‘And Just Like That…' series finale recap: Carrie Bradshaw embraces independence in closing episode
The 'And Just Like That…' series finale wrapped up character arcs with resolved conflicts and an emphasis on self-reliance for Carrie Bradshaw. Season 3, Episode 12, 'Party of One,' featured Thanksgiving Day storylines, relationship shifts, and an ending that leaves the 'Sex and the City' revival closed on a definitive note
Carrie Bradshaw, portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker, appears in the 'And Just Like That…' series finale, which closes the 'Sex and the City' revival with a focus on independence and self-fulfillment Season 3, Episode 12 of And Just Like That… , titled 'Party of One,' serves as the conclusion to the 'Sex and the City' revival. Running 34 minutes, the episode is shorter than most of the season's installments and addresses multiple character arcs within a condensed timeframe. The narrative takes place on Thanksgiving Day and resolves ongoing subplots without leaving major storylines open.
Seema reevaluates her long-held views on marriage after a conversation with Adam, choosing to embrace a relationship without the expectation of a wedding. Lisa ends a budding romance with Marion and, acknowledging marriage's traditional structures, participates in an impromptu vow renewal with Herbert. Joy's dog Sappho recovers after ingesting a Lego, leading her to join Miranda for the holiday despite Miranda spending the day cleaning a bathroom. Anthony steps back from his engagement to Giuseppe, but the couple remains together. Harry and Charlotte resume intimacy, restoring their balance as a couple.Also read: Carrie Bradshaw's next chapter: 'And Just Like That…' season 3 promises luxe, laughs, and life after 50
Carrie reflects on her history of rarely being without a romantic partner. Speaking to Charlotte, she explains that while she has been single before, she always assumed it would be temporary. On Thanksgiving morning, Carrie tells Adam she wants to change her well-kept garden to something 'wild' and 'free… something more me.' This mirrors a moment from the original Sex and the City , when she mused that some women 'aren't meant to be tamed.' The finale closes with Carrie alone in her home, dancing in heels and tulle, portrayed as fulfilled and unapologetically herself.
The episode includes a moment where Seema asks Carrie why she married Big, and Carrie replies, 'I wanted to feel chosen.' The finale also calls back to the original series through music, switching from Barry White's 'You're The First, The Last, My Everything' to the original Sex and the City theme. While previous endings led to films and this revival, the creative team signals that this is the franchise's final chapter. Carrie declines a setup from Charlotte, underscoring her contentment without pursuing a romantic partner.
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Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Carrie Bradshaw's story may be over, but her clothes live on
Love her or hate her, there is at least one admirable thing about Carrie Bradshaw, the journalist-protagonist of the famed series 'Sex and the City' and its revival, for HBO Max, 'And Just Like That …': No matter the situation, her fashion was undeniable. Kooky, whimsical and often experimental, her wardrobe declared itself in every episode since the pilot of the original series aired on HBO in June 1998, all the way through to the finale of the streaming reboot, which was released on Thursday. Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is known for her off-kilter, singular look that became an integral part of the cultural vernacular. And as a result, her closet of curiosities, both figuratively and literally — whether it was the walk-through hallway of her Upper East Side studio apartment or the museum of a wardrobe in her current Gramercy Park town house — became its own character. The styling of the other core characters — Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) — changed over time, but Carrie's exaggerated skirts and hats and heels and dresses remained one of the show's few constants. In a nod to that, sprinkled throughout the entire three-season run of 'And Just Like That …' were Easter egg references to outfits and accessories from Carrie's past life, whether you noticed them or not. The clearest example arrived in the first episode of the second season of the reboot, in which the characters headed to the Met Gala and Carrie whipped out her history-laden Vivienne Westwood wedding gown, with the addition of a teal cape. 'Her closet has so much lore,' said Chelsea Fairless, a founder of the Every Outfit on SATC Instagram page and a host of the 'Every Outfit' podcast. 'The wardrobe is certainly supposed to be a sort of outward expression of Carrie's inner world' and does more 'storytelling' than the outfits of other characters, she said. At the start of 'Sex and the City,' the show had a small budget for costumes — about $10,000 for each episode, Parker said on an episode of Alex Cooper's podcast, 'Call Her Daddy.' And, she added, 'nobody loaned us anything — we couldn't get our hands on anything.' Carrie's character was also fairly undefined. While Darren Star, the show's executive producer, had envisioned clear-cut personalities for Charlotte (girl next door), Miranda (serious lawyer lady) and Samantha (sex-crazed), Carrie had no 'precise identity,' the show's original stylist and costume designer, Patricia Field, wrote in her autobiography, 'Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules.' The constrained budget, and a character waiting to be developed, gave Field ample room to experiment. In the book, she recalls going on long shopping trips to the discount department store Century 21 and vintage stores around the city, hoping to find a 'Versace gown or Pucci skirt' hidden among the racks. She would hunt for ways to bring an edge to the show and to Parker's character, by mixing high and low fashion in a way that hadn't been done on TV before. Take, for example, the instantly recognizable look from the opening credits of the original series that features a white tulle skirt that Field spotted in 'the five-dollar bin at a midtown fashion showroom,' peeking out 'like the frothy crest of a wave in a sea of throwaways,' she wrote. Field found a full-length raccoon coat at a consignment store for $200, she wrote in her book. It smelled terrible when they found it, but it went on to become a constant staple for Carrie, reappearing many times throughout 'Sex and the City' over 'everything from a silk shirt and crinoline to pajamas.' Before signing on to work on the show, Parker negotiated into her contract that she would own almost all of Carrie's outfits, allowing her to curate an archive that now lives in her storage closet. So when it came time to reboot the show, the producers had a treasure trove to work with that helped bring Carrie and her fashion idiosyncrasies back to life in a way that felt believable, said Molly Rogers, the show's current costume designer and Field's apprentice from the 'Sex and the City' days. 'We had so much to pull from in the past because she saved everything,' Rogers said in an interview. 'People don't really, all of a sudden, go, 'I'm going to rid my closet of crinolines, and I'm going to be in something age appropriate.' You kind of know what you like, and you stick with it because it makes you feel good.' There is a black, studded belt that first appeared in the first of two 'Sex and the City' movies that Parker affectionately named Roger. It then reappeared in the first season of 'And Just Like That ….' Rogers said that on occasion they would pull looks out of the archive, not for Carrie to wear, but to be hung as props in her closet. In the background of one scene, peeking through her rack of clothes, is the mint tulle skirt Carrie wore to see Mr. Big in Paris in the final season of 'Sex and the City,' along with the pink feathered heels she wore in the first season of that series. Recycling looks is also integral to Carrie as a character, who is 'deeply sentimental,' Fairless said. 'I mean, they're not giving Charlotte and Miranda these sort of fashion throwbacks.' Another example Fairless pointed to was the pair of shoes that Carrie wore in the pilot of 'And Just Like That ….' 'That's like, the ultimate sentimental costuming choice with her, because those are, of course, from her wedding to Mr. Big,' she said. In the finale of 'And Just Like That …,' Rogers found a way to give Carrie yet another opportunity to nod back at her single, mid-30s personality from 'Sex and the City.' 'I knew what I would want to see Carrie in for the last time, the last gasp,' she said: A tulle skirt that she dances in as she walks off screen.
News18
11 hours ago
- News18
Sarah Jessica Parker Says She Won't Rewatch Sex And The City Or Its Sequel: 'Don't Find It Pleasant'
Sarah Jessica Parker won't rewatch And Just Like That or Sex and the City. She finds it unpleasant to see herself on screen and says revisiting it would be emotionally complicated. Sarah Jessica Parker won't rewatch And Just Like That… or Sex and the City. The 60-year-old actress is best known for playing Carrie Bradshaw in both programmes but now her stint as the character has finally come to an end, she has no plans to look back because she doesn't 'find it pleasant" to see herself on screen. According to People magazine, Sarah Jessica – who first appeared as Carrie in the first season of Sex and the City in 1995 – said when asked about a rewatch during a Q+A hosted by Threads in New York earlier this week, 'No. I've been talked to about this by the best lungs, and they all have really good reasons why I should. 'I wouldn't want my time back. It's not like I would regret it. I don't like watching myself. I don't find it pleasant, it's not fun for me. I don't find it enjoyable." And as time goes by, Sarah Jessica thinks revisiting the shows would grow more 'complicated". She said, 'And I think the further away it gets from me, the more complicated it would be for sentimental reasons, and maybe even for emotional reasons. 'It's sort of a hard chapter, to try to make simple." But when John Corbett reprised his Sex and the City role of Aidan Shaw in spin-off And Just Like That…, he rewatched the original programme and urged his co-star to check out at least some episodes. Sarah Jessica said, 'The beloved John Corbett, whom I'm so deeply fond of, said, 'You just got to watch these four episodes,' because when he came back, he watched everything. He was so swept away and so sentimental, and he was so proud of the work. I don't want to say that it shouldn't sound like he's so proud of the work he did, but I think he didn't realize how wonderful he was." Because of her reluctance to look back, Sarah Jessica is often amazed by the knowledge of the fans she meets. She said, 'They know my lines much better. I will remember circumstances, but they have the whole picture. They're far more knowledgeable about it. I love it. They'll tell me stuff, and I'm like, 'Really? She said that? Oh my God. She said that to who?' ' view comments First Published: August 17, 2025, 14:40 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
‘And Just Like That…' Season 3 series review: As the ‘Sex and the City' reboot draws to a cringey finale, what will we hate-watch next?
With every episode of the third and final season of And Just Like That…, one hoped the sequel/spin off of Sex and the City would become at least slightly better. Every episode, however, was a disappointment, setting the bar progressively lower, till even the faintest glimmer of fun or flamboyance was greeted with disproportionate joy. And Just Like That… Season: 3 Episode: 12 Runtime: 37–44 minutes Creator: Darren Star Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Sarita Choudhury, Niall Cunningham, Chris Jackson, Nicole Ari Parker, John Corbett Storyline: Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte and their extended side of side characters potter around un-hip parts of New York with their increasingly irrelevant problems While the '90s show (and two movies) SATC, followed four New York women in their 30s, And Just Like That… followed the adventures of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) in their 50s. The fourth woman, PR professional, Samantha (Kim Cattrall), very publicly declared she was done with the character. Looking at the mess that is And Just Like That…, Cattrall was wise to move away from the reboot. And Just Like That… had so much potential which it squandered in messy writing, limp character development and sundry horrors. Twenty years after SATC would have been a chance to comment on so many things, including dating, labels, love and life in the digital age. Every episode of And Just Like That…, is crushing for its refusal to engage with our rapidly changing landscape. Instead all that made SATC so relatable and aspirational — fashion, sex and timely comments on the zeitgeist, is completely missing from And Just Like That…. Carrie lives in an unbelievable mansion, clacking around in heels (did she not have hip surgery last season?), Miranda has lost her smart sarcastic lawyer self to an incompetent alien while Charlotte is unbelievable shrieky. The loves are uninteresting, from Miranda's dog-obsessed Joy (Dolly Wells) to Carrie's nth break-up with Aiden (John Corbett) and her relationship with her author neighbour Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake). The fact that Joy and Duncan are single-note characters, with tweeds and an accent to signify their Britishness is unforgivably lazy. Seema (Sarita Choudhury), the savvy real estate agent who was supposed to be the Samantha in the quartet, like the rest of the characters, has an unbelievable arc, including how despite being the top real estate agent, she has no savings. Her relationship with the hippie gardener, Adam (Logan Marshall-Green), despite showing lots of skin, has zero chemistry. Ditto for Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) and her editor Marion (Mehcad Brooks), or Anthony (Mario Cantone) and his beautiful Giuseppe (Sebastiano Pigazzi). All the young people are shown to be entitled blobs and the side characters, who were an integral part of SATC, bring along dun-coloured side characters, all of whom are eternally boring. Honestly, no one cares about whether Lisa's husband, Herbert, (Chris Jackson), wins the election or Miranda's son, Brady (Niall Cunningham), goes to culinary school. The fashions are uniformly eye-stabbing from Carrie's ridiculous hat to Lisa's macramé Christmas ornament-style necklace. ALSO READ: 'And Just Like That': Sara Ramirez not returning for Season 3 While creator, Michael Patrick King has said, the decision to end the show was a creative one, it might have been cancelled because of falling viewership numbers. Whatever the reason, the show did not deserve that horribly meta finale with the Thanksgiving dinner, and that lingering shot of the contents of a stopped-up toilet bowl. Even if the book Carrie is writing sounded all-round terrible, the finale could have been a glittering party celebrating the success of the novel and the rebirth of Carrie as a novelist. Coulda, woulda, shoulda indeed. And Just Like That… currently streams on JioCinema
