Top 10 Cringiest And Just Like That Moments

Remember sweet little Brady from “Sex and the City”? Well, he’s not so sweet anymore. Now, the 17-year-old is an amalgamation of almost every awful teen character cliché that the writers could think of. He’s obnoxious, messy and bratty. To cap that all off: no one’s parents want to hear their kids having sex. His girlfriend, Luisa is no better. She acts all entitled and she’s pretty rude to Miranda and Steve, too. There’s no way that this grounded couple could have raised such an unpleasant kid. There are only so many times you can play the raging hormones and teen rebellion card before it gets tiresome.

After learning that Kim Cattrall wouldn’t be returning, fans were intrigued to see how the show would handle Samantha’s absence. Needless to say, many of us were left unimpressed. Nothing about their explanation suited the character we all know at all - like, do we really think Samantha is so fragile as to drop all her friends because of a professional interaction? Sidebar: why would Carrie need a PR rep on retainer ANYWAY? To add insult to injury, it often feels like they’re trying to make Anthony or even Seema the new Samantha. And, we simply aren’t buying it. When Willie Garson sadly passed away in September 2021, they used the “moved abroad” tactic to explain his absence as well. The notes he leaves Carrie and Anthony felt rather reminiscent of a certain infamous cringe-worthy post-it-note. These characters deserved better, as did we!

Look, we get it: aging is inevitable. But how is it that Steve seems to have aged so much more than everyone else? Not looks-wise, but everything else. Although granted, his hearing loss is reflective of David Eigenberg’s real-life condition. But in general, Steve’s portrayed as a confused and awkward shell of his former self. While Miranda’s going through a sexual awakening and struggling with addiction, he’s picking chia seeds out of his teeth. That certainly doesn’t sound like the witty wise-cracker we remember. The writers responded to the backlash by insisting that they love Steve and his “Steve-ness”. We just hope that future episodes prove it.

Fans were divided over whether or not Miranda’s chemistry and subsequent affair with Che felt forced. But scenes like this weren’t exactly winning them any favors. Che visits Carrie, who’s recuperating from surgery. But since she’s fast asleep, Che and Miranda share a bottle of tequila in the kitchen. And just like that, things get rather intimate. This scene is one long, continuous cringe-fest, whether it’s Carrie catching her friend and boss going at it or the accident she has when there’s no one to help her to the bathroom. It’s one of those scenes where you want to look away, but you simply can’t.

The revival of “Sex and the City” promised to address some of the original’s shortcomings. In fact, Cynthia Nixon told Elle that this was why she chose to return to the series. And sure, there’s more diversity on camera and among the writers, yet it lacks authenticity. Instead, the new characters feel like they exist to tick a box, making them hard to watch. They’re still just the supporting players, and even when their stories are being told, it’s from a white point of view. Things like this make us believe that this series should have stayed in the past where it belongs.

While planning a dinner party, Charlotte worries that cool mom Lisa Todd Wexley will be the only person of color there. Her solution? Forcibly try to befriend other people of color. She hounds her poor neighbor and even asks Anthony to help her get in touch with one of his black friends. The insensitive faux pas don’t end there either. Charlotte commits the first blunder at Herbert’s birthday party by mistaking a guest for another black woman she knows. Meanwhile, Harry overcompensates for his awkwardness by embarrassingly name-dropping Black celebrities. It took all of our might not to cover our ears and hum loudly over the agonizing dialogue.

“Sex and the City” approached their LGBTQ+ characters through a very heteronormative lens. But now, they had a second chance to get it right, or so we hoped. After Charlotte’s younger child tries to come out, Charlotte attempts to explain what happened to Anthony. We were left completely aghast by his dismissive attitude and recoiled in horror as he essentially told Charlotte to ignore it. Nothing’s worse than when he compares the situation to a six-year-old kid wanting to be a dog. This could have been such a poignant moment about acceptance for Charlotte and Rock. Instead, we were left wide-eyed by this totally tone-deaf conversation.

Miranda was often the forward-thinking, outspoken advocate of the group. So we guess they wanted to show that anyone can misfire when it comes to the subject of race. Even so, that scene from her first day in class should be locked away in some vault to save us from the secondhand embarrassment. Pro tip: don’t take a shot after every microaggression, because you won’t make it out of the scene conscious. But even if we ignore that scene, we’d still be left with her white savior complex. Surely, Miranda understands the difference between getting annoyed at a security guard, who’s just asking for ID, and what to do when someone is getting mugged in front of you? It’s very clear that these women have nothing in common, so their budding friendship feels painfully forced too.

As we’ve mentioned, “Sex and the City” had its problems. “And Just Like That…” was here to prove that the series could get with the times. Only, it really couldn’t. Rather than focus on a couple of social issues and really do them justice, they tried to tackle a bit of everything and fell short at almost every step. As if that isn’t bad enough, much of the dialogue points at how woke the show thinks it's being. This was a major turnoff for many fans and had plenty of us facepalming throughout. Remember when your teacher would say show, don’t tell? Well, this is why.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Pandemic? What Pandemic?, Various
Yes, We’re All Very Aware of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Thanks

Carrie Watches Big, “Hello It's Me”
This Is Where a Cutaway Would Have Been Appreciated

Carrie Patronizes Seema, “Some of My Best Friends”
We Guess the Writers Missed the Memo About Not Shaming Older Women with Active Love Lives

Carrie’s Date Pukes on Her, “Sex and the Widow”
We Really Didn’t Need to See That

Carrie Wears a Sari, “Diwali”
Did They Learn Nothing from “Sex and the City 2?”

Sigh. Che symbolizes a lot of the show’s pitfalls. Their introduction was lacking and their entire personality is steeped in tokenism. Their awful podcast voiced the show’s most combative wokeism and it’s hard to forget that stand-up special. For a show that claims to be aware of the lack of representative non-binary characters in the media, “And Just Like That…” does a pretty decent job of turning Che into a cringe-worthy caricature. They could have been such a positive force in Miranda’s sexual awakening, rather than just. Then there’s how they turned Miranda into the very thing she couldn’t stand [a cheater aka Steve in the first film]. Just imagine what impact they could have had on the coming-out journey of Charlotte’s youngest, too. Che’s character had so much potential, but their scenes were just so hard to watch.