And Just Like That: Carrie Still Deserves So Much More Than Aidan

Well, well, well, look who just strolled back into Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) life, wearing a jacket that proves he’s still a bad match for her. The buckled collar, the excess of buttons, the waist-snatching belt — it may be commonplace to wear such as an outdoorsman, but in New York City, Aidan Shaw’s (John Corbett) outfit is evidence that this schmuck’s fashion sense hasn’t changed since we first laid eyes on him 23 years ago while Carrie’s just keeps getting better. And if he can’t even muster up the energy to wear a more impressive coat for his reunion with the one that got away, what are the odds that he’s put the work into being a better man?

In every previous iteration of their relationship, Carrie and Aidan were out of sync. Aidan hated smokers, Carrie loved smoking. Aidan loved the great outdoors and animals, Carrie preferred staying in city limits and wearing fur. Aidan wanted to get married, Carrie didn’t. These aren’t just cute things that people grow out of, they’re fundamental differences that tend to stay with a person.

Carrie and Aidan’s reunion in And Just Like That… Season 2, Episode 7, “February 14th,” starts out on a similarly discordant note. The two don’t even end up at the agreed-upon restaurant, which feels like a sign from the universe that their paths were not destined to actually cross again. But then, regrettably, they find each other in the street, laughing off the misunderstanding instead of taking it for the foreboding omen it may be.

They embrace as they used to embrace. They talk as they used to talk. Standing side by side, they look as they always used to look. But none of those things are necessarily good. Even as they stand comfortably in each other’s arms they appear mismatched, with Carrie in a high-fashion date outfit wasted on Aidan, who is looking as blah as ever. They’ve never once even looked compatible standing next to each other, an especially tough sticking point for a person whose entire life revolves around fashion. Carrie deserved better back then, and she certainly deserves better now as she’s become even more secure with being herself.

“How do you look exactly the same?” Carrie asks Aidan when they finally sit down for the meal. She says it with a smile, not realizing that an adult man remaining stagnant is a red flag, actually. It’s a gracious reaction compared to Aidan’s freakout when he realizes that “her place” is the same place she’s been in since they were together. At least he has the briefest moment of recognizing that not everything in their past was sunshine and rainbows. But the very fact that he would be surprised that Carrie held onto this apartment she’s always loved so dearly shows that he still doesn’t really know her at all. It sure feels like another sign from the universe for him to just turn around and head back to Virginia.

By the end of the episode, these two appear to be back together, but why? Their brief conversation over dinner proves that they have nothing in common but their shared history, which they seem to keep forgetting ended horribly. And things have worked out pretty well for Carrie since: Her career has continued to be wildly successful, she got to spend 15 years married to the love of her life, and she still has a great group of girlfriends to support her through it all. Sure, Carrie hasn’t changed much, but she shouldn’t have to, especially not for someone as underwhelmingly mediocre as Aidan Shaw.

If Aidan knows what’s good for him, he’ll return to his life without Carrie, where he can wear as much ugly outerwear as he desires. And Carrie should snap out of whatever trance this man has over her — she needs to search for a man who will celebrate who she is now and always has been.

New episodes of And Just Like That… drop Thursdays on Max. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Brianna Wellen is a TV Reporter at Primetimer who became obsessed with television when her parents let her stay up late to watch E.R.