Sex and the City Fans Call Out Major And Just Like That… Plot Hole
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for And Just Like That’s episode “Present Tense.”
And Just Like That…it’s the end of Aidan and Carrie.
After two seasons of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her long-distance lover Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) deciding if they will—or won’t—wait for each other over the course of five years, their rekindled romance has officially come to an end.
During the show’s July 24 episode “Present Tense,” Carrie confesses to Seema (Sarita Choudhury) that she suspects Aidan still has trust issues years after she cheated on him with her late husband Mr. Big (Chris Noth). To this admission, Seema confirms that Aidan’s behavior makes sense, as he grilled her about Carrie’s relationship with neighbor and literary partner Duncan (Jonathan Cake).
And after a tense back-and-forth between Carrie and Aidan (which leads Carrie to go to a separate bed angry), the two attempt to get through their rough patch when meeting up the next afternoon. However, Carrie quickly realizes no matter what, Aidan’s trust issues continue to be ever-present in their relationship.
“I was 100 percent in,” she tells Aidan, who asks, “Is it was or are you still 100 percent in?”
As for Carrie, she tearfully replies, “Was.”
“I can’t give you any more than I have,” Carrie says. “And it wasn’t enough.”
Aidan tearfully confesses, “I’m sad, I really thought we were going to make it this time,” to which Carrie replies, “I’m sad too.”
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Aidan returned during season two after Carrie worked through the death of her husband Big. For him, she moved out of her iconic West Village apartment, spent an awkward weekend with his family in Virginia, and attempted to make their long-distance distant relationship work on his terms.
However, despite the bump the road between the characters, Sarah Jessica was more than delighted to work with John again in real life.
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“It’s great to be in [John’s] company again,” she told People in 2023. “I’ve been pretty public about how much I love him and how easy he is to work with, how skilled he is at what he does. He makes it look easy, but it’s real work.”
“He always just makes Aidan grow from the page in a way that only he can do,” she added. “It just felt really comfortable and happy.”
Keep reading to look back on the many relationships of Sex and The City…
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16. Samantha and Richard
Ugh, what an a–hole.
Best moment: N/A.
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15. Carrie and Berger
It’s hard to remember the couple’s early banter-filled, cute moments after all the horrible, passive-aggressive crap the writer pulled later on. HE BROKE UP WITH HER ON A POST-IT.
Best moment: None are coming to mind at the moment, Berger. We’re sorry, we can’t. Don’t hate us.
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14. Samantha and Maria
No one believed this relationship would last, right? Still, Samantha gave it the ol’ college try.
Best moment: After a night out with Carrie and her new beau, during which Samantha told Big to “back off,” Maria told Samantha she couldn’t be just friends.
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13. Miranda and Che
Not on fans’ bingo cards when they tuned into Max’s revival series And Just Like That…? Miranda ending her marriage and following a standup comedian across the country!
Best Moment: For the pure comedy of it all, it has to be Che and Miranda hooking up in Carrie’s kitchen while a recovering-from-hip-surgery Carrie peed herself in bed.
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12. Carrie and Petrovsky
Oh, the Russian. Their relationship started off too romantic to be true…and it was. He didn’t get along with her friends and Carrie’s impulsive move to Paris proved to be a disaster.
Best moment: After too many grand romantic gestures, Carrie literally swooned. So naturally, Petrovsky took her, in her dream ball gown, to McDonald’s, where they slow-danced while waiting for fries. We literally swooned.
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11. Charlotte and Trey
On paper, Trey was the perfect guy for Charlotte. But, the cracks began to show (overbearing mother, “Trey can’t get it up,” not wanting kids, etc.) soon after their wedding. Also: he gave her a cardboard cut-out baby. Who does that?!
Best moment: When Trey took Charlotte to Tiffany’s so she could pick out her dream ring to make up for the infamous “Alrighty!” comment.
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10. Samantha and James
The first relationship Samantha had that wasn’t based on sex came to an end because of, well, sex. Or James’ small penis, to be exact.
Best moment: When Samantha told James she loved him. A huge (no pun intended) moment for her.
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9. Miranda and Skipper
Poor, poor Skipper. He was kind of like a Steve-lite, and Miranda was able to walk all over him.
Best moment: When he calls her “luminous” during their chance meeting at a bodega.
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8. Anthony and Stanford
Sure, it came out of nowhere in the movies that Carrie’s BFF and Charlotte’s wedding planner-turned-bestie would get together, but it kind of works for us.
Best moment: In their wedding vows, when Anthony said, “It wasn’t love at first sight, but it turns out it was love. You are the first man to accept me for the man that I actually am.”
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7. Carrie and Aidan
Let’s face it, Aidan was a great guy but he wasn’t The Guy for Carrie…no matter how hard they both tried to convince themselves that he was. However, season two of And Just Like That… may just prove that second chances are the hottest trend this summer. (Yes, we are refusing to acknowledge their dalliance in Sex and the City 2.)
Best moment: Is it weird that we loved their breakup scene—the second one—where they slept on the floor of the apartment they would never live in together?
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6. Miranda and Robert
Talk about a catch. Robert was almost perfect: he was a hot doctor for the New York Knicks who watched the same soaps as Miranda. His one flaw? He just wasn’t Steve.
Best moment: Their first kiss at their “lockers,” (i.e.: mailboxes). Or her taking a personal day for the first time ever for him. OR THE CHICKEN POX.
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5. Samantha and Smith
Of all the guys on SATC, Smith Jerrod might just be the best. He was so patient and so giving with the wild Samantha, who fought tooth and nail not to fall in love with the model-turned-superstar.
Best moment: Who doesn’t tear up just thinking about Smith shaving his golden locks for Samantha when she lost her hair while undergoing chemo?
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4. Carrie and Big
Absof–kinglutely. (Curse you, Peloton!)
Best moment: Come on, how can we not choose Big going to Paris to finally tell Carrie she’s the one? (Although the fart-in-bed/whoopee cushion prank still makes us smile.)
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3. Miranda and Steve
Just as Miranda’s feelings for Steve snuck up on her, our love for this couple hit us like a ton of bricks—just like their split in And Just Like That…‘s first season. Justice for Steve!
Best moment: If any moment perfectly represents SATC‘s most low-maintenance couple, it was Miranda’s out-of-nowhere proposal and their super low-key wedding in the park. So them. So perfect.
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2. Charlotte and Harry
They say love often finds you when you least expect it…like when your sweaty putz of a divorce lawyer turns out to be the man of your dreams and the best father to your children you could’ve imagined.
Best moment: Their mess-filled, imperfectly perfect nuptials. From the beginning of the series, Charlotte wanted the fairy tale wedding, but what she got was the fairy tale marriage.
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1. The Girls
“The most important thing in life is your family. There are days you love them and others you don’t, but in the end they’re the people you always come home to. Sometimes it’s the family you’re born into. And sometimes it’s the one you make for yourself.”
Best moment: We were SO tempted to choose Carrie walking Miranda down the aisle at her mother’s funeral, but we thought a moment with all four girls was appropriate. Our choice? When Miranda doesn’t give two shits about her wedding after hearing about Samantha’s breast cancer diagnosis, with all four girls tuning out the celebration to just be together. Because that’s what friendship is: putting others before yourself.
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