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Please, No More Aidan Shaw in 'And Just Like That'

Please, No More Aidan Shaw in 'And Just Like That'

Cosmopolitan18-06-2025

This story was originally published in 2023, during 'And Just Like That...' season 2. We've republished it in honor of season 3, which is airing now on HBO Max.
Like most of my fellow Sex and the City fans, when the new series And Just Like That... first aired back in 2021, the anticipation had me shaking in my Manolo Blahniks (JK, I don't own any). But it took me back to the days of SATC gone by, when I couldn't wait to see what epic fashion pieces would pop up in the show and what ludicrous relationship antics the girls would get up to next. I was prepped on the sofa, armed with snacks and ready to dive into the lives of these now more mature characters. Then…just like that…they killed Big. And in season 2, they put Aidan Shaw in his place. And it's really, really not working for me.
To be able to talk about Aidan requires me to sort through my feelings about Big, because the men have always been two sides of the Carrie relationship coin. Carrie and Big's relationship had major issues. Big was never exactly Carrie's knight in shining armor, and thinking back, there were many times when his behavior was selfish and narcissistic. Leaving Carrie at the altar and embarrassing her in front of hundreds of guests certainly wasn't his finest hour, and we were all team Charlotte when she fiercely defended her friend in those iconic New York street scenes.
Up until the first season of AJLT, the show's writers wanted us to believe in Carrie and Big at all costs. No matter what happened or how bad things got, the storylines would see them reunited. They pushed hard for us to view these two as endgame, so we rode loyally through the battlefield that was their relationship.
And in season 2 of And Just Like That... we got the curveball that is Aidan. I have to question the decision to bring Aidan back. Where was the chance to see Carrie have a string of wild and wacky relationships and fall back in love with herself and NYC life after Big's death? I needed more of that and more time with Carrie learning about who she is now. So much of Sex and the City's original charm was its element of fun. With Carrie being single and navigating life again, there was a golden opportunity to bring back the 'boyfriend of the week' vibe but from a fresh and mature perspective. Especially considering that in pop culture, women over 50 very rarely get the chance to date around onscreen.
Don't get me wrong—I love John Corbett as much as the next gal, but there seems to have been a harsh line in the sand drawn from the perspective of the show: If we bring Aidan back, we have to shove it down viewers' throats that Big is/was insignificant. In season 2, episode 8 Carrie even muses, 'I've been asking myself, was Big a big mistake?' The audacity! Even Miranda doesn't know how to reply. To ask viewers to spend so much time invested in a fictional relationship to then backtrack completely not only stings but is a bit nonsensical.
To be clear, it's not only the retconning of Big in favor of Aidan that infuriates me. But let's not forget that Carrie and Aidan were also never the perfect couple. She didn't even like him enough to wear her engagement ring on her actual finger! She had an affair for a good chunk of the time they were together. And he spent much of this season refusing to come into her apartment. Just because Carrie had two loves doesn't mean we have to swap out one for the other. The answer to Big's death is not automatically Aidan!
As season 2's finale aired, things got even weirder as Aidan told Carrie to wait FIVE YEARS for their relationship to resume so he can focus on being a father. That's one hell of a time-out, and with season 3 currently airing, I'm not sure how the writers will play this one. As of now, it looks like we will all have to suffer along with Carrie, but who's to say what the rest of the season will bring!
Watching the show still somehow feels like receiving a warm hug from an old friend. It truly has become my favorite comfort watch, even if it does leave me baffled. But what will the rest of season 3 bring to the table? You can bet I'll still be tuning in to find out. Let's just hope that there's a lot less Aidan Shaw, at least for a while.

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7 top new movies to stream this week on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and more (July 1-7)
7 top new movies to stream this week on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and more (July 1-7)

Tom's Guide

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7 top new movies to stream this week on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and more (July 1-7)

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The 'John Wick' franchise's latest attempts at expansion, following 2023's pretty lackluster Peacock series 'The Continental,' is a spinoff film starring Ana de Armas as a seriously lethal ballerina/assassin who is trained under the watch of Anjelica Huston's Director (who was introduced in 'John Wick 3'). Despite a reportedly tricky production cycle, the final result is an action-thriller more than worthy of the 'Wick' name. Action fans will love this thrill ride. I'd go as far as to say 'Ballerina' contains some of the franchise's best ever action sequences, with one involving an ultra-powerful flamethrower a personal highlight. Armas also proved to be a suitable candidate for leading a high-octane action romp, even if her character's backstory feels pretty routine. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. 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22 Of The Very Worst And Best Queer TV And Movie Scenes
22 Of The Very Worst And Best Queer TV And Movie Scenes

Buzz Feed

time4 hours ago

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22 Of The Very Worst And Best Queer TV And Movie Scenes

I asked BuzzFeed readers to share the LGBTQ+ TV and movie scenes they deemed the very the ones they deemed the very worst. So, without further ado, here are 11 queer scenes that totally missed the mark, and here are 10 more that were so good, they became instantly iconic: WORST: When Samantha reveals that she's dating Maria in Sex in the City: "I recently rewatched Sex and the City and couldn't help but cringe at the lack of support when Samantha told the girls. Samantha is such a girl's girl and always supports her friends, whether it's in terms of sex, sexuality, or anything else. It really disappointed me!"— Harriet, 34 BEST: "On Schitt's Creek, when David explains himself with wine labels. It helped put a lot of things into words for a lot of people." "I also believe a lot of light bulbs went off and people figured out that they are bisexual. 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This one was awful because I was in my teens while Glee was on, and at that time, I was also questioning my sexuality, and that was the first time I saw someone say, 'Hey, I like boys AND girls.' It was something I could immediately relate to, only to be shut down instantly by someone else saying it was a lie..."—Anonymous BEST: The scene where Robin comes out to Steve in Stranger Things. —Angelica Martinez WORST: "The scene in Blue is the Warmest Color where one woman fingers the other very conspicuously in a restaurant, and the other woman (the one being fingered) was screaming and moaning louder than a banshee." "I hated that scene; it made me so uncomfortable. The whole movie was made even worse when it came out that the star, Lèa Seydoux, was extremely uncomfortable filming the movie as a whole. I truly feel like that movie was made more for straight men rather than queer women. 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Why Kyle MacLachlan rejected offer to reprise his ‘SATC' role on ‘And Just Like That'
Why Kyle MacLachlan rejected offer to reprise his ‘SATC' role on ‘And Just Like That'

New York Post

time13 hours ago

  • New York Post

Why Kyle MacLachlan rejected offer to reprise his ‘SATC' role on ‘And Just Like That'

It wasn't Trey's day. Kyle MacLachlan, who played Trey MacDougal on 'Sex and the City,' had his reasons for turning down a chance to reprise the role on the spinoff 'And Just Like That.' 'Listen, I would love to come back and have fun,' MacLachlan, 66, told Us Weekly in a story published Sunday. Advertisement 6 Kyle MacLachlan and Kristin Davis on 'Sex and the City.' Sex and the City/HBO The 'Twin Peaks' star added, 'And what they suggested to me, I said, 'I think there should be more.' So I just said, 'I wonder, if the relationship that Charlotte and Trey had demands a little more than their first idea.'' Trey was Charlotte York's (Kristin Davis) first husband, who appeared on Seasons 3 and 4 of 'Sex and the City.' He was a cardiologist and considered a catch – until Charlotte discovered that they were incompatible in the bedroom. His manipulative mother, Bunny (Frances Sternhagen, who died in 2023 at age 93), also drove a wedge between them. Advertisement 'Sex and the City' originally ran from 1998 to 2004, following Charlotte, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) through dating adventures in New York City. 6 Kyle MacLachlan at the Tribeca Festival on June 09, 2025 in New York City. WireImage 6 Kristin Davis, as Charlotte York, Sarah Jessica Parker, as Carrie Bradshaw, and Cynthia Nixon, as Miranda Hobbes in 'And Just Like That' in 2021. GC Images 'And Just Like That' (currently in its third season on Max) follows them through life in their 50s, sans Samantha. Advertisement Cattrall's absence from the show comes amid behind-the-scenes cast feud rumors, which SJP has denied. However, Cattrall had a brief cameo in Season 2, and Samantha had an off-screen cameo in a recent Season 3 episode (in the form of a text message exchange with Carrie). 6 Kristin Davis and Kyle MacLachlan on 'Sex and the City.' Sex and the City/HBO 6 Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That.' Max Advertisement 6 Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis are seen on the set of 'And Just Like That' in 2021. GC Images MacLachlan didn't elaborate on what the writers had planned for Trey's plotline if he reprised the role on 'And Just Like That.' But he did weigh in on where he thinks Trey would be today. 'It'd be very interesting,' the actor said. 'I had suggested that Trey has maybe moved to Napa and has a very successful winery and label there — you can see where I'm going with this. But no, I actually haven't said anything yet. Regardless. The show's doing great. They're all lovely. And I adore them.' 'And Just Like That' airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Max.

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