Kim Cattrall’s ‘And Just Like That’ Cameo Resurrects an Inside Joke

HBO Max
HBO Max

From the moment news broke about Kim Cattrall’s And Just Like That cameo, the Max show’s has cast tried to dampen our enthusiasm. Cynthia Nixon described the appearance as mostly a “shoutout,” and as Kristin Davis put it back then, “We just thought it would be fun if she just showed up all the sudden on the screen. Wouldn’t that be great?”

The big—or, I guess small—moment finally arrived during Thursday’s finale, and as promised, it was pretty much just a “wave.” But did you catch that random, tiny shard of Sex and the City lore hidden within it?

The moment happens at the top of the episode, just as Carrie gets home to feed her (I guess permanent) new kitten before her big, Michelin-starred at-home dinner for 16 begins. As promised, she gets a call from across the pond.

“Hello, London,” she says into the phone with a smile. “What’s shaking, lady?”

Photo still of Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That'
HBO Max

Cut to Cattrall, in the back of a hired car. “My flight's three hours delayed, Carrie,” she frets. “I won't be able to make it there in time!”

It turns out, Miranda and Charlotte tipped Samantha off about Carrie’s “Last Supper” in the apartment she called home throughout Sex and the City. She’d apparently planned on flying in for the dinner in an overnight trip but got stuck at Heathrow due to fog before the plane’s crew maxed out their hours and had to go home. Given the brevity of the planned trip, she simply goes home after her bungled flight.

Still, she tells Carrie on the phone, “It is your apartment, and I have to pay my respects—so put me on speaker!”

Samantha’s parting words? “Thank you for everything, you fucking fabulous, fabulous flat.”

Then comes the inside joke for extremely devout Sex and the City fans: When Carrie asks her friend if she’s adopted a British accent, she replies, “Who’s Samantha? This is Annabelle Bronstein!”

During the final season of Sex and the City, Samantha and the girls were desperate for private-pool access to ride out a sweltering summer. When Samantha found an abandoned pass to the SoHo House pool, she thought they were set—but then she got caught.

When a pool attendant called her on it, she tried to play it cool—until he informed her that “Ms. Bronstein is from Sussex, as am I—and I’d venture to guess you are not, in fact, from the UK.” Then, as in the And Just Like That episode, Samantha closed her ruse by claiming she’d been raised in India.

Why is this moment resurfacing now? No idea! But if we’re suddenly asking questions, why did Miranda move in with a roommate this season when she clearly has enough money to live alone? Why is Carrie about to host two of her BFFs’ exes in her apartment? And why did Charlotte wear that outfit to the Met Gala earlier this season? The answer to all these questions is, because it just is—and now, we can all expect more of that energy for at least one more season to come.

Read more of our And Just Like That coverage HERE.

‘And Just Like That’ Season 2, Episode 10 Recap: Is Che Diaz an Awful Person, or Just a Comedian?

‘And Just Like That’: Carrie Selling Her Apartment Is So Upsetting

‘And Just Like That’: Carrie and Aidan Always Belonged Together

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.