When season two of The White Lotus premiered, much like in its previous season, we open on the reality that there are multiple bodies in the water at the end of this “vacation” in Sicily. So who do we think has murder on their minds after the last few episodes?
Spoilers for The White Lotus S2
Season two follows a handful of different groups of people, made up of both local Italian folks who work in or around the hotel, and the tourists.
Tourist Group One: The Tech Rich
Recently made rich after selling his company, Ethan (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza) join Ethan’s college friend Cameron (Theo James) and his wife, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) for a trip to Sicily. Harper and Ethan believe there are ulterior motives for their invite. Harper, a lawyer, looks down on Cameron and Daphne for their white snobbery. They don’t read the news or read in general. Things get even weirder when Cameron comes up to their room to change into a pair of Ethan’s swim trunks and does it pretty much right in front of Harper.
Cameron is very much pushing against the couple’s boundaries. And, along with Daphne, seems to be putting some wedges between them. Especially when Daphne talks about knowing Cameron has cheated on her and has put Ethan in a position to also cheat. While Ethan doesn’t go as far as sex, he still kisses one of the sex workers they meet at the hotel, Mia. Harper finds a condom (from Cameron sleeping with someone) in their sofa and it potentially puts her in a mindset for revenge.
This group is primed for murder. There is so much resentment and backstabbing. Not to mention the sexual undertones have been prime for something dangerous to happen. Harper trusts Ethan and if Ethan had told the truth I think things would be different, but now he’s about to fuck around and find out, Aubrey Plaza style.
Tourist Group Two: Three Generations of Horny Italian Men
The Di Grasso men are made up of Bert (F. Murray Abraham), the elder statesman of the group, Dominic (Michael Imperioli), Bert’s son and a Hollywood producer, and Albie, (Adam DiMarco) a recent Stanford graduate. All these men have issues with women and sex. Bert is a horny old womanizer who wants to still flirt and see naked women. Dominic has a sex addiction which has led to the destruction of his marriage, which he is still in denial about. Albie is a “nice guy” and it very much seems like he is trying to make up for the generational sexism of his father and grandfather, but it is performative.
Dominic invited Lucia and Mia into the hotel but is trying to be coy about it, and that leads to Alfie now being sexually involved with Lucia. All of this causes more complications between the men. What has been interesting about Bert and Dominic is that we see Dominic wants to be better, while Bert thinks his son’s failing is just not being clever enough. It is an interesting dynamic and one I am constantly engrossed by.
Tourist Group Three: Tanya and her mini-me
Returning character Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (Jennifer Coolidge) is reprising her role from season one, heading to Sicily with her husband Greg (Jon Gries) and her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson). Greg very quickly fucks off because he doesn’t actually love Tanya and is frustrated with her. Portia is very much a Tanya-light in terms of being self-absorbed, but with a sweetness that keeps her from being totally toxic. She is first flirting with Albie but finds him to be too boring and safe. At the end of the most recent episode, she ends up hooking up with a British guy with sensitive nips named Jack from Essex who delivers some really delicious toxic f-boy energy.
Locals Group One: Hotel Staff
Unfortunately, there is a lot less from the hotel staff this season than previous so far. I miss the Upstairs/Downstairs aspect of that, but we still have Valentine (Sabrina Impacciatore) who runs the White Lotus, who shades everyone and is giving shades of power lesbian. Valentine is the best and she feeds cats. There’s also Isabella (Eleonora Romandini) the receptionist and Rocco (Federico Ferrante), a staffer at the White Lotus. The other most important staffer was Giuseppe (Federico Scribiani), a lounge singer and pianist at the hotel who hooks up with Mia and collapses from an apparent heart attack when he overdoses on Molly thinking it is Viagra.
Locals Group Two: Working Girls
Lucia Greco (Simona Tabasco) and her friend Mia (Beatrice Grannò) are local sex workers that are in Sicily. Lucia is a hustler trying to make it and Mia wants to be a singer and is soothing her broken heart by getting some money and getting ahead. I am rooting for them. Right now Mia has indirectly (possibly) killed a horny pianist and Lucia has made her way through a few of the male guests but has been underpaid. Disrespectful.
(images: HBO)
