And Just Like That: A Reflection of Friendship at 50

Many fans feared that the "Sex and the City" sequel would break the magic. However, "And Just like That" inspires us again with its freshness and vitality. Indeed, these new stories of friends at the age of 50 are really extremely good.

Written and verified by the psychologist Cristina Roda Rivera.

Last update: 09 November, 2022

And Just Like That is the surprising and original sequel to the Sex and the City movies and series. In this new production, the successful series, with six seasons and two movie sequels, takes a new direction that guarantees its success.

While the prequel, The Carrie Diaries wasn’t too exciting and the second movie seemed to lose some of the essence of the original series, the sequel, And Just Like That is leaving many viewers pleasantly surprised. After a financial crisis and a pandemic that changed the world, it seems that Carrie has no intention of changing. That’s why we like her, for her honesty.

And Just Like That continues to use ‘wealth porn’ as the backdrop for its stories, full of clever plot twists and the usual jokes from its protagonists. The stories take us to distant settings and allow us to eavesdrop on close conversations. Indeed, the commitment to friendship as a central value at the age of 50 is an endearing subject.

A sequel that was expected but feared

Many of us feared the worst with this sequel. Nevertheless, we didn’t really want to pull the plug on the series that changed women’s shows forever, whether we liked it or not. That said, we thought that everything had been said about mature women looking for the apparently hopeless goal of finding love in the Big Apple.

The series, Sex and the City captivated us, episode by episode. It didn’t matter what we’d been used to before: the dialogues were funny, the length of each episode perfect, and the plots deep enough to not be just another boring series.

In the golden age of series like Lost, The Sopranos, and The Wire, the story of four women who showed that being single wasn’t that terrible attracted a great number of viewers. There were many dramatic moments depicted in the series.  Themes were addressed like abandonment, distance from families, fertility treatments, abortions, divorces, and humiliation in the search for the ideal partner.

However, fed up with series about suffering women, documentaries about murdered girls, and romantic films, Sex in the City turned out to be, inadvertently, rather transgressive. Especially in showing the love and company of four friends, who aroused envy for their intimacy, their self-assertiveness in the face of rudeness, and the depiction of the kind of feminism portrayed in My Brilliant Friends by Nancy K Miller.

Between drinks, dances, conversations, and disappointments, many of us felt extremely close to these four friends. Therefore, Sex and the City set the bar extremely high. What more could await us from these single women now all married? Above all, how was Samantha doing, the most fascinating member of the quartet?

A more diverse production

Many of us felt close yet also strangely alienated from the first episode. The women have all changed, both physically and emotionally. Their lives are radically different. However, the spark’s still there and a twist in the script produces both a tragedy and a miracle. In the first episode, it’s the tragedy they have to face.

The series incorporates new plots and characters that are representative of the feminist revolution of the last ten years. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha (who doesn’t appear in this production) have always been feminists, independent, and radically free. That said, they’re also all hooked on romantic love, and the show portrays it with all its contradictions and pitfalls.

In the original series, there was no talk of feminism. There was no racial diversity, non-binary gender characters, or health, motherhood, and marriage dramas. And Just Like That remains just as shallow in its staging but is more diverse, incisive, and mature.

And Just Like That:  the stories that await us

The best thing about this sequel is that it’ll bring together all the veteran fans of Sex and the City and also attract new fans. They’re all in luck for the change of script is never boring.

Viewers are led at a brisk trot through the news that Carrie’s Instagram account has taken off now that she’s on a podcast. So it’s goodbye to her column in a real newspaper.

Charlotte is still dying her hair and happily hosting school events. Miranda has quit her corporate law job and goes back to college to get a degree: Master of Human Rights. She does so after realizing that she can no longer be part of the problem. In fact, she develops a social conscience that outpaces her entire experience as a lawyer.

When she starts college, she refuses to be a white savior of blacks, thus giving a nod to all the changes in the studios in recent years. However, this new apprentice citizen who’s open to the world is clumsy in her political correctness.

Miranda is tremendously skillful at being natural and spontaneous and dealing with other realities that were always there in New York, but are only now being portrayed in the series.

The series brings us the magic again, the clothes don’t matter

At the end of episode one, the show’s unexpected twist means that Carrie will have to navigate modern life differently than she expected. She’ll need to explore other parts of what it means to grow old. On the other hand, Charlotte will undergo new tests as a mother and Miranda will have existential doubts about her marriage and her sexuality.

And Just Like That isn’t only surprising due to the audacity of its change of plot, the restoration of the group’s dynamics, and the departure of Kim Cattrall. It’s also fascinating thanks to some interesting new characters as well as the existing supporting cast. The result is a cast and a plot too interesting to miss.

With Just Like That, the idea of friendship at 50 becomes irresistible and precious. It makes us happy to have these characters back with us. No matter what age we are. In fact, it brings the magic back to us and we’re keen to have fun with the new stories. The old series has gone and, what’s more, we don’t even miss it with the arrival of this fantastic sequel.