It’s possible that Enid Frick (Candice Bergen) is the only person who ever had the correct read on Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker). The former editor who once mercilessly eviscerated Carrie’s first draft for Vogue is back to be prickly and uncharmed by Carrie’s whole schtick.
In this episode of And Just Like That …, she and Carrie bump into each other awkwardly in a restaurant. Enid hasn’t sent a condolences card after Big’s death and has blown off her email requesting she provide a blurb for Carrie’s latest book, and even now when Carrie asks that she promote it in her popular newsletter Ask Enid (“It’s rivaling Goop”), Enid declines. But she tells Carrie she had her in mind for her new online magazine for older women, Vivant, saying it’s focused “on women our age.” Obviously, being told she is in the same age bracket as a 75-year-old sends Carrie into a tailspin.
Sex And The City always suggested Enid was merely jealous of Carrie, and there’s some of that here as she whines that she doesn’t have her own book to promote. But I think Enid’s jealousy is likely rooted in a feeling that Carrie’s writing is overrated, if not mediocre, but that she has built a career by utilizing charm in a way Enid obviously does not, particularly with men. And I’m not here to take sides in that debate other than to say that this episode is a total showcase of how it makes no sense for Carrie to be a sex columnist when she is constantly uncomfortable with any conversation that turns sexual. Who gave this woman a sex column that launched a career and her current three-part book deal when she openly refuses to talk about vaginas?!
Carrie whines about the encounter with Enid to Seema (Sarita Choudhury), and once again, coaching Carrie is the only thing Seema gets to do this episode. Seema at first brushes off the suggestion that Carrie is old—“we’re sophomores, not seniors”—but backtracks once she learns that the comment was made by the Enid Frick, whom Seema idolizes. She encourages Carrie to go to the Vivant launch event and barter participation for a blurb in Ask Enid.
Meanwhile, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) are sending all their kids off to camp, and everyone is thrilled for some kid-free time. Herbert (Chris Jackson) and Lisa are going to focus on work, as well as their upcoming twentieth-anniversary party, and Harry (Evan Handler) and Charlotte have plans to get busy. We then get a very graphic scene where Charlotte says, “Do you want to come on my tits?” and look, I get that there was a criticism of the show losing its sexual frankness in season one, but watching this line come out of Kristin Davis’s mouth was unsettling. Harry is game, but trouble is that his orgasm was ejaculation-free.
Charlotte brings this up over lunch with Carrie, Miranda, and Anthony (Mario Cantone), and Carrie makes a “Casper the friendly cum” joke. They all debate the merits of jizz-free sex, and when Miranda asks Carrie for her thoughts on jizz, Carrie replies, “I’ve never given it any thought until literally this moment.” Once again, you are a sex columnist! Sex and the City featured a whole episode about golden showers! You’ve never written or even thought about jizz? Charlotte and Harry visit the doctor, who says this is normal but that Harry can get his ejaculation back by doing pelvic floor exercises. Charlotte, a master of kegels, coaches him like a personal trainer, and that’s their entire storyline for this episode.
Lisa, on the other hand, has a lot more to do. With the kids out of the house, she’s focusing on her documentary, which will be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. She and Herbert enjoy a date night, reveling in the interruption-free conversation and talking about how much they can get done when they aren’t responsible for the daily activities of three children. We learn that Herbert has been mulling over a run for city comptroller (a word that will never not seem like a typo to me), but he has decided that he’s going to put it off for now, because he knows a campaign would cause so much more to fall to Lisa. Lisa loves this decision, and these two are off to fuck.
Miranda, finally back in New York to deal with the Brady (Niall Cunningham) situation, is sleeping on her own couch while Steve (David Eigenberg) has installed a punching bag in a doorframe and is constantly going 10 rounds with it. He does this shirtless, and I see you, David Eigenberg! I surmise you had some demands to look more attractive after the hearing-aid scenes from last season. Everyone is due at family therapy, where they’ve apparently worked through Brady’s breakup woes, but now he wants to force the issue on his parents’ separation and also shares he isn’t planning to attend college in the fall. Steve is fine with this, and Miranda won’t share any real opinions. “This is not who she is, just so you know,” Brady tells the therapist, and I assume everyone at home also screamed, “Thank you!” at their TV screens.
Miranda only unloads her thoughts once she’s with Carrie, admitting she doesn’t feel like she has a right to share with her family because, she “blew us up and we all know it.” Miranda bitching to Carrie is the first time she has seemed like herself all season, and it would be nice to get more of it. Why is Miranda so obsessed with leaving her old self behind? Doesn’t she know there’s a book out there called We Should All Be Mirandas?
Che (Sara Ramirez) is back in town, along with their ex-husband Lyle (Oliver Hudson), who drove them and their stuff across the country to move into a new apartment. Carrie and Miranda go over for a drink, the group discusses Lyle and Che’s two-year marriage and throuple situation with a woman, and Carrie tries to leave once they discuss strap-ons. Is this woman only down to discuss missionary, or what? She bails, and the other three fall asleep, only for a Che/Miranda middle-of-the-night make out session to turn into the beginning of a threesome. “Are you okay with this?” Che asks. “Thank you for asking, my visceral reaction is no, but maybe that’s fear of the unknown,” Miranda overanalyzes. She agrees, but then she gets a Charley horse that puts a damper on things and she and Che end up on the couch anyway.
The night of Lisa and Herbert’s twentieth-anniversary party arrives, and it’s supposed to be a big four-course meal for 31 people. Only, oops, Herbert forgot to hit send on the Evites and only the people Lisa invited by word of mouth have shown up. That includes her father, Herbert’s challenging mother, an old gallerist friend, and Harry and Charlotte. Charmed by Charlotte, the gallerist (Victor Garber) offers her a job, but she insists her children need her now more than ever. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this development, and I’m dying for Charlotte to have something more to do than attend PTA meetings and micromanage her children’s lives.
When the in-laws begin trading barbs and Lisa’s father (Billy Dee Williams) suggests that Herbert is only obsessed with money, rather than putting anything good into the world, Lisa rashly shares that he’s running for city comptroller. Noooo, Lisa. I want a more fabulous future for you than politician’s wife! But this couple is the most interesting one on the show right now, I have to admit.
The episode wraps up at Enid’s launch party for Vivant, where Gloria Steinem is in attendance. Carrie is so moved by her presence and speech that she agrees to write for the magazine despite her earlier reservations, but once again, she’s overestimated her own importance. Enid: “I don’t want you to write 1,000 words about purses; I want you to give $100,000.” Well played, Enid.
Stray observations
- During their brunch in the opening scene, Jackie (Bobby Lee) runs off to the bathroom because “I just broke my no hollandaise before noon rule.” Some of the humor on this show so bizarrely plays like it was written by a middle-school boy.
- The entire subplot about Marlon Schafer—an old man Bitsy (Julie Halston) is trying to set Carrie up with, while he’s dating Enid—was so unnecessary. Also the dick pic that Bitsy sent was flaccid. Is that how they are when you’re of a certain age?
- Charlotte during Harry’s pelvic exercises: “Think of your penis like an elephant’s trunk slurping from the river!” This does weirdly feel like the show getting back to its roots and showcasing sexual things that aren’t typical on television.
- When Lisa forgets to order the cake, Herbert’s mother once again reminds me of my grandmother: “Can I tell you why I never forgot to order the cake? Because I baked them all myself and I was happy to do it.”