I feel like nobody is talking about this show but holy shit is the entire cast fantastic.

You're best off going into it knowing nothing and just bathing in the anxiety and the uncomfortableness of it all. Best ensemble cast I've seen in a minute...it really has been pretty incredible.

Get on board - there's only 2 more episodes left and it FLIES by.

For another HBO show I loved that nobody I knew would talk about, and is really hard to remember the name of now because that name is "Industry" LOL


And it's less accurate for this show, but the way these people talk to each other does remind me of Succession's snappy wit, I love that HBO's comedy is fully leaning into that style, but then there's also the Below Deck of it all that satisfies my hospitality industry triggers.


Plus I've been really surprised by Alexandra Daddario! She's always just been Woody's unexplainable trophy girlfriend in True Detective and the girl on the poster of a million trashy looking VOD romcoms, but she's probably got my favorite out of a lot of really good performances on this show so far.


Oh, and the soundtrack is amazing. Once the episodes get their momentum rolling, that mix of whimsical and dread is absolutely spot on, and it really doesn't sound like what anyone else is doing right now. I haven't seen last night's episode yet but Mike White's got a real heater here, and it fits that new TV model where if he/HBO wants to keep it going there's a lot of plug-and-play opportunity to be more of an anthology than linear story.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

She looked better with it.

>She looked better with it.
>
>

She was almost unrecognizable.

Because phew...these tourists are shiiiiitty. (This new season of BD? Incredible.)

Alexandra Daddario is my biggest surprise as well. The whole cast is killers (Steve Zahn murks every scene he's in, and he's like the 3rd best of the whole damn group) but I'm not sure I'd seen her beyond True Detective and she's really nailing this role.

My god...the scenes with her and Molly Shannon killed me last night.

Reboot movie. She was also in those Percy Jackson movies.

Beyond that she hasn’t done much mainstream or big movie or series projects.

She still looks great but I did like her better when she had a little more weight on her.

>
>She still looks great but I did like her better when she had a
>little more weight on her.

Honestly, I think she looks a lot worse here.

Judging from the 'next on' trailer I have a feeling who dies and I dont like it

Otherwise really entertaining episode but I was so distracted by the idea Kai wasn't just easily identifiable on camera like 20 minutes after he broke in there. Honestly didn't feel sold on Kai's decision to go through with it either but I can let that slide for the drama, I'm just surprised he seemed to get away with it?


I'm not a "on the next episode" watcher so if that's part of next week I'll find out then.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I can't say I know the guy but we have a lot of mutuals and we are facebook friends. I watched this show last night and I am convinced this is how he got talked into doing something so stupid.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/nyregion/molotov-cocktail-lawyers-nyc.html




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

as little as we know about him, it seemed out of character. even after the conversation he had with paula, i didn't really sense a lot of desperation in him. he didn't seem like the kind of kid who would have a contact to offload all this stuff once he stole it. but i chalked it up to young and dumb shit.

>Otherwise really entertaining episode but I was so distracted
>by the idea Kai wasn't just easily identifiable on camera like
>20 minutes after he broke in there. Honestly didn't feel sold
>on Kai's decision to go through with it either but I can let
>that slide for the drama, I'm just surprised he seemed to get
>away with it?

... for that type of wide-ranging, seemingly limitless litigation to be a little farfetched haha. $75k may cover the retainer for litigation that far-reaching.

I'd watch spinoffs with at least 80% of the characters

So they can see how terrible money makes you.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

except not to take your shit kids with you

I guess this shit just ain't for me.

That was my first reaction after the first episode. I generally have no interest in shows about white people dealing with white people problems.


But it becomes clear by the second episode that this turns into a hard edge critique of rich folks and how corrupt they all are. There are no heroes among them.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

The hardest part about getting people to buy into Succession is that the first three episodes are a little darker while everybody finds their groove in the show, so a lot of people I know bounce off of it because it's just rich people and their problems. The only people I know that latched onto it immediately and didn't need coaxing are similarly acid tongued pieces of shit that got wrapped up in the way these people talk to each other rather than what they're talking about right away.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I'm a dialogue guy. You can get me with sharp witty dialogue, but this isn't that. So It's rich white people talking about rich white shit, in regular smegular language.

Ugh. I'ma finish the season, I'm almost done anyway, but I don't think I'll be coming back.

I think it becomes pretty clear that the writer/author/showrunner thinks the characters of White Lotus are shitty people. My wife and I were playing this game where we were looking for someone to root for and then that person would eventually do something shitty and be like damn, they all terrible. Held out for the black girl and she ended up did the most awful thing in my opinion.

Succession is different in a way you pointed out, you could watch succession and think some of these characters are cool and can get behind them.


On another note, I love how this show uses music (or sound) to build tension.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

> Held out for the black girl and she ended up
>did the most awful thing in my opinion.
>

I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. she thought that was a good idea! On any level.

She seemed so smart and aware up until that point.

>
>> Held out for the black girl and she ended up
>>did the most awful thing in my opinion.
>>
>
>I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. she thought that was a good idea! On any
>level.
>
>She seemed so smart and aware up until that point.
>

But a statement that even in the most serene, pampered, privileged scenario possible, people are capable of making each other miserable, making themselves miserable, having personality disorders and mental illness, being total pains in the ass, etc.

IMO It's kind of a horror/tragic statement on the human condition...watching how unappreciative these people are of where they are and what they have is a basic concept but its explored with a great amount of nuance and depth

The very act of becoming rich makes you corrupt because it gives you the power to make people bend to your will and its impossible to not use that power.

Like Jennifer Coolidges character wasn't a bad person and didn't mean to do harm and was oblivious to the harm that she was causing, and even tried to do the right thing by not using sister girl. But in the end she still did great harm and used her.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

In the end, other than maybe Shane and his mom, the other rich characters weren't portrayed as bad people which is why I didn't see it as some scathing critique of rich people, but more that they were just oblivious and/or just wanted to make themselves feel good

Same as it ever was

i cant believe they showed the dookie coming out his ass lol.

this whole show was wild af.

I dug it.

Ultimately, a bunch of terrible people doing terrible shit to almost no consequences (except for Armond...yikes)

The fact that Kai was handled offscreen and just tossed aside was kinda poetic - the Mossbruchers could just forget he ever existed, and his life is in shambles now.

Quinn being the one dude to kinda have a character arc was surprising.

Of course Rachel was gonna go back to Shane. She has nothing. She's apparently a shit writer, too. And to use Belinda as a therapist only to realize even a person who HAS to pretend to care just didnt? Good.

Jennifer Coolidge deserves an Emmy (but hahahah at her saying, "I dont want another transactional relationship" only to get into one). There's a million steps between saying you want to get into business and actually opening doors - it was shitty for her to say it, but it was also naive of Belinda to believe it.

As soon as we saw the back and forth editing of Armond partying and Shane drinking at the bar...I knew what was gonna happen, but it was still really well done regardless (whewwwww...first time I can remember someone shitting that graphically on TV?)

Good ass series. Dug it. The music direction was incredible, and the whole cast was AMAZING.

>The fact that Kai was handled offscreen and just tossed aside
>was kinda poetic - the Mossbruchers could just forget he ever
>existed, and his life is in shambles now.

For sure. and it was an ultimate W for them. They got all their shit back, they got a cool story out of it and he's just a nameless villain, and it added spark to their marriage.

That's what i figured Paula was thinking while she was watching them at dinner after, like they're not even tripping, and Kai is fucked. She was disgusted, aside from her own guilt (over Kai). But its like no matter what,these people just win

>Quinn being the one dude to kinda have a character arc was
>surprising.

i didn't expect much from him. I liked that they gave us something from him, other than some weird incel.
I figure he stayed about another a week.


>Of course Rachel was gonna go back to Shane. She has nothing.
>She's apparently a shit writer, too. And to use Belinda as a
>therapist only to realize even a person who HAS to pretend to
>care just didnt? Good.

For whatever reason i didn't expect it even though it's the obvious outcome. That was cold though. It's like Belinda offered her help, and even showed up out of some sort of default only to tell her she was all out of fucks to give

>Jennifer Coolidge deserves an Emmy (but hahahah at her saying,
>"I dont want another transactional relationship" only to get
>into one). There's a million steps between saying you want to
>get into business and actually opening doors - it was shitty
>for her to say it, but it was also naive of Belinda to believe
>it.

Belinda's whole demeanor towards her switched when she offered to stake her. Before that she was just this smothering, weird, needy old white lady. And Belinda was kind and empathetic to her but you also felt the standoffishness. then it was like she was the key to her future, and suddenly she was legit happy when she called. I mean it was opportunism but i completely get it. Most people at some point have have had to put up with people they wouldn't normally want to be around or even dislike, like because they know that person was the key to getting a job you wanted or something like that.

>As soon as we saw the back and forth editing of Armond
>partying and Shane drinking at the bar...I knew what was gonna
>happen, but it was still really well done regardless
>(whewwwww...first time I can remember someone shitting that
>graphically on TV?)

I thought of vito Jr on the sopranos but it wasn't this levellol


>Good ass series. Dug it. The music direction was incredible,
>and the whole cast was AMAZING.

I watched all of it yesterday and today. i loved it

>Belinda's whole demeanor towards her switched when she offered
>to stake her. Before that she was just this smothering, weird,
>needy old white lady. And Belinda was kind and empathetic to
>her but you also felt the standoffishness. then it was like
>she was the key to her future, and suddenly she was legit
>happy when she called. I mean it was opportunism but i
>completely get it.

Nah Tanya was insistent about the business..she mentioned it multiple times and really pushed Belinda to seriously consider it, which she eventually did. So her demeanor change was simply hope and excited that was prompted by Tanya's hope and excitement.

d

>(whewwwww...first time I can remember someone shitting that
>graphically on TV?)

best one ive seen since hank moody shitting on doofus's car hood in californication (this one took it up to a new realistic-looking level)

I knew too many girls like her in college and postgrad. Dying to rub elbows with the rich white folks but performatively woke at the same time. By the end I think I disliked her more than anyone

was so childish. He was gonna sell the stuff, hire lawyers and get his family's land back? even if he got full value, which he obviously wouldn't, it was a pipe dream, and there's no way that land was coming back.

i gotta assume she knew that at least on some level, and used Kai on some fuck you to her friend's family and what they represented. He wasn't gonna get caught and worse case, he comes up on some money and she feels like she's fighting for indigenous rights.

Her plan was so terribly thought out, and the motivation for it was so impulsive and stupid. Not to mention she could have absolutely warned him they were coming - but she wanted to look out for herself.

I mean, granted...Armond took advantage of a position of power with an employee...and Kai did ultimately decide to go forth with her stupid ass plan, but clearly she was just utterly morally bankrupt.

parents it was her idea, the parents would have been mad, but not press charges against her and likely let the boy off the hook.


Paula protected herself and moved on to the next.

I have a niece that gets taken on vacations with her classmates family and I am terrified of her ending up this way.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Were they supposed to come off as terrible, unsympathetic people? I think they were. They certainly did, in any case.

Great series. Outstanding performances all around. Went too fast.

or you do you mean Olivia (Paula's homie)?

Those girls were both little assholes. They seemed to be poking at a certain type of berniebro style rich kid, scoffing at the generations before and how they fucked the world up, or have the nerve to not even take their ailments seriously ("Paula is an HSP")

They were fun to watch though, and did so much with just facial expressions. they were both constantly looking through everyone (and each other). Like their first interaction with Rachel

Rachel was maybe the most sympathetic guest on the show. Wonder how well she takes to trophy wife life.

She went back. I mean, that's enough, right there, for me.

Most of the other stuff has already been covered here at this point.

Hers was definitely a necessary perspective to throw in there. And literally any reason to get Alexandra on screen is a valid one. But positioning her as virtuous, or some tragic figure? I think not.

If she plays her cards right, she could have Shane shopping for adult diapers and binkies in the middle of conference calls within a year


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

but dude has mommy needs

Horribly naive and delusional? Yes.

Shane kind of nailed it in saying that after dating, wining/dining, and going through a whole wedding that he should just be okay with her not being pissed at him. Like, dude is an asshole across the board, but he was very rarely WRONG in the show.

I don't know that Rachel is a bad person - I DO think Paula and Olivia treated her super poorly for no reason - but I also don't think she's the most sympathetic of characters either. She's in it for herself as much as any of the other characters are - hell, she treated Belinda poorly in their last scene together.

I dont believe she was delusional or naive..it wasnt like she just woke up and realized Shane was who he was and she had to have dealt with the mom before..mom even talked up how much she had been involved with their relationship from jump, doing everything butting in etc. Only when Paula and Olivia spoke on what she did and was did she suddenly have an issue lol.

>Horribly naive and delusional? Yes.
>
>Shane kind of nailed it in saying that after dating,
>wining/dining, and going through a whole wedding that he
>should just be okay with her not being pissed at him. Like,
>dude is an asshole across the board, but he was very rarely
>WRONG in the show.
>
>I don't know that Rachel is a bad person - I DO think Paula
>and Olivia treated her super poorly for no reason - but I also
>don't think she's the most sympathetic of characters either.
>She's in it for herself as much as any of the other characters
>are - hell, she treated Belinda poorly in their last scene
>together.

I know my fair share of people who can, consciously or not, ignore some facet of their life or circumstance that's painfully obvious to everyone else around them.

We're never really going to know, but sure - there's a LOT there that proves your point - how involved the mom was in the wedding, etc. But it seemed like Shane's petulant whining about the room and Armond is what made her kinda wake up (and then when mom came? forget it).

So - I still don't think she's terrible, nor do I think if someone marries for something other than love is terrible necessarily. Transactional relationships seems to be a theme in this show. She went back to him, and I read that as her basically being resigned (again?) to just being a trophy wife.

.. Shane and Rachel got married. So the takeaway was, IMO, supposed to be that she fell for him quickly, and he popped the question quickly, leaving her little time to evaluate or maybe even realize all his shortcomings. Or to come to terms with them.

Then the show also made it a point to point out multiple times how busy everyone was planning the wedding, which IMO is very realistic. So she was swept away by having her "dream wedding" instead of having that time and energy to be able to figure out that Shane is aggressively douchey.

So the honeymoon was clearly the first time she'd had time to just clear her mind and spend her energy on *him* and he immediately proved himself to be the worst, at which point reality hit her and she started to re-evaluate whether or not she'd made a mistake.

People get divorced within weeks or months all the time in this country and I have to imagine the above scenario isn't super uncommon. A woman swept away by a rich white kid who gives her everything and proposes quickly, only to equally-as-quickly realize after the mayhem clears that she's made a massive mistake.

>.. Shane and Rachel got married. So the takeaway was, IMO,
>supposed to be that she fell for him quickly, and he popped
>the question quickly, leaving her little time to evaluate or
>maybe even realize all his shortcomings. Or to come to terms
>with them.
>

which shows she fell in love with the money

>Then the show also made it a point to point out multiple times
>how busy everyone was planning the wedding, which IMO is very
>realistic. So she was swept away by having her "dream wedding"
>instead of having that time and energy to be able to figure
>out that Shane is aggressively douchey.
>

cmon..its to like they were separated until the wedding day...


>So the honeymoon was clearly the first time she'd had time to
>just clear her mind and spend her energy on *him* and he
>immediately proved himself to be the worst, at which point
>reality hit her and she started to re-evaluate whether or not
>she'd made a mistake.

Reality just sat in harder imo


>People get divorced within weeks or months all the time in
>this country and I have to imagine the above scenario isn't
>super uncommon.


stop it

A woman swept away by a rich white kid who
>gives her everything and proposes quickly, only to
>equally-as-quickly realize after the mayhem clears that she's
>made a massive mistake.

its 2021..not 1970-1990

However I do get it that Mike White wrote it in there that it was a quick romance and then wedding. I think that was there way of writing it so it can be like how you two have described ..meaning her reading she married a jerk..Im saying that writing that so th4y can justify this epiphany on her honeymoon is not believable aka bs writing

And actually, now that I am re-reading my previous post, what I said about people getting divorced within weeks or months is irrelevant to everything else I was saying because *she didn't ultimately even leave him* !

In any event, I have examples in my own social circle of people who married the idea of the person as opposed to actually being in love with them - whether they were blinded by the money (as was the case here, as you rightfully point out), or something else. They're all divorced now after varying (but all short) periods of marriage. A couple of them literally realized it as they walked down the aisle, per their own recollections of the mistakes they made. So. Just because you don't envision *yourself* making that type of mistake doesn't mean it's not possible for others.

All that is to say that I didn't find the Rachel/Shane dynamic and storyline to be BS *at all* and in fact found it very plausible and realistic. *shrugs*

Because she seemed super aware of it yet clueless at the same time. As soon as Belinda showed interest in the business proposition she pulled back, but kept throwing her just enough crumbs so she'd stick around for her

Then talked about transnational relationships being unhealthy followed by a payment.

She dangled life changing shit in Belinda's face then was like nah, that's bad for me



>hell, she treated Belinda poorly in their last scene
>together.

>Because she seemed super aware of it yet clueless at the same
>time. As soon as Belinda showed interest in the business
>proposition she pulled back, but kept throwing her just enough
>crumbs so she'd stick around for her
>
>Then talked about transnational relationships being unhealthy
>followed by a payment.
>
>She dangled life changing shit in Belinda's face then was like
>nah, that's bad for me
>
>
>
>>hell, she treated Belinda poorly in their last scene
>>together.

She wants to believe she is more than a trophy wife but she’s a shit writer, and she loves the comfort Shane provides more than she respects herself.

I damn near jumped up and cheered when Belinda checked the shit out of her. Could only take so much of the "oh, THIS is the life I married into?!?!" like she didn't know what the deal was every step of the way.

there's nothing admirable about it, but there's a lot of real estate between that and being a terrible person

"Rachel is a terrible human being."
"What did she do?"
"She married a rich asshole. Can you believe that shit?"

>She wants to believe she is more than a trophy wife but
>she’s a shit writer, and she loves the comfort Shane
>provides more than she respects herself.

if it came down to it. she absolutely knows her place as a
"beautiful white woman" and is ultimately comfortable in it and the luxuries it affords.

lol

She is the face of women everywhere that marry terrible men but get a pass because they are not as awful as their spouse but they enjoy all the fruit of their spouses awfulness.

She's Melania & Ivanka Trump the prequel. Check on her in 20 years and she will be the mom and complaining about rooms more than her husband.




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

writing gig, or even planning to.

Shane was pretty justified in his "this is fucked up we're on our honeymoon stance"

i mean he was right to ultimately call her out for having some sort of epiphany a few days after they got married. It's not like she got dropped into some arranged marriage.

that said, i can't call how she's gonna turn out tho and still not really on team she's a terrible person lo

anyone notice that he never gets beyond like page 20 over the course of the whole week? thought it was a nice subtle detail

though i think with him it was more of a attention span thing. sadly i can relate.

the gay Filipino shark..

my boy's mom is a travel agent. she's the nicest woman in the world, but i don't know if there's a different breed for people with boat shoes.

they can be real pieces of shit

they have to try to meet the every demand of their high net worth clients, so you can imagine how they conduct themselves when communicating with vendors about their requests



>
>
>my boy's mom is a travel agent. she's the nicest woman in the
>world, but i don't know if there's a different breed for
>people with boat shoes.

https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html

Pretty good article.

And I'm not super impressed. I haven't read much in this post because I'm avoiding spoilers. And it's likely that my concerns are addressed in upcoming episodes.

But so far, it's generally just rich people being assholes. I'm still waiting on some type of conflict that I care about. The show isn't completely terrible but it's not really grabbing my attention. I'm trying to stick with it on the strength of all the good reviews it has. But so far, it's just "meh."

I'll definitely be back as I move through the episodes. I figured I'd just note how I felt so far.

but I'm really not understanding the hype.

nowhere near the scathing class analysis I was hoping for

they didn't examine the served/server dynamic anywhere near the depths the could have. *shrug*. I don't really get what the buzz is.

good lord jake lacey's face is the worst.

i was planning to wait until it's done and binge, but i don't really have a show right now

digging the new cast

I saw Aubrey talk about it on a talk show a few weeks ago and decided why not. Watched season 1 then realized she wasn't on until S2 that still hadn't released lol

It's interesting enough to keep watching but I don't really enjoy it. Watched the first episode of season 2 last night and not much of an improvement. We'll see.

If you didn't love the first season, can't see it getting better for the second - but I'm still in.

grandpa a fool for dropping that story about Hades lol

and these dudes are just missing it. Hopefully Albie picks it up cause Portia is giving him all the signals but it isn't what he wants to see.

the whole "girls don't like nice guys like me" felt like a red flag

and considering his dad and gramps are both dogs of different generations, he's just a different style of shitbird

But also, he had a really tough time actually listening to any of the stories she was telling him. For such a "nice guy," he was staring right thru her while she was actually opening up to him.

Plus, a real nice guy doesn't have to tell you he's a nice guy.

even the way he didn't just say he went to Stanford on some pretend humble shit. he had to make her chase it, then when she said she went to some state school dropping like a "awe well that's cool"
i get Albie spends a lot of time on MRA message boards or reading pick up artist shit.


>But also, he had a really tough time actually listening to
>any of the stories she was telling him. For such a "nice guy,"
>he was staring right thru her while she was actually opening
>up to him.
>
>Plus, a real nice guy doesn't have to tell you he's a nice
>guy.

i appreciate the little details the writers throw in.. like daphne referring to their kids as "my kids"--completely thought they were from a previous marriage until they told the story of the cesarean at dinner (like i can fully see his level of involvement back home via that)

and the little winks they throw to the audience... cameron saying something about "that makes me practically homicidal"... grandpa watching The Godfather.. ("sicilian women are more dangerous than shotguns..")--good stuff

>i appreciate the little details the writers throw in.. like
>daphne referring to their kids as "my kids"--completely
>thought they were from a previous marriage

and they completely took me for a mini-ride on that little detail with the personal trainer reveal... bravo mike white

i assume he's just pulling a long con?

last season and when he meets he meets her he was at her door like he was confused it was his room.
then didn't he say he had cancer at one point?

he has a hard time hiding that he's physically repulsed by her. but idk, i kinda hope it's more than he's just a con artist.

I think whatever's going on has to do with whatever sickness he had last season. And that who he was talking to on the phone at the end was like his mother or something. Cuz they're hammering it home a little *too* much for me to really believe that it's that he has a second family or whatever.

And I think his attitude toward her is a defense mechanism because of all that.

and i would even assume it was too obvious, but the reminder of how they met makes me suspicious lol

>i assume he's just pulling a long con?
>
>last season and when he meets he meets her he was at her door
>like he was confused it was his room.
>then didn't he say he had cancer at one point?
>
>he has a hard time hiding that he's physically repulsed by
>her. but idk, i kinda hope it's more than he's just a con
>artist.

I have a lot of thoughts but won't bother wasting the time to type it all out if I'll be talking to a wall.

He really is that nice and that lame. That whole Godfather thing, and the look at me I'm being agressive was so cringe. Theyre whole lack of chemistry. So much that in contrast she'd strongly prefer that douchey bro in the pool

Aubrey shined so much here

I'll be back with more but have it it dude. I'm loving this season lol

He's truly a cornball. But at the same time I really love the writing and the generational dynamic between Albie and his pops and grandfather. It may seem like obvious stuff given the times we live in, but I think the way they're portraying it is equal parts hilarious and clever, without beating us over the head with it somehow. I am especially liking how Dom is kinda torn between the lessons he learned from his father and what he is (barely) trying to learn from his son about how to be a better person/husband/father/man. I'm interested to see where that goes.

But yea Portia is being played to perfection by Haley Lu Richardson, who's been terrific. The pained facial expressions are absolutely flawless. There's a balance to be struck between not being a total prick but still being willing to take the lead and show some initiative.

And regarding the Tanya stuff, I'm still not convinced that Greg is gone or whatever. I'm holding on to my suspicions that he's still treating for whatever condition that he has, but doesn't want her to know for one reason or another. In other words I think that his "deception" is actually in good faith and that he's not cheating and doesn't have another family. And I think either that "gypsy" was a total hack (most likely) or that the "beautiful woman" in his life that she referenced is either his mom or like his new doctor or some shit haha.

I have more thoughts I'm forgetting, but my last quick note here is again about the writing and acting with regard to the two couples. I'm so fascinated by Harper and E's storyline and how that will play out, considering that as it turned out the "perfect couple" isn't so perfect afterall. And rather than Harper kind of basking in her correct initial presumptions about them, she's letting Daphne's comments in Noto seep into how she perceives the missed call by her husband, who despite being involved in some super shady shit, was ultimately actually being a good guy and *hating* what his "friend" had dragged him into. But that likely won't be Harper's perception, most likely. I'm not saying E was totally blameless but based on what we saw it was pretty clear that he did not want any part of that type of shit and kept staring at Cameron like he wanted to kill him right then and there haha. But obviously Harper didn't see any of that.

Super creative writing for that/those storylines, to get us to this point. I'm so invested in how that plays out.

>He's truly a cornball. But at the same time I really love the
>writing and the generational dynamic between Albie and his
>pops and grandfather. It may seem like obvious stuff given the
>times we live in but I think the way they're portraying it is
>equal parts hilarious and clever, without beating us over the
>head with it somehow. I am especially liking how Dom is kinda
>torn between the lessons he learned from his father and what
>he is trying to (barely) learn from his son about how to be a
>better person/husband/father/man. I'm interested to see where
>that goes.

For sure. Dom being like "I'm a feminist, is about as funny as Albie talking about being aggressive. but i don't think either one of them is being insincere in who they want to be. I do wonder what he did, seeing that he seemingly cheats quite a bit, and his fam is this mad at him. My guess is something truly scumbaggish like one of his daughter's friends.

>
>But yea Portia is being played to perfection by (forgetting
>actress' name but she's terrific). The pained facial
>expressions are absolutely flawless.

She does so much with facial expressions. aside from the pool scene, her reactions to Albie when he was getting all think piecey about the godfather. She starts off kinda on his side, but you can see he's lost her by the end. She does it all without saying a word and its subtle and obvious at the same time.

>And I'm still not convinced that Greg is gone or whatever. I'm
>holding on to my suspicions that he's still treating but
>doesn't want her to know. In other words that his "deception"
>is actually in good faith and not cheating or that he has
>another family. And either that "gypsy" was a total hack (most
>likely) or that the "beautiful woman" in his life is either
>his mom or like his new doctor or some shit haha.

Yeah i can't call it either but he seems legit put off by her. Physically and otherwise. It's hard to see an angle that plays well for her.

>I have more thoughts I'm forgetting but my last quick note
>here is again about the writing and acting, with the two
>couples. I'm so fascinated by Harper and E's storyline and how
>that will play out, considering that as it turned out the
>"perfect couple" isn't so perfect afterall and rather than
>Harper kind of basking in her correct presumptions about them,
>she's letting Daphne's comments seep into how she perceives
>the missed call by her husband, who despite being involved in
>some super shady shit, was ultimately actually being a good
>guy and *hating* what his "friend" had dragged him into. But
>that won't be Harper's perception, most likely.

They're the best part of the show. Harper also called it how Cam was gonna come at him with some "investment" nonsense.

>Super creative writing for that/those storylines, to get us to
>this point. I'm so invested haha.

I didn't know Mike White was a big reality tv guy. I never watched much reality tv outside of a few seasons of Real World, but i def see the dynamic of taking all these people and putting them in a far away place.

Portia I think has a lot to do with it. First character in the series that I have some sympathy for lol

I keep trying to put my finger on who Mia reminds me of.

okay this episode was great. everything coming together. so much tension. i enjoyed watching this one a lot. tanya actually enjoying herself is much better than tanya whining lol

good move by leaving the actual confrontations until the next episode.

Poor Harper.

And agreed re: Tanya. Quite a change of pace to see her smile for once lol.

is her hooking up with Albie 'off the books'? or does he not understand this is a transaction?

or *is* it a transaction? she was having a crisis on what is she doing with her life so it's entirely possible this is just a hook up for her

but.. she did just get half stiffed by Cameron, and Dom was supposed to be a week long pay day for her, aand she's losing a lot of money.

given Albie's personality and need to ask for consent at every turn, i could def see this was just a conversation already had. him taking the line of sex workers should be respected, etc...

my gut says he's unaware and she may or may not press him (or his dad) for payment.

but i legit don't know what's going on here lol

I'm thinking he doesn't know. I don't know if she's going to charge, that's definitely up in the air. I'm thinking his dad already paid the whole week so she's not too pressed but I definitely expect a confrontation between her and his dad. I think they showed a teaser in the trailer.

I doubt they go into this much detail but I'm thinking she started it off with just having fun in mind but at some point it becomes a transaction for her out of instinct.

I wouldn't hate if they actually fall for each other and the dad needs to find a way to be okay with that lol They already did that on Succession so maybe don't need it to go there.

he paid them that night, and then for their drinks. if he paid the week, i think she'd be more chill and not immediately scrambling to find more rich men.

but i think you're right at the very least Dom will have to give her some money to not tell Albie about them, and also that this could play out in so many ways including them being into each other.

The dad isn’t cool with it and can’t handle it so he pays her to go away. Albie persist with her despite her giving him the cold shoulder and she finally tells Albie that his dad paid her to show Albie a good time. Albie and his dad have a blowout fight and falling out.

Nonno dies of natural causes. Dom, in his depth of despair over basically losing his family due to his affairs and his dad dying and realizing he is alone ends up committing suicide.

>The dad isn’t cool with it and can’t handle it so he pays
>her to go away. Albie persist with her despite her giving him
>the cold shoulder and she finally tells Albie that his dad
>paid her to show Albie a good time. Albie and his dad have a
>blowout fight and falling out.
>
>Nonno dies of natural causes. Dom, in his depth of despair
>over basically losing his family due to his affairs and his
>dad dying and realizing he is alone ends up committing
>suicide.
>

only 3 eps in too

So....

Are we to assume a) Tanya is in some trouble with the gay dudes? It's not that far from where the resort is - and we still haven't found out who the bodies are. We just know that some of them are hotel guests (Tanya and Portia? The guys themselves?) Clearly they're con men - is Greg the "cowboy"?

Daphnie had the trainer's baby then, right?

Albie's getting got by Lucia...that was not her "pimp".

If you dive into the subreddit they're convinced that Dom is going to die because of the Godfather/oranges tie ins...but who knows.

I'm digging this season. Give Jennifer Coolidge all the awards.

I forgot there were bodies (plural) but at the beginning of the episode I was convinced Mia (the other working gal, I think that's her name) was gonna kill the piano player so she'd be able to keep playing haha. And I really only thought that cuz I was trying to think outside the box rather than follow "leads."

Still not convinced he won't be one of the bodies but not sure how that plays into the larger story about the deaths.


>Daphnie had the trainer's baby then, right?

Somehow didn't pick up on this but ... yea. Haha.


>Albie's getting got by Lucia...that was not her "pimp".

Who you think it is ? Just an ex ?

>>Albie's getting got by Lucia...that was not her "pimp".
>
>Who you think it is ? Just an ex ?

An ex, or a friend - someone who she's using for the image of the "wounded bird", I think. Either she's bleeding Albie for money OR she's using that as a way to come to LA with him or something? Who knows - but she found Dom on the internet and there hasn't been talk of a pimp (though I think it was mildly hinted at that she DOESNT have one when Albie was saying how he didn't want to be with her if she was being forced into it, etc).

She also didn't have to say that Cam owed her money to Albie either, but she did. So...somehow, she's gaming him.

>So....
>
>Are we to assume a) Tanya is in some trouble with the gay
>dudes? It's not that far from where the resort is - and we
>still haven't found out who the bodies are. We just know that
>some of them are hotel guests (Tanya and Portia? The guys
>themselves?) Clearly they're con men - is Greg the "cowboy"?

I get the feeling that they might be con men and trying to get her money.

>Daphnie had the trainer's baby then, right?

Wow, I didn’t pick up on that at all but it makes sense now. I thought she just showed her the picture of her kids as a way to get her to shut up so she won’t outright tell her that her husband cheated on her.

>Albie's getting got by Lucia...that was not her "pimp".

Yeah, this one is fairly obvious. That Italian guy isn’t her pimp but she is setting up the long con to get that money from poor Albie.

>If you dive into the subreddit they're convinced that Dom is
>going to die because of the Godfather/oranges tie ins...but
>who knows.

I think the dead guest are Dom and Bert. I think Bert has an accidental death where he falls. Notice he has now fallen twice on the show. Once in his room during this episode off screen and once which we saw at the pool.

I also think Dom dies by suicide or despair. Look at my post above but I think he finds his dad dead, him and Albie have some big falling out, his wife and daughter don’t want anything to do with him. I think in a moment of isolation and despair he goes out for a swim and drowns by accident or on purpose.

>I'm digging this season. Give Jennifer Coolidge all the
>awards.

She is great.

All we really know is multiple people die, and at least some of them are hotel guests. It'd be pretty nuts of them to kill off Tanya - only because she's such a great character and the link between the two seasons thus far, but who knows?

The running theory on the subreddit is that Greg is the "cowboy" that the older brit mentioned as the person who he'd do anything for but who is also straight - that he hired those guys to kill Tanya so he'd get her insurance money - but that seems semi-far fetched. Still - they're clearly conmen - between the "nephew", the "Is that the Queen of Sicily?", Gore Vidal being a friend (he died like 10 years ago?), etc - there's a lot of signs there that they're simply trying to con a rich old naive lady.

I think your theory of Bert hitting his head a bunch is something so obvious but I didn't even think about. If that's the case - it's very White Lotus of them to have Albie run off with Lucia only for us all to be like, "Yeeaaaaah that shit's gonna fail and the cycle will repeat".

i thought it was go do what you gotta do re: fuck buddy, but slow your roll if you're thinking about telling me about Cam.

The blonde/blue eyes part opens it up though

>>Daphnie had the trainer's baby then, right?
>
>Wow, I didn’t pick up on that at all but it makes sense now.
>I thought she just showed her the picture of her kids as a way
>to get her to shut up so she won’t outright tell her that
>her husband cheated on her.

Definitely confused about those guys with Tanya. Definitely big hinting about Tanya dying but could be misdirect.

I was confused about Daphnie as well. I guess that being the trainers baby makes some sense.

You could be right about Lucia as well.

I was thinking that guy didn't have sex with Portia but they totally did on the boat right? I figured at the hotel he just passed out.

Clearly that's not his nephew. I figured they were pimping him out or something, but plenty of signs that something was off there - him running out of the restaurant, the dude saying it's "good for him to have someone his own age to play with", etc. He just seemed like he was an outsider to that group of dudes.

Nothing was wilder than THAT scene with Armond last season, hahah.

I see some people still believe that they are uncle/nephew and just getting that GoT family incest on but I don’t think that’s the case. I think he is just bisexual and part of this con group.

it seemed to confirm the 'high end gays' are gaming her. Dunno if she ends up dead but it makes the most sense. I can't see the gimmick of bringing her back again.

"is Greg the "cowboy"?

Oh fuck. is he? Lol

>Daphnie had the trainer's baby then, right?

I didn't catch this until someone told me, but it's def possible.. The kid had blonde hair and blue eyes. Daphne's such an interesting character to me.


>Albie's getting got by Lucia...that was not her "pimp".

That poor kid. He's such an easy mark. zero street smarts with a savior complex. and yeah 0% chance he's her pimp. his name would have come up quite a bit in her Mia exchanges.


Yeah i heard the orange thing too

lol I mean damn

The theory is that Lucia is going to be related to Albie, Dom and Bert.

... Dom, Bert, and Albie say their family is from and that they're going to visit.

It’s interesting, the writing and acting are great. The old man is probably my favorite this season, but the whole cast is fantastic.

I'm fully invested in every single, every episode. The characters are perfect. Terrific show and I hope it keeps going.

A) Season 1 had a way more interesting story to tell, way better cinematography (there's none of the Zahn and son in the ocean type stuff, it's all people in rooms or on balconies)

B) I think the far more blatant themes of this season (so far?) establish how virile (yup) the concept of an anthology series about a hotel chain is as long as the writing remains focused, and on that note, this season is way more broadly approachable I imagine than S1

C) As a legs guy, this is a pretty epic season for great legs. Miss Tabasco the whore, her daughter-of-Don-Johnson-looking-friend and more than anything the assistant Portia got some real specific fits that seem to demand the audience realizes this



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

She's got a great legs.

All I was focused on was her semi-snaggletooth grimace-smile, them gams and all the great lines she got to deliver about being a fish out of water mess.


The late-20s former Mouse House aspect throws some mud on it but I again have to admit I really appreciated her various looks given what I was focused on.


And at least at the top level of his subconscious Mike White seems culpable in this because the last focus shot is two women with great calves disappearing into a crowd.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

idk what they expected to happen there. that shit was funny as hell

They really drove into town with zero leads.

I guess the Lucia being related thing isn't happening, seems weird to find a way to throw it into the last episode. I'd say most of the other theories are still alive, even if some are a bit out there now.

I'm thinking Ethan makes a pass at Daphne trying to get back at Harper. Turns out Harper really didn't do anything though.

Bert, the grandpa.

I feel like we refer to the characters as:

Dom (sometimes maybe "christopha")
The Grandpa
Albie
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Plaza's husband
The other dude who cheats on his wife
Daphne
The hooker
The hooker's friend
The piano player guy
Jennifer Coolidge
Portia
Old British dude
The Nephew
Hotel manager lady
Greg
Alessio

Also I think "There will be no homecoming" kinda means he's gonna die, but who knows. Seems like there are red herrings EVERYwhere.

I'm gonna write up a full post about that below.

I CURSE YOUR KIND

But whewwwww there's some craziness going on.

It does still seem like Albie is getting played with the "pimp" angle. Who knows who that dude actually is - but she's playing the long con, it seems.

The Greg was the cowboy theory looks to be correct! I don't think that they're going to kill Tanya tough - more likely that they are recording her infidelity, probably to make her prenup more susceptible or something? Not sure how this works - but clearly, Greg set this up and the "coming into money" thing seems to be him splitting whatever his settlement is with the British dude.

They're playing this very ambiguously, but I don't think Harper ACTUALLY cheated with Cam. More that she's fucking with Ethan...and now he's losing it.

An interesting theory is that last season started a shot of the person who ended up being the killer - and now this season started with Daphne on the beach. Could it be that she kills Cam or Ethan somehow?

>It does still seem like Albie is getting played with the
>"pimp" angle. Who knows who that dude actually is - but she's
>playing the long con, it seems.

Yea, to my mind this is the only storyline for which the prevailing theory about what's been happening may actually turn out to be true. Just my opinion of course, but I just think that's the most likely scenario.

That said tho, the Prestige TV pod about this ep pointed out that Alessio *did* actually exist prior to episode 5. Apparently when Lucia was first introduced in ep 1, she said "goodbye Alessio" to the guy who dropped her off. But she said it in a friendly way as opposed to a "saying bye to your abusive boss" way so the theory that she asked him to help her scam poor Albie could still turn out to be true. I only bring up this scene because there were many (myself included) who thought that Alessio was never even mentioned prior to episode 5.


>The Greg was the cowboy theory looks to be correct! I don't
>think that they're going to kill Tanya tough - more likely
>that they are recording her infidelity, probably to make her
>prenup more susceptible or something? Not sure how this works
>- but clearly, Greg set this up and the "coming into money"
>thing seems to be him splitting whatever his settlement is
>with the British dude.

Yea this is where all signs are pointing. And I said the same thing to my wife last nite about whether or not the pre-nup may be voided if she cheats, or whatever.

But I had a different overall read on what's been happening here, which a host on the aforementioned Prestige TV pod articulated as well. I think Greg is still sick but didn't want to tell Tanya. He's miserable not because he hates her but because he's in constant pain and is dying. He went back home to try and find more treatment, and set her up with his gay best friend and his pals to live out her Italian fantasy since he wouldn't be able to do it for her. Including getting thrown around by a young Italian sex worker, something Greg couldn't do because he was so sick. I think his convo on the porch early in the season before he took off was with Quentin and that "she's clueless as usual" was about whether or not he was still sick.

Regarding Jack's "confession," again I think they're hitting us in the face with all of that to mislead us. I think all Jack meant by "doing things he doesn't want to do" is that he doesn't want to be having sex with dudes, but he's doing it because Quentin saved him from a life on the streets. I'm thinking he's a sex worker as well.

And with regard to the money, I think Greg possibly has some kind of life insurance or something like that, that will trigger and be paid out to Quentin once he passes. Greg may not be rich but I don't think he's destitute, either. So in essence I'm of the belief that he set Tanya up to have the time of her life in his absence, and is also setting up his best friend with some money after he dies, to keep his family's estate afloat.

I just don't find Quentin to be nefarious enough to be willing to pull this kind of con on some woman he'd previously never met, who is as naive she is. I think we're being led astray.

All my opinion of course. And I'm likely getting all tinfoil hat-y because the show is that good haha.


>They're playing this very ambiguously, but I don't think
>Harper ACTUALLY cheated with Cam. More that she's fucking with
>Ethan...and now he's losing it.

Exactly my thoughts. She's tired of being gaslit so she decided to kinda fuck with him a little bit. Cam's a dirtbag and was def trying to bang Harper in ep5, but Harper is strongwilled. I don't think she'd just let this scumbag take her down on a whim cuz she's slightly mad at her husband. I'm guessing that Harper was telling the truth, and that Cam actually *did* do the right thing in this instance, and told Harper that Ethan did nothing wrong on the nite in question. Again I think the writers have painted him as scummy as they have because he is, but that ultimately in this situation he wasn't gonna screw Ethan over that badly.


>An interesting theory is that last season started a shot of
>the person who ended up being the killer - and now this season
>started with Daphne on the beach. Could it be that she kills
>Cam or Ethan somehow?

Yea that's a good theory - hadn't thought of that.

In the big picture I'm still thinking everything is a red herring lol. My prediction is that a bunch of random hotel guests died in like a freak boating accident, hence the multiple bodies. And that Bert is the only castmember who was found in the water, and he died cuz he's old. Fell in the water or something. And in a lot of ways I hope that (or something like that) is the story with the bodies, because having both seasons of this show be essentially a murder mystery at the same hotel chain would be a little lazy ? I think ?

I read about Alessio being in the first episode yesterday and I have been conflicted about mentioning it lol I kind don't like that I read that. Would had preferred to had seen it as flash back in the last episode but oh well.

Your theory on Tanya makes sense and makes Greg seem so nice. I don't know if I want it to be true lol

I think I am going to rewatch both seasons when this is over. I know I didn't like watching the first couple of episodes of both seasons but this one really sucked me in. I don't remember if I ended up enjoying later episodes of the first season.

... are in an open relationship that they just haven't explicitly stated to Harper and Ethan yet. Cameron is wayyyyy too open about his exploits and attempted exploits (making eyes at Harper all week right in front of Daphne, grabbing her leg at dinner, etc.) and they seem to just rib eachother and get off on talking about eachother fucking other people. So I'm convinced it's either explicitly open between them, or just more well understood - even if unspoken - in their relationship, that they'll both be stepping out whenever they want and they both just kind of accept it.

To this point it's been presented by Daphne specifically, as if she *knows* he's cheating but he doesn't know that she knows, and that she steps out too but pretends she's just a naive housewife. I think that's not exactly the case. But again this is all just a guess.


>I read about Alessio being in the first episode yesterday and
>I have been conflicted about mentioning it lol I kind don't
>like that I read that. Would had preferred to had seen it as
>flash back in the last episode but oh well.
>
>Your theory on Tanya makes sense and makes Greg seem so nice.
>I don't know if I want it to be true lol
>
>I think I am going to rewatch both seasons when this is over.
>I know I didn't like watching the first couple of episodes of
>both seasons but this one really sucked me in. I don't
>remember if I ended up enjoying later episodes of the first
>season.

it's like they're pretending to pretend that they cheat on each other, and kinda get off on it, except they really do cheat.

>it's like they're pretending to pretend that they cheat on each other, and kinda get off on it, except they really do cheat.

too many flags. Jack telling Porsha he finally gets to help his 'uncle' out, Quentin's dead eye look he gives her, him rolling his eyes at her at the opera, Greg getting there 2 days early and telling her to send Porsha home...

also when Tanya walks in the room and homie is naked there's a camera up on the wall (you can see the red light).

it does seem careless to leave the cowboy pic up

another question is after she sees the picture she kinda keeps going. is it just denial on her part at that point? she wants to keep the fantasy going?

Wonder if it's all going to amount to something totally left field...because you're right...it would be a LITTLE lazy but we're all still watching and guessing so maybe not? Ha.

could be another red herring but whoa

https://www.reddit.com/r/WhiteLotusHBO/comments/zenouc/what_does_this_mean_is_portia_getting_killed_or/

White Lotus is one of like 3 or 4 shows i watch w/o a 2nd screen up to avoid distractions. I watch every ep like 2 or 3x since its just that comfy. And I still dont catch this shit

season finale is upon us. Great season to date. I am a bit worried that finale will be a bit rushed, but eagerly anticipating it. Initially I thought Lucia and Mia might carry out a murder…especially with the “In Sicily, women are more dangerous than a shotgun” borrowed from The Godfather. Perhaps some foreshadowing. Now? Not so sure. Could it be Valentina in a fit of rage due to unrequited love from Mia?

An obvious choice would be Portia due to her association with Tanya. Maybe she sees something she shouldn’t.

Could Ethan snap in a fit of rage? That’s certainly plausible. He’s definitely a ticking time bomb.

Or maybe it’s just an accident that causes the dead bodies to wash ashore.

They didn’t stick the landing like they did last season but it was a fun journey.

Is Greg a mafia mastermind?

Wife swap or naw?

Albi is an easy mark ass, bitch.

I wouldn't use "thud" for either but I thought White really brought this one home. Last year with the fight leading to the death didn't really do it for me, although I loved everything else.

I need 50k euro lol
good god, kid

Mia and Lucia for the win

Seems like she was about $2k euro a night and he was with her for 3 nights so he got took for about $44k euros. His dad should have held firm at $10k euro.

it's a pretty small town. i think with 10 minutes of research he could have found out he was a doorman. Albie's such a mark that she didn't even feel the need to give Alessio a fake name. A desperate poor victim like Lucia would never lie to him.

we laughed so hard when he dropped that 50k number. plus i believe he had already paid her for the first night

>Seems like she was about $2k euro a night and he was with her
>for 3 nights so he got took for about $44k euros. His dad
>should have held firm at $10k euro.

he knew EXACTLY what was going to happen.

he def knew 100% how it would play out, but without him putting in a word with mom, he was never gonna shell out that money just to teach him a lesson.

>he def knew 100% how it would play out, but without him
>putting in a word with mom, he was never gonna shell out that
>money just to teach him a lesson.

Mia and Lucia definitely took the W here.

Up 50k + the nights from Dom/Albie/Cameron + the expenses to Dom's room
Got the shitty piano player fired
Helped a woman with her sexual awakening
Didn't die

Sure, they scammed some people...but as far as White Lotus characters go...not that bad.

And I firmly believe Ethan clapped Daphne cheeks off in that cove or whatever they went too. She was looking good af this ep I gotta say.

And that’s why I think Ethan clapped cause he was never going to be able to get over it otherwise

>And that’s why I think Ethan clapped cause he was never
>going to be able to get over it otherwise

Do you think they are better or worse off, overall?

but it wouldnt surprise me if there was a 5 year check in sequel to their relationship and Ethan knocks up an intern or Harper gets caught fucking a trainer or a coworker.

Did not see Tanya biting it. I thought it was just a set up for infidelity. DAMN

Portia SMH That was like a microdose of the old 'wisdom' women chase after fuck boys in their youth and then come around to a nice guy afterwards.

Jesus

Albie, seems to still have a bit of goodness in him. I'm completely shocked. I really thought he was gonna be on some fuck these ho's shit after all he went through.

Poor Jack. What the fuck is gonna happen to him now?

Them girls: Damn, they won, all W's no L's.

Cam and Daphne fucked Ethan's whole marriage up.

Ethan and his girl are on their way towards turning into Cam and Daphne, and honestly, maybe it's for the good. At least their fucking again.

and not his dad's, he may have had a different outcome. its not like he dipped into is savings. the only thing he lost was face, and outside of italy the only one who knows is his dad.

>Albie, seems to still have a bit of goodness in him. I'm
>completely shocked. I really thought he was gonna be on some
>fuck these ho's shit after all he went through.

i liked the last shot of all 3 men mesmerized at the pretty girl who walked by, like gramps said, our achilles heel is...


>Cam and Daphne fucked Ethan's whole marriage up.
>
>Ethan and his girl are on their way towards turning into Cam
>and Daphne, and honestly, maybe it's for the good. At least
>their fucking again.

Yeah, i think its ultimately good for them, at least for now. It made Ethan more attracted to her which is what she wanted, also getting with Daphne made him feel like Cam didn't get over on him. that would have eaten him alive.

>Did not see Tanya biting it.

And the way they shot Tanya capping those dudes couldn't have been more perfect, just focusing on her stupid face popping off and not revealing that she *actually hit them* until after, I thought that was hysterical.

Shit was hilarious.

Her husband was having an affair (probably), and she DID technically commit suicide.

that lady was freaking out, like desperately trying to tell Tanya some bad shit was on the horizon, as she was being kicked out

Tension the whole time because of every damn red herring.

Performances across the board were off the chain. So damn good. The actor who played Jack was incredible. I thought Portia was gonna get Adrianna'd.

All in all - Mike White is a damn genius.

I’m hoping Greg is in season 3. Who was he talking on the phone with this season? Was it Quentin or someone else?

I am a bit bummed that Tonya died. I was hoping this would be her last season but I didn’t want to see her go out like that.

But also I can't see Greg getting away with it either. Portia put it together (with Tanya), and I assume Tanya was supposed to die in a way that made it look like an accident (although...not sure what they thought with that bag of villan shit...duct tape, rope, etc).

I'd think that a yacht full of people with bullet holes in them will dead that real quick - plus you have the picture of Greg in Quentin's house. Seems like it'll tie back to him. Portia got the hell out of dodge, and maybe she doesn't want to mess around with the Italian mafia, but there are at least 5 loose ends - Greg, Portia, Jack, and the dudes who stayed behind/jumped off the boat.

i was traveling and didnt get to see it sunday night. i downloaded it to my tablet so i could watch on my flight back last night. i was so tired i kept falling asleep. i didnt miss much runtime wise but im sure i missed plenty of details.

all in all it seemed like a good finale. it didnt go in the direction that many thought but still did what it needed.

i havent been the biggest fan of tanya but i think i was starting to see why people enjoyed watching her lol

even if she would have got her initial wish, Isabella would have been a boring fuck anyway. That girl has one facial expression. She was like a service robot.

I was legit worried for Mia the whole show, that she was gonna be a tragic story. Glad it didn't pan out that way. also kind of glad since it seemed to be a running theme based on S1 that none of the rich people could die because they always skate, i'm glad he switched things up a little bit.

I was happy for her too. Changed her whole face up.

when Ethan dropped that on her, she went from hurt, to nah, fuck that, lets go fix this for us. I got you.

She did the same exact thing when Harper told her about her suspicions about when they were in Nato. The actor who played Daphne nailed that whole processing thing.

she knows Cam is a dog, but for Harper to go there after she opened up to her.. and specifically asked if Cam cheats on her, is kinda extra fucked up.

then she flipped that switch again, like, welp, lets go make this right. it was a way to help Ethan, get back at Cam but more importantly, not allow Harper to victimize her.

even her way of telling Harper about her kid's dad without telling her. when Harper said, it's just a picture of your kids, she wasn't gonna flat out tell her. it was more... yeah you don't get it so lets move on. maybe it'll sink in later.

Daph might be my favorite character of this season

>RE: Yeah, and I think she was more hurt by Harper than Cam
>she knows Cam is a dog, but for Harper to go there after she
>opened up to her.. and specifically asked if Cam cheats on
>her, is kinda extra fucked up.
>
>then she flipped that switch again, like, welp, lets go make
>this right. it was a way to help Ethan, get back at Cam but
>more importantly, not allow Harper to victimize her.
>
>even her way of telling Harper about her kid's dad without
>telling her. when Harper said, it's just a picture of your
>kids, she wasn't gonna flat out tell her. it was more... yeah
>you don't get it so lets move on.
>
>Daph might be my favorite character of this season

^^ turned out to be one of mine too, probably right alongside Valentina (but obviously for different reasons). Originally Daphne seemed kind of one dimensional and flat but obviously she turned out to be one of, if not the, most compelling characters of the season and possibly both seasons. She was great, it was a part written *and* acted exceptionally well. Mike White is awesome.

If Harper fucked Cam it does seem a little EXTRA fucked up that she would do that to Daphne.

Then again, Harper doesn't really see them as real people. They're like central casting evil rich people in her mind.

At least from what I saw.

in her mind.
Cam: a privileged, white, entitled, alpha-bro douche, and thinking what does it say about Daph to be with someone like that.. arm candy who doesn't read the news or vote.

but Daphne was nothing but decent to her, and showed much more depth, and Harper was clearly attracted to Cam even though he IS exactly as advertised. we don't know exactly what happened but it's obviously more than 'he kissed me for 2 seconds'.

Harper's a dick



>Then again, Harper doesn't really see them as real people.
>They're like central casting evil rich people in her mind.
>
>At least from what I saw.

Like she was dropping wisdom, she swayed me.

Like she KNOWS her circumstances. She knows her husband sucks. And she's doing whatever keeps her sane while also indulging in the good life.

She's cunning, but you have to imagine it took her time to get there - just as it did with Rachel (presumably).

She knows her husband
>sucks.

granted probably Cam was the first to cheat before they had kids.. but Daphne didn't do herself any favors by sealing the fact Cam will see "my wife cheated" when he looks at their kid...like, forever rubbed in his face. and i'm sure that propels him to cheat even more at every given opportunity.... the scene of him angrily flossing not wanting to be part of the video call was so quick, but crucial for explaining why he "sucks" i think.

(and i think it's noteworthy he's conscious enough to use a condom in contrast)

>
>granted probably Cam was the first to cheat before they had
>kids.. but Daphne didn't do herself any favors by sealing the
>fact Cam will see "my wife cheated" when he looks at their
>kid...like, forever rubbed in his face. and i'm sure that
>propels him to cheat even more at every given opportunity....
>the scene of him angrily flossing not wanting to be part of
>the video call was so quick, but crucial for explaining why he
>"sucks" i think.
>
>(and i think it's noteworthy he's conscious enough to use a
>condom in contrast)
>

I didn't quite get his hesitance at 1st. Now I do...

'Cause I knew something about Daphne felt like a really specific season 2 trope but I was too distracted by Aubrey being the singularly recognizable star (as opposed to last season's more balanced fame scale) to catch how nuanced her reflection of Daddario's character was.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I really enjoyed this season. It was tension filled and suspenseful throughout. Trying to figure out who died was working my nerves. Edge of your seat stuff.

I think everybody watching called Albie being played by Lucia. That was the ONLY thing I was sure of. Oh yeah, and Lucia was hot AF. But not 50,000 Euros hot.

And by the second episode with Quentin, I was pretty sure they were up to some shadiness. I mean EVERY one of those dudes looked shady. I mean, if they weren't shady they certainly weren't trying to not look shady. And they always would look at each other shadily. And that grey haired dude was creepy AF. Dude looked like a real pervert.

I feel like Portia could've saved Tanya's life if she was more assertive.

1) She shoulda gone back to that Palazzo that night Jack got wasted.
2) She shoulda gone back the next morning after it was OBVIOUS that dude took her phone.
3) She shoulda taken Jack's phone and went back to find Tanya when Jack went to the restroom the next day.
4) She DEFINITELY should not have gotten into the car and rode with him.

I mean, everything about what he said and his behavior was suspicious AF and she still hung out with him. He legit could've killed her and she didn't think that was a possibility.

I think it's intentional that us viewers don't know what happened between Harper/Cameron and Ethan/Daphne. I'm not going to assume they hooked up. I thin the point of it all was to show how paranoid Ethan got after realizing how neglected his wife had been and how much of a douche his college roommate has been.

Speaking of Cameron, this dude almost ruined Ethan's marriage. F*cking hookers in Ethan's room, popping molly, then dragging his feet on paying the hookers? No way Ethan invests money with Cameron's company now. LOL!

One final lesson from this show. If you go to a White Lotus Resort, your family's gonna self destruct. But if you're lucky, it might get back together before you go back home.

>Speaking of Cameron, this dude almost ruined Ethan's marriage.
>F*cking hookers in Ethan's room, popping molly, then dragging
>his feet on paying the hookers? No way Ethan invests money
>with Cameron's company now. LOL!

For someone that wants something from Ethan AND was whining about "Bro Code" he didn't make ANY effort to help Ethan out until he had to BEG him to talk to Daphne, and even THEN it went somewhere it NEVER should have. Cameron is a POS, and apparently, always was one and always will be one.

I kind of got a little annoyed after the first ep of season 2 because it felt like they were just going to retread ideas and storylines from the first season. Boy was I wrong.

I don't know how Mike White knows how to make every scene tense AF. Like every seen you thought was going to explode into chaos and violence. It's amazing writing.

I've literally been on vacation with the Cameron and Daphne type (also been with the Harper type as well). Like at a resort and the couple is lovey dovey feeding each other and at the same time dude is banging strippers on vacation. It puts you in a weird space because their showiness can have you questioning your relationship and your boy puts you in a hard position because bro code forbids you from telling your wife everything that dude is doing. Anyway, the couple I knew like at are now divorce. You got to learn to not let other couple's problems spill into your relationship.

The funny thing is that the uptight couple did learn something from Cameron and Daphne. I can see that.

I never wanted a character to get burned as much as I wanted the son Albie to get got by Lucia. IDK, young people's moralizing always gets my goat. I liked that by the end Alpie and Dom were kind of laughing at the grandfather's horniness more so then judging him like they were doing at the beginning. I also like the debate between Dom and his father when the father says it's simple if you love each other and Dom saying it's not that simple. I don't know who is right.

So one mentioned it but Portia's passiveness was driving me crazy. She was legit about to get killed because she was too pasive to say, I have to leave.

I am happy the two Italian girls got a win. The locals didn't fare was well last season.

And Tanya's end was the most fitting end for her character (could not take her in S3). Mike White talked about not wanting her character to die a victim so for her to shoot it out and then die at her own hands on the boat was perfect.

It was as about as fulfilling and end to a season as I have ever seen on tv.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

"I also like the debate between Dom and his father when the father says it's simple if you love each other and Dom saying it's not that simple. I don't know who is right."

of relationship paranoia and insecurity I've seen on film. Every plot detail, every unexplained piece, every line of dialogue was just so believable and logical. Very well done.

Cameron's toast at the end was a nice touch. Like he finally has more respect for the guy after confronting and going alpha on him instead of passive-aggressively sulking.

Lucia and Mia's story...so damn good as well. Just some pretty girls who love nice clothing and jewelry, who live in resort country and learned how to make a nice living for themselves conning rich people :)

I liked the message of Portia's plot...boring nice guys aren't really what single women are looking for during an exotic vacation, but choosing the dangerous aggressive guys adds a small risk that you might end up fucking dead, lol.

Overall I might still prefer season 1, but both are great, and I'm looking forward to the next. Maybe set in Asia?