Warning: SPOILERS ahead for And Just Like That Season 3, Episode 10, “Better Than Sex.”
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw finally has a good romance in And Just Like That, the revival offering something that’s both fresh and exciting after years of the same relationships in the original Sex and the City series and its movies. And Just Like That season 3 has arguably been the revival’s best chapter, with exciting romances boosting the show.
It’s not just Carrie who’s getting her best romance in years. Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) finally has a fulfilling relationship after her divorce, and even Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) has a fling that she’s happy with. It makes sense for And Just Like That’s characters to be exploring new love stories, though Carrie missed out on that for years.
Carrie Bradshaw & Duncan Reeves Finally Get Together In And Just Like That Season 3, Episode 10
Carrie Finally Has A New Fling That Competes With The Show’s Best Romances
The chemistry has been building between them for several chapters, but it isn’t until And Just Like That season 3, episode 10, that Carrie embarks on a romance with her neighbor, Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake). Duncan moves into the flat below Carrie’s Gramercy Park home, initially making a fuss about her walking around in heels.
Duncan warms up to Carrie when the neighbors bond over their writing, agreeing to help each other with their latest projects. After Carrie and Aidan break up in And Just Like That season 3, episode 9, Carrie finally acts on her connection with Duncan, valuing the way her writing partner praises her intellect more than anything else.
The tides shift as Carrie gets ready for a publishing event she’s attending with Duncan. She first goes to wear a gray suit, the outfit signaling strictly business. However, Carrie changes at the last moment, allowing herself to wear a Vivienne Westwood dress that makes the event feel more like a date, and she looks absolutely fabulous.
Carrie switching outfits indicates she’s opening up to a new romance, allowing herself to see the event with Duncan as more than just an outing between peers. At the end of “Better Than Sex,” Carrie and Duncan are intimate. Things are still up in the air for the writers, but the tide has turned — it’s a love story now.
Duncan Reeves Is Carrie Bradshaw’s First Good Romance After Sex And The City
Carrie Has Been Caught Between Aidan & Mr. Big
When you think about it, this is Carrie’s first real romance in a long time. Sex and the City is about Carrie and her friends exploring new romantic relationships, but Bradshaw has been caught up in the same love stories for decades. For the longest time, Carrie’s love life oscillates between Aidan and Mr. Big (Chris Noth).
Carrie goes back and forth between dating Aidan and John Preston in Sex and the City, ultimately ending the original TV series with Big. Carrie then navigates her romance hurdles with John in the franchise’s two self-titled movies. Carrie and Big have massive disagreements about their wedding in the first movie, and spend the second movie establishing their married life.
Carrie diverts from Big momentarily, exchanging a kiss with Shaw in Abu Dhabi in Sex and the City 2. Still, for decades, Carrie went back and forth between the same partners. Carrie is given other romances after John’s death, but they are never anything she seriously considers, and they don’t have the same spark as her connection with Duncan.
Who Else Has Carrie Bradshaw Dated In And Just Like That
Carrie Has A Series Of Unfulfilling Flings
Carrie has several romances in And Just Like That, but none of them offer anything as fresh, new, or promising as some of Bradshaw’s love interests in Sex and the City. Of course, Carrie kicks off the series still married to Mr. Big, having built a happy life with her partner and having enjoyed a decade of marriage.
After Mr. Big’s shocking death in And Just Like That’s premiere, though, Carrie spends some time grieving. The first date she goes on is with Peter (John Tenney), a teacher from Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Lisa’s (Nicole Ari Parker) school, who bids on a date with the former sex columnist at a fundraiser that the moms put on.
Carrie and Peter have a sweet connection, having both lost their partners, but the connection doesn’t go anywhere, as they’re both still grieving. However, at the end of And Just Like That season 1, Carrie shares a kiss with her podcast boss, Franklyn Silvas (Ivan Hernandez), teasing a potential romance for Carrie in And Just Like That season 2.
However, Carrie and Franklyn call things off relatively soon in the romance, since Franklyn wants to date more seriously, and she’s not in a place to commit. Carrie also has an interesting fling with a man named George (Peter Hermann), an app developer whom Carrie dates for an episode, but she calls it off before the chapter ends.
Since Carrie embarks on a romance with Aidan partway through And Just Like That season 2, emailing her former beau and asking him to meet her, she really doesn’t have time to explore anything exciting between her romances with Big and Aidan, still confined to the same two men for the majority of the revival show.
Why And Just Like That Needed Three Seasons To Give Carrie A Decent Romance
Carrie Bradshaw Needed To Move On Properly
Image via Max
Unfortunately, And Just Like That took three seasons to finally give Carrie a proper romance, something that rivaled the excitement of the love stories in Sex and the City. While Carrie’s flings didn’t always work out, they added essential dialogue to the series, and it’s something that the revival show has lacked. Still, there’s a reason it took time.
The audience can completely embrace a new era for Carrie Bradshaw.
If Carrie hadn’t fleshed out the extent of her romances with Big and Aidan, fans might not have subscribed to her moving on to a new chapter. Now that Carrie is truly untethered from her connections to Big and Aidan for good, both she and the audience can completely embrace a new era for Carrie Bradshaw.
Sadly, her romance with Duncan will be the end of Carrie’s love stories, since showrunner Michael Patrick King revealed that And Just Like That season 3 would be the final chapter of the revival, and potentially the franchise. I just wish that Carrie had explored more romances in the series, truly reviving what made Sex and the City great.
And Just Like That…
5/10
- Release Date
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December 9, 2021
- Network
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HBO Max, Max
- Showrunner
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Michael Patrick King
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Sarah Jessica Parker
Carrie Bradshaw
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Cynthia Nixon
Miranda Hobbes
