‘And Just Like That’ Recap: Carrie Comes Between Aidan and His Ex-Wife, Miranda Becomes a Meme

Carrie is officially on Aidan’s turf during episode 4 of And Just Like That — and things don’t quite go as planned.

ICYMI, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Aidan (John Corbett) are attempting to navigate a five-year pause on their romance while he focuses on raising his sons in Virginia in the midst of a family crisis. Carrie’s writing career happened to bring her through Aidan’s neck of the woods, and while she initially didn’t plan on staying the night, Aidan ultimately invited her over (on the condition that she sleep in the guest house so as not to surprise his kids).

During the Thursday, June 19, episode of the Max series, Aidan suggested that Carrie crash with them a little bit longer to celebrate his eldest son Tate’s 21st birthday. In need of clothes — the rental car she drove with pal Seema (Sarita Choudhury) in the previous episode was towed with their suitcases still inside — Carrie asks where she can go to buy a few new outfits. Unlike in New York City, the shops aren’t quite within walking distance, but Aidan’s son Homer has the perfect solution: an ATV.

“Do I need a license for one of these?” Carrie teases before vowing to “go slower than anyone has ever gone” on the vehicle.

Carrie finds herself at a “Sister Wives dress shop,” then spends some time fishing with Homer and his younger brother, Wyatt, who would rather do something a little less outdoorsy. Aidan is initially hesitant when Carrie tells him Wyatt’s hopes of going to a VR experience, but he caves, and the group tries their hand at virtual zombie slaying. The zombies aren’t the only ones getting hit as Wyatt accidentally smacks Carrie on the head with his VR device.

The vibes appear to be on the up when Tate (Jason Schmidt) comes home for his birthday bash — at least for a little while. Aidan’s ex-wife, Kathy (Rosemarie DeWitt), and her boyfriend tag along. Kathy takes the opportunity to thank Carrie for bringing adderall for Wyatt from the Big Apple. While chatting with Kathy’s boyfriend, however, Carrie learns that Aidan doesn’t approve of Wyatt taking medication for his behavioral issues. She tries to apologize to Aidan, who just wants to focus on celebrating Tate.

Later on, the group plays an awkward game of Apples to Apples, which ends in Wyatt throwing a fit because he wasn’t winning any rounds. He storms off, and while Aidan tries to coax him back to the table Kathy argues the teen needs time to “cool off” — and says the outburst is a perfect example of why he needs medication. Wyatt runs outside and ends up smashing a window, shouting, “F*** you all!”

That night, Carrie returns to the guest house. “I owe you an apology,” Aidan says. “I should’ve never asked you to stay. I felt guilty because you came all the way down here and if I couldn’t ask you to stay, then what’d it say about us? But it was too soon.”

Carrie shares an apology of her own, admitting that she “didn’t believe” Aidan at first when he said he needed to prioritize his kids. “But now I do. You need to be here and without me,” she says, reassuring Aidan that they aren’t breaking up — going so far as to give him a key to their Gramercy Park home to assuage his fears.

Meanwhile, back in NYC, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) faces a few hiccups of her own as she tries to impress a new romantic interest — a producer named Joy — who invites her to make an appearance on the BBC to discuss a human rights issue in Central Africa.

“Remember what we talked about. If you feel yourself racing through the information, just stop, take a breath and then on you go,” Joy tells Miranda before the cameras start rolling.

She takes the advice to heart — but she picks a pretty bad time to pause in the middle of the words “wild countryside.” A “totally out of context” clip goes viral of her seemingly saying “wild c***.”

Miranda later worries that Joy bailing on the plans they made was “meme-related,” but she still invites Joy and a group of her friends to Carrie’s (mostly unfurnished) apartment while she’s housesitting. Miranda confronts Joy about the meme before she leaves, asking if that was the reason Joy “could barely make eye contact” with her all night. Much to her surprise, Joy admits she’s still attracted to Miranda despite her internet infamy. They make out on Carrie’s stoop, which gets captured on the Ring camera.

And Just Like That airs on Max Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.