Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of And Just Like That.
And Just Like That put loyal Sex and the City fans through a lot. There was Big’s death by Peloton in the very first episode, the diabolical caricature of a non-binary person that was podcaster/comedian Che Diaz, and a slew of both plot continuity errors and tonal inconsistencies. Not to mention the larger-than-life absence of one Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall).
But, now that the Sex and the City spinoff has officially come to an end, we can definitively say that one of the show’s worst offenses was the ways in which it failed two of its predecessor’s most important and beloved central characters: Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). While Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) received main-character treatment and sufficient closure in the two-part Season 3 finale—which was announced as the overall series’ finale just a few weeks before it aired—Charlotte and Miranda capped off a season of lukewarm storylines with a figurative whimper.
Considering how creator Michael Patrick King broke the news of the decision to end the show, it seems possible the Season 3 finale was not initially intended to be And Just Like That‘s final installment. Were that ever confirmed to be the case, we’d be slightly more willing to forgive the episode’s missteps. However, if we are to believe King’s claims that it became clear to him all the way back when he was writing the finale that it “might be a wonderful place to stop,” and that he and Parker held off on announcing the news simply because they “didn’t want the word ‘final’ to overshadow the fun of watching the season,” the show’s late-stage offenses becomes far less excusable.
Let’s start with Miranda.
While Season 3 did finally give And Just Like That-era Miranda an age-appropriate and intellectually compatible romantic partner in the…
