Grab Yourself a Cosmo – I Broke Down All the Sex and the City Easter Eggs in And Just Like That…

The first couple minutes of the premiere sees the trio catching up with the socialite Bitsy Von Muffling (Julie Halston) after running into each other at a brunch. Bitsy first appeared in season five of Sex and the City when she ties the knot with Bobby (Nathan Lane), a flamboyant cabaret singer, whom the girls assume is gay. She also made a cameo later in season six and the first movie. While this isn’t an Easter egg per se, it’s nice the writers have brought back several characters for the revival that added to the original’s comforting essence.

In the opening moments of the premiere, we see Carrie sporting a feathered hat paired with a chic, off-white linen jumpsuit. This accessory seems to be a nod to Carrie’s similar head accessory at her almost-wedding to Big in the first spinoff movie.

In the sixth season of the Sex and the City series, Charlotte named her beloved dog – a Cavalier King Charles spaniel – after the iconic Hollywood star, Elizabeth Taylor. While it wouldn’t have made sense for the Goldenblatts to still hang out with their previous dog all these years later, the reboot introduced us to their new dog named Burton -– a likely nod to Taylor’s fifth (and also, sixth) husband, Richard Burton. We can’t help but swoon over this attention to detail!

The lockdown helped establish a tradition of sorts for Carrie and Big. They’ve begun going through Big’s extensive vinyl records alphabetically. Hints about Big’s wide-ranged musical taste were mentioned several times throughout the series, but it’s only in the reboot that we get to witness the actual record stack.

Smith Jerrod, Samantha’s love interest for season six of the original series and both movies, may not have been cast in the reboot, but he did get a clever shout-out in And Just Like That . . . As Miranda makes a pitstop at a bar to get a glass of Chablis before heading to her class at Columbia, we get a full-screen shot of the bar with its name showing in bold letters: “Smith’s Bar/Restaurant.” We see you!

Carrie has sparked many a pop-culture trend by confidently donning bold sartorial outfits and statement pieces. Of course, her accessories and shoe collection completing the ensembles were trendsetters in their own right. In season four of the show, we see Carrie adoringly addressing a gorgeous pair of heels in a store window, saying, “Hello, lovers.” As we’re gifted another round of her awe-inspiring, luxurious closet in the revival, we witness her similarly call out to her enviable collection of designer shoes.

Carrie’s shoe collection in the revival may be astonishing, but one piece, in particular, made us do a double-take. Yes, we’re talking about the royal blue bejewelled Manolo Blahniks that Carrie wears to her wedding with Big in the first movie. These are the heels that Big fittingly proposes to her with instead of an engagement ring. In the first episode of And Just Like That . . ., Carrie picks the iconic pair of heels to wear to Lily’s piano recital. While Big adoringly acknowledges the shoes right before she heads out, it becomes one of the last moments the couple shares as, later that evening, Big suffers a heart attack leading to his untimely death. I mean, did they have to play on our heartstrings like that?!

There were plenty of fashion references in the revival, and one of them was the floral brooch Carrie pins on the lapel of her blazer to complement the blue hue of the Manolos in the first episode. Variants of this accessory are staples of Carrie’s wardrobe during seasons three and four of Sex and the City.

Carrie’s collection of columns was published under the title – well, you guessed it! – Sex and the City in season five of the series. In the revival, we see her book proudly displayed on the bookshelf of Carrie and Big’s apartment.

Anyone familiar with the iconic show and its central characters knows Carrie Bradshaw loves her a cosmopolitan! It has been long-established as Carrie’s preferred cocktail. In the pilot episode, when the gang gets together at Lily’s piano recital, Anthony and Stanford are shown to be in the middle of a minor tiff. “I hope you like your cosmos with a side of drama,” says Anthony as he tells Carrie that a sullen Stanford will be joining them for after drink.

Thanks in part to the global pandemic that forced everyone to spend more time indoors, the 2021 Carrie and Big are majorly domesticated. Who would’ve thought Carrie would be negotiating the culinary intricacies between “low-rent salmon” and the “Copper River sockeye salmon!” Rightfully, Big quips that he still remembers when she would keep her sweaters on the stove. In the first movie, when Big and Carrie plan on buying an apartment, she jokingly notes that she would be using the kitchen to store her sweaters instead! We don’t know about you, but watching Big slip in that reference in the revival made our day!

If you’re still in denial about Big’s heartbreaking exit from the show, we are there with you! As Big draws last gasps of breath in Carrie’s arms, the episode comes to an end as the credits roll and Florence and the Machine’s song “You’ve Got the Love” plays in the background. We have a nostalgic connection with this song, as this marks the very last song that featured in the season six finale of the show in 2004.

That also happens to be the exact episode where viewers get to know Big’s real name, as John flashes on Carrie’s cellphone. The revival episode shows Carrie woefully repeating Big’s real name as they bid unexpected goodbyes set to the same tune. Way to twist the knife in! BRB, sobbing!

Another side character who appears in the revival is Susan Sharon (Molly Price). In the second episode, Susan attends Big’s funeral as she voices many of the viewers’ feelings by saying, “Am I the only one who remembers what a prick he was to her?” While the general audience adores Carrie and Big’s romance, it’s no surprise that many seem to object to their misbalanced dynamic, mainly based on their initial rocky couple of years. Sharon may very well have been the spokesperson that the writers of And Just Like That… employed to acknowledge fans’ long-known skepticism regarding Big.