There’s a scene in the opening episode of And Just Like That, season two, that I can’t seem to erase from my brain. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is desperately trying to shimmy her way into a full-body, horse saddle-sized strap-on. Her partner, Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), is sprawled across the bed with their T-shirt still on, casually watching in the way you might a sports channel. There is no foreplay. “Can we move this along?” Che says, bored and impatient. “I’ve got a set at the Comedy Store at nine.” Miranda continues struggling with her leather contraption, as Che takes a phone call.
It’s an excruciating watch, although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it’s because Che Diaz is so profoundly grating that you can’t believe Miranda would be, quite literally, bending herself backwards for them. Maybe it’s because, as a person of lesbian experience, I know that there is absolutely no need for a strap-on that mathematical and complex. Still, I found myself unable to look away, continuing to binge-watch all available episodes late into the night. As one viewer wryly noted on Twitter: “And Just Like That is so wild because I watch every episode through my fingers like a horror movie and when it’s over I wish it was five hours longer.”
