Before “And Just Like That” Season 2 even premiered, one name has dominated this installment of the Max sequel series: Samantha. And in the first moments of “The Last Supper Part Two: Entree” Kim Cattrall’s highly anticipated return to the “Sex and the City” universe finally happens.
The episode starts with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) returning to her apartment, fancy napkins in tow, as she prepares for her big dinner party. After cheerfully greeting her kitten, Carrie gets a phone call from none other than Samantha Jones (Cattrall). But rather than the iciness and stilted conversations that surrounded Samantha in Season 1, Carrie greets Sam like they talk all the time, answering with “What’s shaking, lady?”
Immediately, Samantha launches into crisis mode and spoils her own big surprise: She was planning to attend Carrie’s last supper. Not only that but Samantha planned to fly in solely for the dinner and fly out first thing the next morning. But because her flight was delayed by three hours, she won’t be able to make it in time.
The fourth leading lady of this friend group looks as fabulous as ever in an outfit from “Sex and the City” alum and Cattrall’s longtime friend, costume designer Patricia Field. In the scene, Cattrall is wearing a red dress — one of Sam’s signature colors. That’s paired with a shimmery silver jacket, chunky silver bangles, what appears to be a large diamond ring and a lime green purse that looks as fashionable as it is expensive.
Samantha then asks Carrie to put her on speakerphone so she can “pay my respects” to Carrie’s old apartment.
“Thank you for everything you f–king fabulous, fabulous flat,” Samantha says to the memorable apartment.
Carrie then gently ribs Samantha for having a slight British accent, Samantha heightens her accent, pretending to be Annabelle Bronstein, the woman whose pool membership they once used, and they both hang up smiling.
What’s notable about this cameo is what’s unsaid rather than what’s said. During her short conversation with Carrie, Samantha mentions that Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) told her about Carrie’s dinner party. That means at some point, Sam reconnected with all three of her best friends. That’s a big shift from Season 1 when Miranda morosely revealed she hadn’t heard from Samantha in a while.
Carrie’s conversation with Samantha is also more familiar than fans may be expecting. Samantha has appeared in this spinoff before through text conversations with Carrie throughout Season 1. She even sent a huge amount of flowers for Big’s (Chris Noth) funeral. But the casual way Carrie talks to her old friend implies that they’ve been talking offscreen more than viewers have been led to believe.
News of Cattrall’s cameo leaked in May, much to the chagrin of the rest of the cast. The actress had been vocally opposed to reprising the character in the years since the second “Sex and the City” movie.
As nice as the cameo is, it’s likely a one-time event. When the return was first announced, it was noted that this appearance will not be a continuation of Cattrall’s character for now. Cattrall herself confirmed that during her “Today” interview, saying, “That’s as far as I’m going to go.”
“It felt like dipping my toe back in time and having a wonderful afternoon and then a great martini,” Cattrall said of the experience.
