Long-time Sex and the City fans were stunned last week when they discovered that HBO MAX‘s And Just Like That… would be ending after Season 3. That meant that there would be only two episodes left in Carrie Bradshaw’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) story and she is currently very, very single. So much so, she ends her historical fiction novel with “The Woman” alone in her garden. It’s a conclusion that doesn’t sit well with Carrie’s editor, Amanda (Ashlee Atkinson). According to Amanda, Carrie has written a “romantic tragedy.” Is And Just Like That… doing the same to Carrie herself?
**Spoilers for And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 11 “Forget About the Boy,” now streaming on HBO MAX**
Ever since we first met Carrie Bradshaw all the way back in 1998, she has been looking for love. In And Just Like That… Season 3, Carrie thought she had finally found her happily ever after with former flame Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), only for trust issues to once again unravel what they shared.
In last week’s episode of And Just Like That…, Carrie finally admits to herself that she is attracted to downstairs neighbor and writing buddy Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake). She explains to Seema (Sarita Choudhury) that Duncan is the only man she’s ever met who sees her as a person and not just as a potential love interest. (He’s also maybe the first man Carrie’s met who thinks her insane wardrobe is pretty freaking great.) Duncan and Carrie hook up at the end of the episode and Duncan reveals that he’s going to be returning to London to finish his long-awaited biography of Margaret Thatcher. Carrie is too much of a “distraction” for him, so their one night tryst will have to be it.
This week, Carrie is grappling with what her future looks like. Initially, she doesn’t see the ending of her book as a tragedy, but as she keeps taking stock of her life, it becomes clear she doesn’t want to be alone in her big Gramercy Park duplex. However, she can’t move backwards, either. A visit back to her old apartment reveals that Lissette (Katerina Tanenbaum) has essentially transformed it forever.
Carrie finishes this week’s episode by penning an “epilogue” to her novel wherein The Woman accepts an invitation to a party where she’ll get to meet a dashing widower visiting from London. So what does this mean for the end of And Just Like That…? Is Carrie going to end the story sad and alone? Or will Duncan come back into her life?
And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 11 “Forget About the Boy” Ending Explained: Will Duncan Come Back to Carrie? Will Carrie End AJLT Single?
So how will And Just Like That… end? Will it be a bittersweet ending that celebrates Carrie’s independence? Will the woman be alone in the garden? Will, gosh, Aidan come back?? Is Carrie’s wishful epilogue a clue that Duncan will return?
Right now, it seems like And Just Like That… is teasing that Carrie will end the series happily single. After all, she and Aidan are done and Duncan was pretty clear that he didn’t see their connection lasting. And Just Like That… actor Jonathan Reeves even teased on social media that the show’s end meant he wouldn’t get to return. He joked, “Duncan finally has one night of passion with Carrie Bradshaw and the shows over…FOREVER???”
However, I think this is a feint. I think that Carrie’s epilogue essentially promises that Duncan will return.
One of the best moments in the original Sex and the City run was when Big (Chris Noth) surprised Carrie at her book reading, charmingly asking a question about this “Mr. Big” character in her memoir. Could we see a similar situation in the And Just Like That… finale? It’s easy to imagine Carrie Bradshaw super fan Duncan zeroing in on this mysterious British gentleman in her book’s epilogue and wanting to ask the author in person about it.
Likewise, Carrie doesn’t necessarily have to stick around the Gramercy house. Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones canonically is living in London, offering Carrie an excuse to take a flight across the pond to woo Duncan herself.
Also, Duncan’s issue with Carrie distracting him is that he hasn’t been able to stick to a deadline for once in his life. He can sequester himself and finish that book and get back to our girl! (In fact, he might realize that he can’t finish the book without Carrie’s influence.)
It’s totally possible that Carrie will end up poignantly alone, but we’re not buying it. Duncan is too good of a match for Carrie to not return. (He sees her. And her shoes!)
If I had to predict the last scene of And Just Like That…, I would guess it will be Carrie in the Gramercy garden alone, at first. Then Duncan will emerge from the downstairs apartment — which Carrie will buy, per Seema’s suggestion — and the two will live happily ever after together.
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