And Just Like That … Exists Beyond Life and Death

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In the art form of kintsugi, broken pottery is repaired by highlighting its cracks, emphasizing that beauty can emerge from flaws. Similarly, in the latest episode of “And Just Like That …”, a fracture appeared in the intricate tapestry of life and time, symbolized by Lisa Todd Wexley’s fictional father’s death. Throughout the episode, Lisa’s struggle between her demanding job and her personal relationships paralleled Miranda Hobbes’ past struggles in “Sex and the City”. Nicole Ari Parker delivered a powerful performance, interacting with guest actress Jenifer Lewis and emotionally reading a eulogy. However, an inconsistency arose: Lisa Todd Wexley’s father had previously been depicted as already deceased.

Sharp-eyed fans of AJLT noticed an inconsistency in the series timeline. In season one, episode 2, LTW discusses losing her father the year prior. However, in a season 2 episode titled “ALIVE!”, LTW’s father appears at her anniversary party, which seems unusual considering he had supposedly passed away. Billy Dee Williams plays LTW’s father, Lawrence Todd, who is a well-known playwright, poet, and founder of the Newark Free Theater. He encourages his daughter’s creative pursuits, criticizes his son-in-law for being a banker, and doesn’t appear to be supernatural in any way. His character resurfaces only at his second death in season 3. Some speculate whether the writers of AJLT made such a significant continuity error or if they simply booked Billy Dee Williams and chose to ignore the issue later on.

If you accept HBO’s version of events, the second death and resurrection were deliberate and made perfect sense within the storyline. According to the production team, the character who appeared to die in season one was actually LTW’s stepfather. This seems to imply that this twist was planned from the beginning, which may lead some to think that AJLT underestimates its audience’s intelligence. On a more charitable interpretation, it appears that they simply overlooked that detail from season one. Alternatively, it could be argued that the inclusion of LTW’s living father in season two was a retcon – a change made to the original storyline without any attempt to explain or justify it until someone pointed it out.

In another perspective, “And Just Like That…” exists within a reality that mirrors ours, yet deviates from our assumed norms. This world, similar to the one portrayed in “Sex and the City,” may be dreamlike or simply an alternate version of reality. The narrative flow of “And Just Like That…” often resembles a dreamy, meandering state, where the location, timeline, and connections between characters’ stories are unclear, as well as the stakes involved. Incidents presented as ordinary plot points in this world share characteristics with events in dreams; while they appear clear and straightforward initially, their meaning can become blurred upon reflection, making no sense in a traditional context.

Let’s consider the portrayal of Willie Garson’s character Stanford Blatch from Sex and the City, specifically how And Just Like That… dealt with his ‘in-story’ death. In a strange turn of events in season 2, Anthony struggles to find his estranged husband who he hasn’t heard from in over a year. Carrie reveals that he’s now a Shinto monk. When Anthony questions why he didn’t tell him this himself, the explanation is as unclear as the rest. However, Anthony accepts it calmly, much like we do when we are dreaming. It is only upon waking that we realize none of it makes sense; it was just a series of random brain impulses pretending to be real life to amuse us in our dreams. In this fictional universe, the death and revival of LTW’s father is a valid plot device. Similarly, Stanford and Lawrence Todd exist in both life and death states.

It seems to me that this story is unfolding as a reflection of the universal unconscious mind. The primary characters aren’t actual individuals; instead, they embody Jungian archetypes. Our reactions, ranging from amusement to excitement, towards the antics of the initial four on Sex and the City stem from recognizing our hidden aspects and subconscious selves in them. In essence, we all have the potential to be a Carrie or a Miranda; they represent timeless mythological roles.

In some instances, unusual motifs manifest in Charlotte’s dreams, including apparent contradictions and unsettling ambiguities. For example, why doesn’t Lily, Charlotte’s daughter, grow up like typical girls? As a perpetual high school student (at the start of season three, she was in 11th grade), she is both too young for her age and older than expected. Adopted by Charlotte and Harry in 2004, Lily should be around 21 years old now. However, she is only four years younger than her mother was when Sex and the City debuted (Cathy Ang is 29). This suggests a continuous timeline for LTW’s father, who remains eternally dead and resurrected.

In the series “Sex and the City,” there are instances where actors who previously appeared in different roles return to play new characters. This is similar to how dreamers often incorporate people from their real lives into various roles within dreams. For example, Justin Theroux portrayed two separate scenester writers during the first two seasons of the show, around the time he was also in a film about doppelgängers. William Abadie played a Prada employee who goes out with Charlotte in season six, and in the very next episode, another man from Charlotte’s synagogue, portrayed by Peter Hermann, appears. Rosemarie DeWitt also appeared as Miranda’s colleague Fern in that same episode. Twenty years later, Abadie reappears in “And Just Like That” as Seema’s boyfriend, while Hermann returns as a date for Carrie, and DeWitt takes on the role of Aidan’s ex-wife, Kathy. Given the recurring nature of character resurrection in the series, one might wonder if the father character in “Let Them Whisper” could also meet such a fate.

During the funeral for LTW’s father, his theater director, portrayed by Jenifer Lewis, sang part of “Magic to Do,” the opening song from the musical Pippin. This, dear readers (and I consider you my friends now), is a hint. The song symbolizes the fictional and fantastical aspects of the show it’s part of. It directly addresses the audience. The final scene depicts the main character rejecting the end of the play, which necessitates his death. He manages to surpass the boundaries of the fourth wall, escaping from being a character in a story, to defy death. We might perceive LTW’s father as embodying the role of Pippin – doomed, breaking the cycle, reincarnating, and then dying again. Furthermore, it seems that Sarah Jessica Parker has a brother named Pippin!

Well, here’s my take on it as a movie critic:

Gosh darn it, Lisa Todd Wexley’s dad meeting his end in the latest episode of “And Just Like That…” just doesn’t seem right to me. It feels like a plot twist straight out of left field! I reckon it’s high time television producers started experimenting with non-linear storytelling and breaking away from traditional continuity rules. After all, they’ve got the power to conjure up magic and create captivating tales, just for us!

In other words, you can squint your eyes at Lisa Todd Wexley’s dad’s second demise as a plot inconsistency. You can swallow HBO’s “stepdad” explanation. Or, you could view “AJLT” as an unintentional masterpiece that pushes the boundaries of conventional timelines and life and death itself. Isn’t it more intriguing that way?

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2025-07-09 20:54