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And just like that… our favourite PR executive and unmarried woman, Samantha Jones, is back where she belongs: sauntering around New York looking fabulous while absolutely dominating our screens.
Indeed, the moment Sex And The City fans have been waiting 13 years (and two seasons of a reboot) for is almost within our grasp. This week’s coming episode of And Just Like That… marks the season finale of the polarising series’ second iteration, tying together loose ends while holding out for the biggest cameo in Manhattan’s history.
We may have been momentarily captivated by Aidan Shaw’s (John Corbett) return, but it’s Kim Cattrall’s reported one-scene reprisal as Samantha Jones that has us well and truly besotted. This is, after all, the woman who taught us not to be ashamed of our sexual desires, refused to be judged by society’s standards, and coached us on the power of a slinky two-piece suit and gold jewellery.
As you’ll recall, the first season of And Just Like That… loosely brushed over why Samantha, and in turn, Cattrall, hadn’t made an appearance. Skipping over the well-documented feud between Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker, the show runners decided instead to explain Samantha’s absence with the ‘living abroad’ route.
It was explained that Samantha relocated to London after a fallout with Carrie, but reports confirmed that Cattrall filmed a single scene in New York and that she will not appear on-screen with any of her former castmates. Oh, and she got the legendary Patricia Fields back to style her for the cameo.
For many of us who grew up devouring Sex And The City and became hooked to the chic yet chaotic lives of four staunchly independent New York women, Samantha was like a second mother.
Who else but her could teach us to enact revenge on a man caught cheating on you by plastering his face all over downtown telegraph poles and billboards? Or that it’s ok to use someone’s name if it meant you could get a Birkin (especially when they were worth $4,000!).
And while Samantha did have some pretty messy moments, specifically with one instance of transphobia that doesn’t bear repeating, her nous candour, shameless lifestyle and unapologetically glamorous wardrobe have made her a beloved icon, from the 90s till forever.
In anticipation of her triumphant return, GRAZIA has curated the ultimate guide to the best Samantha Jones moment of all time. Take a sip of your bright grenadine pink cosmopolitan and keep scrolling below, honey.
1. “Honey, The Don’t Call It A Job For Nothing”
Proving that men also have to put the work in when it comes to sexual pleasure, Samantha delivered an epic takedown of the ages while chastising a date who had the nerve to mansplain how to give a blowjob. “You men have no idea what we’re dealing with down there. Teeth placement, jaw stress, suction and gag reflex all the while bobbing up and down, moaning and trying to breathe. Easy? Honey, they don’t call it a job for nothing.”
2. “This Man Said He Loved Me…”
Much of SATC’s fourth season was taken up with Samantha’s relationship with hotel tycoon and serial cheater Richard Wright. Though Samantha’s eventual breakup with Richard highlighted the importance of mutual trust and self-respect, our favourite moment came after Samantha caught Richard in bed with another woman.
In a fit of rage, Samantha responded by posting pieces of pink paper emblazoned with Richard’s face and the words “liar” and “cheater” around New York City. When stopped by the NYPD and asked why she was defacing public property, Samantha’s reasoning was impeccable. “This man said he loved me, and I caught him eating another woman’s pussy.”
Though we don’t condone her behaviour, it was delicious to watch, especially with a minor cameo from Grey’s Anatomy’s Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson).
3. “Who Is This?”
A scene you’ve most likely seen circulating on social media, one of Samantha’s most memorable moments came when the married man she had been sleeping with decided to end his relationship with his wife to fully commit to Samantha. “It’s over, I told my wife!” the adulterous suitor chirped down a very 90s brick mobile phone. Samantha’s response? “Who is this?”
4. A Naked Solo Portrait Session
The master of self-confidence, Samantha proved the adage ‘if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else’ to be gospel with her unwavering confidence and regard for herself.
Proving that often the best things in life are the things you do for yourself, Samantha’s season four storyline where she organises a nude photoshoot of herself for no apparent reason is a lesson in unabashedly embracing everything about yourself.
Though the storyline did slightly serve as a device for Samantha to get validation from strangers, we’d prefer to acknowledge the merits of Samantha proudly loving her body as the most important truth.
5. The Hunt For A Red Birkin
We’re sorry to the women on #BirkinTok, but Samantha Jones takes the crocodile-skin cake when it comes to desperate attempts to secure a Hermès Birkin. Subverting patriarchal undertones that women are obsessed with shopping, Samantha’s desire for this status symbol proves that not only are you allowed to like luxury goods, and that it doesn’t make you any less of an intelligent, sophisticated and cultured woman by doing so.
However, what does knock Samantha down a couple of rungs is by lying to her sales assistant! Telling her SA that the red Birkin is for her client Lucy Liu to speed up the buying process, the episode ends with both Lucy, the Birkin and an irate Hermès representative walking out of Samantha’s life for good. The episode also gives us another signature SATC purse-related quip: “It’s not a bag. It’s a Birkin.”
6. Samantha Goes To The Valley
Before Encino was “totally b*tching”, as one might say in Valspeak, Samantha and Carrie made an unprecedented voyage just south of the 101 to Ventura Boulevard to get their hands on fake Fendi Baguettes. Though we never understood while the writers waited until their trip to Los Angeles to see the girls play the counterfeit market first-hand when they could’ve gone down to Canal Street, seeing Samantha in swing her fake gold Fendi bag and Louis Vuitton damier visor is peek ‘NY does LA summer’ style.
7. “I’m A Try-Sexual”
While Sex And The City’s brunch chat is a trope sorely missed in And Just Like That… which is not to say the reboot doesn’t try to live up to the original, it’s just that the conversations fail to hit. Case in point, Samantha Jones explains her sexuality over eggs: “I’m a try-sexual… I’ll try anything once!”
8. “I will not be judged by you or society.”
After Carrie walked in on Samantha giving a blow-by-blow to the UPS man, friction swells up with the supposedly progressive sex columnist judging Samantha for blowing a courier in her office in the middle of the day. To that censorious rhetoric, Samantha rightly reminds Carrie that it’s her name on the door and that as an independent woman, she can do whatever she wants, when she wants it.
“I will not be judged by you or society,” Samantha tells Carrie before continuing that she will “wear whatever and blow whomever I want as long as I can breathe—and kneel!”
8. “Honey, You’re A Model”
Though this moment could also be filed under our favourite Carrie Bradshaw moments, proof of Samantha’s staunch loyalty and her devotion to her friends came in season four when Carrie fumbled her runway debut during Margaret Cho’s “mix of models and New York style people” fashion show.
Quelling Carrie’s anxieties, Samantha took one look at her very Miu Miu FW23 bejewelled underwear and blue coat and said: “Honey, you’re a model”. Other sage advice Samantha has given us over the six-season reign? “If I worried what every b**** in New York was saying about me, I’d never leave the house” and “You can’t go listening to every f***** little voice that runs through your head.”
9. “Men, babies, doesn’t matter. We’re soulmates.”
Though this isn’t exactly a Sex And The City iconic moment, more of a Sex And The City 2 memorable scene, the quote encapsulates exactly what we loved about the show: flawed, well-rounded women who loved each other deeply and loved fashion just as much.
Riffing of Charlotte York’s tear-jerking quote from SATC season four: “Maybe we can be each other’s soul mates. And then we can let men be just these great, nice guys to have fun with”, Samantha delivered a proclamation of her own. “Men, babies, doesn’t matter. We’re soulmates.” May we all love our girlfriends as deeply as these four did.
10. Samantha Shedding Her Wig At The Breast Cancer Summit
Finally, one of Samantha’s most fierce moments came during her most vulnerable. Proving that she didn’t always need to be sexually liberal to be powerful, Samantha’s candid breakdown and reveal of her cancer diagnosis at a breast cancer benefit will always be one of her most important moments in the series.
In case you need refreshing, a sweaty Samantha takes to the stage to deliver a speech about the disease. While trying to keep her cool and maintain a perfected visage through a bout of hot flashes, the publicist instead decides to share news of her ongoing breast cancer treatment, leading to one of the most emotional moments in the show.
“Oh f*** it, she’s me… and if any of you are having hot flashes like I am you deserve a f**** medal. Bad enough I had to lose my hair now I have my face running down my couture.” Then, Samantha bravely decides to remove her bob wig and reveal her patchy buzz cut underneath, inciting the breast cancer survivors in the crowd to do the same.
To you, our fierce and fabulous Samantha Jones, we raise a glass in your honour. May your return to our screen be as ferociously glamorous as you are.
