What a relief: I’m not going to complain about this week’s episode of And Just Like That. Still far from the quality we expect, the show finally delivered something closer to a coherent drama. Carrie spoke for us, and now her storyline has taken an unexpected turn.

It’s not that the plot advanced radically — everyone is still more or less in the same place — but the problems are being pared down. Charlotte and Harry are dealing with themes of aging and generational conflict. They love each other, understand one another, and have formed a “normal” family. Rock is the Gen Z youngest, and Lily is the millennial version of Charlotte (in love with her “polyamorous” boyfriend but sweet and affectionate). In this episode, Charlotte seems more “resigned” to the passage of time, while Harry is the one still feeling and fearing the changes.

Seema continues her career shift, and Lisa Todd remains stressed about her unfinished documentary, which causes mild issues at home. The hiring of the handsome editor might become another conflict, but we don’t go deeper into that.

Miranda — a nomad for THREE SEASONS now — continues to be a source of frustration. Nothing makes sense about this “new Miranda.” How can a renowned and brilliant attorney — the first of the original four friends to buy her own property with her salary — be couch-surfing for this long? She takes advantage of Carrie’s extended trip and invites her love interest over for a visit, something that surprised the homeowner as much as it did me: such nerve and rudeness on Miranda’s part. Luckily for her, millionaire Carrie is also generous and gave her blessing after the fact. And finally, Joy and Miranda have started something, even after that ridiculous meme story that made Miranda “internet famous.” Apparently, with a girlfriend, Miranda will now have yet another home to occupy.

And so we head to Virginia, where Aidan is finally proven right: there’s no way to maintain a relationship when his life with his sons — especially Wyatt — is far from ideal. Let’s be honest: not even in 25 years will he solve this drama; the five years he asked for are completely unrealistic. Here, at last, we get a plausible and potentially interesting conflict for Carrie — one that many women 50+ might identify with.

Once “invited” to stay, Carrie tries to connect with her would-be stepchildren, only to face passive-aggressive rejection from the eldest son and outright aggression from Wyatt, the youngest. Aidan tries to juggle the roles of strict dad, cool dad, and attentive boyfriend, and fails at all of them. Hovering nearby, his ex Kathy, puts Carrie in a bad position — the medication she shamelessly asked for turned out to be something she and Aidan disagreed on, meaning she deliberately placed Carrie in the middle of their family conflict.

Wyatt, who got drunk and crashed his father’s car (at age 15), causing the infamous “5-year separation” between Aidan and Carrie, has much deeper issues than simply being a teenager or still processing his parents’ divorce (which, by the way, happened over four years ago). There are layers of problems there, but he refuses to accept his father’s girlfriend — and let’s face it, Carrie is avoiding trying to engage (and no one can blame her).

After several sequences of veiled and open rudeness, during a game of Apples to Apples (the episode’s title), things reach a breaking point, and following yelling and accusations, Wyatt smashes a window. The chaos only escalates from there.

On her final night there, Carrie decides to go back to the guest house, and a devastated Aidan is sure she’s going to break up with him. Being the manipulator that he is, he cries and accuses her of trying to walk away after what she saw — and honestly? That’s a terrible sign from Aidan. Carrie should’ve ended things and left it at that, but she falls for his emotional game and gives him the key to her new home. They’ll stick to the original plan of reuniting when the time is right.

Back in New York, we hear Carrie in voiceover, channeling her life into a fictional novel she’s beginning to draft. Now, she’ll start to live and build her home — alone — even though she still feels lost. I suspect that book won’t be a success. Not until Carrie starts living again. Let’s just hope it won’t be too late.