And Just Like That must resolve Carrie and Aidan's limbo without delay

After his 14-year-old son Wyatt made it abundantly clear that he did not support his dad's new relationship by getting high on magic mushrooms and crashing his truck into a tree while he was in New York, Aidan understandably felt like he had no choice but to return to Virginia, before the unthinkable happened.

But when Carrie suggested travelling to his neck of the woods as a workaround, Aidan shook his head.

"No, I'd only be thinking of you," he said.

Aidan needed to be solely focused on being a parent and Carrie would apparently distract him from being able to do that.

So, they parted ways and will remain apart until Wyatt is out of his teens, which is a whole five years down the line – although Carrie told Seema that she "might get time off, for good behaviour".

But there were no secret rendezvous in the opening episode of season 3.

Aidan is rooted in Virgina, for half a decade, while little ol' Carrie is rolling around in the opulent townhouse that she bought for the pair of them and his boys, in case they ever want to visit New York, which made for both desperately sad and, at times, awkward viewing.

Her house has never looked bigger – or emptier – and the less said about that unbearably awkward attempt at phone sex, which King tried but ultimately failed to mine for comedic purposes, the better.

If that continues to be a regular feature of season 3, I'm tapping out.

But really, it all comes back to the fact that the five-year plan is a nonsensical piece of writing that's hurting the narrative.

Aidan has seemingly written off the possibility that Wyatt could warm to Carrie long before then, in turn showing little faith in both his son's capacity for change, but also Carrie and her ability to win him over if she was given the opportunity to bond with him.

It also does a disservice to Carrie, who has already endured her fair share of heartbreak, from their initial breakup in Sex and the City to the most extreme kind of pain, the death of Big, who she literally held in her arms as he shuffled of this mortal coil – although the show later retconned the idea that he was her great love when she started dating Aidan again, which will have accelerated the grieving process.

But more than that, the death of her husband should have been a wake up call. Life is short, and it can be taken from you at any moment, without warning, which begs the question: was it good writing to have Carrie agree to wait, and wait, and wait?

Does that really feel like something this version of Carrie, who is absolutely still a romantic, who still loves love, but has evolved and mellowed since the days of her Vogue column, would do?

We know from the trailer that Aidan does visit her in New York, and she also visits him and his boys in Norfolk, but given that King has said their relationship will be "a big plot point" in season 3, a swift outcome sadly feels unlikely.

The trailer also teases potential chemistry between Carrie and one of her neighbours, which will likely be mined for some added spice.

But while the shape of this Carrie-Aidan dilemma is different to the hurdles they faced previously, and crucially, they're now older and wiser, it's yet more upheaval between two people who have already been there and done that.

Yet, it's worth noting that King has said he has "no interest in torturing an audience too much", although he's remained tight-lipped on what the their future looks like.

To reintroduce Aidan and spend so much time reconfiguring his dynamic with Carrie so that they now have the potential to work as a couple, only to break them apart again, feels somewhat cruel and unlikely, and King previously told The New York Times that he "didn’t bring Aidan back to fail".

But And Just Like That has proven itself to be at times cruel and unpredictable.

Carrie tells Miranda that she's "trying to figure it out" in the trailer and maybe she'll decide that she just can't wait.

Perhaps the aforementioned chemistry between Carrie and her neighbour will actually develop into something substantial. He is right there, after all, while Aidan is over 360 miles away.

It would certainly be bold and refreshing, given all of the waiting she's done for various men in her life, and it would be music to those who didn't champion Carrie and Aidan's relationship back then and still can't square that circle now.

But in typical And Just Like That fashion, the road to resolution will undoubtedly be paved with plenty of head-scratching, eyebrow-raising moments that make little sense, but keep us all coming back for more, regardless.

And Just Like That... season 3 premieres on 29th May in the US and from 2:05am on Friday 30th May in the UK, with episode 1 also airing again the same night at 9pm on Sky Comedy and NOW. The previous two seasons are available to stream on NOW.

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