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Oh, friends, I really hate to do this, and from the bottom of my heart I apologize for starting things off this way, but I think I need to be earnest about And Just Like That … for a second. I know, it’s disgusting. Please don’t leave! I promise we’ll still have so much to giggle and snark about! We get to watch part of Che’s pilot in which Tony Danza calls them his “little cannoli,” okay? They can never take Che Pasa away from us. That’s ours. But first, the earnestness: Carrie’s story line in this episode is so moving and lovely and I cannot BELIEVE part of that has to do with Bitsy von Muffling, but here! we! are!
Three episodes in, and it is abundantly clear that season two of And Just Like That … is much lighter and more fun than its freshman run, and yet how wonderful and thoughtful that they aren’t simply ditching Carrie’s grief full stop like it’s Miranda’s alcohol problem. I was worried when at lunch, Charlotte says she and Miranda are so proud of Carrie for how she’s “moved on,” because any griever with a loss like Carrie’s knows that there isn’t moving on, just moving forward. But in the end, this episode gets that. It gets that grief can come out of nowhere and wallop you, even when you think you’re past the worst of it. Sometimes it’s something small (or nothing in particular, really) that triggers it, and sometimes it’s something pretty major, like having to record the audiobook version of the memoir you wrote about your husband’s death … suddenly you’re right back in the shower where you found him dying and you are just laid out by it. That’ll do it.
It’s chapter three that really gets Carrie. Chapter three is the big Big moment in the book. While Carrie doesn’t seem super comfortable doing the audio recording of her book at any point — even though the two audio producers seem like real sweeties, b.o. and all — it’s chapter three where things go downhill. And how could it not? She’s reliving the worst moment of her life. Everyone gets it. When she can’t hold back the tears and needs to stop for the day, everyone gets that too. Except for, maybe, Carrie herself. But wouldn’t ya know, on her way home, she runs into Bitsy. You never know what you’re going to get with Bitsy, but here, what Carrie gets is the perfect person to talk to in her low moment because Bitsy is a widow too. Listen, friends are great and all, but sometimes you need a chat with someone who has been through it. Carrie tells Bitsy about her breakdown and how she thought she had gotten through the hard part — she survived year one. But because Bitsy’s been there, she’s able to tell Carrie the “dirty little secret” no one tells you about grief: Year two might be harder. Life around you has gone on without that person, they feel further away from you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Bitsy says it best: “It’s just awful.” Bitsy, too, gets the whole moving on versus moving forward thing. Sure, she’s quoting someone from her Kabbalah class, but still: “The hole never fills, but new life will grow around it,” she tells Carrie. Her advice: Carrie needs to “plant some seeds” and do whatever makes her feel better or helps her get through the toughest parts. For Bitsy, that’s a face-lift, of course. For Carrie, it’s shoes. So many shoes.
It’s also lying about having COVID to get out of doing her audiobook. Listen, it’s not an exact science. Like, I get it, but also Carrie remains a menace. There are two really vulnerable and, dare I say, truthful moments that come out of this lie to stall for time, though. First, when Seema arrives to check on her “sick” friend, Carrie tells her the truth and opens up as to why she felt like she had to use this lie not just on her editor and the audiobook team but on Miranda and Charlotte, too. She didn’t want to have to explain what was really happening in the audio recording and how she’s been feeling because she thought she’s already asked her two best friends to carry enough of her grief. That’s such a complicated and nuanced part of the grieving process — not wanting to be that person that is constantly talking about their grief or falling apart because of it when it really is such a huge part of your life — and this is a lovely way to explore that guilt while also highlighting how sometimes you need specific friends for specific moments. For Carrie, right now, that friend is Seema — someone without the baggage and guilt that can come with a long history. It also doesn’t hurt that Carrie can take a little time out from her grief to talk about Seema’s grief over her stolen Birkin bag. Seema’s even scrolling the Hermès website in tears like she’s scrolling through an ex’s Instagram. It really is a beautiful bag (don’t worry, she winds up getting it back) and a beautiful thing for Carrie to know that she has a lot of people around to support her if she lets them.
The second moment comes from another new friend: Carrie’s neighbor Lisette. Is the robbery at Lisette’s big Bulgari show in Bryant Park one of the slowest and weirdest robberies on television? Yes. From the casual way the guy is pocketing the jewelry to Carrie screaming, “I have COVID” to get people out of there to the fact that there are NO SECURITY GUARDS in the room (Bulgari would never) to Seema using her handgun lighter to get rid of the guy, the whole thing was absolutely wild and I would like to forget about it immediately. But, out of it, we get another moving moment in Carrie’s grief story. The next day, she goes to visit a devastated Lisette. Carrie finds her in her bed, unable to do anything else: “It’s gone. Everything I worked so hard to make. It was perfect. I have to start all over again,” Lisette says about her jewelry. And you know what? If anyone gets it, it’s Carrie. The two things aren’t exactly the same, but this is a major, earth-shattering loss for Lisette, and Carrie understands it. Maybe it’s something about having to be there for someone else who is hurting, or maybe it’s simply that Carrie needed some time to feel her grief, but soon enough, she’s back in the recording studio, and she can finally get through chapter three. It’s such a wonderful little glimpse into the ups and downs of grief. And isn’t it nice to see And Just Like That … finally be able to nail the balance of dark and light? I feel like a proud parent!
The two characters having the best time in this episode, however, are undoubtedly Charlotte and Lisa Todd Wexley. It’s like we’re finally seeing what a great comedic pairing Kristin Davis and Nicole Ari Parker are for the first time, and let us pray to the gods of oversize necklaces that we only get more of it throughout the season. This pleasant surprise is all thanks to a MILF list, a sentence I never thought I’d be writing about here in the year of our lord 2023, but we’re going with it, folks, because it is comedy gold.
The Arbor School PTA is in an uproar when it’s discovered that a student has made a MILF list ranking the moms of students. Do the youths even know and/or use the term MILF these days? Is it outdated or has it made a comeback? Youths, please discuss below. Anyway, as much as they have to pretend to be appalled, all the moms, including Charlotte and LTW, are VERY INTERESTED in learning more about this supposed list. And by that, I mean they all just want to see where they land in the ranking. When LTW gets her hands on the list — she’ll never reveal her sources — she discovers that she’s ranked second and Charlotte third. They’re very satisfied, even if a very nice dad at the next meeting tells them they should be first and second. LTW and Charlotte’s synchronized faux-surprised reactions when the other moms call them out for defending Milo H. against a harsh punishment because of how high they rank, followed immediately by their synchronized faux outrage when the moms are then called out for objectifying a student, is a great button on the whole thing. Parker and Davis really make this whole thing work, but can we also agree to retire the whole MILF thing? I mean, unless we’re talking about the iconic Fountains of Wayne song “Stacy’s Mom,” which remains a jam to this day.
• In L.A., Miranda ruins Che’s emotional moment — one they’ve been super anxious about — during the pilot taping when she sneaks her phone in because Brady’s in distress in Europe after getting dumped by Luisa. Their argument afterward hints at some major underlying issues — Miranda doesn’t get how important Che’s work is to them, Che doesn’t get why Miranda’s so upset about Brady — and while they make up before Miranda leaves for New York to be with her son, I feel like the odds are slim that this relationship survives the season.
• Wow, the Che Pasa showrunner is a dick, huh? They pretty much call Che a terrible actor in front of the entire studio audience. This, along with everything else that’s gone wrong so far, does not bode well for Che’s TV dreams coming true (add it to the list), although Tony Danza is quite sweet with his onscreen child, isn’t he?
• I am already a fan of this LTW and Nya friendship: LTW interviews Nya for her documentary and LTW helps the newly separated Nya snag the very hot sound guy’s number. This has the makings of another great AJLT team.
• After all that, Miranda just gets her initials tattooed on her wrist? What did Ricky the Emotionally Available Tattoo Artist say about this?
• Just wanted to say that Seema is freaking fabulous and I hope in the next episode we learn she ran off (temporarily, we need her) with one of those Australian rugby players. She deserves it!!
• “And just like that, I got COVID”: That’s what we’re going with here? Honestly, none of these random episode-ending one-liners really fit in seamlessly. Maybe we’d be better off cutting them entirely? They do nothing for me!
• Richard Burton’s rainy-day outfit!!!
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'And Just Like That…' Recap, Season 2 Ep. 3: 'Chapter Three' - Vulture
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