'And Just Like That...' Got Samantha to Come Back—Kind Of

Elle

4 hours ago

Spoilers below.
After embedding herself into Aidan's family in Virginia, Carrie is back in New York putting her best foot forward with a new outlook on her relationship. But in classic Carrie Bradshaw fashion, that foot is dressed in a very fashionable high heel. Her stomping around the apartment in beautiful shoes makes for a great opening montage in this episode, but it's an absolute nuisance to her downstairs neighbor. (Relatable for anyone who's lived in a New York apartment.) It turns out, a British writer named Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake) has moved into the basement unit and is losing sleep over Carrie's click-clacking. He's scruffy yet handsome, but a total curmudgeon. When he asks for Carrie to remove her shoes in her own house, she scoffs—that's asking too much. (This Asian American editor, however, promises it's not so bad!)
Carrie learns during lunch with the girls that this Duncan is actually an acclaimed bestselling author known for his biographies—and Miranda is a fan. So much so, that she begs Carrie to let him sleep so he can finish his next book. According to Seema, who knows everything about New York real estate, Duncan is in town for only six months out of the year, solely to write.
Miranda is having neighbor problems of her own in her illegal Airbnb. The tenant across the hall spends the nights blasting rock music. She slips notes under his door to get him to quiet down, but one day, he actually confronts her in a terrifying manner: He's naked, holding a meat cleaver. He threatens to chop Miranda to pieces if she keeps up with the notes, so she promptly moves in with Carrie. Why didn't they think of this earlier? (Carrie forgot she has extra rooms? As in plural? Can't relate.)
Their issues seem minuscule compared to Harry's, though. During a walk with Charlotte outside the Guggenheim, he reveals he has pancreatic cancer. Luckily, it was detected early and there is a 98 percent survival rate among patients. 'I promise you I am not going to die for a very long time,' he assures Charlotte, almost too matter-of-factly. His only request is that she doesn't tell anyone, including their family and friends, so they don't treat him differently as 'the cancer guy.' This larger focus on Harry is unexpected, but I guess without Aidan or Steve, and a number of other AJLT characters in, he has more space to take up.
The diagnosis won't get in the way of the Goldenblatts' glamping trip that weekend on Governor's Island. Charlotte insists that her children come along to spend quality time with their dad, though she won't say why. Lisa and her family will join them, after Lisa's work trip with her editor Marion to Atlanta. Lisa and her husband Herbert are already having communication issues, and the fact that she's traveling with a good looking male colleague doesn't help.
Meanwhile, Seema continues her quest to launch her own real estate agency, but she needs a loan to put up an office (in TriBeCa) and other business needs (a driver) to keep appearances. She hopes the female bank employee can vouch for her, but it doesn't seem likely. It's obvious that she should help Miranda look for a new place, but Carrie is wary of mixing friendship with business.
She will, however, meddle even further into her neighbor Duncan's business. She gives him a welcome basket and tries to bond over their shared profession as writers, but when he gives her homely house slippers as an 'apology gift,' they're back at odds again. It's not the best time for Carrie to receive a massive furniture delivery, but it's a sentimental surprise. It turns out Aidan bought the table Carrie dreamed of buying and had it delivered to her as a gift. Hopefully the delivery men don't make too much noise.
But there's an even bigger surprise this episode: SAMANTHA. While the great Kim Cattrall sadly doesn't appear on screen (she and SJP have addressed that she's done with the show) we do get to see Samantha's texts. Carrie reaches out to ask what she knows about Duncan, since Samantha lives in London, his home base. According to the high-powered publicist, he's supposed to be a lot of 'fun.' When Carrie says he's living under her apartment, we get a classic quip from Samantha: 'I wish he was under me.' (God, I miss her.) A quick glimpse at their earlier texts reveals that Carrie and Samantha have been playing a bit of phone tag, with them asking each other if they 'missed their window' to call. Despite this seconds-long cameo, it seems like the two longtime friends are staying close.
Carrie and Miranda, however, are getting too close. One night, after Miranda comes back from Joy's place, Carrie finds her naked in the hallway. (At least she didn't have a meat cleaver.) The next morning, she ends up eating Carrie's last yogurt and banana for breakfast without realizing her mistake. Carrie manages to hide her irritation, but the final straw comes when Miranda takes her last Mexican Coke from the fridge and scatters her work clutter across Carrie's new table. In an effort to clean up the mess together, Carrie knocks over the Coke and the drink spills onto the table and Miranda's laptop. In a hurry, Carry accidentally uses Miranda's research to sop up the puddle; Miranda uses Carrie's fancy scarf. They both know this living arrangement isn't going to work.
It just so happens that Seema's loan application has been denied and she's desperate to get working on her business. The stars have perfectly aligned: She will help Miranda look for a new apartment. She got to flirt with Carrie's hot gardener again too.
Over on Governor's Island, Lisa wants to get some space from her husband, but Charlotte wants to spend more time with hers. However, her desperate attempts to get Rock and Lily to bond with their dad—without telling them he has cancer—prove to be futile. The friends slip away to a spa to decompress. Despite Lisa denying her husband's claims that there's something going on between her and Marion, she admits the truth to Charlotte. She has a work crush. But that's okay, right? As long as she doesn't act upon it? She doesn't get much response from Charlotte, who is clearly preoccupied and upset. Charlotte honors the promise she made Harry and continues to keep his illness a secret. Lisa comforts her regardless.
Back at Carrie's, an alarm sounds—there's smoke filling Duncan's room. Carrie lets herself in and sees that his dinner is catching fire on the stove, and he hasn't noticed because he's wearing headphones. In his rush to move the pot, a dishtowel catches fire and falls to the ground, but before the flames can spread, Carrie stomps on the fabric—in her very high heels—to put out the fire. Her noisy shoes saved the day.
Now that Duncan's meal is burnt, he and Carrie head out for dinner and have a real conversation about writing. When she gets back home later that night, Carrie does something brave: She takes off her shoes.