And Just Like That threesome proves Miranda is not the absolute worst
And Just Like That season 2 spoilers follow.
The discourse has been loud and clear: And Just Like That's Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is the worst.
She's nothing like the take-charge, fiery redhead we'd admired in Sex and The City. To put it plainly, she is unrecognisable.
No moment in And Just Like That's second season has crystallised this fact more than the epic fail that was her, Che's and Lyle's tragic attempt at a threesome.
In fairness to her, the moment snuck up on us just as much as it did her, and we didn't have to contend with our partner's estranged husband intervening in what had been a very steamy make-out session.
When Che (Sara Ramírez) welcomed the advance of their ex, Miranda's initial shock was not the thing that may have jarred those who knew her well once upon a spin-off ago: it was everything that followed.
More layers of the assertive, domineering Miranda appeared to peel away as she began her rambled speech, thanking Che for asking her before flitting back and forth.
Her impulse to fill every beat of the deafening quiet with rushed words was more surprising than the ménage à trois proposition itself.
After all, this could not have been the same person who once said: "Sex is not a time to chat. It's one of the few instances in my overly articulated, exceedingly verbal life where it is perfectly appropriate, if not preferable, to shut up."
But there she was, on the precipice of a threesome, not shutting up.
Having eventually decided that she would go with the flow, the former self-assured badass proceeded to mount Che and Lyle (Oliver Hudson) as they engaged in the actual act of sex.
Miranda's attempts to interject herself into whatever sexually-charged happenings were going on between Lyle and Che – an awkward kiss placed here, a fumbling hand wedged there – were so cringe-worthy it gave us second-hand embarrassment.
Thank God nature saw fit to end this catastrophe by giving her a pulled leg muscle before announcing, "This is not me."
"She's totally right!" We hear you scream into the screen. "This isn't Sex and the City's Miranda!" – and you're not wrong. This uncertain soul isn't Sex and the City's Miranda. She's changed, but here's the revolutionary question… is that a bad thing?
And just like that the penny dropped. There has been over a decade between the two versions of Miranda.
What would be crazier is to expect her to not to have outgrown the person she was before.
This was a woman who held herself carefully together, who analysed and obsessed over the small details, who spent years dedicated to her career. She perhaps lost a little bit of herself in becoming all the titles she'd previously embraced with pride – successful lawyer, wife, mother, and carer to Steve's ailing mother.
The truth of this was hinted at earlier on in the episode.
While Che and Lyle reminisced over wild sexual exploits together, she recalled that during that time in her life she would have been cutting baby Brady's vegetables.
There was a note of sadness in her tone, a sense of missed opportunity.
That's not to rewrite history and say that she too didn't have her own thrilling moments between the sheets – we've seen them – but perhaps she wasn't quite done before she settled into a more mundane rhythm, one she clearly didn't even realise she was sinking into. One that didn't allow her to explore the queerness that she'd evidently been repressing.
Meeting Che opened her up to that queerness. It gave her the freedom to tap into a desire within her that didn't quite reconcile with who she was.
That strong urge to live authentically has ruffled some feathers and has certainly made her act in ways we wouldn't associate with the version of Miranda we knew.
The panic she exhibits any time she feels her relationship with Che could end is one such way.
Maybe it's partly to do with Che – we all know how charming they are – but it's also about what Che represents, the freedom to discover more about herself.
It's okay if a threesome is not for her, or if tattoos are her vibe. It's also more than okay that she loves a strap-on and that she's taken to her LA gap year from her life with gusto. Society must normalise us permitting ourselves to learn more about who we are at any age.
It also doesn't mark the erasure of the old Miranda completely.
That assertiveness still exists. It's there in the way she doubled down in her decision to be with Che despite the initial raised eyebrows and the pressure she continues to feel over her familial obligations.
It also kicked in strongly when Brady was in trouble and she put him first against Che's wishes.
Perhaps she hasn't quite found her voice entirely in her relationship with Che – hence the slight apologetic note in the way she departed LA, desperate for Che to understand and possibly even forgive her choice – but that's also okay.
As much as it may grate on hardcore fans, resistant to change, she owes us nothing as she shifts and grows.
This new iteration of Miranda that we see marks a new era of her life. She is a woman who has been shaped by her experiences, moulded by them and come out anew and that's actually not as crazy a concept as people might think.
And Just Like That, the sequel to Sex and the City, airs on Max in the US and Sky Comedy and NOW in the UK.
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