And Just Like That… Season 2 has a distinct swagger that the first season of the Max series severely lacked. The new season of the Sex and the City spin-off kicks things off with a dreamy sex montage and most all its heroines in the throes of true romance. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) finally has her mojo back after a year of grief, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is basically living her dream come true with beloved hubbie Harry (Evan Handler), and new characters like Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) and Seema (Sarita Choudhury) finally feel like bona fide members of the SATC girl gang.
But no one is embracing this new chapter of the Sex and the City saga quite like Miranda Hobbs or her real-life alter ego, Cynthia Nixon. In the first two episodes of And Just Like That… Season 2 — both of which premiered on Max this morning — Nixon displays a physical and emotional vulnerability we never saw from Miranda in the original series. While parts of Miranda’s journey in Season 1 felt out of left field, “New Miranda” as she’s dubbed herself in Season 2 feels like a more natural metamorphosis for the previously straight-laced (and straight) corporate lawyer. Nixon embraces Miranda’s lust for Che (Sara Ramírez), exuberance for life, and pure panic with an enthusiasm we never saw in the O.G. series. Cynthia Nixon (just about) puts her whole damn pussy into And Just Like That… Season 2.
And Just Like That… follows the lives of three of the four leads of Sex and the City as they navigate life, love, and loss in their fifties. The original series blew up the convention that single women didn’t enjoy sex the same way men did. Now the Max series is here to argue that life doesn’t slow down as you get older. People in their fifties can still evolve — personally, professionally, and sexually. In the case of Miranda Hobbs, she’s doing all three.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was frustrated with Miranda’s storylines in And Just Like That… Season 1. I thought her impulsive affair with Che was wholly out of character for the woman who was always the voice of reason at the SATC brunch table. It wasn’t just that she cheated on her long-term love Steve (David Eigenberg) with a pot-smoking podcaster, but that she did so in Carrie’s kitchen whilst she was supposed to be caring for her convalescing best friend!
In And Just Like That… Season 2, Miranda fully owns that she’s made mistakes in the midst of her metamorphosis. More importantly, she recognizes how out of character she is behaving. It causes a combination of thrill and fear for the character, who is exposing more of her heart, soul, and body than we’ve seen in decades.
Miranda’s early And Just Like That… episodes call upon Nixon to explore new sexual and emotional frontiers. The woman who once blanched at eating reciprocal ass is happily growing as an oral sex artist. She’s experimenting with strap ons and even stripping down to lock herself in a sensory deprivation tank. The way a naked Nixon flops out of said tank in fright is a perfect visual metaphor for the actress really giving her all to bring Miranda’s most vulnerable chapter yet to life.
Throughout Sex and the City, Miranda Hobbs wore her brittle personality the same way she donned her power suits: as armor. Now she’s trading the grey slacks for rainbow-colored grecian gowns, her pessimism for enthusiasm. The most beautiful part of Nixon’s performance is conveying how Miranda is scared. She’s excited, yes. But there’s a hum of panic with every line delivery. New Miranda is putting herself out there in life like never before and it could blow up in her face.
Whether you love or hate Miranda’s romance with Che, it’s given Cynthia Nixon more freedom to plumb the emotional depths of her character than Sex and the City ever allotted her. It’s spectacular watching an artist of Nixon’s caliber discover new shades of Miranda to play, especially after 25 years with the character. Everyone in the And Just Like That… cast is delivering tender, thrilling work, but nothing is more exhilarating — or downright fascinating — to watch than Cynthia Nixon’s “New Miranda.”
The first two episodes of And Just Like That... are now streaming on Max. New episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays.