★★★★☆
One woman’s love for womanhood lies in understanding men solely as lonely and twisted. Daphne (Meghann Fahy) admits this while she and her husband Cameron (Theo James) present themselves as a seemingly perfect, attractive, and wealthy couple. They have no care for the cruel realities of the world.
The second season of The White Lotus returned with a new cast, exploring another saga of ironic scandal and ills of modern society. The first episode premiered on HBO Max on Oct. 30, and each following installment comes out once a week until Dec. 11.
Daphne knows that her husband cheats on her and has dealings with corrupt business partners. Her approach is not one of sympathy or self-pity, however. Instead, she does what she wants when she wants, including renting a gorgeous Italian villa for the night.
“I feel sorry for men, you know,” Daphne says in a monologue. “It’s like they think they’re out there doing something really important, but really they’re just wandering alone.”
Director Mike White followed the same format as his successful first season, where events happen over the course of a week, and each episode represents one day at The White Lotus resort.
This new season features new wealthy families, as well as Jennifer Coolidge in her continued role as Tanya McQuoid. This time The White Lotus resort is in Sicily, with another set of fastidious staff members and lots of posh resort eye candy for viewers.
The focus of the first three episodes continues themes of luxury and vapidness in a satire of the rich and miserable that existed in the first season. Several of the conversations and events revolve around the dynamics between men and women in relationships. Conflicts in intramarital roles and relations plague the screen.
Bert (F. Murray Abraham), Dominic (Michael Imperioli), and Albie (Adam DiMarco) are on a tri-generational family boys’ trip to discover their Sicilian roots. White central-casted Albie as a Gen Z character whose values often clash with his father and grandfather. These men are a critique of modern masculinity and a generational divide.
The White Lotus begins its newest season with a strong start and maintains complexity in its characters while broadcasting the extravagance of the ultra-rich and faults in human nature.
Viewers are required to continue watching every installment in order to find out whose dead body will be found in the ocean, mirroring the previous season’s eerie whodunnit mystery.
