Spoilers ahead for the third episode of And Just Like That…
She’s back! Well, they’re all back, obviously, except for Samantha. Alongside Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, the folks behind And Just Like That… seem determined to trot out nearly every minor character ever to appear on Sex and the City. Some have provided the opportunity for clunky exposition (Julie Halston’s Bitzy von Muffling), others have made a certain amount of sense while also providing a much-needed counterpoint (Molly Price’s Susan-Sharon at Mr. Big’s funeral). But in this week’s episode, we get one of the new show’s most baffling returns: Big’s second ex-wife Natasha (Bridget Moynahan).
The plot device that brings the former Mrs. Big back into Carrie’s life strains credibility: Big has inexplicably left Natasha $1 million in his will, which throws Carrie into a tailspin and spurs her to track the poor woman down for an explanation. Classic Carrie! When the two women finally meet face-to-face, Natasha if understandably pissed. “I’ve already given you more minutes of my life than you ever deserved,” she cries!
Natasha may not want to think about their history, but since she’s here, we may as well revisit some of those minutes.
“Who is she?”
The character first appeared in a two-episode arch at the end of Season 2. Carrie runs into her with Mr. Big at a party in the Hamptons and it’s clear that they’re together, which is devastating on a couple levels. Carrie had assumed that the primary reason she and Big had broken up was that he’d moved to Paris. But here he was, back in New York, and with a significantly younger woman no less. And it gets worse: it turned out they were just dating; Natasha and Big were engaged. We see Natasha again briefly in the Season 2 finale when Carrie just shows up outside the Plaza as she and Big are leaving their engagement party. (You see the pattern developing here, right?)
“He’s married. Where are my home fries?”
Natasha returns in the third episode of Season 3. She and Big are now married, and Carrie gets all fixated on the differences between herself and Natasha. Because, really, Natasha is kind of the anti-Carrie: tall, brunette, straight hair, with a penchant for minimalism and a job at Ralph Lauren. Carrie, meanwhile, is colorful clashing prints, downtown (despite her Upper East Side address), chaotic. “She’s shiny hair, style section, Vera Wang, and I’m the sex column they run next to ads for penile implants!” she whines.
It’s worth noting that at this point, Natasha actually seems kind of nice! When she runs into Carrie in a changing room, she seems sweet! Carrie, meanwhile, comes off as the neurotic, insecure one who once again stalks this 20-something-year-old woman, this time to a fundraiser, just to prove something to herself.
“You’ll be holding forever.”
Then comes the affair. Carrie next encounters Big and Natasha months later at a furniture show. Their marriage is already on the rocks and soon, Carrie and Big are sleeping together. Carrie feels rotten about the whole thing, but it’s not until Charlotte points out that Natasha is a real person, with real feelings, that Carrie starts thinking about how the affair might affect Big’s wife. And then Natasha catches Carrie in the Bigs’ apartment after a tryst. Carrie flees the scene, but Natasha pursues, falling and breaking a tooth in the stairwell. Carrie takes her to the hospital, where she ends her affair with Big.
But, months later, Carrie is still perversely fixated on Natasha, who is now divorced. After the younger woman snubs her in a restaurant, Carrie begins hounding her, convinced that she needs to apologize, to explain herself. Ultimately, she’s able to track Natasha down (again!) to a restaurant where she tries to make amends. But Natasha is having none of it. “I’m sorry too,” she tells her. “I’m sorry that you felt the need to come down here. Now, not only have you ruined my marriage, you’ve ruined my lunch.” Mic drop. And that’s the last we see of Natasha, until…
“How’s the burn?”
This week. After finding out that Big has left Natasha $1M, Carrie once again starts hounding her, emailing her, stalking her on Instagram, and showing up unannounced at her office. Like…can you imagine if your ex’s wife started doing this to you? But thanks to a deus ex toilet, Carrie and Natasha end up sitting across a table from each other for what I hope and pray is the last time. Natasha has no idea why Big left her the money, but she does finally, begrudgingly give Carrie something like the absolution she denied her all those years ago. “We’re okay. It’s all in the past,” she tells her, wearily. “But maybe we shouldn’t follow each other on Instagram.”
And so, two decades later, maybe the story of Natasha and Big and Carrie has finally come to an end.
