“White Lotus” - Episode 3 Review

Story posted November 18, 2022 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Izzy Charboneau

Episode 3 of “The White Lotus” was such a great insight into the ways the women bond with each other and how it contrasts with the ways men bond with each other.

When the episode begins, Harper (Aubrey Plaza) is trying to remedy a sore spot in her and Ethan’s (Will Sharpe) marriage, but to no avail. She then promises that she is going to be on her best behavior today and be extra friendly to Cameron and Daphne, which Ethan seems skeptical of.

At breakfast, Cameron (Theo James) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy) bicker about whether they should jet ski or go visit a cute town a few hours away where Daphne wants to go. Daphne then proposes that she and Harper go, which Harper reluctantly agrees to.

Across the patio, Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) cries and tells Greg (Jon Gries) that she doesn’t want him to leave their vacation, and he continues his pattern of being rude to her. We also find out that Tanya paid for some life-saving doctors for Greg, and she is now paranoid that he realized he doesn’t want to spend that extra time she granted him with her, and would rather be with someone else.

Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) is also having breakfast with Albie (Adam DiMarco) after their awkward kiss last night, and she tells him he should be more aggressive. When his grandfather asks Portia to join them on another day of family activities, Albie doesn’t let her say no, and tells her he’s being more aggressive.

So Portia goes on a “The Godfather” themed tour of Italy with the Di Grassos, and Albie argues with his grandfather about the social implications of the way the film romanticizes a poor relationship between men and women in society. During this, Portia gets a call from Tanya, begging her to come back to the hotel now that she’s alone.

Tanya asks Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) if a fortune teller can make a house call, and Valentina gets her a tarot card reader. Unfortunately, the woman tells Tanya that Greg has a beautiful woman in his life who is not Tanya, which kind of sends her into a spiral, and poor Portia now has to chaperone this downward spiral.

When Harper and Daphne arrive in Noto, Daphne reveals that they will be staying the night there, something their husbands are unaware of. When Harper questions this, Daphne says it’s because she likes to make Cameron feel bad about missing out on things as her way of playing some little games.

Back at the White Lotus Hotel, Cameron and Ethan have a little talk about business that leaves Ethan a little shocked, and proves Harper right that Cameron had some ill intentions when it came to this trip.

While Harper and Ethan both learn some things about their companions, Albie confronts his father, begging him to get it together. Dominic then takes a big step, telling Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Grannò) that he won’t be seeing them for the rest of the week, and the girls set their sights on some new targets: Cameron and Ethan.

It is now that Cameron asks Ethan if he cheats on Harper now that he has money. This surprises Ethan, and he quickly comes to the realization that Cameron cheats on his wife all the time.

Portia is out by the pool watching an attractive man swim when Albie greets her with a beer, and he tries to continue his aggressive streak by kissing her, but she says she doesn’t want to go back to his room with him.

Back in Noto, Harper and Daphne are high, and Daphne reveals that she knows about Cameron’s cheating, and she asks Harper if she suspects Ethan does the same thing. Harper insists that Ethan wouldn’t do this, but she gets paranoid.

The show then cuts directly to Ethan and Cameron partying with Lucia and Mia, though it looks as though Ethan is being reluctantly dragged through this haze of partying. When Cameron and Lucia start to have sex, Mia kisses Ethan and he turns her down, staying (mostly) loyal to his wife, at least for the time being.

In this episode, Jennifer Coolidge truly shows us exactly why she won that Emmy last season, and every scene she’s in is so uncomfortable to watch because of how well she portrays her character.

Another standout performance this episode was Meghann Fahy, who showed us that her character has a dark side to her as well.

This episode of “The White Lotus” was such an outstanding portrayal of several different kinds of betrayal, and is the best of the season so far. The stories of the characters we’ve been introduced to have finally started to unravel, and some of them seem like they’ll snap at any point soon.

Rating: 4/5

Izzy Charboneau is a second-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email ijc5186@psu.edu.