles to be with Che, still behaving like a 14-year-old girl with a crush. Forget poor old Steve, who didn’t even merit an appearance in the closing episode.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to subject you to my stand-up!” said Che (Sara Ramirez) at one point, which made a difference from every other episode so far. Ramirez must have something on the producers, because And Just Like That… has seemed determined to make this character the star of the show, with everyone instructed to behave as if Che is the funniest person on Earth. As for the cast’s other ethnic friends, they were mostly window-dressing, although Sarita Choudhury made an impression as the silky Seema.
There were attempts to set up Seema as the new Samantha, but that was a non-starter. In the finale, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Samantha arranged to have cocktails in Paris. For a moment I wondered if the show was about to do something brilliantly unexpected and bring back Kim Cattrall for a cameo appearance. Alas, no.
Carrie was in Paris to scatter Big’s ashes on the Seine. That’s the end of him. The show survived the Chris Noth scandal – its makers must have thanked their lucky stars that they decided to kill off Big at the beginning.
At the very end, the series went back to its roots – literally, with Miranda reverting to her red hair, and also with Carrie beginning a solo podcast which she called… Sex and the City. The writers know it: the show works best when it wallows in nostalgia.