Oh, Steve.
And Just Like That... has never done a very good job of remembering its own history, or even who its characters are half the time.
It's a valid criticism from OG Sex and the City viewers (hello!), but also one that's been coopted in bad faith by a certain faction to undermine Miranda Hobbes' journey and life choices.
We are not here to ship Miranda and Steve's relationship or to pine for it through rose-tinted glasses – even if we did root for it back in the day.
People change; sometimes they grow together, and other times they grow apart. We fully support Miranda removing herself from a situation that was ultimately making her unhappy while fully embracing her queerness – but the show didn't need to stamp all over Steve, narratively speaking, in order for that to happen.
And Just Like That... has repeatedly diminished who Steve Brady was. In season one, he was depicted as a hollow shell of his former self – a bumbling, deeply repellent man whose most passionate relationship was with a bowl of ice cream.
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The writers may have been trying to depict how comfortable some couples can become in the rut of everyday life, and clearly this picture of marriage wasn't what Miranda wanted anymore. But we are all grown-ups here, and can respect Miranda's decision to walk away without having to minimise Steve's backstory, which earned him the unofficial title of being the Best Man in the SATC franchise (sure, the bar might be on the floor, but we will die on this hill).
Thankfully season two of AJLT seems to have made attempts to correct its own prior wrongs – and the finale went one further to finally do Steve Brady (as in, the vintage plaid-wearing version we have known and loved) justice.
Related: And Just Like That's Samantha Jones cameo was always going to disappoint
"I don't want you to forget about me, or us," Miranda told him, as she extended an olive branch and expressed her desire to be part of his future (but just as friends, don't worry).
And just like that... both she, and the show, remembered who he was too.
"You were smart about a lot of things," Miranda recalled. "You were smart about us buying the house and moving to Brooklyn when we did... And you were right about us being good parents... Only thing you weren't right about was us."
"No," Steve interjected, "I was right about us for a very long time..."
By taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane, And Just Like That proved a point it should have made from the get-go: you can respect something for what it was, and still leave it in the past where it belongs.
Miranda is in a different and better place. And so now is Steve, having brushed himself off and finding himself on Coney Island. But what they shared, at least for a time, was right for the younger versions of themselves.
And Just Like That... we're smiling through our tears.
And Just Like That, the sequel to Sex and the City, airs on Max in the US and Sky Comedy and NOW in the UK.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
