Samantha Would Have Saved Sex and the City Reboot And Just Like That

The Take Film TV Movie

Sex and the City actually had the chance to make something really engaging and fresh with its reboot And Just Like That, but the show ended up being anything but... The lack of Samantha Jones...

Transcript

00:00Samantha Jones brought a fun, flirtatious fabulousness to Sex and the City

00:04that gave the show that extra spark that made it so special.

00:08Hello 911? I'm on fire!

00:12While, as we've discussed, the Sex and the City follow-up series and Just Like That

00:16never really worked, it didn't have to be a failure.

00:20Seeing these beloved characters again at a new stage in their lives

00:23could have been incredibly interesting and relatable.

00:26But instead, what we got was very not that.

00:31What happened to my life?

00:33And a large part of the issue was the absence of Samantha.

00:37No matter how much the show tried to fill in the void,

00:40her missing piece of the puzzle was just too much to overcome.

00:45Now that it's over, we can't help but wonder,

00:48what would the show have been like if Samantha had been around?

00:52Could she have saved and just like that?

00:55Samantha gave the Sex and the City friend group its pizzazz.

00:59She was not afraid of adventure and was always down to try something new.

01:04I'm a trisexual, I'll try anything once.

01:07She had a self-assured nature that allowed her to be confident while not becoming closed off or mean.

01:13Instead, it was something that radiated from her and helped give strength to those around her too.

01:18Damn, why is that girl still bothering me?

01:21Honey, you have to let it go.

01:22If I worried what every bitch in New York was saying about me, I'd never leave the house.

01:28She was also a major source for a lot of fun on the show,

01:31bringing her friends along to interesting, vibrant events.

01:34All the beds are booked right now.

01:36Oh damn, that always happens to me.

01:38We're on the VIP list, Samantha Jones.

01:41Perfect.

01:42In contrast, whether they were at a fancy event or just grabbing a drink together,

01:46no one on and just like that ever really seemed to be having a good time

01:51or enjoying each other's company that much.

01:53The events themselves also often felt boring and disconnected.

01:58It's long been said that New York City was the fifth major character in Sex and the City,

02:02but that feeling is totally lacking in the reboot.

02:04In an attempt to fill the fun void left in Samantha's absence, the show did attempt to

02:10bring in some fun new characters, but no one was ever really able to fill her shoes.

02:17But because that was the only reason they were added to the show,

02:21the writers also never really gave them the opportunity to grow and be anything

02:25else once it became clear that they wouldn't work as a Samantha replacement.

02:29Seema was the closest thing to a new Samantha,

02:32and while she was great in her own right…

02:34So what do you say, Perry?

02:36Did we show this newbie the ropes?

02:39Nah, sure I'm in.

02:41She was never really able to fill the void left by Samantha.

02:45If Samantha had still been around, maybe the new characters would have been given more

02:48room and time to become their own interesting individual people,

02:52instead of just getting smushed into a box they didn't really fit into.

02:56Take Che, for example.

02:58Since Samantha provided so much of the original show's edge…

03:01Without her, the writers knew that they'd need someone to bring that kind of forward-thinking

03:06adventurousness to the table.

03:08Cheer if I f*** you.

03:11Cheer if you f*** me.

03:14Cheer if you want me to f*** you.

03:15But they went so far with apparently trying to prove,

03:18ha, see, we totally don't need Samantha's fun quips at brunch.

03:22Just listen to this super edgy half-hour stand-up routine.

03:26That Che as a character ended up just feeling like a caricature rather than a real interesting

03:31person in their own right.

03:33And yet you had time to put together a band and a song and practice.

03:39Okay, I hear you.

03:40What can I say?

03:41I'm a f***ing narcissist.

03:43As we talked about in our video on that terrible and just like that ending,

03:47one of the biggest things that never made any sense about how they tried to write out Samantha's

03:51character is how they framed it as her just being willing to throw away a lifelong friendship over

03:56something petty.

03:57Which is so not Samantha.

04:00Don't you want to judge me just a little bit?

04:03Not my style.

04:05Having a bit of tension could've worked well, though.

04:08It certainly wouldn't be the first time Samantha and Carrie had a tiff because of Carrie's rude

04:12behavior.

04:13This could've allowed some more drama and dimension for Carrie's character that felt in line with who

04:19we already knew her to be. She didn't get crowned the first female anti-hero for nothing.

04:24But instead, Samantha just became a few texts and a two-minute cameo, and the entire show was worse

04:31off for it.

04:32While Sex and the City worked so well because of its core four's very distinct, often contrasting

04:38personalities, on it just like that, the core three started to feel rather samey at times.

04:45So much of Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte's personalities were sanded down, to the point

04:50that they felt like shells of their former selves, lost and floundering in middle age.

04:55Samantha would've given the group more structure, someone for them to push back against, but that

05:01also wasn't afraid to give them some wake-up calls. She wouldn't've sat by while everyone

05:06flanderized themselves in middle age, and would've instead pushed them to get a grip,

05:11or to stand up for themselves, or even to just get out of their own heads.

05:16Sweetheart, you can't go listening to every f***ing little voice that runs through your head,

05:19it'll drive you nuts.

05:21Having the most life experience, she also would've been able to be there for each of

05:26them in ways that they weren't able to be there for each other.

05:29Samantha would've been the ideal person for Charlotte to turn to when she was again

05:33suffering from problems trying to have sex with her husband, but Samantha would've

05:37also likely had some much better advice for her as she worked to understand and embrace

05:41her non-binary child. Samantha also would've been a great shoulder to lean on for Miranda

05:46as she began discovering her queer identity, as Samantha had already had a stable, loving

05:52relationship with a woman.

05:54You just caught us a little off guard with the lesbian thing.

05:56Maria is an incredible woman. She's got passion and talent and intelligence and…

06:02A vagina?

06:03Oh, vaginish vagina.

06:06She also likely would've had some helpful advice for dealing with Brie knocking up Mia

06:10that could've saved Miranda from straining her relationship with him even further.

06:14Even if we just look at the Angels like that two-part finale specifically,

06:18we can imagine how differently things would've gone if Samantha would've been around. She could've

06:24helped lower the tension between Miranda and Brady, made peace with the Gen Zers,

06:28and most importantly, made sure everyone actually showed up.

06:33So now you support women in the arts?

06:34I support you, and honey? These bitches need to be put in their places.

06:39Though and just like that's main characters were middle-aged, the show often felt quite juvenile.

06:46From the way they behaved in their relationships to the swapping out of adult humor for potty humor,

06:52often literally. And for some reason, the one place it recurrently did decide to include sex

06:58was often in connection to teenagers, in ways that always felt uncomfortable.

07:03Is that my little age?

07:05She's from her heart.

07:07Even that one of Samantha Actress Kim Cattrall's final straws with the series was being told that

07:12they were writing a storyline where Samantha received unwanted private pictures from a 14-year-old

07:17Brady. We can only assume that if she had come back for the show, all of this weirdness could've been

07:24avoided. In regards to adults, it was always really Samantha who brought the sex to Sex and the City.

07:30How many sexual partners have you had?

07:34I'm counting.

07:37Um, this year?

07:39And you can really feel her absence on that front in it just like that.

07:43It wasn't only that she was open and free with her sexuality, but also that she actually enjoyed it

07:49and embraced it as a positive part of her life, regardless of what anyone else thought.

07:54And I will not be judged by you or society. I will wear whatever and blow whomever I want,

08:01as long as I can breathe and kneel.

08:03Seeing a woman Samantha's age openly and happily embracing her sexuality and love life without shame

08:09or fear would've been refreshing. You can bang your head against the wall and try and find a

08:13relationship or you can say screw it and just go out and have sex like a man.

08:17On the flip side of that same coin, Samantha also didn't fear being alone.

08:22You know, marriage doesn't guarantee a happy ending, just an ending.

08:25While the lesson that the most important relationship of your life is with yourself

08:29is something that Carrie had to spend the entire original series learning,

08:32and then the reboot relearning.

08:34I have to quit thinking maybe a man and start accepting maybe just me.

08:43It was something that Samantha had always known was true.

08:46The right guy is an illusion, you understand, that you can start living your life.

08:50Maybe with Samantha around, it wouldn't have taken Carrie three seasons to relearn that lesson

08:55that she didn't need to be attached to or waiting for a man to live and enjoy her life.

09:00So much of it just like that felt stagnant.

09:04The exact opposite of Samantha's entire ethos.

09:07She was not afraid of change or aging or the future.

09:11While the other three often found themselves stuck in ruts,

09:14Samantha was always moving forward in her life.

09:17Faced with her own inadequacy, Samantha did something only Samantha could do.

09:21She threw an I don't have a baby shower to let everyone know she was fabulous.

09:26You knew who she was and never felt the need to apologize for it.

09:29But that didn't ever lead to her getting locked in or stagnant.

09:33Because who she was is a person who is always working towards building the life she wants for

09:38herself instead of waiting for it to perfectly plop down in her lap.

09:42I am harsh.

09:44I'm also demanding, stubborn, self-sufficient, and always right.

09:48In bed, at the office, and everywhere else.

09:51Samantha is a solutions-oriented person.

09:54So instead of just sitting around waffling and complaining,

09:58she would have helped solve a lot of the problems on the show a lot faster.

10:02From being able to use her connections, to pushing her friends to grow as people, and beyond.

10:07She was also, almost though not always,

10:10the most up-to-date on how society was moving forward,

10:13and ready to embrace all of the coming changes.

10:16The new millennium won't be about sexual labels, it'll be about sexual expression.

10:20It won't matter if you're sleeping with men or women.

10:22It'll be about sleeping with individuals.

10:25Instead of nearly every character spending so much of the show doing empty grating,

10:30oh my god, woke, I don't understand the youths, what is computer slapstick,

10:34with Samantha around to guide the group and get them to open themselves up to possibility,

10:39the show could have actually interacted with modern society,

10:42and the way that you don't always feel like you fit into it as you age,

10:46in a way that felt engaging and relatable instead of off-putting.

10:50And just like that, showrunners clearly didn't appreciate

10:54how important Samantha was to the magic of Sex and the City,

10:57which is made clear by the fact that they thought they could just

11:00write her out with a story that makes no sense and some quick jokes.

11:03And where's the fourth musketeer?

11:05Where's Samantha?

11:07Oh, um, she's no longer with us.

11:10It's obvious that they didn't really understand what made Sex and the City work so well,

11:16why it felt like such lightning in a bottle.

11:18And so that meant we ended up with an empty, middling waste of time

11:23just pretending to have some connection to a show we love.

11:26Which is unfortunate, because it could have been so interesting.

11:30In the same way that Sex and the City showcased single 30s-dom in a way that no one ever had,

11:35they really had the opportunity to shine a light on the ups and downs of life of interesting women

11:40in their 50s and 60s in a new and engaging way. But instead, we got…

11:45And Just Like That.

11:47Make sure to check out our video on And Just Like That's Ending to find out where every

11:51character ended up and why the ending, like the entire show, just did not work.

11:56That's The Take! Click here to watch the video we think you'll love,

12:01or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content.

12:04Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications.

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