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 rightâŠ
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 edgeâŠ
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 andâŠ
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 gotâŠ
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,
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