Warning: Spoilers for And Just Like That Season 3, Episode 5, “Under the Table” and Episode 6, Silent Mode."
AsAnd Just Like Thatseason 3 progresses, things are getting more serious, and series writers and executive producers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky discuss the darker storylines. TheSex and the Cityrevival set the tone early withBig’s death inAJLT’s first episode. Season 3 continues to distinguish the spinoff from its lighter original show.
AJLTepisode 5 drops a shocking twist when Harry tells Charlotte he has cancer.Charlotte’s story gets much darkeras she struggles to deal with the news while respecting her husband’s wishes to keep it secret. Meanwhile, episode 6 sees tragedy strike Lisa Todd Wexley, as her father passes away, and the women all attend her funeral in support.
Rottenberg stepped into the director’s chair for episode 5, “Under the Table,” and episode 6, “Silent Mode,” and though she and her writing partner, Zuritsky, didn’t write these episodes, they’ve been with the characters since the originalSex and the City. They discuss how Charlotte and Lisa’s hardships aren’t uncommon as we age, and how female friendship is a powerful force in getting through tough times.
Charlotte & Lisa’s Serious Storylines Are “Things That, Sadly, At Our Age, We’re Dealing With”
Episode 5 & 6’s Director Wanted To Show “Real-World, High-Stakes Issues”
The last twoAJLTseason 3 episodes are packed full of funSex and the CityEaster eggs, which isn’t a surprise given thatSATCwriter Rottenberg directed them. But she wanted to strike the right balance between comedy and the more serious storylines in these episodes.
“I was thrilled to get to direct at all, but especially because, in those episodes, we’re dealing with really real world emotional, high-stakes issues.These are things that, sadly, at our age, we’re dealing with, and I was really glad to be able to bring those to life along with all the comedy and the things we’ve come to expect from classic Sex in the City episodes.”
Illness has been explored inSex and the Citybefore, but inCharlotte and Harry’s case, they’re parents now and much older than they were in the original series. Meanwhile, Lisa is also a parent and, at the height of her career, is working on a huge project while now grieving the loss of her father.
And Just Like Thatseason 3, episode 5was written by Rachel Palmer, while Susan Fales-Hill wrote episode 6.
Like theAnd Just Like Thatcharacters, Rottenberg is in her fifties. She touched on how age plays a factor in these season 3 storylines, and how she balanced this with the episodes' lighter moments when directing them. “There’s going to be comedy, there’s going to be levity, but the reality of living at this age is you are going to have these painful experiences,” she said.
Though Carrie hasn’t suffered nearly as much as Charlotte and Lisa this season, she’s certainly experienced her share of hardships. Each episode brings more complications to Carrie and Aidan’s relationship, with the latest being his infidelity with Kathy. Rottenberg spoke to their storyline, and how the painful and harsh realities of their situation tie into their age.
“I should put Aiden and Carrie in that category too, of having the reality of this arrangement, whatever they wanted to call it, that they were getting into, the reality of that just coming home to roost in those really painful scenes with them together. So that was a thrill to be able to go dark and deep.”
Carrie & The AJLT Women Show How Strong Their Friendships Are Through Season 3’s Most Dramatic Storylines
“What Originally Drew Me To The Show Is The Power Of The Friendships”
As tearjerking as theAnd Just Like Thatseason 3 storylines are, there’s also a heartfelt, hopeful element to them anchored by the female friendships of the main characters. This is clearly seen in episode 5 when Charlotte blows up over a seemingly trivial matter while glamping with her family and the Wexleys. Later, Charlotte and Lisa share a touching scene with LWP checking in on her friend.
Rottenberg said, “The spa scene in [episode] 5 with LTW and Charlotte, when she says, ‘Are you okay? Do you want to talk?’ And Charlotte says, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ And the pain of her clearly desperate to talk about it, and you could tell LTW knows she really wants to talk about it, and it must be the worst thing if she can’t talk about it.”
“Just everything about the way they played that scene, I thought was so powerful and more complicated than you might have [felt] if you just read that scene. They’re just the best. And knowing women and knowing these characters and knowing how, being honest about what they would feel and do in the moment in that scene.”
Another powerful scene came at the very end of episode 6, when Carrie runs into Charlotte at a pharmacy, and Charlotte breaks down and tells her friend about Harry’s diagnosis. It’s not only one of the most profound friendship moments of the entireSex and the Cityfranchise, but also why Rottenberg wanted to write for the original show in the first place.
“I feel like that is what originally drew me to the show is the power of the friendships,” Rottenberg said. “And Elisa [Zuritsky] and I have known each other since we were nine, so we were living proof of that kind of long, long-lived friendship, and that’s always my touchstone for the show is these women, no matter what they’re going through, they’re there for each other.”
And Just Like Thatseason 3 releases new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max at 9PM ET through its season finale on August 14.
