Top 20 Cringiest And Just Like That Moments

Lisa and Charlotte are disturbingly excited to learn that a MILF list is being shared around their kids’ school. They’re even more delighted when they get their hands on it, and they’re both in the top three. If that doesn’t already make you squirm, then check out their reaction when they see the kid behind it. Watching a group of middle-aged women swoon over the minor made us wonder how we would possibly make it through to the end of the episode. The pair also feigns outrage over the whole debacle and question whether something like this should really stain the student’s academic record. Not only is this storyline troubling on moral and ethical grounds, but it’s also just… really icky.

In this episode, we meet Che’s not-ex-husband, Lyle. Yep, you heard that correctly. The couple call themselves “Poly pioneers” and are clearly still on good terms— really good terms. In fact, they’re so close that Che has no problem getting it on with Miranda, even with Lyle sleeping right beside them. He sees their intimacy as an invitation to get involved. While Miranda tries to engage in their world, she quickly learns that threesomes might not be for her. Hardcore “Sex and the City” fans might recall that this isn’t the only time Miranda backed out of a threeway. Hey, however consenting adults choose to express intimacy is their business. But Miranda was clearly uncomfortable, and we felt that in abundance.

Most of us will agree that some of the writers’ choices throughout this series so far have been questionable, and more on those coming up. However, we want to address that focus group scene from season two, episode five, that almost felt like a dig at the critics. Everyone from the writers to the cast is aware that Che didn’t make the best first impression. Yet, the creators seemingly tried to shift the blame onto misunderstanding or closed-minded audiences rather than take the criticism on board. In fact, it almost felt like they were trying to hold a mirror up to the Che haters with this focus group. We don't know if that was their intention, but it certainly felt pointed. Either way, it was bizarre.

Big suffers a fatal heart attack in an unexpected twist in the premiere episode. The lead up to the tragedy is dramatic, to say the least, with Carrie calmly enjoying a music performance, unaware of the events unfolding back home. So, when she finds Big slumped over in the bathroom, it takes her a beat to register the situation. She’s so overwhelmed, shocked, and distraught that she has a major lapse in judgment. But as she cries over her dying husband, we couldn’t help but repeatedly scream, “CALL 9-1-1,” in hopes that she’d hear us through the screen. But, the writers had already sealed Big’s fate, so Carrie could start a new chapter of her life.

“And Just Like That…” has been on the receiving end of much unfair ageist criticism. Almost as if some fans forgot that, unlike the original series, the cast is no longer in their 30s or 40s. That being said, it really doesn’t help that they like to remind audiences of this at any given opportunity. Did the writers just have a “what do middle-aged women talk about” brainstorm and select keywords? And also, how is it that some characters seemed to have aged so much more than others? We commend the show for defying showbiz’s youth-obsessed culture, but there’s more to a person than how many trips they’ve had around the sun. Yeah, people age; we get it.

Remember sweet little Brady from “Sex and the City”? Well, he’s not so sweet anymore. Now, he’s 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. That being said, our hearts did go out to Brady after Luisa dumped him during their Europe trip.

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.

After Miranda cheated on Steve and ended their marriage, we felt like he deserved a more satisfying reckoning. And we thought he was finally about to get it in the season two episode “Bomb Cyclone.” During a disagreement over their living arrangement, Steve finally explodes. Sure, some of it was super harsh, but he’d clearly harbored his resentment for a long time. However, as soon as she bursts into tears, somehow he’s apologizing, and our eyes couldn’t have rolled any harder. Later, she has the audacity to get annoyed at him after learning Steve has moved on. Hey, Miranda, you remember why your marriage broke up, right? At least Che is there to make it all better; oh wait…[1]

Miranda and some other members of her AA group join an environmentalists’ beach clean-up effort. Sure, the beach looks cleaner, but Miranda ends up in quite a mess. She realizes she’s lost her phone, and since her ride had to check out earlier, she’s now stranded. Eventually, she comes across a group of beachgoers who let her borrow a phone. Che’s reaction to the SOS call left us wide-eyed. Trust them to make Miranda’s lousy luck all about them. We so wanted to shake Miranda until she woke up and noticed the major relationship red flag. At least Che is kind enough to send someone else to rescue her. And just like that… Miranda learns that Che is married.

Fans were split over Che and Miranda’s relationship, and moments like this didn’t win them any new fans. In “Met Cute,” Miranda struggles with a new accessory to help spice up her and Che’s physical relationship. And well, when you’re trying to get intimate, the last thing you probably want to hear is, [“Can we move this along?”] or for your significant other to take a phone call. Thought that was bad? In the following episode, Che answers a call to help them get a-head in their sitcom career while Miranda is, erm, doing the same in the bedroom. We don’t know how Miranda was so blasé about the interruption, because we were mortified. Surely taking calls at such a time is a universal faux pas?

After season one, many of us already felt that some of these characters and their stories were very out of touch. So, if the writers wanted to remedy that, we probably wouldn’t have gone with the ostentatious Met Gala storyline to kick off season two. So many moments left us closing our eyes and exhaling that it was hard to pick just one offender. There’s that whole kerfuffle over whether or not Anthony gets to be someone’s plus one. How about Carrie using her Vivienne Westwood wedding dress— yes, that one— as a backup outfit for the event? And what about Charlotte and Lisa complaining about their poor, privileged lives? At least Anthony was there to call them out.

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 with what was done in Season 1. 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 substance use disorder, 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”.

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.

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.

“Sex and the City” approached their LGBTQIA+ 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.

We were all taken by surprise when Lily announced her intentions to get intimate with her boyfriend for the first time. And we applaud the show for promoting sex positivity - but come on, none of us want to hear about this stuff from our parents. We’re glad that Lily stopped Charlotte before we were forced to switch it off. That being said, that scene where Lily realizes she and her boyfriend don’t have protection made us pinch the ends of our noses and wonder if perhaps she’d cut off Charlotte’s safe sex talk too soon. And who sends their mom out in a blizzard like that? Charlotte’s commitment to her daughter’s well-being might be the only redeeming part of this plot.

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.

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 Contracts COVID, “Chapter Three”
After Faking It Earlier, the ‘Rona Finally Gets Her

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. 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 are just so hard to watch.