Kanika Kumar
New friends, new ventures, new sorrows, and New York City — these are the primary themes that the romantic comedy-drama ‘And Just Like That…’ attempts to explore by focusing on the lives of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis). As the trio, now in their mid-50s, tries to balance their personal and professional lives, situations both delightful and horrifying are encountered. This ‘Sex and the City’ reboot heralded by Michael Patrick King promises all the breezy charm of the original series along with its own novel approach to messy yet relevant contemporary issues.
In the first episode, we see how Carrie deals with her podcast, Miranda excitedly but apprehensively starts school, and Charlotte stresses over her daughters and makes a new friend named Lisa. However, things turn out to be extremely harrowing for Carrie when Mr. Big passes away due to a heart attack. Facing the life of a widow, a pensive Carrie tries to organize her husband’s funeral. If you were looking for a recap and ending explainer for ‘And Just Like That…’ episode 2, we’ve got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.
And Just Like That…Episode 2 Recap
The episode opens with Brady and Luisa having passionate sex whilst Miranda glowers at the sound of their creaking bed. Immediately afterward, Miranda gets a call from Carrie, who informs her about her husband’s death. Miranda rushes to Carrie’s house and finds Mr. Big being carried away in a body bag.
The next day, we see an extremely subdued Carrie organizing Mr. Big’s funeral. Charlotte and Carrie go to look at funeral homes; however, Carrie gets quietly annoyed when the funeral home seems suitable only for old people and Charlotte starts weeping in public.
Meanwhile, at school, Miranda witnesses a security guard asking Dr. Nya for her ID in order to let her enter the premises. Completely misreading the situation, Miranda yells at the guard for daring to question a Black woman’s identity and embarrasses her professor. Then, we see Carrie at a funeral home catered to Mr. Big’s taste. She notices that his coffin is lined with white flowers even though she didn’t ask for them. However, when she finds out the identity of the flower sender, she decides to let them be.
Miranda and Mr. Big’s older brother speak at the funeral. In a touching ceremony, visuals of Mr. Big’s life play out on a projector whilst his favorite song acts as the soundtrack. Later, we see Gloria, Mr. Big’s old secretary, interacting warmly with Carrie. Then, a woman named Susan Sharon approaches Carrie and says that she forgives her even though she hasn’t apologized. A confused Carrie later tells Miranda that she has no idea what Susan is talking about.
Miranda sees Brady and Che conversing and gets angry when she realizes that the latter is exposing the former to a substance not suitable for those of his age (17). Although Che backs away from the interaction, Miranda keeps yelling at them. Later, Carrie introduces Che as her podcast boss to Miranda.
Afterward, Miranda saves Dr. Nya from a random masked individual in the subway who is pranking people by stealing their bags. The two end up bonding over the situation. When the funeral home sends Carrie Mr. Big’s ashes even though she didn’t ask for them, she gets very upset and calls Miranda and Stanford home for emotional support.
And Just Like That…Episode 2 Ending: Does Samantha Reach Out to Carrie After Mr. Big’s Death?
However, when Charlotte shows up as well, things get awkward. Carrie explains the situation to Charlotte, who is already emotional. Later, we see that Carrie is unable to sleep even after taking pills. The episode ends with Carrie’s voice-over saying “And just like that I learned how long five hours can be.”
We notice how Samantha, who has maintained radio silence till now, reaches out to Carrie on the day of Mr. Big’s funeral. Even though they are not close anymore, it makes sense that Samantha wishes to comfort her old friend. Carrie finds out that the flower arrangement on Mr. Big’s coffin is sent by Samantha, and so she doesn’t get them removed. She even receives a note along with the flowers, stating “Love, Samantha.”
Later, after the funeral, Carrie looks at all the messages she has sent to Samantha that have gone unanswered. Despite it all, Carrie sends her London-based friend a “thank you” for the flowers. As expected, she does not get a response. It seems as though Samantha is still extremely hurt due to Carrie’s decision to drop her as her publicist. Even though she wishes to comfort her friend in her darkest hour, she cannot bring herself to actually converse with Carrie. For Carrie, who has freshly lost her husband, Samantha’s absence becomes all too apparent again.
How Does Miranda Mess Things Up With Dr. Nya Again? Why Does Miranda Yell at Che?
At school, Miranda assumes that the guard’s innocuous question about Dr. Nya’s ID is somehow connected to her race. In an overzealous attempt to be politically correct, Miranda “calls out” the guard’s actions but only ends up embarrassing her professor. Dr. Nya tells her that what she did is something a“white savior” would do.
Later, in the subway, Miranda smacks a prankster with a heavy book in order to stop him from stealing Dr.Nya’s bag. Prompted by Miranda, Dr. Nya laughingly acknowledges that what she did classifies her as a “savior” and not as a “white savior.” The professor calls Miranda “old-fashioned” for not using a Kindle and the two bond after their initially awkward conversation. In the first episode, we see Miranda explaining how she was moved by the lawyers who showed up at the airport to help those affected by the Trump government’s Muslim ban. Clearly, she is trying her best to wrap her head around contemporary conversations regarding race and religion.
At Mr. Big’s funeral, Miranda notices Che allowing Brady to take a hit from their weed vaporizer. She immediately attacks Che verbally, blaming them for exposing minors to drugs. Che tries to explain their perspective but eventually exits the situation. Later, after being introduced to each other formally by Carrie, Miranda and Che apologize to each other. Che agrees that they should have considered Brady’s age and Miranda agrees that she was too aggressive and judgmental in her approach. Thus, through open conversation, two strangers quickly sort out their misunderstandings.
Why Does Carrie Avoid Charlotte?
When Carrie visits a funeral home with Charlotte, the latter dissolves in tears, forcing an attendant to believe that she is the widow. Afterward, Carrie has to send an emotionally fragile Charlotte away in a cab. Considering that Carrie has just lost her husband, it is understandable that she doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with her friend’s overly emotional responses.
Later, when Carrie receives Mr. Big’s ashes, she calls Miranda and Stanford —and not Charlotte — over for their support. When Charlotte shows up suddenly, Carrie begs Stanford to hide in the room so that she can pass off Miranda’s visit as random and unplanned. However, Charlotte notices Stanford sneaking his drink into the bedroom. Carrie begs her not to make the situation about herself.
However, Charlotte immediately becomes upset and tells Carrie that she understands why she chooses Stanford over her. Then, she goes on and on about how she thinks Carrie blames her for her husband’s death because she forced her to go to Lily’s recital, as a result of which Mr. Big was left alone at home. Carrie finally explodes and confesses that she’s actually mad at her own self for not doing what she wanted, which was to go to the Hamptons with Mr.Big. The two friends then get over their misunderstanding.
It is obvious that Charlotte is feeling guilty because she undoubtedly forced Carrie to change her plans even though she didn’t want to. Additionally, she feels worse because she has a family whilst Carrie is now a widow. However, Carrie understands that Charlotte simply wanted her friends to be there to support her daughter’s fantastic talent. But, understandably, she blames herself for what happened because she unknowingly let go of her last opportunity to be with her husband.
Read More: Where Is And Just Like That… Filmed?
