Editor's note: This post contains spoilers for episode 2, titled "The Rat Race," from And Just Like That… season 3.
Episode 2 of Max's And Just Like That… season 3 leaves much to be desired. There isn't much plot, nor does anything particularly interesting happen. Viewers get introduced to new characters, and re-introduced to characters from past seasons. Ultimately, "The Rat Race" is mainly filler and positioned to set up plot points that seem likely to develop throughout the season.
In the episode, we see Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) continuing to work through her long-distance entanglement woes with Aidan (John Corbett) and their lack of communication through text; Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) are figuring out how to get their kids into good colleges; and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is becoming obsessed with a Love Island-esque dating show.
With not much going on this episode, here are our hot takes on season 3, episode 2 of And Just Like That….
Sarah Jessica Parker on And Just Like That… season 3.
Max/HBO Max
The episode opens on Carrie grabbing a drink with Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum), the young twenty-something who took over her apartment at a trendy downtown spot. The unlikely boomeranging of her phone aside, Lisette wanting to meet up to gift Carrie a necklace made especially for her. It's a thick silver necklace with the number 245 on it, a nod to Carrie's old apartment building. That piece, while sentimental, is not something she would wear — it's gaudy and not Carrie's style at all. It's hard to believe Lisette can afford the Upper East Side rent with such bad business acumen.
At no point does Carrie say that the necklace is beautiful. Carrie says, "You made this" and "I love it," which are boilerplate responses to someone who gets you something you're never going to wear. It feels like when your parents get you socks or underwear for Christmas, and you don't want to seem ungrateful, so you fake a smile and say thank you. Carrie doesn't have to feign excitement because before Lisette gifted her the necklace, she tossed her phone into a crowd of people after expressing her frustrations with dating. The man who was hit by her phone returned it to her and offered to buy Carrie and Lisette a drink. Lisette, however, was not coy. "Here we go again," she told Carrie.
Sarita Choudhury on And Just Like That… season 3.
Max/HBO Max
Seema (Sarita Choudhury) is putting herself back on the market after her breakup with Ravi (Armin Amiri), a film director who swept her off her feet, propped her up on a shelf, and forgot her there. They call it quits by the end of episode 1, and Seema decides she wants to try dating again. Unsurprisingly, she lines up multiple dates with a few different guys, but reads them like a book before they even finish talking. After all of the dates fail, her boss sets her up with a matchmaker and initially, Seema is resistant because this matchmaker tells her to change her appearance and attitude. But, eventually, she gives in.
In true Sex and the City fashion, the operation is a dud, and she figures out that she doesn't want to be with a man who makes her shrink herself and tells the matchmaker to stick it where the sun don't shine. Now, it's easy to see why this didn't work out for Seema, but a matchmaker doesn't sound as bad as it seems, at least one that advertises you as you are. Dating apps are the eighth circle of hell, no one knows how to strike up conversations at the bar anymore, and even after chatting with them, some people can't hold a conversation to save their lives.
At this point, most people will try anything, and if someone is willing to do the work of pairing people up, we say, why the hell not?
Cathy Ang on And Just Like That… season 3.
Max/HBO Max
While most people wouldn't forgive Lily for hiding Carrie's phone when Big was trying to call her on the way to the wedding in the first Sex and the City movie, she is redeeming herself this season with this fun plotline.
Everyone remembers their first crush — how all-consuming it was, and how all you could think about was that person and the way looking at them made you feel. Well, And Just Like That… finally got a real yearner this season. Lily (Cathy Ang), Charlotte's daughter, is crushing on one of the boys in the ballet class where she plays the piano (whom we caught a glimpse of in episode 1). They exchange glances and flirt throughout class (while she's playing the piano, nonetheless, and doesn't miss one note, which is pretty impressive). After class, the two are packing it on heavy, making out in the stairwell during their break.
The women of this show have forgotten what it was like to yearn (because they're either married or in a relationship), and Lily is giving the young viewers of this show the start of a storybook romance that many people would devour if it were a YA novel. The actress who plays Lily perfectly balances a high-strung, high school kid with aspirations and responsibilities with a young girl navigating one of her first relationships.
New episodes of And Just Like That… season 3 drop every Thursday on Max.
