And Just Like That...: Strings Attached

January 27, 2022 8:48 AM - Season 1, Episode 9

Continuing adventures of our SATC fam.

Miranda recruits Carrie and Charlotte for a work party at the new women's shelter. To help boost her online sales, Lisette asks Carrie to wear her designer jewelry in public. Rock resists having a Bat Mitzvah. Anthony brings his new friend, Josh, to dinner at Charlotte and Harry's. When Josh claims the holocaust was a hoax, Anthony orders him to leave. Not wanting to miss an upcoming pool party in the Hamptons, a frantic Lily asks Charlotte to show her how to use tampons. Che and Miranda reach an understanding about their relationship. Carrie meets Paul for a redo of their disastrous first date, but both agree it is too soon for either to start seeing people. While helping out at the women's shelter, Steve asks Carrie about Miranda and Che. Steve says he will always consider him and Miranda as being married, but Carrie hopes he considers finding another love. Nya and Andre are at an impasse over trying for children. Seema meets an attractive club owner. Carrie, who has been wearing both her and John's wedding rings, nearly loses John's down a sink drain. She later puts both rings away for good and is ready to start socializing again.

posted by BlahLaLa (12 comments total)

Things I liked:
-- The fact that menopause is a plot point
-- Charlotte's whole tampon plotline, especially the little "oy" she let out at one point. The string "is in your tushy crack." Honestly, she's a great fucking mom. I wish I had a mom like her. 
-- Anthony's reaction to his date saying the holocaust is a hoax - the only possible reaction!
-- Carrie's conversation with the teacher on their attempted date re-do. Though I don't really see any reason for date 3. There's no chemistry there, is there? Beyond just "our spouses died."
-- Steve helping Carrie find her ring - honestly made me tear up.

Things I didn't like:
-- Steve wants to wear his ring forever? I mean, yeah, Justice for Steve but also c'mon Steve, deal with reality here.  
-- Honestly, yeah, I'm just not into the whole Miranda and Che thing. Miranda's general ditziness doesn't even rise to the level of a low-rent Meg Ryan. It's just hard to watch.
-- I really don't care at all about the law professor's baby thing...except now maybe she's one of the single ladies in the group?

Also there's only one episode left, so what happened to John Corbett? I thought it was public knowledge that he was working on the show, so does that mean he just...shows up in the last ep as a cliffhanger? If that's the case, it will annoy me.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:54 AM on January 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you don’t mind indulging me, what is the verdict on this series? I loved the show for the first few seasons, felt meh about the last couple of seasons and was alternately repulsed and enraged by the movie, so I’ve been hesitant to give it a go.
posted by arha at 1:20 AM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Arha reviews are definitely mixed. I’ve been listening to several podcasts that critique each episode and while they mostly make a point to say that overall folks like the new show, it’s distinctly different from the original and has some narrative dead ends. It’s a step above the films but still beneath the original show IMO. Personally the biggest perks are the fashion and the sartorial Easter eggs that pop up when there are shots of Carrie’s closet. I love that. To me, the new show is melancholy and scattered, lots of new characters are introduced without a clear rationale, and while I’m a bit younger than 55, I find the constant jabs about their aging unsettling (although agree the menopause subplot was a good one this episode BlahLaLa). I’ll definitely keep watching of course, I’m a huge fan of the actors and watched SITC at a formative time in my life.

Side note, I was completely convinced that Miranda would go to Cleveland in episode 9 and get rejected by Che. That whole manic thing she had in the cab in episode 8, saying she felt like she was in a rom com, totally set that up. Anyone else?
posted by kitschfrau at 7:36 AM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]

Oh it's MANY steps above the movies, IMO, and on par with the original series. Lots of people romanticize the old series and don't recall how... thin... it used to be. It always had charm and something to say, but the writing was always mediocre. There was something about the timing and subject matter and casting and some overall alchemy that made the original series worth watching. It wasn't anything to do with, like, some depth of characterization or any courage or insight or beauty in the writing itself.

So for most part this new series seems set to replicate that model: there's mediocre writing, characters that we can kinda sorta root for, nothing genuinely insightful or courageous about the stances it takes... and yet, there is substance in there because the series does have something to say (unlike the movies), and the subject is extraordinary - a whole series focused on the lives of middle aged women!, so when you add in the nostalgia factor, there is once again an overall alchemy that makes this new series worth watching.
posted by MiraK at 12:10 PM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]

I'm also in the school of "OMG I can't believe we have a TV show that's entirely centered around women in their 50s, and none of them are grannies." It's definitely the alchemy MiraK is referring to -- and I think the episodes are getting better as they go along.
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:15 PM on January 28, 2022 [4 favorites]

MiraK I am TOTALLY guilty of romanticizing the original series! My partner was just telling me, “remember how you used to complain about how problematic SATC was too?” (And thank you for overlooking my “SITC” typo, all.)
posted by kitschfrau at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

Oh gosh I think the show is awful. Every possible modern social issue and aging-related topic is brought up and hammered into the ground with absolutely no subtlety. And the main characters all seem surprised by it, like they woke up from a decades long nap and are shocked to find themselves 55 years old. It feels like when they decided to do the show, the writers came up with lists of 1) Hot Topics in Today’s World, 2) Things That Happen To Middle-Aged Women, and 3) Cliched One Note Characters, then worked out how they could manage to shoehorn all of these items into eight episodes. The original show was not high brow television by any means, but at least it was fun. There has been very little fun in this. I did like when Carrie and her date got drunk and puked on each other. It needs much more of that and less lecturing the audience.

And yet! I love watching it. I don’t know why.
posted by something something at 12:02 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

I agree that many people forget how problematic SATC could be. And yet, we enjoyed watching it and also enjoy AJLT. I think AJLT is on par with the original series, quality and entertainment-wise, which is to say that it's not the greatest show ever but there is something imminently watchable about it- it's entertaining, sometimes touching, and has funny moments. And it's woman-centered!

I'm really enjoying Charlotte's story arc as a mom and the new cynical edge that Carrie has developed. Miranda's story is a bit cringey, but I also think at least some of that is intentional.
posted by bearette at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2022 [4 favorites]

This TikTok user reworked the whole plot and I like her version better.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:45 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh boy, that TikTok re-write is truly awful.
posted by crossoverman at 1:43 AM on January 31, 2022

You didn't scream with joy when Tate makes a cameo? I screamed.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:15 AM on January 31, 2022

All I want from this series is for Charlotte to run into a woman in her mid-20s named Shayla and realize she's the grown up baby with the stolen name...
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:21 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]