This And Just Like That review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors who are currently on strike, tv series like this one would not be possible, and Autostraddle is grateful for the artists who do this work. This And Just Like That recap contains spoilers for season two, episode nine, “There Goes the Neighborhood.”

I’ve started watching And Just Like That like its some kind of sketch comedy, mostly paying attention to the things I love, which, this week, includes: Miranda and Charlotte finally having a (hilarious) storyline together, Sara Ramirez with a bunch of kittens, Anthony being surly in gay love, LTW simply existing, Dr. Nya ordering Tinder sex like its GrubHub, and two masterpiece oil paintings. And mostly ignoring what I don’t love, which, this week is, once again: Everything involving Aidan Shaw. I’ll just go ahead and get that last thing out of the way because no one likes to read recaps by someone who hates what they’re watching.

Aidan and Carrie are still going strong — if by “strong,” you mean “planning a future together even though Aidan, a grown-ass man, cannot return to the apartment where Carrie hurt his feelings two decades ago.” Carrie has now met his children and is using the word “love” to describe her feelings for him, and he’s in New York every other week, hanging out alone in bars while she scoots off to her apartment to change clothes, etc. Because, again, he literally will not set foot in her apartment. Unfortunately for them, Aidan talks too much, so they get found out as Airbnb guests and get kicked out of Che’s apartment. This prompts Carrie to finally sell her place and buy something new, because Aidan cannot stomach even standing in the lobby of her building. I’m sensing some Aidan lovers in these comments lately WHICH IS FINE and you’re right that Carrie did more than hurt this man’s feelings, but if they can’t actually look into the faces of the monsters they were when they were together, how can they even hope to have a healthy future? You know?

Well, you’re looking very gay today.

Thank you!

Anyway, Aidan’s ex-wife pops up in Manhattan and invites Carrie to coffee. She’s in the know about her whole messy past with Aidan and mostly just tells her not to use their sons in her writing, which is super fair.

Elsewhere, BRADY AND LILY ARE HOOKING UP. I don’t know why it never occurred to me that this could happen, but I guess there’s some comfort in the fact that Charlotte and Miranda didn’t think it was possible either. And neither did Carrie! Funniest line of the episode: “That’s like hearing that two of my stuffed animals are having sex.”

It starts because Miranda is worried Brady is throwing away his future. She can’t even get him to agree to start college when “college” is just a long summer vacation in Costa Rica where he’ll learn to surf and earn a few credits. So Miranda asks Charlotte to ask Lily to hang out with him and nudge him back on track. Probably not great that Brady is only motivated when he’s dating a girl who’s motivated, but also, with Miranda Hobbes as your mom, maybe not a huge surprise? Which is honestly what’s causing Charlotte to spiral out the most, the idea that Miranda could one day be Lily’s mother-in-law. At Herbert’s campaign party, Miranda and Charlotte go full-on detective, trying to figure out what’s happening between their teenage children. He’s touching her elbow, but was that even on purpose? They’re looking at their phones and laughing, but are they even laughing at the same thing? Finally Miranda and Charlotte decide they’re just going to have to let it play out, and please gods let it play out on-screen. This is the most interested I’ve been in a storyline all season.

HANG THEM IN THE LOUVRE

Now that Miranda’s accepted that this thing is happening with her and Charlotte’s kids, maybe it’s time for her to also accept that Steve is literally never going to leave their place and do something about it. She’s sleeping in a twin bed in Dr. Nya’s spare room. Although “sleeping” is a generous read on what’s happening there. She’s mostly lying awake listening to Dr. Nya and whatever hot bod she’s swiped on having carefree, uncommitted sex at all hours of the day and night. Dr. Nya’s loving it, especially the part where, after sex, they can just scroll on their phones without pretending that’s not what they’re doing. Until her scrolling leads her to Andre’s IG announcement that his girlfriend is pregnant. A baby. Just like he always wanted. Poor Nya, man. It could be worse though. She could be reuniting with a thwarted ex who’s too much of a man-baby to even walk through the doors of the place where she lives. Dammit. Sorry. SORRY. I can’t help myself.

Anyway, look, the main thing I even want to say about living spaces on this show this week is that Charlotte’s got two oil paintings in her home of her dogs, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. They’re lit up with those little museum lamps that hang on the wall, right in the main foyer. And now I understand why Charlotte is considered such a museum curation genius.

What in the fresh meow-shaped heck!

Your boyfriend is a twat.

What do you think? I already trained her to say the truth!

Che’s still getting shoehorned into the show, and maybe with a new love interest named Toby who brings a box of abandoned kittens to the vet’s office where Che is working. Toby thinks they look like that gay standup comic Che Diaz, and Che Diaz says that they are, in fact, Che Diaz. And then, for the first time since their pilot got canned, they start trying to put a stand-up set together. Nothing like a hot queer complimenting you to light a fire under your buns! At this point, I feel like even the show knows it has done Sara Ramirez dirty, so they let them spend a full episode carrying around a bunch of adorable kittens. Second best moment of the episode: Carrie walking into her apartment and being greeted with a tiny little MEOW and an adorable cat, and then Che sliding in on their socked-feet Risky Business-style.

The biggest surprise of “There Goes the Neighborhood” is the news that Lisa Todd Wexley is pregnant! She keeps falling asleep all over the place, which Herbert thinks is because she’s being passive-aggressive and doesn’t want to support his City Comptroller bid. Right before he takes the stage to give a little speech at Harry and Charlotte’s fundraiser, LTW is like, “My guy, when have I ever been passive anything? What I actually am is pregnant.”

What a goddamn queen.

I named them Samantha 1, Samantha 2, Samantha 3, and Samantha 4.

Che and Samantha 2.

By the way, NYC’s shelters are overflowing and you actually cannot take a box of kittens to any vet around here and drop them off, so if you love Che’s kittens, one thing you might consider doing is donating to the NYC ASPCA or Mayor’s Alliance For NYC Animals. I work with both organizations and they do more for cats and kittens in this city than you could ever even imagine!

Next week: Who even knows what season of the year or year of the calendar it will be! I hope the cats are still here!

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