S02.E01: Ciao

[aghst]

4 hours ago, Not4Me said:

Ha, I personally never considered White Lotus prestigious (like say Downtown Abbey or Breaking Bad), in spite of all the award show fawning over it. I look at it more high end, healthier junk food that you get at Whole Foods vs. the bag of Doritos you feel terrible scarfing down from your local CVS or Walgreens.

That might be Mike White's revenge for Enlightened, which didn't have great ratings, so he is giving them the soap opera viewers respond more to, along with some subversive social commentary on the rich.

Because these resorts probably cost high 3-figures or into 4-figures a day.

Then you add meals on the premises and it really adds up.  When you could get good meals in other places in Taormina.  The real hotel on where they filmed this is high-end but I don't think they're all-inclusive like the resorts in Hawaii.

Or maybe you don't want a multi course meal every day or for every lunch and dinner.

So anyways, the people who travel far to resorts like these don't care about the locality or the people, other than it's beautiful.  And they probably don't venture often from the resort.

23 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Ooo. So maybe Cameron thinks he can get Harper to throw herself at him and his dong and then threaten to sue her for sexual harassment and get an under-the-table payout——in cash, that is.

Considering that Harper is a lawyer specializing in sexual harassment, you wouldn't think that would happen.

But she's definitely intrigued about Cameron.

[izabella]

9 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

This setting seems more in White's wheelhouse. I love the hotel manager and her anger. She has the manner of someone who can barely tolerate her guests. For a satire I love this so much.

Also having men or women who are overt sex workers in the public part of the hotel can be awkward so don't blame her.

Valentina is my favorite.  She is on her last nerve with everyone, and I can appreciate that.

She would most definitely not want sex workers from the street sneaking in to the fancy hotel.  If the resort has sex workers, she'd expect them to be high class sex workers and unobtrusive.

[CarpeFelis]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:56 AM, shapeshifter said:

Tanya's now loveless marriage perfectly shows why I never got involved after my divorce.
But I wish this wasn't how it turned out. I thought he was just dying?
No more coughing so far.🤷🏻‍♀️
Instead he's just mean.

Oh, Tanya:  Serve him divorce papers with 2 macarons on top. You got a prenup, right? If not, fire the assistant.

Yeah, wasn’t he supposedly dying in season 1? He’s being such an abusive asshole to Tanya that he gets my vote for first dead body. Seems like he just married her for her money. His nasty little putdowns remind me way too much of my Evil Starter Husband.

I’m guessing Dominic cheated on his wife—probably with multiple different women—and since he’s supposedly a Hollywood bigshot, maybe even got caught in #MeToo. That would explain why his (ex?)wife hates him so much. Heck, maybe he’s even involved in one of those employment cases Harper handles.

Speaking of Harper… her husband is freaking adorable and seems like a really nice person, at least so far. Why is she such a pill with him? Jeez, even telling him what to order at dinner. I can’t even imagine dictating to my husband what he should order! Maybe she and Greg should square off and throw insults at each other.

ETA: Anyone else think Greg hid those 2 macarons just to gaslight Tanya?

Edited November 3, 2022 by CarpeFelis

[CarpeFelis]

On 11/1/2022 at 3:50 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Ah, so that's why Dominic's wife sounded familiar over the phone: that was none other than Laura Dern who notably played the lead character in Mike White's Enlightened.  Fun little trivia there!

I didn’t recognize her voice, but now I hope she shows up in Italy!

[izabella]

20 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

Speaking of Harper… her husband is freaking adorable and seems like a really nice person, at least so far. Why is she such a pill with him? Jeez, even telling him what to order at dinner. I can’t even imagine dictating to my husband what he should order! Maybe she and Greg should square off and throw insults at each other.

If we're planning on sharing our meals, my husband and I decide together what each of us will order, so we both like what's on each plate.  But we're not pissy about it like Harper.  At least I hope not, lol.  The easy fix would have been to decide not to share, or to order more items.  They're rich.  They can afford it.  Especially if it's all inclusive! 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Speaking of Harper… her husband is freaking adorable and seems like a really nice person, at least so far. Why is she such a pill with him? Jeez, even telling him what to order at dinner. I can’t even imagine dictating to my husband what he should order! Maybe she and Greg should square off and throw insults at each other.

But in the end, they got the fish he wanted.

3 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Anyone else think Greg hid those 2 macarons just to gaslight Tanya?

Yes.

[overtherainbow]

11 hours ago, izabella said:

Valentina is my favorite.  She is on her last nerve with everyone, and I can appreciate that.

She would most definitely not want sex workers from the street sneaking in to the fancy hotel.  If the resort has sex workers, she'd expect them to be high class sex workers and unobtrusive.

She also seems less petty than Armond from last season, but she's also a fierce taskmaster. I wonder if the hotel has past incidents, seeing as the body* in the water didn't faze her until she realized how many there were. 

10 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

ETA: Anyone else think Greg hid those 2 macarons just to gaslight Tanya?

 I think there's a lot of gaslighting going on. One episode in and their relationship already seems toxic. Presumably they haven't been married more than a year since they met and he seems over her. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by overtherainbow

[aghst]

Speaking of Tanya and Greg, what to make of their sex scene, Tanya grimacing.

She asked him to stop?

She suggested they have sex, Greg had to wash up because of swamp crotch.

Is it suppose to reflect on their relationship or are they just playing their relationship for laughs?

[Rickster]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

So anyways, the people who travel far to resorts like these don't care about the locality or the people, other than it's beautiful.  And they probably don't venture often from the resort.

Watching this, I couldn’t help thinking that if I traveled all the way to Italy, the last thing I would be doing is sitting by a pool. I can sit by a pool anywhere.

[jeansheridan]

13 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Why is she such a pill with him? Jeez, even telling him what to order at dinner. I can’t even imagine dictating to my husband what he should order!

Because he IS nice? He puts up with her bossiness and she handles the big stuff. Some partners like that. My sister loved it when her boyfriend picked out her clothes. I thought it was weird but she liked how he saw her. And she generally looked good. But no it didn't last.

[jeansheridan]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

Watching this, I couldn’t help thinking that if I traveled all the way to Italy, the last thing I would be doing is sitting by a pool. I can sit by a pool anywhere.

I know! I would never stay in a resort except for a work conference. The point of travel is to be someplace different.  If you want to chill out, do a hotel stay cation  near your home.

[aghst]

4 hours ago, Rickster said:

Watching this, I couldn’t help thinking that if I traveled all the way to Italy, the last thing I would be doing is sitting by a pool. I can sit by a pool anywhere.

38 minutes ago, jeansheridan said:

I know! I would never stay in a resort except for a work conference. The point of travel is to be someplace different.  If you want to chill out, do a hotel stay cation  near your home.

I've never stayed in a resort.

I'm not the most active but I try to always do something each day of the trip unless the weather is bad.

But some people are not interested in being active, want to be pampered and don't mind paying for places which have all these on-site amenities and service.

Yeah they can certainly get that in Hawaii, the Caribbean or even Mexico.  They wouldn't need to fly all the way from California to Sicily as some of these characters have this season.

I've been to Sicily a couple of times flying from CA.  There's a town above Taormina called Castelmola which has great views.  Some people hike up to it or you could take a bus up and down to it.  I took a bus up and hiked down and even the hike down isn't that easy because the terrain is uneven and there was a lot of brush when I went.

I don't think these characters, even the young ones, in designer clothes would bother with something like that.

Another popular activity, which I haven't done, is to go on these guided tours where they take you on a 4x4 up towards the top of Etna.  The terrain is dirty as you have this ash-like soil and the visibility may not be great.  Usually Etna is shrouded in clouds and the emissions form the volcano so while the rest of the horizon may be clear, you have this big plume hanging over it when viewed from Taormina.

Maybe these characters will be taken up there during the season, because it's a thing to do.

[Anela]

7 hours ago, aghst said:

Speaking of Tanya and Greg, what to make of their sex scene, Tanya grimacing.

She asked him to stop?

She suggested they have sex, Greg had to wash up because of swamp crotch.

Is it suppose to reflect on their relationship or are they just playing their relationship for laughs?

There was no intimacy, it was like she wasn't even there for him. And she seemed to be somewhere else, too. He should have stopped when she asked him to stop. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

There was no intimacy, it was like she wasn't even there for him. And she seemed to be somewhere else, too. 

Tanya’s dissociation - is it a coping mechanism or alcohol induced?

From S1, the only traumatic event in her life is her mom’s passing. Is there anything else?

[Milburn Stone]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:46 AM, chediavolo said:

I thought I heard the In tuned to the news couple say they were invited on the trip by the happy go lucky, don’t care about anyone but themselves couple. 

I heard that too. Which would suggest that both couples are incredibly rich. It is a bit confusing, because wasn't there a suggestion that Cameron and Daphne are jealous of Ethan and Harper's wealth? Ah well, I'm confident all will be made clear.

All the characters this year are interesting/enjoyable to me. But Valentina mystifies me. She clearly is experienced at the job, whether at this hotel or some other. And she must have encountered thousands of guests of all nationalities. Why is she still saying awkward things to them? She is no Armond, who, for all his flaws, knew how to be charming to guests. He was the sort the White Lotus hotel group would put into the job. Valentina isn't. (I can believe, though, that a White Lotus manager would be a tyrant to her staff.)

[shapeshifter]

14 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Tanya’s dissociation - is it a coping mechanism or alcohol induced?

From S1, the only traumatic event in her life is her mom’s passing. Is there anything else?

IIRC, Tanya's mother was abusive.

 

24 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

  wasn't there a suggestion that Cameron and Daphne are jealous of Ethan and Harper's wealth?

I thought Ethan and Harper were somewhat resentful of Cameron and Daphne not having to work for their wealth like Ethan and Harper did. 
Are you saying that Cameron and Daphne are annoyed that Ethan and Harper no longer are financially beneath them, and therefore can say "no" more freely?

[Milburn Stone]

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Are you saying that Cameron and Daphne are annoyed that Ethan and Harper no longer are financially beneath them, and therefore can say "no" more freely?

I'm not saying that--didn't even think it--but it's an interesting theory and now I'm thinking it.

[Johnny Dollar]

I did not need to see Uncle Rico’s bare ass humping all over my tv.

tv.

I’m with the poster above who suggested that Cameron isn’t as wealthy as he lets on and that he’s after Ethan to bail him out somehow, possibly through blackmail. 

[RedDelicious]

On 11/5/2022 at 9:53 AM, Johnny Dollar said:

I did not need to see Uncle Rico’s bare ass humping all over my tv.

He’s ruining everybody’s lives and eating all our steak.

[carrps]

We had Real Genius playing in the background yesterday, and my sister told me that Greg was the actor who played Lazlo in Real Genius! Mind blown.

In such an ultra schmancy hotel why can you hear every little sound from the adjoining rooms???

[DrSpaceman73]

On 10/31/2022 at 1:03 PM, EdnasEdibles said:

There's something with Aubrey Plaza and the rich guy that's going to happen. Either he wants her to defend him from sexual harassment claims or she's working with one of his accusers, I feel like that's going to come into play. I think they were invited on the trip with ulterior motives and it's her law practice that's the key. 

Maybe hadn't considered that. 

I love Aubrey plaza but man her character is a real drag. I know the friend is kind of a rich white guy douche but his wife though sort of clichéd seems just fun and they seem to get along well as a couple. Whereas the other couple just seems kind of miserable

I think Greg has serious health problems he hasn't told Tanya about. Cancer or something terminal

Edited November 12, 2022 by DrSpaceman73

[Blackie]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:52 AM, aghst said:

Mike White must enjoy creating despicable rich people characters.

The non- rich ones aren't much better.

On 11/2/2022 at 11:33 AM, iMonrey said:

Personally I never got the hype over Season 1, I found it mostly boring and depressing and couldn't figure out for the life of me what everyone was gushing about.

I am firmly in your camp.Giving Season 2 a chance, the first episode seemed a little better that that last season, not so much annoying music. But like  season 1, it seems like all characters are going to be pretty unlikable. 

On 11/2/2022 at 5:38 PM, aghst said:

That might be Mike White's revenge for Enlightened,

I did go and watch Enlightened and actually liked it a lot better than While Lotus.

[Cornhusker12]

Decent start! I'm also disappointed that Tanya is back, when I saw her in a promo photo for season 2 I was hoping she would just be in the background or something as a clever *wink* to connect the two seasons. I'd rather spend all the time with the new characters.

In season 1 she was a pathetic lonely figure floating through the resort who you could simultaneously cringe at and sympathize with, but in this episode it's like we're being shown why nobody wants to be around her in the first place. Maybe I've just reached Jennifer Coolidge overload haha.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Cornhusker12

[LuvMyShows]

On 10/31/2022 at 6:14 PM, iMonrey said:

In fact I found the entirety of the first season depressing and couldn't figure out why so many people thought it was funny. 

Yeah, I was kinda stunned to find that people found anything funny...I never even cracked a smile, though I did at least find it reasonably entertaining.

On 10/30/2022 at 11:29 PM, chocolatine said:

I do like the fact that the Italian characters speak Italian and not English with horrible fake accents.

So far, I can't even say that this season is entertaining, and given that the characters speaking Italian require reading subtitles, I'm actually having to put extra effort into something I'm not really enjoying!

[AstridM]

On 11/21/2022 at 8:40 AM, Blackie said:

The non- rich ones aren't much better.

I am firmly in your camp.Giving Season 2 a chance, the first episode seemed a little better that that last season, not so much annoying music. But like  season 1, it seems like all characters are going to be pretty unlikable. 

I did go and watch Enlightened and actually liked it a lot better than While Lotus.

Enlightened is absolutely brilliant.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Will Sharpe, who plays Ethan, directed the show "The Landscapers".

[AntFTW]

On 11/1/2022 at 6:28 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

Cameos by Survivor contestants - Angelina and Kara.

Mike White being kind to his fellow castaways by giving them some acting gigs. 😘

The White Lotus creator Mike White says fellow Survivor stars will cameo in season 2

Wow! Wouldn't have ever even noticed if no one mentioned it. 🤣

[PurpleTentacle]

Theo James always reminds me of a young Moritz Bleibtreu (americans will best known him from Lola rennt [run Lola run {which is a horrible translation of the title}]). I'm still not convinced that James's mother didn't have an affair with a certain german actor at some point...

Speaking of Theo James, do we think that massive hog was real or was it a prosthetic? From that far away it's extremely easy to get away with something like that, but maybe it's just what mother nature gave him? I guess it's 99% certain that it was a prosthetic, especially since later in the episode nothing remotely that big seemed to be in the boxers, but I want to believe. Of course with that we've also satisfied the HBO-dick-quota for this season. Last season also had it in episode 1.

I'm sad that Jennifer Coolidge's marriage went to shit this fast. She seemed to have something with this guy. Though now that we know just how rich she really is, I have to say, she should have just thrown Belinda a million, no strings attached, to make her dream come true.

I'll always love Aubrey Plaza. I wouldn't be opposed if next season she was traveling to another White Lotus location with Jennifer Coolidge.

Favourite quote: "It's a penis. It's not a sunset." I disagree with him saying that penises aren't beautiful to look at though. I mean some really aren't, but most are.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 10/31/2022 at 3:52 PM, meep.meep said:

Theo James' butt gets another credit!

If in that scene you looked at his butt you have way different priorities than me.

On 10/31/2022 at 9:27 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

They're doing the same thing they did in the first season, having part of the dialogue in the local language instead of all in English. I like that.

The first season was set in Hawaii and I don't remember any dialogue being in another language...

On 11/2/2022 at 2:23 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

They recycled the prop that Steve Zahn’s body double used last season… 😆

That was a wildly different size.

On 11/3/2022 at 7:03 PM, aghst said:

Yeah they can certainly get that in Hawaii, the Caribbean or even Mexico.  They wouldn't need to fly all the way from California to Sicily as some of these characters have this season.

But how would they brag to their rich friends that they've just been to italy then?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

The first season was set in Hawaii and I don't remember any dialogue being in another language...

I'm pretty sure there were some moments of the Polynesian performers speaking their native language, largely so the guests wouldn't understand what they were saying.

[HurricaneVal]

I'm really confused by the setting for the resort.  It seems to be located way up on the hill, yet there is clearly a beachfront resort setting.  Is there a funicular or elevator or something?  Does the resort own a swathe of beachfront, separate from the resort, and they shuttle guests back and forth?  Do they run people up and down via a switchbacked golf cart track?  I don't see people with $$$$$ to spend at such a place being patient enough to wait for a shuttle, because when the uber-rich want something, they want it NOW.

[SlovakPrincess]

Disappointing to see that Tanya has somehow managed to regress as a person ... and that Greg turned out to be a jerk.  

What in the world is happening with Portia's wardrobe?  LOL.

The two couples - not sure what to make of them yet.  I do know I want all of Harper's clothing so far.

Dominic is clearly a mess.  And his ex ... clearly despises him!  Yikes, that phone call.  

Mia is getting some bad advice from her friend Lucia.  That bar scene was another yikes.  

Also, just a lawyer nitpick, but ... when Cameron called them "deeepos"  I giggled / cringed a little.  Even the abbreviation for "depositions" isn't pronounced like that.  

Edited December 14, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[HurricaneVal]

I don't know if it is a symptom of binging the entire first season over a couple of weeks and then going straight into this second season immediately after the finale of season one, but.....not a single character grabbed me after this first episode.  After the first episode of the first season, I couldn't wait to stream straight into the second, because I needed to know about the characters. 

After this first episode of the second season....I'm not as invested.  I mean, I was more puzzled by the resort logistics than I was by the mystery, and how the characters fit into it.

That said, I can see Tanya with her full Lotus status being the thread that links seasons together.  I love her, but a little Jennifer Coolidge goes a long way, so her character needs to be used sparingly, but she's featured here more than in the first season.  I think, though, that is on purpose.  Mike White likes to be in your face with stuff, and he strikes me as someone who reads his own publicity and will double down on the things that bug people--which he can do right now that he's the darling of the critics.  Because that's "edgy."  He's dancing with the devil though, because "edgy" becomes "indulgent" and then...yeah.

I'll stick with it, on the strength of the first season and because I've heard good buzz about this season. Maybe these characters will catch on with me in the second episode.

[blackwing]

Just started this season.  I was lukewarm on the first season, I thought almost every single character was an awful person, but I stuck with it because of all the hype and the award nominations.

Will see how this season goes, but I can see that it's the same general theme.  Spoiled rich people, trudging through the ennui of life and taking it out on everyone around them.

On 11/1/2022 at 6:10 AM, Haleth said:

That is a perfect description.  I feel bad for Tanya.  She is obviously lonely and probably married Greg thinking he'd cure her grief and loneliness, only to find out they don't like each other much.  So she hires a personal assistant for someone to talk to but is so wrapped in her own feelings she doesn't see how badly she treats Portia.  Less than a pet.

On 11/1/2022 at 7:21 AM, Johnny Dollar said:

A little Jennifer Coolidge goes a long way. Last season’s amount was way more than necessary. I cringe when her character is on the screen. 

Agree with second comment.  Personally I can't stand Jennifer Coolidge and I don't get the hype over her.  But I think I feel like I'm on overload with both her as an actress and especially her character.  People seemed to love her on the awards circuit and loved her acceptance speeches, I just found her annoying.

Don't even get me started about Tanya.  I thought she was a truly awful person in Season 1, the way she treated Belinda was pretty terrible.  She has $500 million and she couldn't even see fit to invest in Belinda's business?  She didn't have to completely fund it but she could have put in some startup money as an investor.

Greg is an asshole who almost certainly married her for her money.  I thought he was dying of consumption or something last season?  Maybe her money cured him, because now he's a jerk.  Why even bother to go on vacation if he hates her so much?  He can tell her he's too busy with work, she should go and enjoy with Portia.

But as I said, she's an awful person, so I'm not unhappy if she gets treated awful in return.  It doesn't make what Greg is doing right, but at least now Tanya understands how it feels.  I have no sympathy for her, especially since she seems to be sad that Greg is so mean to her, yet that isn't making her any nicer to Portia.

 

On 11/2/2022 at 4:26 PM, chocolatine said:

Maybe not quite so dramatic. 😂 I think undressing in front of Harper was just what men like Cameron consider a power move. I do think he wants an actual business investment from Ethan. It's a similar theme as Natasha and Tanya's storyline last season, except that Natasha was very passive and expected things to just happen for her, whereas Cameron is pursuing what he wants very aggressively.

I don't know if it was a power move by him or not, it might be.  Or maybe he just doesn't care who sees him, some men just don't think it's a big deal.  He didn't look at her or turn around so maybe he didn't even know where she had gone off to.

My bigger question was... who goes to an Italian resort and doesn't bring a swimsuit?  And why was Ethan so quick to offer to loan him his?  Ethan probably had at least two suits but he packed two for a reason, so he could have more than one.  Why couldn't Cameron just buy one from the resort gift shop?  I'm sure there would be some there and he has plenty of money?  I find it odd that Ethan was so OK with the idea.  To me, loaning my swimsuit to another guy is just the same as loaning a guy my underwear.  It doesn't matter if it would get washed before being returned.  It's just weird.

Edited:  Never mind... somehow I missed that his luggage got lost.  But still, I would have bought a new swimsuit rather than borrow one from a friend.

On 12/11/2022 at 8:38 PM, AntFTW said:

Wow! Wouldn't have ever even noticed if no one mentioned it. 🤣

I recognised Kara immediately, but Angelina looked a lot different to me than when she was on Survivor.  Her voice was the same but her face looked different.

Edited April 25, 2023 by blackwing