And Just Like That Review: When In Rome (Season 1 Episode 3)

Mr. Big’s death is inexcusable and uninspired storytelling, but Carrie’s grief journey remains the most authentic plot on And Just Like That Season 1 Episode 3, “When In Rome.” 

Who could sleep when they’ve just lost the love of their life? What is there to do in Manhattan when you are in a grief fog other than follow a random dog to see where he takes you? 

It even makes sense that Carrie is learning random details about Big that she never knew. We all have secrets and quirks and life is boring if you know everything about your spouse. 

The Natasha of it all is ridiculous, though. I’m not mad that John left his ex-wife a million dollars. I’m mad because it’s still too soon after Big’s death for comedy, Just Like That. 

And if Natasha must be back, can there please be a point to her presence? 

She and Carrie end their conversation at the coffee shop agreeing that Big left her the money to apologize to her and that they should not follow each other on Instagram. We could have guessed both of these things during the scene where Miranda and Big’s secretary are reading the will. 

Natasha is not marginalized because of anything other than being a woman but watching her and Carrie become friends would be a more unique story than Che Diaz brings to Just Like That.  

It’s baffling that they are a comedian because zero “jokes” they told during their stand-up special are funny. The show is just preachy, which is the exact opposite of funny. 

I respect Cynthia Nixon’s sexuality, but I don’t need Miranda to turn queer in 2021 because Nixon is. Or, perhaps Miranda being queer would be fine if her love interest were anyone other than Che. 

The cinematography Just Like That uses to freeze the moment when Che shotguns Miranda with weed is cool. Other than that, I could do without them

Carrie needs to stop ignoring Charlotte, though, because the alcoholism is more important to focus on than Miranda’s awakened identity. 

Mentioning Charlotte brings us to Rose, who is the best character on Just Like That so far. But the point of their story so far is only to teach Charlotte to become a more tolerable parent. 

I risk sounding like a broken record, but I will continue to say that all marginalized communities deserve better representation than this. 

Killing Mr. Big so that Just Like That can do the same thing Sex and the City did does not make it fresh; nor does plopping “diverse” people into this world so they can scream about how different they are than everyone else rather than live their lives.

Just Like That is as cringeworthy as Che’s “woke moment” and “trigger moment” buttons. If we can’t have Samantha, at least bring the real Carrie back. 

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New episodes of And Just Like That are available to stream Thursdays on HBO Max.

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