Sex and the City
8 ‘And Just Like That’ Moments We Could Barely Watch
Sex and the City had its fair share of cringeworthy moments — and the 2000s-era HBO show certainly hasn’t aged well in some aspects — but sometimes we feel like the spinoff And Just Like That… is trying to turn us off (or trying to get us to turn it off).
In the HBO Max show’s Season 3 premiere, for instance, we had to sit through a deeply icky scene between Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Aidan (John Corbett) trying to have phone sex. And that’s not the first time we had to grit our teeth and watch between our fingers. In honor of the show’s return, Swooon has rounded up our picks for the most uncomfortable moments — so far.
Did we miss any awkward And Just Like That moments from the past three seasons? Let us know if we did in the comments below.
And Just Like That, Season 3, Thursdays, HBO Max
Big’s big show for Carrie
Big (Chris Noth) didn’t stick around AJLT for long — but he was around long enough for a (quasi) sex scene with Carrie in “Hello It’s Me,” the series premiere.
After finding Big reading in bed, Carrie gives him a command: “Masturbate for me. I wanna see you.” Big ultimately plays it off as a joke, but first we have to endure the sound of him lubing up and moaning. We’re all for sex between consenting adults in all its many forms, but some things we just don’t want to see or overhear!
Miranda’s introduction to Nya
In that same episode, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) makes a proper ass of herself when she shows up for a class at Columbia and mistakes Nya (Karen Pittman) for a student — because, as she says, Nya has braids.
Then Miranda has to do a lot of backpedaling. “Hair has nothing whatsoever to do with, uh, appropriateness, or intelligence, or gravitas, obviously,” she stammers.
Che’s podcast tapings
The series premiere also establishes that Carrie is cohosting a podcast with Che (Sara Ramirez). Now, we’re not as much of a Che hater as other AJLT fans, but their podcast comes off less progressive and more progressive-parodying.
Specifically, Che has a “woke button” they hit whenever they have to pause the discussion and make a disclaimer about sexual/gender identities/politics, but those explanations make us think the AJLT writers are trying to prove they’re up to date, or they feel they have to educate viewers. Either way, it’s clunky.
Brady and Luisa’s noisy sex
The second-ever episode, “Little Black Dress,” opens with a shot of Steve (David Eigenberg) and Miranda’s son, Brady (Niall Cunningham), having aerobic and loud sex with girlfriend Luisa (Cree), even telling her, “Yeah, ride me, cowboy!”
As if that weren’t wince-inducing enough — isn’t he supposed to be a teen in this show? — we also find out Miranda and Steve can hear it all.
Che’s comedy routines
As much as Che’s podcast feels artificially woke, their comedy routines — like their “comedy concert” in Season 1’s “When in Rome…” — feel artificially funny.
The shots of the laughing audience tell us Che’s jokes are supposed to be funny, but the punchlines fall flat. Guess you have to be there?
Che and Miranda having sex while Carrie wets the bed
Miranda kindly offers to help Carrie recuperate from hip surgery in Season 1’s “Tragically Hip.” But she seems to forget about her duties when Che comes over to Carrie’s place. Miranda and Che, thinking Carrie is asleep, start going at it in Carrie’s kitchen, with Carrie just a few feet away.
Carrie’s full bladder wakes her up, so she hear the whole thing, and when she can’t get Miranda’s attention, she wets the bed.
Charlotte and Harry having sex
Speaking of TMI! In Season 1’s “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry (Evan Handler) engage in a little bathroom hanky-panky but fail to lock the door. We get a full-frontal view of Harry — including a very large prosthetic — and so, presumably, does Lily (Cathy Ang), his and Charlotte’s daughter.
Carrie and Aidan having phone sex
Aidan breaks his and Carrie’s communication blackout in the Season 3 premiere, “Outlook Good,” calling her from the privacy of his car. And while he has her, he invites her to join him in phone sex.
We don’t see anything below the belt, but the sight of him licking his hand and the sound of him, ahem, reaching a climax are bad enough!
