And Just Like That Finale: Kim Cattrall's Samantha Returns for Chat with Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie

While she hasn't appeared on the show before this episode, Samantha has "appeared" in the form of text message exchanges with Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw. Amid an ongoing feud between the actresses, Cattrall and Parker never actually shared the screen, instead speaking by telephone.

For fans of Cattrall's character who've felt this series was missing her unique presence, it was a return long-awaited and much-anticipated. And maybe, just maybe, it could hint at more to come? AJLT has already been renewed for a third season.

Despite real-life tension that reportedly still exists between the two leading ladies, it was all smiles and love on the phone conversation, with Samantha calling from London to tell Carrie she won't be making it to the farewell dinner, after all ... for her apartment.

Carrie hadn't even said anything to her about the party, but Samantha told her, "Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) told me all about it. I was going to surprise you!" Alas, a three-hour flight delay in London was going to make it impossible.

Alas, the surprise didn't work out, leaving Samantha "f--king furious." When Carrie suggested they could just meet up tomorrow, Samantha revealed it was going to literally be an overnight, with her flying back the next morning.

"You were flying all the way to New York for an overnight?" Carrie marveled.

"Well, it is your apartment," Samantha countered," and I have to pay my respects." But she still got a chance to say her goodbyes with Carrie putting her on speaker so she could talk to the apartment (yes, seriously).

"Thank you for everything, you f--king fabulous, fabulous flat," said Samantha, taking up the British term for an apartment. Carrie laughed and teased her for apparently some of the dialect and speech patterns of her new home.

"Who's Samantha? This is Annabelle Bronstein I'm from 'Injah.' Ta, and cheerio." she told Carrie with a smile, " and have a great night."

Echoing their real-life tension, Samantha's absence from AJLT was explained as a rift between her and Carrie in the show's continuity. That rift began to be repaired via text in the last season finale. Fans were expecting this to be as close to an actual Samantha return as they could possibly hope for.

What could have been a huge surprise was instead revealed all the way back in May, with Parker telling TVLine that the cameo is "a really nice acknowledgment of the 25 years" since SATC's 1998 premiere.

Now that fans have gotten just a little, they're definitely going to want more ... with some marveling that this was the moment they've been waiting all this time to see? This was it?!