Why did Mr. Big have to die in 'And Just Like That'? Chris Noth chimes in

Sex and the City aired its finale in February 2004, and it returned with a bang last week as the premiere of HBO Max's limited series revival And Just Like That... was the end of the road for Mr. Big (Chris Noth).

In the final moments of the opening episode, Mr. Big suffers a heart attack after a celebratory "1,000th ride" with his favorite Peloton instructor, Allegra. Carrie, who had been away at a piano recital for Charlotte's (Kristin Davis) daughter, comes home to find him sitting on the shower and watches as the life leaves his eyes. She runs to him, holds him, screams as the shower soaks them both. But people everywhere are asking: Shouldn't Carrie have called 911?

Noth has chimed in.

"All things end, and it was time for him to go, unless we’re gonna be doing Scenes From a Marriage, Sex and the City style," the 67-year-old actor told Vogue. "There was nowhere to go with it but six feet under.

He added: 

"I think the important thing for [showrunner] Michael [Patrick King] and me, when we were in discussions about it—because at first I balked at even the idea of coming back and dying—it just was like, 'Well, just let it be, you know?' One thing Michael and I agreed on: We both called it the Bonnie and Clyde moment, which is that moment when Bonnie and Clyde are about to be eviscerated by bullets. They have that look  with each other, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. They both know that it’s the end. We knew that we had to have that, that I just shouldn’t die alone in the bathroom. There had to be that last moment and no words, no corny dialogue, just a look, and I thought [King] did it so beautifully. I always know I’m gonna be taken care of by Michael Patrick King, in the writing and shooting and editing, so I felt very comfortable with dying."

Noth has portrayed Mr. Big, love interest and eventual husband to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) for the duration of SATC's run, including two spinoff feature-length films in 2008 and '10.

And Just Like That... will drop a new episode to HBO Max every Thursday through Feb. 3, 2022.