Every Outfit Podcast

Episode 234: On And Just Like That: Party of One
Date: August 16, 2025
Hosts: Chelsea Fairless & Lauren Garroni

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chelsea and Lauren raise a mimosa to the supposed series finale of "And Just Like That...", the Sex and the City sequel they've dissected, with gusto (and anguish), across 64 episodes. They question if the finale actually concludes much at all, debate the show’s persistent refusal to deliver satisfying, fun, or even logical closure, and ponder if a movie might, inevitably, await. Expect fashion roasts, character arcs scrutinized, and critical insight into what this finale says about aging, singledom, and the endurance of soul-sucking group meals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is This Really Goodbye?

Timestamps: 00:26–01:22

• The hosts are celebratory but express fatigue:
  "We've dedicated days of our life over the last four years to this experiment. And now it's over. For now." — Lauren (00:46)
• They predict that if future SATC content happens, it may not bear the "And Just Like That" name.

2. Was That a Series Finale?

Timestamps: 01:30–02:52

• Chelsea is charitable to the writers, noting the episode feels more like a mid-season filler:
  "I want to give the writers a bit of grace because I don't think that this episode was written to be a series finale... I don't think enough was resolved even for a season finale." (01:30)
• Lauren, after several watches, says she's left with sadness more than snark.

3. The Episode’s Pervasive Tone: Humiliation

Timestamps: 02:20–02:52

• The Thanksgiving disaster motif—birthdays, group events—all seem designed for dysfunction:
  "The show is ultimately about humiliation and degradation. And not in that cool Isabelle Huppert way either." — Chelsea & Lauren (02:41)

Recap: Key Scenes & Commentary

Carrie’s Hot Pot Humiliation

Timestamps: 02:52–06:14

• Carrie dines solo at Haidilao, receives a stuffed animal "companion"—a real practice, though optional:
  "The oppression of single people by society has always been a big theme on Sex and the City... but there is something about this that is simply too depressing." — Chelsea (04:20)
• Hosts dissect the iPad-ordering and robot-waiter gimmick; Michael Patrick King sees it as "the future," but the hosts mock the boomer anxiety: "Shouldn't Boomers love that shit?... Wouldn't that remind them of watching the Jetsons as a child?" — Lauren (05:42)

LTW’s Never-Ending Doc and Clumsy Exposition

Timestamps: 06:51–10:19

• LTW recruits friends to a bridal fashion show for her documentary, an awkward bit of setup.
• Producers’ obsession with exposition mocked:
  "As soon as I was thinking about the bridal fashion show and like, does that make sense? Uh oh. LTW has received a text message from the Obama's producer who says that Michelle Obama will not be participating..." — Lauren (08:17)
• A "will they/won’t they" between LTW and her (male) editor is built up but ends in mature non-action—found unsatisfying:
  "It's mature, actually... but we, of course, wanted her to cheat on her husband..." — Chelsea (11:24)
• Hosts discuss how the show avoids all moral transgressions for main characters post-Miranda's S1 arc.

Miranda & Steve: Finally, Friends

Timestamps: 14:26–16:04

• Miranda and Steve share a sweet scene over Mexican food, reflecting genuine progress post-divorce. "They're divorced, they're committed co-parents, and they're friends." — Lauren (14:55)
• Steve won't join Miranda’s Thanksgiving, and the hosts relish this scene as a rare moment of original-series comfort.

Seema & Adam: Weddings vs. Marriage

Timestamps: 16:11–19:03

• Seema’s boyfriend Adam is anti-marriage, conflating it with anti-wedding:
  "There's a difference between hating on the industrial wedding complex and thinking marriage is a scam. And I suppose both can be true." — Lauren (17:18)
• Adam’s manner is "giving the ick"—the hosts agree his attitude is grating, not philosophically interesting.

Bridal Fashion Show: Marriage Meditations

Timestamps: 19:22–21:45

• At a bridal fashion show, the girls debate whether marriage is still desirable after life's disappointments.
• Carrie admits the truth: "Why did you want to get married? Because it meant I was chosen." — Carrie (20:36)
• Chelsea: "It does feel gross. It makes sense if you know who Mr. Big is... It did feel like a callback to the Carrie of Sex and the City."

LTW & Charlotte: Would You Do It Again?

Timestamps: 22:49–24:51

• LTW and Charlotte candidly admit their lives center around men (one has a depressed husband, one a sick one)—yet would still do it all over again. Chelsea finds this bleak.

Carrie’s Moment of Truth

Timestamps: 25:07–27:27

• Carrie’s confessional monologue: She’s never truly faced unambiguous singledom, admitting even after Big died she entertained "maybe Aidan, maybe Duncan."
  "I have to quit thinking 'maybe a man' and start accepting 'maybe just me.'" — Carrie (26:10)
• The hosts critique how this "acceptance" rings downright grim, not triumphant.

Carrie’s Apartment, Money, and Missed Glam

Timestamps: 29:47–30:15

• The immense privilege of Carrie’s life—her hand-wringing over her garden style—annoys the hosts:
  "Her big dramas... her garden, the style of her garden, should I or should I not buy this table from FirstDibs... these are the problems she has." — Chelsea (36:31)
• They yearn for the fun, extravagant escapism Sex and the City once provided.

Thanksgiving: The Party of None

Sex (for Harry & Charlotte), Pie (for Everyone Else), & Turmoil (for All)

Timestamps: 37:46–41:14

• Harry’s renewed sex drive and Charlotte’s reactions spark audience calls: "Why does Lily seem so happy about apparently knowing her parents are fucking? Like, what the fuck is that about?" — Listener voicemail (38:01)
• Carrie delivers Thanksgiving pies in an "Effie Trinket meets Emily in Paris" look: "It's a lot of tulle, it's magenta, there's a lot of plaid... She looks like she came straight from Whoville." — Lauren & Chelsea (40:18–48)
• Pie symbolism is obsessed over—MPK picked each pie for a reason, apparently.

Miranda’s Thanksgiving: The Youth Arrive

Timestamps: 43:32–46:26

• Miranda’s home is besieged by Brady, his girlfriend Mia, and friends Silvio and Epcot—two new "side characters twice removed," caricatures the hosts lambast as "the most offensive portrayals of gay and trans people that I have ever seen on television."
• Chelsea: "Everyone under 40 is, like, queer and trans and horrible." (46:41)
• The group’s focus: cheese, ironic allergies, and Epcot’s name—three times.

Victor Garber Returns, and... the Poop

Timestamps: 49:10–54:57

• Victor Garber’s (Charlotte’s art-world setup for Carrie) third appearance, baffling the hosts.
• The notorious scene: Garber flushes, the toilet overflows with Epcot’s (clearly fake) logs—NOT diarrhea:
  "I felt like violence had been committed against me when I had to see those logs floating up. It's Farrelly Brothers shit." — Chelsea (54:32)
• Lauren calls it a metaphor for the show: "Daddy MPK has inadvertently given us a brilliant metaphor for the show."

Aftermath: Picking Up the Pieces

Timestamps: 56:30–59:41

• Miranda, in rubber gloves, scrubs shit and receives Joy, hugging her with likely fecal matter on her hands.
• The Roosevelt portrait in Miranda’s apartment is spotted, underlining her full lesbian transformation.

Final Montage: Everyone’s Alone, But... Okay?

Timestamps: 59:45–64:27

• Carrie eats pumpkin pie solo (famously not even bothering with crust), listens to a karaoke backing track (no SJP vocals), echoes the original series finale structure but with less emotional punch.
• The episode flashes to characters:
  • Anthony & Giuseppe: pie in the face, then reconciliation.
  • Rock & Charlotte: discuss deleted photos, imply gender expression is fluid for them.
  • LTW: presumably can "finally relax," but this isn't shown.
• Carrie deletes her novel’s hopeful epilogue, typing:
  "The woman realized she was not alone. She was on her own." (64:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Carrie, on “being chosen”:
  "Because it meant I was chosen." — Carrie (20:36)
  Reaction: "I gasped... it is a very satisfying answer, but on the other side of things, it just feels gross." — Lauren (20:38)

• Chelsea on the show’s moral timidity:
  "They have banned the characters from having any sort of, like, moral transgression, you know, apart from Miranda, who did, of course, cheat on Steve in the first season, but that feels like a lifetime ago." (11:24)

• Lauren on show’s glum tone:
  "After 30 some hours of story, Carrie's finally admitting something she could have admitted in season two, that in the back of her mind she always thought Aiden was an option." (26:49)

• On the infamous toilet scene:
  "I felt like violence had been committed against me when I had to see those logs floating up... It's Farrelly Brothers shit." — Chelsea (54:32)

• On the final epilogue line:
  "The woman realized she was not alone. She was on her own." — Carrie (64:27)
  "Marissa texted me and was like 'A one sentence epilogue. She tore that.'” — Lauren (64:34)

Hosts’ Unanswered Questions and Theories

Timestamps: 65:18–72:00

• Will Michelle Obama ever narrate LTW's doc?
• Will Carrie's book be published, and to what response?
• Will Seema/Adam, Anthony/Giuseppe stay together?
• What about Brady’s baby?
• Will any of these plotlines ever get resolution, or will “And Just Like That” continue to fizzle out in dangling threads?

Reflections & Final Thoughts

• The episode and likely series end on a note of "acceptance" for solo life—but the hosts see little that's genuinely celebratory in Carrie’s supposed triumph.
• They compare the finale to Sex and the City’s original ending—concluding this "update" does not stick the landing.
  "Everything in this episode is showing us that being single is humiliating... the tone of this entire season is sad." — Chelsea (66:12)
• They debate whether this ending is even worse than Sex and the City 2’s much-maligned wrap-up, concluding at least Samantha was still having fun back then.

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Series Finale Dissection: 01:30–02:52
• Carrie’s Hot Pot Scene: 02:52–06:14
• LTW/Marian Non-Affair: 06:51–13:38
• Miranda & Steve's Dinner: 14:26–16:04
• Carrie’s Monologue on Singledom: 25:28–29:13
• Fashion Commentary (Carrie’s Thanksgiving Look): 40:18–41:14
• Victor Garber & Toilet Catastrophe: 49:10–54:57
• Epilogue & Closing Montage: 59:45–64:27

Notable Listener Engagement

• Multiple callers express horror at familial sex revelations, the toilet sequence, and the lack of closure for long-simmering plotlines.

In Summary

Chelsea and Lauren send off "And Just Like That" with wit, exasperation, and a sense of relief. They bemoan the finale’s squandering of emotional and narrative payoffs, roast its glum take on aging and relationships, and close with hope for a future that finally lets the women of Sex and the City—and the viewers—have a little fun.

For more, check out their after show and upcoming events in LA. Final listener call: “Sometimes I feel like putting my hands up in the air... but you've got the love I need to see me through.”