We're Bracing for Aidan's And Just Like That… Appearance

Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and the gang are back, and in the first two minutes of Season 2 of And Just Like That…, seem to be having more sex in their respective cities than ever. While that’s worth a few hearty “Good for her!”s, we couldn’t help but wonder: Is Carrie really satisfied just getting laid, or is she yearning for her days with a certain Aid...an? (Sorry, sorry, sorry.)

The return of Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) has been one of the most hyped details of Season 2, so it’s expected that viewers would be on high alert waiting for the first mentions and sightings of the old furniture boy himself. Sure, there are some fans who are keeping an eye out for Aidan Easter eggs because they, for whatever reason, are dying to see Carrie end up with a self-involved dirtbag. But others (like, say, us) are doing so as a means of survival, preparing for disappointment when he ultimately slithers back into Carrie’s life after she, as the Season 2 trailer showed us, sends the utterly embarrassing “Hey stranger” email.

Franklyn (Ivan Hernandez), Carrie’s podcast producer turned friend with benefits, is proof that she still has a taste for the Aidan type. He strategically unbuttons his shirt in the exact same way, and his choice of personal jewelry (revealed because of the strategic unbuttoning) would be right at home around Aidan’s neck. And like Aidan, he keeps the necklace on during sex. Apparently Carrie has a thing for getting whacked in the face with tacky trinkets in bed, and it’s probably all Aidan’s fault.

There are traces of Aidan’s influence all over Carrie’s apartment, too. It’s been more than 20 years since Carrie bought the chair from Aidan, and let’s face it, based on everything we know about Aidan, the construction on that baby could be questionable, so that exact piece isn’t hanging around. But a glance at Carrie’s living room shows a chair that looks oddly inspired by Aidan’s work. It’s a sleeker, less rustic version to be sure, but would Carrie have bought herself this wood and leather chair without thinking about him? In fact, her entire living space reeks of his personal home decor style than hers — the woodwork is abundant.

But just because remnants of her relationship with Aidan aren’t prominently on display doesn’t mean she hasn’t held onto a piece of turquoise here or there. She held onto the wedding dress associated with one of the most devastating moments of her life for christ’s sake; there’s definitely some Aidan memorabilia hiding in that inexplicably large New York City closet.

By the end of Season 2, Episode 2, "The Real Deal," Carrie’s all freed up, with no job, no necklace-clad lover, and plenty of time to just sit around and contemplate the origins of her lumber-centric home decor, longing for a chain to dangle from the neck of another man into her eyeline. There may not have been sight nor sound of her ex quite yet, but the words “Hey stranger” are already swirling around in Carrie’s brain.

And whether we like it or not, thoughts of Aidan have now consumed us as well. There’s no telling when or where he might pop up, so we must stay vigilant for traces of the scoundrel furniture maker — and when he finally does arrive, he better watch his back, because we’ll be reporting on his every move (and terrible necklace).

New episodes of And Just Like That… drop every Thursday at 3 AM ET. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Brianna Wellen is a TV Reporter at Primetimer who became obsessed with television when her parents let her stay up late to watch E.R.