‘And Just Like That’ Tests Miranda’s Relationship With Joy By Testing Miranda’s Relationship with Booze

And Just Like That... has put Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon) through the wringer since it debuted on HBO MAX in late 2021. In the first season, the Sex and the City spin-off revealed that Miranda was not only unhappy in her marriage to Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), but also struggling with alcoholism. After getting sober and leaving Steve for nonbinary comic Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), Miranda began a journey that would eventually lead her to the happier, healthier version of herself we see in Season 3. She’s found love with the absolutely lovely Joy (Dolly Wells), is thriving working for the Human Rights Campaign, and has a great new bachelorette pad.

The only problem? She doesn’t want to tell Joy about her status as a recovering alcoholic because she’s worried it will kill the vibe. Which leads to a conundrum for Miranda in And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 8 “Happily Ever After.”

**Spoilers for And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 8 “Happily Ever After,” now streaming on HBO MAX**

In this week’s episode of And Just Like That…, Joy surprises Miranda by showing up at her place straight after arriving at the airport. Joy sweetly explains she thought it would be a great idea to stop by her girlfriend’s house for a kiss and a drink. She then reveals that she bought her favorite Canadian gin, Ungava gin, in Duty Free and would like to leave it at Miranda’s house.

Now, it’s quickly obvious that although Joy has noticed Miranda doesn’t drink, she thinks it’s just a preference. Miranda has not opened up to her new girlfriend about her addiction issues. So, Miranda, not wanting to rock the boat, agrees to keep the gin in her apartment. After all, she doesn’t even like gin! What’s the problem?

Well, the problem is that Miranda is tempted to drink again. She tells Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) that she’s been thinking that maybe she “overcorrected” getting sober. Perhaps she can enjoy a cocktail or two with her girlfriend at the end of the day. Maybe she’s not an alcoholic. She just “alcohol-ish.”

Charlotte and Carrie are understandably concerned by this development and encourage Miranda to a) not drink and b) open up to Joy. Miranda is emphatic that she does not want to share this part of her life with Joy yet because it might kill the fun vibe they have going on.

So Miranda keeps her alcoholism a secret. She keeps the gin in her kitchen. At the end of And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 8, Miranda finds herself tempted to pour a glass of gin for herself even though she knows she doesn’t like the liquor. After a few close calls, Miranda decides to just throw the bottle out, tossing it down her garbage chute.

While Miranda has overcome her issues with booze, she’s now going to have to confront Joy. Miranda’s been so eager to cover up the messy parts of her life, she’s made the situation all the more awkward. Joy is totally going to learn that Miranda threw out her beloved gin! Will Joy behave like a mature adult and understand Miranda’s impulse to get alcohol out of her apartment? We can hope. Will Joy wonder why Miranda kept this important detail out of their conversations? I’m assuming so!

Here’s praying that Joy and Miranda are able to deal with this hiccup with grace. (You know, because we really like Joy!)