‘And Just Like That…’: In Defense of Che Diaz
We get it; everyone hates Che Diaz. The non-binary comedian was introduced in season 1 of And Just Like That… and they didn’t stand a chance. Not only did the character feel one-dimensional, but they were the person who came between Steve Brady and Miranda Hobbes, ending their decades-long marriage. Still, we think there is room for Che to grow in season 2, and maybe all of the Che hate is a bit misplaced. We are here to defend Che Diaz.
Che was not to blame for Miranda and Steve’s breakup
While Sex and the City fans argued a lot was wrong with Che, their biggest transgression was breaking up Miranda Hobbes and Steve Brady. Fans always loved the couple together, so anyone who came between them would have been a villain. If we look at things carefully, though, Che really wasn’t to blame for any of that.
Sure, there was a spark between Miranda and Che pretty instantly, but Che didn’t know they were walking into a problem. Che was unaware that Miranda was in a monogamous marriage when they first connected. They had no idea they were an affair partner, nor did they ever push Miranda to leave Steve. In many ways, Che was as innocent in that scenario as Steve was.
Without the edginess, Che brings a new perspective to sex and dating
While Sex and the City was provocative for its time, it’s now lambasted for how it approached many storylines. While the series was meant to depict what dating in New York City looked like, it only examined the scene from the perspective of upper-class women. Che Diaz brings a new perspective to the group who proved, in season 1 of And Just Like That…, that they were woefully out of touch with the times.
Che didn’t sit right with some fans because of their forced “edginess.” All of the marijuana smoking in public did feel like a bit of a crutch. Still, Che brings a lot to the table if you examine the character for who they are. They certainly have made Charlotte York, Carrie Bradshaw, and Miranda Hobbes stop and recognize that all different types of people live on their beloved island. For that reason alone, we’ll give Che some points.
We’d like to see more about Che’s actual life in season 2 of ‘And Just Like That…’
Che has all the markings of a really interesting character. Stripping away the forced “wokeness” and the unnatural edginess, we think Che has a chance to be a great addition to the cast. Thinking back over season 1, they showed a great deal of warmth a couple of times.
The way Che approached Carrie after the death of Mr. Big felt tender, empathetic, and organic. The way they spoke, openly and honestly, with Miranda about their family also gave the character depth. We’d like to see more of that from Che and a lot less of their career and relationship with Miranda in season 2 of And Just Like That…
While HBO Max has yet to announce an official release date for season 2, we do know filming is coming to a close. We’ve seen very little public interaction between Miranda Hobbes and Che Diaz during the course of filming, so we may get one of our wishes.
