“White Lotus” Movie Review
The highly anticipated second season of “The White Lotus” starts just like the first season: with a dead body.
“The White Lotus” is an HBO show written by Mike White, a writer/director who actually had a stint on the CBS reality show “Survivor.” The first season, which premiered in summer 2021, was highly critically acclaimed. The show won 10 Emmy Awards, which is astonishing for a limited series.
Unlike the Hawaiian resort hotel in season one, this season takes place in Sicily, Italy. Like the Hawaiian resort, this hotel also has a stressed out manager, Valentina, played by Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore.
Although this season has a different cast than the first, there is the return of Tanya, an eccentric woman played by Jennifer Coolidge. Coolidge snagged an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie for her role in season one, so it is exciting to see her reprising this role.
The only other returning character is Tanya’s boyfriend, Greg (Jon Gries). She met Greg while staying at the White Lotus resort in the first season.
The new cast members, however, are a good portion of the reason that fans were so excited about season 2. The list includes Aubrey Plaza from “Parks and Recreation,” Theo James from the “Divergent” series, and Michael Imperioli from “The Sopranos.”
The characters in this season are just as complex as the first. The Sullivans are a wealthy couple, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) and Cameron (James), who have invited Cameron’s college roommate Ethan (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Plaza) on vacation with them.
The audience is also introduced to 3 generations of the same family, the Di Grassos, who are in Sicily to take the oldest of the three, Bert (F. Murray Abraham), to explore their Sicilian roots. Bert is accompanied by his son Dominic (Imperioli) and his grandson Albie (Adam DiMarco).
Also staying in the hotel is Tanya’s assistant, Portia, who is played by Haley Lu Richardson. Portia traveled to Italy with Tanya only for her to be told to stay hidden in her hotel room because Greg is mad that Tanya brought her assistant on their so-called romantic vacation.
Two other important characters the audience has been introduced to are the young Italian sex worker, Lucia (Simona Tabasco), and her reluctant companion Mia (Beatrice Grannò).
At the beginning of the episode, Daphne is telling some other tourists that it’s her last day in Italy, and goes for one last swim in the ocean. She gets into the water, and is greeted by a dead body floating face down in the beautiful Italian sea, and shortly after, the words “one week earlier” appear on the screen.
After being introduced to all the characters, the audience starts to see that, like in the first season, all of these people are much more mysterious than they seem.
Harper almost immediately starts having issues with the Sullivans, and her husband tries his best to calm her down. She is mortified by their lack of participation in society, and is particularly at odds with Camron, who she later shares an awkward moment with.
The oldest Di Grasso is an old man who flirts with every woman that he sees, and while Albie tries to be patient with him, Dominic is completely checked out. At one point, we hear a woman screaming at him over the phone, and he later has an encounter with Lucia.
The audience is also reminded just how quirky Tanya and Greg are. Greg is not very nice to Tanya, but she is convinced he is completely infatuated with her. She continues to remind Portia that she should hide in her room, and at one point, Portia is shown crying by the pool.
Throughout the episode, Valentina seems most focused on making sure that Mia and Lucia are not in her hotel. Valentina does not appear to be very similar to her season one counterpart, the charming Armond, and is much more high-strung.
The performances in this episode are fun, and it is hard to predict how the story will unfold. This season of “The White Lotus” will definitely be just as entertaining and shocking as the last one, and this first episode is a great indication of that.
Rating: 4/5
Izzy Charboneau is a second-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email ijc5186@psu.edu.
