Warning: spoilers for the season 2 finale of And Just Like That... ahead. It finally happened, and it was glorious. Samantha Jones made her highly-anticipated return in Thursday's finale of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That..., with Kim Cattrall making her on-screen return to the franchise. When the news of Samantha's comeback went viral last May, I wondered if this (as well as the reunion of Carrie and Aidan) would finally bring back the essential spark of the original series, which still serves as required viewing for TV fanatics and young women who subject themselves to heterosexual dating to this day. Samantha's brief appearance was a 71-second scene of pure nostalgic joy, a standout moment in a show that does its best work when it's not trying to live up to its predecessor.
First, let's break down the big moment. At the start of AJLT, Carrie was estranged from Samantha, in a hazily-defined development that was held together by Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker's real-life feud. They began to reconcile at the end of season 1, and by the season 2 finale, they're close enough for the PR maven to attempt to make it back to NYC for Carrie's "Last Supper" goodbye party for her classic brownstone apartment. However, Samantha's flight from Heathrow was canceled for being understaffed, so she called Carrie to send her well wishes for her new start in her new home however and bid adieu to the apartment via speakerphone. As we see a Fendi-clad Samantha sitting in the backseat of a car, she says, "Thank you for everything you f------ fabulous, fabulous flat" in a new, slightly-British accent.
