And Just Like That… has come to a close, and fans are extremely conflicted about it.
Earlier this month, showrunner Michael Patrick King revealed that the Sex and the City revival would conclude after its current third season.
Two weeks after his announcement, viewers were treated to the final episode of the Sex and the City franchise on 14 August.
Titled ‘Party of One,’ the episode sees Carrie and company celebrating Thanksgiving, while also having a few life breakthroughs.
Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) has a heart-to-heart with her ex-husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), following the bombshell revelation that their son Brady (Niall Cunningham) got a woman pregnant. While the two expressed their worries of becoming grandparents, they agreed to put their best foot forward to support their son and his baby’s mother, Mia (Ella Stiller).
In an effort to smooth over a chaotic meeting she had with Mia in the penultimate episode, Miranda invites her to Thanksgiving dinner, which she is hosting with chef-to-be Brady, and the two start to form a bond. Miranda also grew closer to her girlfriend, Joy (Dolly Wells), after she went to comfort the latter, whose dog needed emergency surgery.
On the Upper East Side, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry (Evan Handler) get their sexual groove back when the latter reveals that he’s finally able to get “hard.” In the previous episode, it was revealed that he struggled to regain his sexual function after having prostate surgery to treat his prostate cancer.
In addition to revitalising her sex life, Charlotte gained a deeper understanding of her non-binary child, Rock (Alexa Swinton), who revealed that they wanted to see photos and videos of themselves performing as the lead female character in Thoroughly Modern Millie.
When Charlotte admitted to deleting the videos to protect Rock’s feelings, the latter revealed that the female presenting role wasn’t them, it was just a part, adding: “I’m going to be a lot of people in my life.”
Elsewhere, Seema’s (Sarita Choudhury) relationship with Adam (Logan Marshall-Green) continues to deepen. However, when she opens up about her plans to attend a bridal fashion show, the handsome landscaper reveals his disdain for weddings, which bothers her.
While attending the fashion show with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Seema confides in the former about Adam’s comments, revealing that marriage is something she has not only been groomed for but has also dreamed of. After some wise words from Carrie, Seema decides to live in the moment with Adam instead of adhering to the expectations she once had for herself.
Speaking of super-mom, girl boss and bold fashionista Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker), her season-long sexual tension with editor Marion (Mehcad Brooks) comes to a head in the final episode.
After receiving a call that Michelle Obama would be interested in narrating her docuseries, the two creatives celebrate with a passionate embrace.
When Marion says they should get dinner to celebrate, Lisa sets a firm boundary that they cannot be anything but work colleagues, which the former agrees to. The documentarian also shares a heartwarming moment with her husband Herbert (Elijah Jacob), who has been down after losing the city comptroller election.
Anthony (Mario Cantone) and his Italian boyfriend Giuseppe (Sebastiano Pigazzi) agree to get married with the help of some pie to the face.
Finally, we arrive at the lead star of the show, Carrie Bradshaw, who embarks on a major journey of self-reflection. Following her break-up with Aidan (John Corbett) and sensual hookup with British writer Duncan (Jonathan Cake), Carrie sits with the idea that she may be alone for the rest of her life.
In addition to thinking about the future, Carrie navigates the utter chaos that is Miranda and Brady’s Thanksgiving dinner, filling in as the host during her friend’s absence, entertaining Mia and her eccentric friends, and avoiding romantic advances from Charlotte’s boss – Mark Kasabian (Victor Garber).
Towards the end of the episode, Carrie returns to her luxurious Gramercy apartment, which is now fully furnished and lived in. After turning on Barry White’s ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,‘ she sits at her desk, with pie in hand, and rewrites the epilogue to her first novel: ‘The woman realised she was not alone – she was on her own.’
The last shot of the series shows Carrie, who is embracing her singledom and dressed in a red tutu, dancing down the hall in her apartment.
Throughout its run, And Just Like That… has garnered huge amounts of criticism from the dedicated fandom. So it’s no surprise that the final episode in the Sex and the City franchise received mixed responses.
One person on X/Twitter wrote: “After six seasons, two movies, and three reboot seasons. This is how you end it? The fans and these characters deserved so much more.“
Another fan tweeted: “Yeah, I’m just going to remember Sex and the City ending with Big telling Carrie you’re the one on that bridge in Paris, and then everyone’s storylines wrapping up back in New York. Carrie accepting the call from John in 2004 is how it ended for me.”
Another viewer wrote: “The finale is proof the show was abruptly cancelled. Did our hate-watching cause this?“
While many Sex and the City fans were upset, some had a more positive outlook on the ending, with one social media user writing: “‘The woman realised she was not alone – she was on her own.‘ I admire the girl power, ending with the theme song, and the wrapping up of the storylines with soft goodbyes. We all clearly wanted more, but I’m thankful for this beautiful ending.“
Another fan added: “Carrie Bradshaw, forever an icon.“
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, King gave insight into the series finale and why it felt like the perfect way to close the franchise.
“Look, you start every season thinking: ‘We’re just going to do it out full. We’re going to let the stories come. We’re not going to hold back.‘ But when I was writing the last line: ‘The Woman realised she wasn’t alone. She was on her own,‘ [Co-writer] Susan Fales-Hill and I wrote it and were like, ‘That’s it,‘” he explained.
“That is what I wanted to say as an echo and a callback and a response to the finale of Sex and the City, when Carrie was walking down the street and said, ‘The most significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the love you love, well, that’s fabulous.'”
Sex and the City and And Just Like That… are available to stream in their entirety on Max.
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