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White Lotus Season 2 (spoilers)


Gaston de Foix

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Thanks.  Two questions for the hive-mind: 

Spoiler

1. Was it just me or does Portia seem weirdly passive in her interactions with Albie.  Like I get that Albie is not reading the room and/or overthinking it or whatever, and Portia just wants some strange.  But for someone who wants a cave-man to throw her around, and was googling Albie in Ep.1 she doesn't seem to actually inviting anything no?

2. Cameron's nudity in front of Harper was deliberate right? Like he got naked in front of her, and then he came and grabbed her while swimming.  He was making a pass right? Like it's some power-play to try and sleep with Ethan's wife? Hard for me to read it as anything else. 

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Re OP questions -- don 't give a dayem.  :lol:

Heartily dislike everybody, with about two exceptions so far, and I’ll probably dislike them soon too.  The characters are desperately uninteresting, which is why I had no energy to finish watching ep. 2. I do mean uninteresting, particularly the two Sicilian young lady sex workers! Even the one who insists she’s a musician and singer, not a prostitute – she sings, “The Best Things In Life Are Free,” from the film Mo’ Money,

Spoiler

after binging in a local boutique on California sugar daddy’s dime, er, room tab.

Hated Tanya in the first season and hate her more now. Infantile jerkwaddies make my teeth hurt; she is not interesting or fun -- she wasn't in the first season either. 

Spoiler

I even hope Greg is cheating on her,

that's how much she grates on my nerves.  But whoever is dead, we can be certain it's not her, because infantile and a half-billionaire.  They always survive, because, waving money -- that they never give to anybody in the end either.  But somebody always falls for it.  Just ask tRomp, who laughs all the way to stiffing everybody.l

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4 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

Thanks.  Two questions for the hive-mind: 

  Hide contents

2. Cameron's nudity in front of Harper was deliberate right? Like he got naked in front of her, and then he came and grabbed her while swimming.  He was making a pass right? Like it's some power-play to try and sleep with Ethan's wife? Hard for me to read it as anything else. 

2 - Def how I read it, motives yet unknown. 

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4 hours ago, Zorral said:

Re OP questions -- don 't give a dayem.  :lol:

Heartily dislike everybody, with about two exceptions so far, and I’ll probably dislike them soon too.  The characters are desperately uninteresting, which is why I had no energy to finish watching ep. 2. I do mean uninteresting, particularly the two Sicilian young lady sex workers! Even the one who insists she’s a musician and singer, not a prostitute – she sings, “The Best Things In Life Are Free,” from the film Mo’ Money,

  Reveal hidden contents

after binging in a local boutique on California sugar daddy’s dime, er, room tab.

Hated Tanya in the first season and hate her more now. Infantile jerkwaddies make my teeth hurt; she is not interesting or fun -- she wasn't in the first season either. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I even hope Greg is cheating on her,

that's how much she grates on my nerves.  But whoever is dead, we can be certain it's not her, because infantile and a half-billionaire.  They always survive, because, waving money -- that they never give to anybody in the end either.  But somebody always falls for it.  Just ask tRomp, who laughs all the way to stiffing everybody.l

I can't argue that Tanya is a likeable character.  However:

Spoiler

Greg would seem to have the clearest incentive to murder, and she would be likeliest victim, because of prenup + affair + habit of discarding people (remember Belinda).  I assume in the event of her death, Greg will inherit as next of kin. 

 

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1 hour ago, Gaston de Foix said:

I can't argue that Tanya is a likeable character.  However:

  Reveal hidden contents

Greg would seem to have the clearest incentive to murder, and she would be likeliest victim, because of prenup + affair + habit of discarding people (remember Belinda).  I assume in the event of her death, Greg will inherit as next of kin. 

 

I don't need to like characters to find them interesting, compelling.  Tanya isn't.

As for

Spoiler

Greg having an affair, we do not know that, do we?  Maybe he's talking to a child? Another relative. At this point, who knows?  We don't.

 

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Is this worth it?  I paused S1 after Ep3 because it was just unlikeable people being self-absorbed a-holes to varying degrees, and the honeymoon guy giving off seriously controlling/abusive vibes.  None of it was funny, clever, insightful or a nuanced parody of social class — as advertised and widely praised.  Where’s the entertainment or artistic insight?

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I’ve almost finished the first season and I think it’s fantastic. Completely disagree with the above post. I think it’s very funny at times and the more it goes on the more it ramps up and escalates. Also I think it looks nice, good music, well acted and a lot of fun.

Now is it a clever biting social satire on social class. Yes in parts, but it doesn’t seem to be the main driver of the story as there are lots of characters. I’m not sure there anything especially new being said in the show.

However, I think the two young teen girls are pretty well observed. Their ability to be so shamelessly full of shit,  jumping on political talking points to twist conversations to their advantage whilst never ever having a genuine political stance that doesn’t advantage them, that I found rather interesting. They are truly dreadful people.

The other plot point, the lady with her mothers ashes who promises to sponsor the spa lady , is one that really highlights a form of selfishness and self centred thinking a lot of rich people exhibit. 
 

Other than that though, it’s all kinda obvious stuff, but very enjoyable all the same 

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11 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Is this worth it?  I paused S1 after Ep3 because it was just unlikeable people being self-absorbed a-holes to varying degrees, and the honeymoon guy giving off seriously controlling/abusive vibes.  None of it was funny, clever, insightful or a nuanced parody of social class — as advertised and widely praised.  Where’s the entertainment or artistic insight?

I wouldn't call it funny, exactly.  But if you watch the complete season 1, I think you will find it insightful, accurate, and a nuanced parody of social class, exactly as praised.  So yes, it is worth it in my view.  Honestly, I can barely watch tv shows these days and often I find myself dragging myself from one episode to the other even for well-liked shows that are completely in my wheelhouse (e.g., Sandman).  But I had no problem finishing season 1 and adding season 2 to my watch list. I may renew my HBO subscription for another month, even though I've finished HOTD and Succession is not coming out till spring 2023.    

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12 hours ago, Zorral said:

I don't need to like characters to find them interesting, compelling.  Tanya isn't.

As for

  Hide contents

Greg having an affair, we do not know that, do we?  Maybe he's talking to a child? Another relative. At this point, who knows?  We don't.

Spoiler

Fair point.  I guess Greg's tone made it pretty clear to me he wasn't speaking to a child (unless it was his adult child).  But we will see.  

 

 

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So I've just finished the 5th episode of the first season of White Lotus. I think I take back my comment that the show is a bit obvious and not that clever. 

Something occurred to me that actually this show has done something very smart. The plotline about the very rich family, where their jewels get stolen, basically plays out like a traditional family drama. The dad isn't respected, the family don't get on, but there is an incident that brings them all together, they realise they love each other and it's a happy ending. 

Except you don't usually see the other end of that story. In order for this family to find happiness, someone goes to jail, people lose their jobs. It's the hidden events you don't usually see and the rich people don't care about.

Its the same with the ashes lady, she finds love and it's wonderful.. except for all the people she made promises to. 

So actually there is a lot of quite clever writing in there.

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I finished Season One and my conclusion is still the same. I love how they presented all these happy endings for the rich characters, who just destroy everything in their wake whilst being completely oblivious to the destruction they have caused. 

The last scene with the couple reuniting, which would ordinarily be this heartwarming tale of love overcoming struggles, is actually a picture of selfish self obsession. Even the wife in this scenario who mostly you would expect is sympathetic with a monstrous husband, is equally self absorbed and uninterested in the problems of other people. 

Its a great show because it exposes these attitudes, but doesn't do it in the same preachy irritating Hollywood style we're all used to, but with subtlety and style. I really enjoyed the first season, but am going to wait for all of season 2 to come out before starting again. 

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Binged season one and really enjoyed it. I feel like the show isn't really hinging on anything especially mysterious; everything seems to be exactly as it appears and these people are awful and selfish humans who do awful and selfish things. The ending is the traditional "happy" ending but now that you've watched that journey to get there its not happy at all.

Watched the first two episodes of season two and I'm hooked again. Casting is once again superb, and its nice to se Plaza in a bit of a different role to her usual.

Jennifer Coolidge, wow, what a treat, truly. I don't think I've shrieked with glee so much in a long time as when Valentina asked if she was Peppa Pig

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On 11/11/2022 at 5:45 AM, Heartofice said:

I finished Season One and my conclusion is still the same. I love how they presented all these happy endings for the rich characters, who just destroy everything in their wake whilst being completely oblivious to the destruction they have caused. 

The last scene with the couple reuniting, which would ordinarily be this heartwarming tale of love overcoming struggles, is actually a picture of selfish self obsession. Even the wife in this scenario who mostly you would expect is sympathetic with a monstrous husband, is equally self absorbed and uninterested in the problems of other people. 

Exactly! What I like about the portrayal of the Alexandra Daddario character is she is relatable in her insecurity, and her (relative) empathy for those around her.  But that doesn't save her from making consistently bad choices, or from being mediocre at her job.  The showrunners chose messy reality over story-telling neatness.  

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2 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

Exactly! What I like about the portrayal of the Alexandra Daddario character is she is relatable in her insecurity, and her (relative) empathy for those around her.  But that doesn't save her from making consistently bad choices, or from being mediocre at her job.  The showrunners chose messy reality over story-telling neatness.  

Yes, I think they knowingly play with our expectations for these archetypes and challenge you to think a little harder about who these people are. She is portrayed quite often as the victim, and in other dramas that would be about the extent of who she is. But she is a victim of her own making, who put herself into the position she is in because she wanted the lifestyle and the money and the romantic dream. She is conflicted because she also has dreams of being a writer, even if the crushing reality is that she really isn't a very good one, that doesn't stop her feeling entitled to a life of personal success.

That in the end she chooses to go back to her husband and the life she claimed she wanted is very telling, she is every bit as glamoured by the promise of money and an easy life as anyone else, and she did all that whilst never actually giving much of a shit about anyone else but herself.

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On 11/11/2022 at 11:45 AM, Heartofice said:

finished Season One and my conclusion is still the same. I love how they presented all these happy endings for the rich characters, who just destroy everything in their wake whilst being completely oblivious to the destruction they have caused. 

I didn’t think they were happy endings at all. I thought they all just returned to their respective bubbles of lies and pretending without any major change to their characters or life choices (except for Quinn), which I found really quite tragic in a way. Especially for Rachel and Tanya. 

I read a review on IMDb which said that the show portrayed rich people as inherently terrible. This is true but I don’t think the show portrayed any of its non-rich characters in an idealized way at all. Armond was pretty terrible in his own way, Belinda and Kai weren’t at all without character flaws or responsible in their own (emotional) outcomes. Not sure what archetype Paula was supposed to represent but she was a piece of work as well. And I liked that. Everybody was messed up as it is in life and as it should be portrayed.

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