Sex and The City fans react to that post-Peloton death scene in 'And Just Like That'

The unexpected demise of a beloved Sex and the City character set Twitter ablaze.

Warning: This post is chock full of spoilers about the first two episodes of HBO Max’s new “Sex and The City” series, “And Just Like That…”, including one that will ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATE YOU IF YOU EVER CARED ABOUT THIS SHOW OR THE MOVIES (EVEN THE SECOND MOVIE WHICH WAS OBJECTIVELY NOT GREAT). Proceed with caution.  

Diehard “Sex and The City” fans who’d been eagerly anticipating this week’s premiere of the series’ latest installment, “And Just Like That…” thought they’d only be grieving the absence of Kim Cattrall, who decided not to reprise her role as Samantha.

But it was the unexpected demise of another beloved character that set Twitter ablaze following the release of the show’s first two episodes. Mr. Big — a.k.a. John James Preston, a.k.a. the guy who messed with Carrie’s head for a decade before finally deciding he loved her before finally deciding to marry her before LEAVING HER AT THE ALTAR WITH A BIRD ON HER HEAD BUT WINNING HER BACK WITH A CUSTOM CLOSET AND A PAIR OF ROYAL BLUE SILK MANOLOS — dies in the final minutes of the first episode.

While Big’s death was shocking, it wasn’t so much that he died but how he died that left viewers and longtime SATC fans stunned. After Carrie leaves him at home to attend Charlotte’s daughter’s piano recital, he mounts his trusty Peloton bike — one of the show’s many forced reminders these people are firmly living in 2021 with all the pandemic-induced trappings that come with it — to complete his 1000th ride. He makes it through only to collapse in the shower moments later as the result of a heart attack. Carrie returns home to the horror of finding him barely alive and wraps herself around him in his final moments. Naturally, because this show has the subtlety of a bulldozer, she was wearing those same blue stilettos that reunited them 13 years earlier.

Then, the most jarring end-of-episode voiceover in SATC history:

“And just like that…Big died.” 

GOOD.

LORD.

Never mind the fact we’ve invested in this series (which was ultimately anchored by Carrie and Big’s on-again/off-again love story) for 23 YEARS, or that we somehow managed to forgive Big for being the absolute worst boyfriend and fiancé imaginable because Carrie loved him AND WE WANTED TO SEE HER HAPPY, or even how we scrubbed that godawful second movie from our memories when Carrie fled to Abu Dhabi (and Aidan’s MOUTH) after Big had the audacity to *checks notes* put a TV in their bedroom?!

We stuck with it because Carrie deserved her happily-ever-after — AND SO DID WE, DAMN IT — and they reward our decades-long investment by making her … WIDOWED BY PELOTON?!

To be fair, the second episode works overtime to keep the blame off the bike itself. Miranda tries to comfort a distraught Steve before the funeral by reminding him Big had heart problems for years and that his cardiologist had cleared him for intense exercise. There’s even a subplot crafted around Charlotte’s guilt for inviting Carrie to her daughter’s recital that night when she was supposed to be in the Hamptons with Big.

But just like rabid fans of NBC’s “This Is Us” reacted when the show’s main character died from smoke inhalation after a house fire caused by a busted Crock-Pot, SATC fans are in mourning and they are NOT LETTING PELOTON OFF THE HOOK.

The stunned reaction was so widespread Peloton released a statement to the Los Angeles Times Friday morning:

“Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks — and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in season 6. These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death. Riding his Peloton bike may have even helped delay his cardiac event.”