It’s a well-worn observation that, like The Morning Show, HBO Max’s And Just Like That is a series where chaos reigns. Characters change personalities from episode to episode to serve the whims of harebrained plots, threads are begun and discarded with wild abandon, and guest stars, even when fabulous, are squandered on meager archetypes with too few lines. There are some constants to the series, like Carrie being the center of this and all conceivable universes, but it’s fair to say that AJLT takes new forms week-to-week. Who could have predicted Anthony opening a “sexy bakery” with baguette wall-sconces or that Miranda would deflower a nun played by Rosie O’Donnell?
That said, this season has focused most of its attention, at the expense of better storylines, on the reunification of Carrie and her old Sex and the City flame, Aidan. As someone who felt that Aidan was the least terrible of all Carrie’s boyfriends, I expected their love story to be, if not amazing, then at least bearable. Alas, the mad gods that make And Just Like That have decreed otherwise. Instead, we are left to ask: Why did the show bring Aidan back only to tell such an unsatisfying story?
Carrie seems energized by the new period drama she’s writing without a second’s research, but she’s been otherwise depressed by her relationship with Aidan. Aidan asked to leave for Virginia to be with his family for a five-year break with relative radio silence, and Carrie agreed. The phone sex was awkward, and the visits were too brief; Carrie was the saddest girl in New York.
In the most recent episode, “Apples for Apples,” named for the kiddie Cards Against Humanity party game, Carrie finally visits Aidan at his Virginia home. What she finds is an abundance of red flags that should probably end things right there. Aidan puts Carrie in his guest house to hide her away so he doesn’t “spring” her on his kids. His family is in sensitive shape post-divorce, especially his son Wyatt, who appears to be living with ADHD. For stability’s sake, Aidan describes the schedule for the day to his kids on the night before, and he didn’t mention Carrie was coming. Sir, why did you not tell your kids? If things are so touch-and-go, why invite Carrie down without preparing the way for her? Aidan has set up a catastrophe. Wyatt seems to be struggling, not just with Carrie’s presence, but with his mental health. They skirt around each other for most of the episode.
This boils over later when Adian’s ex-wife, Kathy, and her boyfriend Bob come by for dinner. It comes out that Kathy and Aidan fundamentally disagree about how to treat Wyatt’s struggles. In a previous episode, Kathy asked Carrie to get some Adderall through the pill-popping network of rich New York mothers, but neglected to mention that Aidan is staunchly against not only Adderall specifically, but all prescription medication. As a friend pointed out, this seems like proof positive that Aidan voted for RFK Jr. Anyway, the tension continues over a game of Apples to Apples. Aidan and Kathy have a full-on fight that works Wyatt up more and more until he erupts and smashes a window.
When talking afterward, there’s a glimmer of hope as Carrie and Aidan agree that he needs to be in Virginia working on his family, without her. Could these middle-aged people who otherwise act like children be making a mature decision to break up? No, for this is And Just Like That. Carrie reaffirms that she’ll be waiting in New York for as long as it takes Aidan to sort things out. The issues of Aidan’s life are large enough to simply walk away from this relationship, but okay! Stay together and be sad!
And Just Like That is fundamentally an exercise in nostalgia and IP-maintenance, so it follows that Carrie’s other big love of her life would return. That doesn’t mean they must get married forever, but whatever comes of that choice needs to be interesting or entertaining. Making Aidan a thoughtless lunk who keeps Carrie on a 5+ year hook while episode after episode shows viewers how unhappy, fraught, and lonely it all feels is simply unpleasant to watch. Viewers are given scant reasons to root for these two, and it seems inevitable that they’ll break up. Did And Just Like That bring Aidan back just to rub in every reason things wouldn’t work out anyway? These things happen in real life, but in the thoroughly unreal world of the show, why make the doomed romance so flat and miserable? Why make it so unsatisfying? The fearful answer might be that the show sees these two as meant to be, and will bend its dizzy reality to that end. Even if it’s not the least bit entertaining, And Just Like That will smash Carrie and Aidan together, whether anyone wants it or not.
