And Just Like That… I would rather not talk about it anymore

Three cheers, because HBO Max is finally available in the Netherlands. This means we can now watch the reboot of Gossip Girl and And Just Like That, the reboot of Sex and the City, through legal means. And much more, by the way; I had a Pretty Little Liars marathon last weekend: it was amazing. I needed it too, because before that I had already finished And Just Like That and I really need to talk to you about it. I think everyone is familiar with the concept of hate-watching, but this didn't even fall under that; at a certain point, only the ‘hate’ was left.

Warning: spoilers incoming

This series is just really poorly constructed. While we enjoyed the original series with four single women living their best lives in New York City, it was inevitable that they would have aged. Grown up. With families, children, that sort of thing. But where we enjoyed every personality in the original, there is nothing left of that in And Just Like That.

Of course, Kim Cattrall is a huge loss, and, as it turns out, Samantha did carry the show a bit. But what I find even worse is what they have done to Miranda. There is nothing left of the woman she was and became in Sex and the City, with the biggest thorn in the side being her affair with the non-binary Che Diaz. Miranda cheats, knowing it completely broke her when Steve did the same in the first Sex and the City movie.

Not only does she seem to have completely forgotten that; she has no problems lying outright to her husband. We see no moment of regret, fear, or sadness from her. The moment she tells Steve she wants a divorce seems like a moment of pure relief, completely indifferent to the fact that she is turning his life upside down; it’s only about the love between her and Che, and everything else seems to have to give way. Miranda, who was once so ambitious, gives up a hugely important internship to rush off to LA to join Che. It’s even so important that she can't support her best friend Carrie during the scattering of her deceased husband's ashes. Just a reminder: when Carrie rushed off to Paris with her Russian flame, that didn't sit well with Miranda (understatement). But it seems Miranda, just like all her morals and values, has left that behind in Sex and the City.

Then I also want to talk about what they have done to Steve. The actor himself is open about his hearing aid; he fears that he will get fewer roles because of it. The fact that Steve seems almost deaf in And Just Like That has everything to do with this. But why in this way? Why does a hearing aid apparently come with being a pathetic, almost helpless man who seems to have no self-worth left?

That Sex and the City was a completely white show (even for that time), is of course undeniable. That they would address and change that in the reboot is something we can only applaud, and it is also completely justified. But... The way they did it? It seems as if the creators have made a checklist and ticked things off step by step to be as inclusive as possible.

Each of the three characters was assigned something: Charlotte's daughter, Rose, indicated that she is gender-fluid and will henceforth go through life as Rock. It later turned out to be the entire storyline surrounding Rock; the only character trait we have seen is that Rock is gender-fluid — quite one-dimensional. What I found painful to see was Charlotte's realization that she has too few black friends in her friend group and therefore started approaching random black people to come to her dinner with her friends. I am all for more diversity, but why does it have to be in such a strange, insincere, and especially awkward way?

Miranda's new love, Che, who was also Carrie's boss at their podcast, became Miranda's inclusive ‘sidekick’. Che is a stand-up comedian who, as far as we have seen, can only make jokes about making women orgasm. The only moment we see any of her personality, any further emotion, is when she finds out that Miranda is still married; something she absolutely does not approve of. But this also turns out not to be a bump in their relationship.

Carrie gets Seema as a sidekick, a power woman who is a real estate agent. Honestly: I found her the best of all the overly obvious sidekicks; I would have liked to see more of her.

I think it's a missed opportunity. Where And Just Like That could have been a series about aging and showing ‘real’ life, we saw none of that. Carrie had a bit of trouble with her hip, but that turned out to be *thankfully* a congenital defect and had nothing to do with her body showing signs of aging. Instead, we were treated to a scene of Carrie peeing in her bed because she doesn't dare to disturb Miranda, who is having an exploding orgasm in her kitchen from Che's fingers at that moment. I wish I was joking.

And Just Like That... I will stubbornly maintain that Sex and the City ended forever with the (also quite problematic) second movie.

Image: by Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max