***Warning: This blog post contains spoilers for episode four of the HBOMax series, And Just Like That…***

After the Christmas and New Year’s from hell, I’m back with another AJLT recap. Happy New Year to all of my (three) readers!

As episode 3 left us with Carrie back at the steps of her old apartment, episode 4 opens with Carrie waking up on an unmade bed in her humble abode. We then cut to Charlotte, who continues to be the fucking worst as she loudly confirms a colonoscopy for Harry over the phone in a crowded coffee shop before meeting up with her obsession, Lisa Todd Wexley. They exchange pleasantries and dinner invitations, which sends Charlotte into a full blown panic as she realizes she and Harry have no friends of color to diversify their social circle and impress LTW.

Side note — God I hope her delaying Harry’s colonoscopy doesn’t result in him having cancer or something. This show has made me so cynical and anxious.

Over the course of the episode, we get to watch Charlotte act a fool by desperately trying to throw together a group of impressive specimens for her dinner (“I invited Carrie for fashion!”) including trying to bully her Indian neighbors into coming, which is cringe to the extreme.

Meanwhile, Miranda reeks of pot and her son and his girlfriend call her out on it. She blames the club she was at the night before with Che, but we know the truth, Shotgun Sally!

As we revisit Carrie in her apartment, her old coffee maker explodes, so she does what she does best — steps out in an outfit most ridiculous but also I want to wear it.

We get to meet Carrie’s realtor, Seema (played by Sarita Choudhury), as Carrie has decided to let go of her and Big’s place. She ditches the peloton for about 5 seconds before Seema breezes in and says it’s the perfect space for one! And just like that… the peloton is back. Allegra wins this round.

Carrie and Seema start to form a bit of a bond, sharing a forbidden cigarette, while Miranda has dinner with Nya and discovers Nya is on her second round of IVF and isn’t quite sure she wants kids. It’s good to see that Miranda has hopefully moved past the cringy woke stage of trying to bond with her professor.

Charlotte attends a dinner party at LTW’s, where she manages to make herself useful by defending Lisa’s art investments to her uppity mother-in-law. As obnoxious as Charlotte is, I guess it’s working for Lisa because they seem very BFF as they confess to each other their anxieties about the lack of diversity at their respective gatherings (LTW says she was nervous about Charlotte and Harry being the only white couple at hers). Good for them.

Oh — and we get the lamest of sendoffs for the late, great Willie Garson as we learn he left a letter for Carrie telling her that he’s moving to Tokyo to go on tour with the teen TikTok star he manages. He also told Anthony he wants a divorce.

The episode closes with Carrie and Seema back at her and Big’s place, where Seema has accidentally broken a framed photo of Carrie and JJP. Carrie is very upset, saying it’s not just about replacing the glass because “he touched that glass every night.” They have a come-to-Jesus moment where Seema tells Carrie she felt slighted the other day when Carrie said “I think it’s great that you’re still putting yourself out there” as Seema is on numerous dating sites, and she tells Carrie she’s lucky she had the love of her life for a time, even if she lost him. The two seem to come to an understanding as Carrie closes with:

“And just like that… we began our real friendship.”

I am feeling character growing pains in this episode. Is Carrie going to take up smoking again? Where are things headed for Miranda? Is someone going to strangle Charlotte for me? Time will tell…