We have missed Stanford's character in And Just Like That... but at least we now know what he is 'up to'.
Following the sudden death of actor Willie Garson, who played Carrie's best friend Stanford Blatch in the original series, the show struggled with what to do about his character.
The actor passed away from pancreatic cancer when the filming of season one of AJLT was still in progress, which is why we still saw him in a handful of scenes.
To explain Stanford's absence, his character was written out the show with the script saying that he suddenly parted from his husband Anthony to manage a TikTok star in Japan.
In the latest episode of the SATC reboot, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) shares an update on Stanford while with his estranged husband, Anthony (Mario Cantone).
'Stanford asked me to speak with you,' Carrie says, showing him a handwritten note from her longtime friend. 'He's back in Japan, in Kyoto. He went in to see the geishas and he's staying.'
Carrie continued: 'He’s a Shinto monk. … No bit, he had a big, ugly fight with his TikTok client. She fired him and ran off to Berlin, he wandered around Kyoto for days crying.
'[He] eventually found his way into a temple where, I guess, he stopped crying and he wrote, "Carrie, for the first time in my life, I felt peace, real peace."'
Carrie's words surprised Anthony, who married Stanford in the Sex and the City 2 feature film. 'Why didn't he tell me this himself?' he asked, setting down the cosmopolitan cocktail Carrie had brought him in memory of Stanford.
Answering Anthony's question, Carrie told him that Stanford wrote that he did not want Anthony to mock his newfound bliss.
'He also wrote that, "My lawyers have enclosed all the legal work needed. The apartment and all of my belongings are now his. I want no attachments. I have let go of all things that no [longer] serve me and I let it all go with love."'
Letting it all sink in, Anthony told Carrie that he was surprised that Stanford is able to let go of all the things but emotionally accepted the character's decision, saying: 'Good for him, good for him.'
The two then pick up their drinks (Cosmos, of course) and toast to 'Stanny' in a lovely tribute to the character and a very fitting send-off from the Sex And The City universe.
While it is difficult to believe that Stanford Blatch would be able to give up his belongings and his apartment, we are happy that he found happiness.
