Is ‘And Just Like That’ Bringing Aidan Back for Good?

Did you know that Carrie Bradshaw has a middle name? I only learned this information recently, after watching this week’s And Just Like That. I needed to know her middle name so that I could wield all the proper emphasis when I ask: Caroline Marie Bradshaw, what in the name of Gucci are you doing going out with Aidan again?

When Carrie emailed her old flame on a whim last week, the writing was on the wall. As Carrie tells the girls over a very bland-looking salad at the top of this week’s installment, he’s just emailed her back to suggest they meet up—and on Valentine’s Day, no less.

In a feat of deductive analysis that would impress even Descartes himself, Charlotte reasons that this can only be a win for Carrie: If he knows it’s Valentine’s Day, then he’s just set a date for the most romantic occasion of the year; if he doesn’t, then he must be single and without a girlfriend to remind him of the occasion.

Longtime fans likely remember that Aidan and Carrie don’t tend to do so hot in the relationship department. The first time they dated, Carrie cheated with Big. Eventually, they reunited and got engaged—that is, after Aidan processed his latent anger over the cheating and stopped taking it out on Carrie. But then, when Carrie admitted she wasn’t ready to get married, Aidan decided it was time to walk—which led to some serious real-estate woes.

Fast-forward a decade, and it’s almost like none of that happened. When they finally meet, the romantic tension between Carrie and Aidan is practically palpable. He compliments her memoir, and her eyes sparkle as she asks how he looks “exactly the same.” Could these two have a real shot this time around?

Not so fast!

The minute they pull up to Carrie’s apartment, reality sets in for Aidan—who understandably wishes she didn’t still live in the place where some of their worst moments happened. “No matter how much I want to, I can’t go in there with all that,” he says. “I’m never going in there again.”

For a minute, it looks as though they’re going to call it quits—but then, he turns around. “Hey fuck it, this is New York—they have hotels, right?”

As the two kiss and presumably call an Uber to the nearest 4-star hotel, Carrie tells us that they’re “back on the same page.” But uh, are they really? Is this a one-night thing, or are we trying for a relationship again? Are they going to stay at hotels and his place forever? And how old are his sons now, again? Does he still call Tate “Tater”?

In fairness, maybe a decade or so has done these two good; perhaps they’ve finally grown into their compatibility and can walk off into a golden Manhattan sunset. For now, I suppose I’ll channel my inner Charlotte and root for love—but based on past precedent, my inner Miranda is stifling a lot of concerns.

To her credit, Miranda herself isn’t hovering too much over Carrie right now. Instead, she’s trying to sort out her own love life, which feels a little less clear-cut now that she knows she’s not straight.

When she scores a date for Valentine’s Day—and with an audiobook narrator she’s been crushing on for years, at that!—Miranda declares herself “done with Dick-ens.” But in a classic sitcom twist, she’s disgusted to discover that her new lady love is a little messy. (Nothing says “romantic first date” quite like stepping in a cat litter box while making out, moments before your date asks to borrow money to do her laundry downstairs.)

In the past, Miranda would’ve stuck around—but no more. After everything she’s put up with from her exes lately, our girl’s patience is understandably a little worn-down. And so, she simply leaves. (Here’s hoping she went home to her roommate, Nya, who celebrated Valentine’s Day by eating a magnificent chocolate soufflé all by herself—as God and Cupid intended.)

As much as And Just Like That loves to mess with Miranda specifically, almost everyone’s Valentine’s Day seems to come with at least one hiccup this year.

Carrie might’ve scored a hot date, but she does lose out on a spa treatment when she and her friend Seema Patel show up for a couple of massages only to discover that the establishment is only doing “couples massages” that day. (In yet another “Samantha Jones” moment, Seema cooly asks the receptionist, “Do you have a date set aside when you ban couples?”)

Charlotte’s friend Lisa Todd Wexley, meanwhile, is convinced that her son and his girlfriend will have sex in her bedroom while she’s out on her date, only to discover that instead she’s pawing around her closet—which is so much worse. And then, there’s Anthony, who informs his “Hot Fellas Baked Goods” staff that no performance-enhancing drugs are allowed on the team. (Hell of a demand coming from a guy who puts all his workers in short-shorted rompers.)

Predictably, all of Anthony’s hot bread runners quit on him—and just before he books a spot on The Drew Barrymore Show. Charlotte, once again putting this season on her back, naturally comes to his rescue.

But speaking of Charlotte—this week isn’t the easiest for her, either. In fact, it’s a bit of a wake-up call.

After meeting with a few agencies, her youngest child, Rock, who identifies as agender, has decided that becoming a teen model isn’t as fun as it initially seemed. Charlotte takes the news in stride. As she leaves for her Valentine’s Day date with her husband, Harry, she bids her kids goodbye and snags a brownie from her daughter Lily’s friends on her way out.

We can all see where this is going from a mile away, right?

While Charlotte and Harry try to nag their way to an earlier table at the restaurant, she begins to worry she’s having a stroke, insisting, “I can feel my blood!” One ambulance ride and some drug tests later, she finds out she’s gobbled up a pot brownie.

As embarrassing (and expensive) an error as this was, Charlotte also seems to take it as a wake-up call. After spending weeks tending to others’ personal problems—like helping Lily safely lose her virginity and counseling Rock through teen modeling, and everything else—she wonders, “Where am I in all this?” It’s time, she decides, to call up that guy named Mark from her friend’s dinner party and see if that museum job he offered her is still open.

This is a huge moment for Charlotte. During Sex and the City, she stopped working during her marriage to her first husband, Trey, only to discover that breaking back into the curatorial field is nearly impossible. By taking this job, Charlotte will reconnect with a version of herself that pre-existed even her relationship with Harry. Whatever this might uncover, we’ll have to wait to find out.

Read more of our And Just Like That coverage HERE.