[PREVIEW] 'And Just Like That' Part 4: A Wedding, a They Mitzvah and a Funeral

In the finale of season 1 of “And Just Like That…”, our gals are in the full swing of their third acts — mid-widowhood, mid-divorce, and of course, mid-happy marriage and motherhood. Carrie, almost a year after Big’s death, needs to decide where to put his ashes to rest, possibly with the aid of Big’s eternal spirit speaking to her through a malfunctioning reading lamp. Miranda finds out, through a semipublic musical number, that Che is moving to L.A. to shoot a pilot (the studio thinks they’re “the new Roseanne”). Charlotte is throwing what she terms a “they mitzvah” for Rock, who could not be less interested, no matter how many hipster sourdough challahs and Dylan’s Candy Bar bars Charlotte buys. By the end of the episode and the season, the gang has been set asail on their own solo journeys for a time: Carrie is the girl who goes to Paris, Charlotte is the girl who gets uninvited from Paris, and Miranda is the girl who goes to L.A. to spend the summer with her new boo instead of doing a super-cool internship. (And naturally, Carrie starts a solo podcast, and naturally, it’s awful.) Our new central cast are also off on their own paths: in Nya’s case, mid-marital crisis over the Child Question; in Seema’s, mid-sexy fling with a French club owner; in Che’s, mid-pivot to Hollywood; in LTW’s, well, mid-happy marriage and motherhood.This finale was (like most of the season) frustratingly disconnected from reality; refreshingly interested in exploring new directions for its old characters, while infuriatingly unwilling to engage with the depth of the conflict these changes would cause; at times cringe; and at times quite delightful. Hari Nef is a treat as Rabbi Jen, who steps in to handle Rock’s disastrous they mitzvah and Carrie’s tiff with Miranda over Paris vs. L.A. with equal aplomb, and the sherbet-hued ensemble Carrie dons to scatter Big’s ashes simply has to be seen to be appreciated. We dig into all this, plus: What is Carrie’s worst breakup story, actually, and why is it definitely “I got broken up with by a Post-It”? Is the resolution of the Samantha plotline satisfying? When did Carrie get so rich? Is she qualified to give relationship advice via podcast? Would we take a second season? And if so, what do we want to see in it? Hope you enjoy! xoWe’ve been reading…“My Friend Anna” by Rachel DeLoache Williams, the then-Vanity Fair photo editor who was invited on a lavish Moroccan vacation as a guest of Anna Delvey (née Sorokin) and then stuck with the catastrophically high bill. She’s also a character in the upcoming Netflix series, and the differences in perspective are fascinating, to put it lightly. -ClaireI’ve also been down an Anna Delvey/Sorokin supplementary reading hole ahead of the release of “Inventing Anna,” reading Sorokin’s recent Insider essay (which she wrote from ICE custody) and Williams’ latest piece for AirMail which has some choice criticism for Netflix. I also re-read Jia Tolentino’s 2018 New Yorker essay about our cultural obsession with grifters, and why Anna’s particularly brand of folk hero-like scam was so intoxicating to gawk at. -EmmaWe’ve been watching…“Inventing Anna,” the aforementioned Netflix series on the grifting folk hero Anna Delvey who infiltrated the most elite and moneyed New York circles by claiming to be a connected German heiress. It’s very ripped-from-the-headlines, and the angle is very girl-bossy, and the whole thing feels a bit dated — and surprisingly gray and dour for a show about such a juicy tabloid story. We’ll both have more to say on this soon! -ClaireAnyone who has been following our work and pods knows that I’m not the harshest critic and have a pretty strong stomach for soapy trash of all varietals. However, I have some… FEELINGS, not particularly positive ones, about “Inventing Anna.” Can’t wait to share them when we record next week’s Rich Text episode. -EmmaWe’ve been listening to…The “You’re Wrong About” episode on Tom Cruise’s viral Oprah couch-jump, featuring Willa Paskin. The pod offers some light debunking (though I personally don’t see much difference between seeing someone jump up onto a couch and seeing them give an extra bounce or two once up there); more interesting to me is how it positions the episode as taking place at a moment when the context collapse of Internet virality was just becoming possible, but before the celebrity machine had really cottoned onto it. Paskin points out how safe and warm Oprah’s show and audience — including its very enthusiastic in-studio audience — would have seemed to Cruise, and how that context simply didn’t translate for viewers catching a clip of the weirdest moments later. It’s a really lovely conversation and left me with more knowledge of this watershed moment in Cruise’s career than I ever thought I needed. -ClaireI tore through “Sweet Bobby,” the Tortoise media podcast about a woman who was elaborately catfished for a decade by her distant cousin. It is a fascinating look into the world of online scams, the psychology behind them, the damage they leave in their wake, and why the shame that surrounds victims so often prevents scammers from being stopped. -EmmaWe’ve been buying…There was a Hill House nap dress drop this week, and I succumbed to the lure of black lace (for weddings??). -ClaireI did it. I got the beautiful lilac tulle Hill House dress (it’s now sold out, but her navy sister isn’t) and it’s simply too pretty to even contemplate returning. My other favorite — and far more practical — buy from the drop was the Samantha Dress in black poplin, which is not sold out! I suspect she will be in my heavy rotation for years to come. -Emma