Carrie and Aidan’s dysfunctional relationship inAnd Just Like Thatseason 3 is hard to watch, but we should have learned how bad it would get fromSex and the City. In the original series, the couple breaks up not once but twice — the first time because Carrie cheated on Aidan with Big, and the second time because she gets cold feet about marrying him.
When Aidan comes back into Carrie’s life inAnd Just Like Thatseason 2, their romance plays out as a fairytale. But when trouble with Aidan’s son makes him reassess his priorities, he tells Carrie he wants to hit pause on their relationship… for five years.
Now,And Just Like Thatseason 3 seesCarrie and Aidan fumbling aroundtrying to figure out what that all means. As the episodes progress,Carrie seems increasingly hellbent on keeping her head in the clouds when it comes to the pitfalls of their relationship, snapping at anyone who brings her back to Earth. But anySATCfan knows that Aidan’s behavior is history repeating itself.
Aidan Tried To Bully Carrie Into Marrying Him In Sex And The City
It’s All About What He Wants
Carrie has a lot of flaws, and she’s not always the best communicator, but she really tries when it comes to Aidan. After giving their relationship another shot inSex and the City, they get engaged, and Carrie feels increasing anxiety about their upcoming nuptials. When she tells Aidan,he’s initially understanding and agrees to postpone their wedding.
Aidan completely shoves Carrie’s needs aside in favor of his own.
However, that lasts for about half the episode beforehe’s all but holding a gun to Carrie’s head and telling her they should fly to Vegas and get married that night. Certainly, just as she is afraid to tie the knot, Aidan is afraid that they never will. But his approach to expressing that fear is night-and-day different from how Carrie expressed hers.
Aidan completely shoves Carrie’s needs aside in favor of his own, and what’s worse is that he tries to make her the bad guy while doing it.
He likes to wear the nice guy mask, but when the chips are down, Aidan will always cast it asideand show himself for what he really is — a bully and a toxic partner. Ultimately, that is the reason he and Carrie don’t work out inSex and the City.
Aidan’s 5-Year Plan In And Just Like That Is Completely Selfish
Everything Is On His Terms & Carrie’s Feelings Are An Afterthought
Just like hopping a plane to get hitched in Vegas after your fiancée tells you she’s not ready to get married is a little extreme, so is Aidan’s 5-year relationship pause idea. Yet this time, Carrie goes along with it.
While they’re both definitely at fault for not immediately defining the parameters of what that pause looks like, it’s a little tough to do that when Aidan keeps shifting them to suit his own desires.
This is evident right from thepremiere ofAnd Just Like Thatseason 3, when he drunkenly calls Carrie up for phone sex. She’s surprised because she thought that violated the terms of their plan. However, when she later phones him up for the same reason, Aidan shuts her down.
And Just Like Thatseason 3, episode 8, “Happily Ever After,” continues this behavior. Aidan arrives at Carrie’s palatial home — that she bought solely because he refused to enter her apartment — for an extended stay. Carrie is delighted, but it’s not long before it’s revealed thatthe only reason Aidan is able to visit for so long is because his son Wyatt moved out of his home.
Sure, Aidan’s situation is much more complicated than Carrie’s, and there needs to be some grace there. But he’s not considering her needs whatsoever.Aidan already proved he was capable of such selfishness over 20 years ago, and now he’s proving that he hasn’t changed at all. But the most upsetting part is that Carrie is incapable of seeing it.
History Is Repeating Itself As Carrie & Duncan’s Relationship Heats Up In And Just Like That Season 3
Just Like Big, Duncan Is Clearly A Better Match For Carrie
If her relationship with Aidan is a horror movie,Carrie and Duncan’s is a slow-burn romance. As they’re both writers, Carrie is able to show her creative side to Duncan, something she rarely does in her romances. He’s her artistic equal in a way that Aidan can never be. Beyond that, Duncan is also attractive and assertive yet kind and thoughtful.
It’s clear thatCarrie isn’t ready to confront her feelings for Duncan. She picks a fight with Miranda for suggesting the slightest bit of flirtation, and in the latest episode, Carrie cancels her writing session with Duncan and refuses to invite him to dinner when Aidan suggests it.
Carrie can only bend herself to Aidan’s needs and whims so much before she breaks.
This is entirely reminiscent of when Carrie’s repressed feelings for Big bubbled over, leading to her affair with him and the (first) demise of her and Aidan’s relationship. Carrie can only bend herself to Aidan’s needs and whims so much before she breaks, andthis could very well lead to her doing something rash with Duncan.
Honestly, I don’t hate that, givenhow terribly Aidan is treating Carrie. But I’d rather avoid yet another infidelity storyline between these two. I was no fan of Big’s inSex and the City, but he was undeniably a better match for her than Aidan.
Duncan is, too, and I may be a naive Charlotte-like optimist, but I hope thatAnd Just Like Thatseason 3 will see Carrie cut ties with her toxic past (Aidan) and embrace the love she deserves.
And Just Like That…
Cast
And Just Like That is a continuation of the beloved franchise Sex and the City, chronicling the experiences of Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte as they transition from the complexities of life and friendships in their 30s to those in their 50s.
Sex and the City
Sex in the City follows Carrie Bradshaw, a New York writer who finds inspiration for her column from the genuine, emotional, and often humorous exploits of life in the city. Joined by best friends Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, and Samantha Jones, Sex and the City follows the ups and downs of the characters' romantic relationships, being single, sex, and friendship as 30-something women.
