WARNING: Spoilers ahead for And Just Like That season 3, episode 2.

Carrie and Aidan's relationship in end of And Just Like That season 2, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) agreed to take a five-year break from her relationship with Aidan (John Corbett) because he felt he needed to devote more of his energy to his kids. But season 3 is already showing that these two can't seem to quit each other.

"Rat Race" finds Carrie and Aidan trying to navigate their relationship when he surprises her with a visit. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) finds herself trying to woo a new crush while Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) try to woo a college issions guru (Kristen Schaal). Meanwhile, Seema (Sarita Choudhury) is urged to see a matchmaker (Cheri Oteri).

Screen Rant sat down with Rottenberg and Zuritsky, who also worked on the original Sex and the City, to talk about all things episode 2, which they wrote together. They discuss the challenges Carrie and Aidan are facing as a couple, as well as Miranda's vulnerability in trying to date as a gay woman in her fifties. They also touch on why it's easier to write Charlotte in And Just Like That, and how the new ladies fit into the show.

Carrie & Aidan's Relationship Has Its Problems, But It's More Complicated Than A Thumbs-Down Emoji

"We Set Out To Kind Of Roll Up Our Sleeves And Say, 'Let's Get Real'"

Aidan coming back into Carrie's life in season 2 sees her the happiest she's been since before Big died at the start of And Just Like That. Zuritsky spoke of their fairytale reunion, saying it was "rainbows and unicorns and perfection on a stick, minus the fact that he wouldn't go upstairs to her apartment. But other than that, they were on a magic carpet ride." But while Carrie and Aidan spent much of the sophomore season nestled in their romance bubble, it burst in a big way after Wyatt (Logan Souza) crashed Aidan's truck.

"This season, we were really deliberate when we set out to kind of roll up our sleeves and say, 'let's get real,'" Zuristky continued. "What would this look like now? It's reality. We ended the season with very real consequences. His kid is going through a crisis, smacked in the face with reality."

Reality is full of challenges for the couple, including them living in different states and the fact that Aidan is dealing with serious issues as a parent, which Carrie can't relate to as a childfree woman. "He's a dad, and she's not, and she's never been in his shoes, and she doesn't live in his town, and she loves him, but she loves what works for her, him, and we wanted to get into the mess of real love, real life."

"Can all the pieces fit together? When can the big pieces fit together when the little ones don't?" Zuritsky said. It's a question that Carrie looks to be grappling with for the rest of the season. "Rat Race" begins and ends with two very different versions of the protagonist. At the beginning, when Carrie meets the Gen Z Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum) for drinks, she's "the wise lucky lady who met her boyfriend pre-apps, and then by the end of the episode, put her squarely in the frustration zone of like, ah, we're now texting emojis to each other."

It's definitely not ideal, and certainly not helped by Aidan's dismissive thumbs-down emoji response to a table Carrie thoughtfully picked out for them. But the reason the Sex and the City universe has been such an enduring franchise is because of how well it captures the messy, complicated rat's nest that is human love. Carrie may have a flowerless garden with no idea of how to fill it, but we can't wait to watch her figure it out.

Miranda Is Experiencing Her "Most Vulnerable Situation" As She Navigates Dating Women

The Episode Sees Her Experience Two Crushes With Varying Results

Of the original characters, Miranda is the only single lady in And Just Like That, and season 3 sees her looking to date. While she had plenty of experience navigating the minefield of courtship in Sex and the City, that was when she was dating men. Dating women is a whole new challenge for her. Rottenberg said, "The experience of dating... To see Miranda, who we all think of as this very accomplished, smart, confident person, to have her in what is the most vulnerable situation when you're dating, and you're putting yourself out there, is always delicious."

Miranda indeed puts herself out there in season 2, when she develops a crush on a server whom she bonds with over a mutual love for a trashy reality show called Bi Bingo. Of all the storylines, this is the most reminiscent of Sex and the City, and when Miranda finally steels up the courage to ask the server out, she gets rejected. It's bittersweet, as we're proud of Miranda for being vulnerable, but sad that she didn't get the girl, and made more poignant by a masterful performance. "Cynthia Nixon makes it even better than we ever imagined," Rottenberg adds.

One of the contestants in Bi Bingo is named Mimi, which is a subtle callback to Jules and Mimi, a fictional steamy British soap opera that Miranda becomes obsessed with in Sex and the City.

But things look more promising when BBC producer Joy (Dolly Wells) comes back into Miranda's life, and there's a spark between them. "That she has this crush on someone who's very much her equal was an exciting new thought," Rottenberg continues. "Because we've never seen her at least in a long-term relationship with someone who's really her intellectual equal." While Miranda hooking up with the server would have been a steamy scene, Joy seems like the more interesting crush, for all the reasons Rottenberg pointed out. But only time will tell what, if anything, comes of it.

The And Just Like That Writers Are "Brimming With Charlotte Stories"

Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky Best Relate To Charlotte As Wives And Mothers Themselves

With Charlotte being the only member of the original cast truly living her romantic happily ever after, it could have been easier for her to get sidelined in And Just Like That. But all her storylines feel lived-in and relatable, including the unique experience of hunting down the perfect college issions guru. "It's a very specific form of insanity here. We are barely exaggerating," Rottenberg said of the New York college process. Zuritsky chimed in, "Especially in the private school realm in the Upper East Side."

"Now we very much relate to her. We are both married with kids, and if anything, that's like the easiest story."

"There was a time when we wrote for Charlotte back in the series where I think we didn't relate to her as much, but obviously we still wrote for her. We love her. She's a great character, and Kristin Davis is an incredible actress. Now we very much relate to her. We are both married with kids, and if anything, that's like the easiest story. Those are the easiest stories," Rottenberg confessed.

This is precisely why Charlotte's storylines feel so naturalistic on the show. "We're brimming with Charlotte stories," Rottenberg continued. "I'd like to say [Zuritsky and I] both have solid — knock on wood — marriages and certainly still have plenty to complain about and laugh at and be frustrated by."

In AJLT Season 3, Seema & Lisa Fit Right In With The Original Cast

"It's A Joy To Discover Them"

It may have once seemed impossible to contemplate the friend group in the Sex and the City universe to be anything other than the core four, but by season 3, Seema and Lisa fit into the And Just Like That cast like a glove. In "Rat Race", we see Lisa and Charlotte sharing the college issions guru storyline while Seema gives her two cents on Carrie's emoji drama over lunch. "Now you've seen enough episodes to see them sitting together at Hot Fellas," Rottenberg said. "I think we're finally feeling at home."

Writing Seema and Lisa presented a joy for the And Just Like That writers, different from returning to the original characters. Zuristky shared, "It's a joy to discover them... I feel like they really are like new friends who you are sort of in love with, and you can't wait to find out everything about them."

"We're constantly pulling the layers back, and in both cases, I think as humans, they're so impressive. Each of them embodies such beauty and sophistication and intelligence and glamour, and yet our job is to continue to find their vulnerabilities, and it is like getting to know new friends and new life. And each season it's been, yeah, it's been exciting. It's been exciting for us."

If the theme of And Just Like That season 3, episode 2 was crushes, whether on a server or a college issions guru, Rottenberg revealed that she and Zuritsky also have friend crushes on the new ladies: "It is like when you have that first crush on a new friend, when it's exciting to get to know everything about them and writing for them, they have been so crystal clear in their portrayal of these characters that it helps us, and it really is fun mixing them in some with the old, with the new."

It's a ton of fun watching Seema and Lisa interact with Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte, but their individual storylines are also a delight to experience, particularly Lisa's work on her unsung Black women docies. And Just Like That season 3 seems to promise plenty of fascinating twists for the new ladies, and we can't wait to watch.

And Just Like That season 3 will air on HBO Max every Thursday at 9PM ET through its season finale on August 14.

Check out our other And Just Like That season 3 coverage:

• And Just Like That Season 3 Episode 1 Ending Explained
• And Just Like That Season 3 Episode 1 Review
• Why Kim Cattrall's Samantha Jones Isn't Returning In And Just Like That Season 3
• Why Sara Ramirez's Che Diaz Isn't Returning In And Just Like That Season 3