Happy And Just Like That day! This week our favorite New York City girlies and least favorite LA anti-influencer couple take on a series of high fashion robberies and high stakes heartbreaks. I absolutely could not deal with the Che content in this episode! Normally the fact that they’re queer is enough for me to overlook their other flaws, but today that was not the case. “Chapter Three” was all about leaning into the unlikeable qualities of Carrie Bradshaw, Che Diaz, and Miranda Hobbes. 

We jump right to the title sequence today, which is just a Wordart “And Just Like That” floating across the bottom of our screen. Meanwhile, Carrie spots her downstairs neighbor, Lysette. People who were not multitasking during the whole first season will remember that Lysette was a Gen-Z party girl with a passion for making jewelry. This season, she’s turned her passion into a business and is setting up a giant pop-up shop in the middle of New York City! 

The two exchange pleasantries, and then Carrie heads onward to record an audiobook version of her latest book.

Seema is having a much worse day. Just as she stepped out onto the street, someone stole her purse and took off running. Apparently the bag itself was both incredibly expensive and somewhat sentimental; Seema is hoping the thief will take the wallet and drop the bag. 

While Seema scours the city in search of her purse, the upper class mommies of the world are doing their parental duty of sitting in a PTA meeting.  As the ever-involved parents that they are, Lisa and Charlotte sit together and gossip the entire time. Of notes: Miranda put Lisa in touch with Nya for her documentary (Yay! Friend group forming!) and a student at school made a MILF list. Lisa and Charlotte, of course, want to be at the top.

Carrie, ever the diva, would prefer not to record her own audiobook. She thinks an actress would be better, but her team wants it to be more personal than that. Understandably, she struggles to get through it. It’s a book about her husband’s death, and despite Mr. Big being the absolute worst, she loves him. The death scene, which happens on the titular Chapter Three, proves to be a stumbling block.

She’s also highly critical of her own writing—a relatable queen.

Carrie recording (or, more accurately, not recording) her audiobook will continue intermittently throughout the episode. For the sake of not indulging in something incredibly boring for longer than I have to, this is the only time I’m going to write about it. Just picture a tearful Carrie standing in front of a microphone in a recording studio between other scenes.

Across the country, Che and Miranda are busy running lines. Che was sent a new scene that very morning, and now they have to learn it before going into work. Miranda struggles with technology, complaining about how difficult it is to work her new Android phone, and Che complains about the scene. They hate it! 

In the scene, Che is supposed to cry, but they don’t want to because they don’t want being nonbinary to seem bad. Personally I think crying when your father (who you just came out to) repeatedly misgenders you is an appropriate reaction, but what do I know! I haven’t told my parents I’m nonbinary! 

Che would just tell the writers, but they already told them that they don’t want blue hair or to “tell a ton of lame they/them jokes”. To this I ask: did Sara Ramirez improvise? Did they hate all of the cringey jokes their character made just as much as the internet did? 

No time to linger on that now, but interesting to ponder!

Lisa’s documentary is in full swing, thanks to her connections and the incredible charm of one Dr. Nya Wallace. When Nya’s mic slips too far down her shirt, the sound guy heads over to fix it and manages to cop a bit of a feel while he’s at it. He’s incredibly charming, and the two banter before he invites her out to dinner.

Nya refuses, but Lisa convinces her to give Hot Sound Guy her number, and so she finally does. I’m loving this friendship already!

Then they have to scurry off, because it’s time for lunch with Carrie and Charlotte—the first Nya has been invited to. Filming the documentary caused them to get there a bit late, and the old friends have already worked their way through an emotional support session, once again proving that Charlotte is a great friend.

The hot topic of lunch that day is the MILF list. Lisa got a hold of it, and she and Charlotte are numbers two and three, respectively! Go hot moms! Nya’s Hot Sound Guy texts during lunch, and I sense a romance brewing.

The next day, Carrie runs into a random blonde lady who she is evidently friends with. Her identity doesn’t matter, luckily. All that matters is that this woman is also a widow and she understands Carrie’s pain. She advises our protagonist to do whatever makes her happy, so Carrie does.

She heads out shopping, buys dozens of new shoes, and immediately calls her agent to say that she tested positive for Covid. Well that’s a clever way out of the recording! 

Unfortunately, Carrie is unable to let this lie rest with just her coworkers. Miranda, who had just finished telling her entire life story to her tattoo artist, chose that moment to call Carrie and ask how the book was going. Carrie couldn’t tell her most successful friend that she was failing (even when Miranda was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, having genuinely considered getting a robot tattoo), so she repeated the Covid lie as if it were fact. 

It isn’t long before Miranda relays the news to Charlotte, and suddenly Carrie’s home is filled with home cooked food and chocolate delivery.

All of this deliciousness leads to Carrie delightfully withdrawing from the world, so much so that she misses lunch with Seema and Anthony. Carrie tells them the covid lie as well, but when Seema shows up at her door with food and a designer face mask, Carrie breaks. It’s all a lie, she just didn’t know how to admit her weakness to Charlotte and Miranda.

Seema wisely points out that if they’re her real friends, they’ll be there for her every time she needs it, and to that I must say, girl, you haven’t been around long enough to know how needy Carrie can be.

And now for the most cringeworthy moment of the episode! 

It’s the day of Che’s live taping, and Miranda is waiting in line like a good little girlfriend when Brady calls. He’d been trying to call for days, but Miranda hadn’t gotten it on her new phone. His girlfriend broke up with him, and now he’s wandering around whatever foreign country he happened to be in, talking out loud that he hopes a car hits him. 

Miranda is understandably rattled, and he demands that Brady go back to his hostel and call her immediately. She then LIES TO THE SECURITY GUARD THAT SHE DOESN’T HAVE A PHONE AND WALKS INTO CHE’S TAPING! If she was expecting a call, why didn’t she skip it? Why! That would be more understandable than RUINING THE SHOW!

But the latter is exactly what Miranda does. Right in the middle of Che’s awkward emotional scene, her phone goes off. This stops the entire taping and causes her to get escorted off the premises. It also causes BD to say “you just ruined our big moment, and we’re never going to be able to get back there, because Che is not an actor, they’re a stand-up” 

Ouch. I don’t think Che is a great actor either, but yelling that in front of everyone is incredibly hurtful. Tony Danza stands up for them, but it’s still uncomfortable. I also don’t understand why BD would say this—it’s their show that will tank if people assume it’s bad. 

The guy in charge of rallying the audience misgenders Che repeatedly, and then we head outside with Miranda, who’s calling Charlotte to tell her what happened. Charlotte is incredibly supportive, and I love her more than ever.

Miranda is somehow allowed to linger on the lot until after Che’s show, where she’s waiting for them right outside. Che is understandably pissed, and I think it’s the first time I’ve ever taken Che’s side in a fight this entire show. Miranda explains the situation to an annoyed Che, and then tells them that she’s leaving LA that very night.

Che tells them to dial it back. After all, why leave LA when it’s just a kid and a breakup? Miranda makes some mean-spirited comments about Che not being able to get it because they’re not a parent, and Che tries to walk away. 

Miranda begs them not to leave on such a “yucky” note, and Che apologizes. Miranda is the one who should have been apologizing here! It’s cute though, and now we’re headed back to New York.

It turns out New York is the city of crime this week. Carrie and Seema head to Lysette’s pop-up, where the jewelry looks beautiful until a cater waiter steals half of it. The man tries to rob Carrie as well, but Seema pulls a (fake, lighter) gun out of her pocket and he runs away.

All is not lost! Later in the episode, Seema pets a dog and spots her purse under a bush. Reunited!

It also sets Lysette and Carrie up for a heartfelt moment of healing. They both lost something they put a lot of time and effort into, and now they have to start over. This realization somehow allows Carrie the mental calm to finish recording her audiobook, and it ends on a positive note. 

Seema and Carrie get drinks, get hit on by hot boys, and just like that… Carrie actually gets Covid.