I really thought this was going to be the episode. Picture this: Carrie is put up for auction at Charlotte's school event. No one is bidding on her (not even her wealthy friends), and she's mortified. Then, out from the far back corner of the room you hear a handsome voice bid $5,000 to take Carrie Bradshaw, sex writer, out on a no-sex non-date. The crowd parts, and it's none other than Aidan Shaw.

That didn't happen, though. Instead, we got Peter, the guy Carrie threw up with outside Au Cheval. So when does Aidan appear on And Just Like That...? We are already seven episodes into the 10 episode series, so the pickings are slim for John Corbett to show up.

So will he show up, or was that all just a fever dream from 2021? Let's explore how/when/where we may see Aidan.

He won't return as Aidan

Back in April 2021, Corbett told Page Six he was going to be doing the show and that he was "excited" by the news. And when asked how many episodes he'd be a part of, he told the outlet, "I think I might be in quite a few." Granted HBO did not comment on this interview, neither confirming nor denying this was the case. However, other cast members whose roles were in question by fans (like Big and Steve) appear in the series.

With that said, Corbett gave this statement in April, while production didn't begin filming in June, with the first table read taking place on June 11, 2021. So, perhaps scheduling became too difficult and he had to pull out of the project. Would we probably have heard that from sources considering this is one of television's most talked-about reboots? Probably. But you never know. (It's also notable that the show doesn't appear on his IMDb.)

He's the "mysterious neighbor" in Episode 8

Episode 8's log line is "After coming clean to Che, Miranda considers a life-altering decision. Carrie tries to learn more about her mysterious neighbor." Good riddance on Rambo, but let's zoom in more on this mysterious neighbor, shall we? Can you imagine if Carrie continuously hears strange noises or, I don't know, woodwork occurring from her upstairs neighbor's apartment? She goes all Rear Window only to discover that no one is being murdered, but instead it's the ghost of her ex, Aidan? While it would be a great reveal, I don't know one ex that would move into the same apartment building where he learned I had cheated on him with my other ex (Big). That apartment has bad juju for Aidan, and I'd be shocked if he came within one city block, let alone became Carrie's neighbor.

With that said — is it possible Aidan still owns the apartment next door? Because if he's been keeping that as a rental property (we love a passive income), perhaps him visiting the space between tenants could cause the two to bump into each other.

Of course, Aidan and Carrie could just bump into each other on the street... they did at a market in Abu Dhabi, what's stopping them from bumping carts at Fairway? While it's a little less climactic, it could be another stepping stone on the road towards closure for Carrie before she heads to France to release Big's ashes, which we know is set to happen in the finale of the season.

Images: HBO