And Just Like That... Finale Fashion Recap: Ashes to Ashes
And just like that, And Just Like That… has come to an end (though it’s certainly looking like there will be a season 2). As the producers promised following the sexual assault allegations against Chris Noth, there’s no Big in sight. Instead, there’s plenty of Samantha, who’s shockingly responsive for a supposed ex-best friend. She texts back within seconds when Carrie tells her that she kissed a man, and it’s just starting to feel like the old days until Carrie asks if she wants to chat. She knows she pushed her luck, but there’s a glimmer of hope in Samantha’s response: “Soon.” Don’t get your hopes up too high: While Michael Patrick King was elated to realize he could incorporate Samantha into the plot via text, he recently revealed he has “no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again.”
The finale plays out just like you probably predicted: There’s a kiss for Carrie, a kiss for Seema, a drama-filled “they mitzvah,” and a trip to Paris to bid Big adieu. And unfortunately, Miranda is still fully obsessed with Che, to the point that she’s decided to join them in relocating to L.A. What we didn’t expect was for the finale to be so… well, sad—and we mean that in a good way. Carrie pulls out her best grief card yet, shutting down a competition about the worst-ever ending of a relationship with words that Jackie deems worthy of a t-shirt: “Death: the ultimate breakup.” We’d love for Carrie to have made one for her pilgrimage to Paris, except she comes up with something much better (and much, much more Carrie): an over-the-top evening gown and the iconic Eiffel Tower bag that is now an urn. See that look and more of the final episode’s most notable below, and catch up on last week’s, here.
“I’m going on a date,” Carrie informs the box containing Big’s ashes that’s stowed between her most beloved pairs of shoes. “You happy?” It’s no. 3 for Carrie and Peter (aka “the teacher”), and no. 1 to feature a kiss. She’s in her new go-to ensemble of a blazer, dress, and metallic Paco Rabanne bag.
Seema is having a very different romantic night. She’s sprawled out on a bed with the hot club owner from Brooklyn, whose name is apparently “Zed.” Turns out, the pair hasn’t left their hotel suite in three days. “We’re having so much fun,” she tells Carrie, pausing for emphasis before adding, “we’re on the smoking floor.” She takes a note from LTW and sports a statement ring.
Carrie, who’s wearing Saint Laurent stilettos and mismatched stripes, must really be getting close with Seema. She fills her in on the date a full 12 hours earlier than Charlotte and Miranda, and even then, seemingly only to share her theory that Big is angry at her because her reading lamp kept blinking on and off. Miranda is back to her old cynical self, ridiculing Carrie for suddenly believing in heaven. As Charlotte says upon finally locking in “the trans rabbi” for Rock’s “they mitzvah” (technically known as a “b mitzvah” or “b’nai mitzvah”), Hallelujah!
Surprise! “The Trans Rabbi” (who actually goes by Rabbi Jen) is Hari Nef. Charlotte, who no doubt approves of her school girl ensemble, is thrilled to see her—at least until she bluntly tells the Rosenblatts and Anthony that Rock’s Hebrew is, to use Anthony’s words, “doo doo.”
Great news for the Che haters: The controversial comedian has decided that X, Y, and Me has run its course. Having escaped them, Jackie—who genuinely thought Che was doing a bit—tells Carrie that he feels like he just survived a plane crash. They may be united in their sudden unemployment, but otherwise, the pair couldn’t be (and especially look) more different. Jackie is in an Adidas track pants and a shirt that reads “Flexin’,” while Carrie is in a white dress and vintage London Fog raincoat, accessorized with Isabel Marant pumps and a studded Sonia Rykiel purse. She tells him they can’t just be “site-specific friends,” prompting Jackie to remember that he was supposed to invite her to a party.
Welcome back, Nya! The chic academic is reading and snacking on Sour Patch Kids in her office when Miranda stops by to share her news about L.A., which is also her news about walking out on her highly competitive Human Rights Watch internship. Nya, who’s joined this episode’s track pants hive, tries to convince her otherwise, but Miranda can’t be swayed.
On the phone with Carrie, Seema confesses that she’s falling for Zed— “and not just because [they] both smoke Dunhills.” She’s switched up her neutrals for head-to-toe gold.
Carrie wears one of her best (vintage) looks yet to come face to face with a Preston for the first time since Big’s death—which, as his brother points out, means nearly a full year. And to him, that’s more than enough time for Carrie to have made up her mind about Big’s final resting place. He certainly has, and invites Carrie to join himself and her late husband in the Preston family crypt. As if to entice her, he grabs a menu and draws her a slot even bigger than Big’s.
Turns out, there’s a reason why we randomly met Jackie’s designer girlfriend Smoke (played by Bethlehem Million) a few episodes ago. We’re happy for the eccentrically outfitted newlyweds—especially Smoke, who steals the show in a yellow ensemble by Ndigo Studio—and even happier that Carrie’s hot producer makes a non-workplace appearance. Clearly, this dude (played by Ivan Hernandez) is the winner. He looks way too immaculate to have only learned of the surprise wedding an hour before, and becomes even more attractive when he tells Carrie she deserves a show of her own. Leave it to Michael Patrick King to save the sole voice of reason for just 20 minutes before the series (or potentially season) ends.
Rock—whose pink Versace suit was intended for Stanford before Willie Garson’s passing—decides to go ahead and break Charlotte’s heart. The Hebrew school lessons, the knockoff Dylan’s Candy Bar, the rainbow yarmulkes, the 130 challahs, the trans rabbi, the 300 invitations, the perfect equally masculine and feminine suit—well, they were all for naught. At the very last minute, the tween decides a “they mitzvah” just isn’t for them.
Charlotte loses it, and LTW saves the day with a suggestion: Why doesn’t Charlotte get “they mitzvahed” instead? After all, she already knows all the lines. She wears a very different type of pink ensemble—a silk puff-sleeve dress by Carolina Herrera—as she reads from the Torah, and after a brief hesitation, Rock joins her onstage to match.
Classic LTW: Rather than a yarmulke, she’s opted for a Maryjane Claverol turban that was handmade in India.
Jen also turns out to be a hero. Miranda has decided to choose Che over Carrie, who just invited her on her pilgrimage to dispose of Big’s ashes in Paris. Unbeknownst to them, Rabbi Jen is tuning into their argument in the bathroom as she pees. Upon emerging from the stall, she brings the pair to their senses. “I’m very sorry for your loss,” she tells Carrie, who’s wearing a floral dress, high pony, and another necklace by Marlo Laz. Turning to Miranda, who’s wearing a belted red dress and oversized earrings, she says, “I’m happy you found love. Did I put the voices to the right face?” She’s correct in both their names—and the observation that their bond is too precious to risk.
Oh, Carrie. If it’s any comfort, you look positively fabulous in Valentino couture while dumping Big’s ashes—transported in her iconic Timmy Woods Eiffel Tower bag-turned-urn—into the Seine. At least there’s a kiss from the hot producer awaiting her when she gets back to New York.
And just like that, Miranda is back to red (and has a belted wool Max Mara jumpsuit to match). But this isn’t the old Miranda: She’s traded in her “gray pride” for gay pride and is officially off to join Che in L.A. Bon voyage to her and the rest!
