Warning: This post contains spoilers for And Just Like That Season 3, Episode 3, “Carrie Golightly”
Last week, I praised the fact thatAnd Just Like Thatseason 3 was delving into the frustrations of long-distance relationships. TheSex and the Cityrevival seems to want to explore every stage of this, now including Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) embarrassment. And at this point, I honestly feel bad for Carrie, who’s putting in effort into her relationship with Aidan (John Corbett) and not exactly getting much out of it even when she’s in close proximity. Do the benefits of a long-distance relationship outweigh the headaches? I suppose Carrie will eventually find out.
Carrie & Aidan Couldn’t Be Any Farther From The Relationship They Set Out To Have
In season 3’s episode 3, “Carrie Golightly”, our favorite scribe chooses a conference in Virginia to speak at because it’s close enough to Aidan that she can drive to him. Seema (Sarita Choudhury) tags along, having taken sick days to process the news of her boss, who is retiring, handing over the reins of the company to another man and not solely to her.
She’s offended by this and I get it; it’s especially frustrating for her because Seema thought he was a friend and business partner, and he made these decisions alone despite having a verbal agreement. Seema’s storyline is becoming more interesting this season. Here is a woman who has been career-focused for so long, but now it’s starting to fall into disarray along with her love life. She may have decided to stay in the company for now because she doesn’t want to start over, but I have a feeling that’s not going to be the case for long.
Getting back to Carrie,And Just Like Thatis building up to the eventual blow-up argument the couple will most likely (and have to) have. This relationship isn’t sustainable as it is right now, and it’s made even worse by the fact that Aidan doesn’t seem to realize that Carrie wants to be a part of his life in a way he isn’t letting her in on. Who dates a man and buys a house with him — and brings Adderall for his son — only to have to go into hiding upon arrival at his farm?
…And Just Like Thatis building up to the eventual blow-up argument the couple will most likely (and have to) have.
Carrie was clearly embarrassed at the end of the episode and I could empathize. Even when she’s so close to Aidan, she’s never been farther away. She’s not truly a part of his family, his ex-wife is asking her for Adderall (and it’s probably behind Aidan’s back), and Aidan seems to be holding her at arm’s length. Hiding her in the guest house until the morning ultimately makes it seem like she’s a stranger and not someone Aidan is truly sharing his life with. These persistent problems are intriguing to explore and, so far, have been handled in a way that’s engaging.
Charlotte & Lisa’s Work-Related Stories Mostly Work
But Miranda Doesn’t Get Enough Attention
Elsewhere in the episode, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) are struggling with work-related things. Charlotte is trying to keep up with her younger co-workers, who make sales at after-parties and after-after-parties. She struggles to stay awake, but age and wanting nothing but her fuzzy slippers at home are not helping. I wishAnd Just Like Thathad delved a bit more into this, but I’m happy that Charlotte got something substantial here.
Aging in a working environment that isn’t set up to offer empathy or help, especially with the way jobs expect you to commit to working after hours, whether it’s explicitly said or not, is a very real thing. Charlotte feels like she can do it, but going to after-party after after-party is a commitment — and one that isn’t sustainable. I doubt Charlotte will be doing that again when she was able to sell work through her connections at the end of the episode, though it would have been nice for the episode to spend a bit more time exploring age in the workplace.
But the episode asks how long one can ask another to put their other work aside to help you if it means preventing their growth.
For Lisa, it’s losing Grace (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), the editor she’s worked with for eight years, to a Steve McQueen project. This storyline is interesting because it deals with motherhood, the workplace, and loyalty. Often, there’s an unspoken loyalty when you’ve worked with someone so closely and for so long. But the episode asks how long one can ask another to put their other work aside to help you if it means preventing their growth.
“Carrie Golightly” was more subtle with this storyline as Lisa revealed her kids and motherhood as the reason her project is taking so long to make, whereas Grace doesn’t have kids (that we know of), yet sacrificed her time and some other projects to continue working with Lisa. The episode could have delved into this a bit more, but it unfortunately held back, seemingly ready to move on and give Lisa a new editor.
Meanwhile, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) gets the short end of the stick this episode. She goes on a date with Joy (Dolly Wells), the BBC producer she has been getting vibes from, but aside from a very sexually charged moment involving breathing and hands to each other’s chests, nothing much happens. That’s really all we got for Miranda. It’s a half-baked storyline that isn’t even complete. Maybe it’s because Joy is going to be Miranda’s next real relationship and the show is holding back for now, butAnd Just Like Thatcould’ve given us more than it did, and there’ll hopefully be more soon.
