*And Just Like That…episode 1 and 2 spoiler alert*

There’s a moving box in my garage filled with clothes: a ruby red satin cape from the 60’s, a quilted Jeanne Marc matador length jacket with big round shoulders, a polka dot crepe jumpsuit, jewel tone sweaters sprinkled with sequins.

Occasionally I open the box, stick my head into the pile of textures and layers, and breathe in hard through my nostrils as my lungs and diaphragm expand, inhaling scents that are potent and sharp, and then I sit up and cry.

The clothes belonged to my mother who died in 2018. So when Carrie grabbed Big’s suits in their apartment-sized closet and took a big whiff in the second episode of And Just Like That…, the reboot of Sex and the City, I understood, and I cried.

I understood the odious funeral home, the friends who stepped up, the insomnia, regret, and the tears-free funeral. I recognize the person who showed up at the funeral with her own agenda, and the moment Carrie received the ashes.

The reaction to the first 2 episodes of And Just Like That… have been largely negative. Too sad, too depressing, no spark, no Samantha, and now Big?

The judgment has been harsh given that only 2 episodes have aired. But I get it. The creators didn’t do a Ted Lasso that’s uplifting and inspiring. They went for change, and change is truthful and hard.

Middle aged women face a lot of transitions, and the show creators set the stage to explore them…friendship breakups, gray hair shaming, the used condoms in Brady’s bedroom. 😦

The ultra-Karenness, wobbly wokeness, and overprotective mothering of Miranda. Charlotte’s perfectionism that her daughter Rose rejects. Carrie, confused and dumbstruck, facing a shocking future alone.

In the book The Happiness Curve, studies show that happiness in adult life tends to follow a U-curve trajectory with life satisfaction high in our early 20’s, gradually sloping down into middle age, and then rising beginning in our mid 50’s.

The nadir isn’t a mid-life crisis. It’s a time when we grow, mature, and put our hard earned wisdom to work by shifting priorities.

Miranda is a good example. As we watch her character swim through cringey encounters in both episodes, we find out she had an epiphany about working in corporate law. She drops her decades-long career to return to school. She’s the oldest in the classroom, and it’s spine-tingly uncomfortable, yet she is willing to be a beginner again.

The show has flaws. Time has passed, but Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte’s cluelessness seems out of character. The explanation for Samantha’s departure is thin (imagine her on the podcast 🎯🔥) And seriously, if you want to eat fries, eat the damn fries.

In past seasons, Carrie starts each episode with a question for her newspaper column about relationships and single living.

How often is normal?

Are there still certain things in a relationship one should never say?

Do we need a drama to make a relationship work?

Can you get to a future if your past is present?

The question in middle age is “What do I do now?”.

I miss Samantha. And I’ll always be a fan. 👠🍎