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The White Lotus 2: at the center is sex

Last year, the series of Mike White The White Lotus it hit HBO with little fanfare and then became an award-winning hit for the network. Because we’ve all forgotten how to let it go, a second season has been ordered, set in a new location and with only one character left: Tanya, the wreck of heiress of Jennifer Coolidge. Could White ever recreate the same magic for the second time?

After watching the first five episodes of the second season, I think the answer is mostly yes and some no. The second season, which takes place in a beautiful seaside town of the Sicily, has a shape similar to that of the first season, but a less provocative tone. I miss the deepest swings of the original story, set in Hawaii, its sharp and damaging commentary on race, class, and the eternal wars between genders. The Sicilian season is a little more subtle, mainly focused on sex and on the cruder aspects of love, with only a few slight, and at times superficial, nods to the greatest sociopolitical storm of our day.

At least, that’s true for the first two episodes. As the season progresses, it adds layers of tension and meaning, potentially setting us up for an ending that says pretty serious things about who’s got and who’s not, about men and women, about money and its influence. You just have to be patient, I suppose, and enjoy the sinking into the solar and sinister environment that White has created with such precision.

The White Lotus is a chain of hotels, it turns out, and has a gorgeous property on a cliff in Taormina, a jewel of a Mediterranean city that a bunch of unhappy rich people have come to for various reasons. Three generations of a family embarked on the journey: Patriarch Bert (F. Murray Abraham), son Dominic (Michael Imperioli), rebellious Hollywood producer, and sweet and shy nephew Albie (Adam DiMarco). On the surface they are traveling to trace Bert’s Sicilian roots, but all three seem to be chasing their libido more than anything else. Elsewhere, neo-tech billionaire Ethan (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza) I’m on vacation with Cameron (Theo James), Ethan’s college friend and financier, and his wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy). And of course there is Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), unhappy and needy as ever, who dragged his latest assistant, Portia (Haley Lu Richardson).

It’s a series of lively elements to spin, which White does with his usual mix of bitterness and melancholy. This season, however, things are looking a little less incisive. The characters spend most of their time talking about relationships, trust, jealousy, infidelity and desire. All important topics, but which have been widely covered throughout, well, human civilization. White adds his insights, of course, but I still want the larger exploration of the first season. Even the required character of a hotel employee, the strict manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), he seems to have mostly sex in mind.

To tie all these characters are two local girls, Lucia (Simona Tabasco) it’s mine (Beatrice Grannò). Lucia is an experienced escort, hoping to get a rich and regular client at the hotel (and, actually, hoping to be dragged into a fabulous new life), while Mia looks newer to the game, more hesitant until manages to acclimate. Their presence at the hotel affects all the other characters in increasingly intriguing ways: perhaps sex is just the entry point, or vehicle, of what the show is really saying.

If so, I’ll forgive White for some of the season’s repetition, monotonous dialogue and stale tropes. (The fact that Bert is a horny grandpa seems like a tired caricature, as does Cameron’s alpha male boorishness and Tanya’s demonic swarming at times.) This season may be slower cooking than in Hawaii, a gentler build towards a large eruption. (It is no coincidence, I believe, that the tumultuous Mount Etna looms so prominently in the distance).

We know right away that something terrible is about to happen: the season opens, just like the first, with the shocking announcement of a death. Or, in this case, more deaths. As of Episode 5, I still have no idea who was killed or otherwise died, and I like that White doesn’t spend time leaving bread crumbs to hunt down. This series is not a mystery, but one social satire sombre that uses death and destruction as punctuation.

The interpretations however, they are more fascinating than the mystery. Each actor is in full and fluid mastery of their role, from Richardson’s painfully believable portrayal of Portia’s indecision about how to pursue what she wants (and even what she wants) to Plaza’s excellent rendition of Harper’s suspicion and discomfort. . Everyone seems to enjoy the flow of White’s writing, the way she gently plucks the strings to change the tenor and vibe of her characters’ social dynamics. They seem to be enjoying themselves, even when pain and anxiety creep into the edges of a scene.

White, who directs each episode, makes ingenious use ofenvironment surrounding. The hotel is a delightful expanse of luxurious fabrics and sparkling stone. The sea sways menacing and seductive. A trip to the picturesque town of Noto captures the solar malaise of the Mediterranean, a melancholy mixed with primordial awe of history. It’s hard not to start thinking about where else it might take us The White Lotus in future seasons when White has done so well with his first two locations.

Whether there will be other episodes of the series obviously depends on the reception of this last season. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will find Season 2 redundant, a useless capitalization of the success of a hit series. But I hope more spectators will experience something similar to what I have: an ever deeper investment, born of an innate trust in White and the magnetic attraction of this place and these interpretations. Ultimately, it’s a pleasure to be immersed in the glow and gloom of White’s vision of the world and his people. The White Lotus it is, once again, a cosmic explosion which, however, makes me feel nothing short of excited, and very guilty about it.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

The White Lotus, the summer tv series

The White Lotus 2 it is as we remembered it: unmissable

Source: Vanity Fair

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