And Just Like That… has been testing my patience a lot recently. Last season the MAX show insisted that Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was really, truly, emphatically supposed to be with Sex and the City ex Aidan Shaw (John Corbett). Never mind the fact that she blew up their happily ever after multiple times on the show or that he’s got his own red flags. Carrie and Aidan are endgame now. Or are they?
**Spoilers for And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 6 “Silent Mode,” now streaming on MAX**
In And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 6 “Silent Mode,” Aidan admits to Carrie that he slept with ex-wife Kathy (Rosemarie DeWitt) after an emotionally depleting episode with Wyatt (Logan Souza). He’s furious with himself for his lapse in loyalty to Carrie, but she’s incredibly understanding. I assume Carrie is not only aware that she once cheated (a lot) on Aidan back during the SATC days, but that Aidan and Kathy also have a complex emotional relationship. She can forgive Aidan! After all, they never said they were monogamous!
And this is where Aidan has officially lost me. He has the audacity to get upset when Carrie points out that his infidelity isn’t that big of a deal because they never even said they were exclusive. Aidan’s reaction is immature, controlling, and downright childish.
I am begging Carrie — and And Just Like That… — to ditch Aidan already.
Sex and the City fans have long been locked up in an epic debate over who Carrie’s true soul mate is: Big (Chris Noth) or Aidan? While the first season of And Just Like That… dealt with Carrie’s grief after the sudden death of her husband, Big, she reconnects with Aidan in Season 2, becoming convinced that he was her guy all along. The final hindrance to their happily ever after? Aidan’s troubled son Wyatt needs his constant supervision for the next few years. Meaning, Aidan is stuck on his Virginia farm, while Carrie wistfully waits for him in New York.
So far, And Just Like That… Season 3 has depicted Carrie as completely steadfast to Aidan. Even as her friends question the strange set up of their relationship and we learn more troubling details about Aidan’s parenting style, Carrie remains locked in. Meanwhile, I’m watching And Just Like That... and getting increasingly restless with this situation. I’m not sure Carrie realizes she deserves more than what Aidan’s offering!
Over the course of And Just Like That… Season 3’s first six episodes, the most romantic thing Aidan has done for Carrie is to buy her an ugly table she really wanted. Meanwhile, she has blamed herself for faking an orgasm during phone sex, traveled to Virginia just to have lunch with Aidan, followed his lead in meeting his kids, been nice to those kids, suffered through zombie laser tag, dressed in Holly Hobby dresses, tried fishing, learned Aidan doesn’t believe in prescription medication, maturely explained to him that she was hurt when he was mean about her beloved ugly table over text, and been wildly chill about his hookup with Kathy.
From my vantage point — and I’m just a woman who has followed Carrie Bradshaw for decades — she is doing far more to accommodate this relationship than he is. She’s letting him call the shots, compromising at every turn, and rarely complaining as she might have done in the past. Altogether, the Carrie Bradshaw of And Just Like That… is a more mature and empathetic person and Aidan doesn’t seem to appreciate this! (Or maybe he does, and that’s why he self-flagellates himself over her broken window?)
Coincidentally, just as I’m cooling fast on Carrie and Aidan’s romantic situation, And Just Like That… has introduced not one, but two eligible bachelors in Carrie’s immediate orbit. First, there’s hunky gardener Adam (Logan Marshall-Green), who was introduced saving Carrie’s cat. Sure, teh show seems to be pushing him towards the single and sexy Seema (Sarita Choudhury), but there’s still Carrie’s new downstairs neighbor Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake). If Aidan can’t appreciate Carrie’s newfound ability to compromise, Duncan already has. The British writer and Carrie just overcame a feud about her noise-making heels to become fast buddies.
All of this is to say, my earnest hope for the second half of And Just Like That… Season 3 is for Carrie and Aidan to officially take a break. If he’s too busy treating his son’s ADHD with chores and falling into bed with his ex to hang with Carrie, she deserves the freedom to hook up with the likes of Duncan and beyond.
It’s not just that Carrie deserves more, but so do we. With Carrie and Aidan’s relationship stuck in this frustrating holding pattern, And Just Like That… has become rather stale. If Aidan can nobly step aside for a while, Carrie can continue to explore the modern dating plots that made her a compelling character in the first place. And Just Like That… can be fun.
Carrie, please, for the love of god, ditch Aidan soon.