“White Lotus” - Episode 6 Review
In the penultimate episode of the season, tensions have never been higher in the White Lotus hotel in Sicily, and it is almost impossible to predict who is going to snap next week.
When the morning starts, Ethan is convinced that Harper doesn’t believe him when he says nothing happened when the girls were in Noto, and Daphne confirms to Cameron that Harper is still suspicious.
Harper also tells Ethan that she realizes he isn’t really attracted to her anymore, which he won’t outright deny. This is kind of a crazy stance to take when your wife is Aubrey Plaza, but okay.
At their breakfast in Palermo, Tanya tries to tell Portia that she is suspicious of Jack and Quentin’s relationship, but is reluctant to tell her exactly what she means or what she saw.
Back in the hotel, Ethan runs into Lucia and Mia, and is really shocked when they tell him that he and Cameron owe them money. Unfortunately for him, Harper sees this conversation, which he says he’ll explain later after she confronts him about it.
Across the hotel, we learn that it is Valentina’s birthday, and she asks Isabella to go out for drinks with her, which Isabella agrees to happily.
The Di Grasso family is going to explore Italy some more, and they’re hopeful that they will find some other Di Grassos there in their homeland. Much to Dominic’s disdain, Albie brings Lucia along, insisting that she will translate for them.
Harper watches as Ethan argues with Cameron, and then she goes to get drinks with him, and Ethan watches from afar as they flirt with each other.
While the Di Grassos are exploring their heritage, they find the address of some local Di Grassos they think they may be related to However, it is revealed that Alessio has followed them there, and eventually Lucia leaves with him, assuring Albie and his family that she’ll be fine.
Without their translator, the men try to talk to the other Di Grassos, of which there are only three women. This interaction doesn’t go well, as the women (without the men’s knowledge) say they don’t need men and tell them to leave.
This is an interesting part because it makes it seem as though the men in the family across the world make really bad decisions that leave the women in the family alone and scorned.
Ethan continues to be really suspicious of Harper and Cameron, and is convinced that Harper must have done something to get back at him. Harper tells him that Cameron just confirmed that Ethan didn’t do anything wrong while she and Daphne were in Noto.
Back in Palermo, Portia is growing increasingly annoyed with Jack, and he won’t take her back to Quentin’s place for the party tonight. Quentin has also now told Tanya he’s bringing the perfect arm candy for her tonight, and she seems to lose all of her suspicions she had after what she saw last night.
When said arm candy gets to the party, Tanya and Quentin do some cocaine with him, and eventually she spends the night with him after the party ends.
Isabella comes up to Valentina so they can go get drinks for her birthday, and she asks if Rocco can be moved back to the front desk with her because he is Isabella”s boyfriend. Valentina is totally caught off guard by this, and she cancels their plans.
At dinner Mia sings again while Ethan finally tells Cameron to stop flirting with his wife. After she sings, Mia and Valentina talk about what Mia offered her last night, and they eventually go to an empty room in the hotel and sleep together.
Albie seems to be winning his little contest with Portia, as we see him and Lucia getting a bit more serious. They stay up most of the night talking again, and the two actually make a pretty cute couple.
Portia on the other hand, looks about ready to ditch Jack, who is belligerently drunk. They eventually get a hotel instead of driving back to Quentin’s for the party.
While in the hotel, Jack tells Portia that Quentin really isn’t his uncle, and that the reason he stays with him is because Quentin helped him out of a really dark hole. Portia has grown very suspicious of Jack at this point, but her questions get no real answers from him.
“White Lotus” is a show where the purpose of its social commentary is about wealth and class, but this season has leaned very heavily into the differences between men and women and the ways they address issues. This is illustrated in this episode when the Di Grassos go to visit their alleged relatives.
It is also really obvious in the issues that Ethan and Harper are having this week. Harper is suspicious of Ethan and withdraws and disengages with the situation, even though she has found physical evidence of a reason to be suspicious. Ethan is suddenly skeptical of Harper and is rude and quiet, when the real issue is that he’s grappling with his own guilt instead of just addressing the situation with her.
Compared to last week’s episode, this one seemed much less interesting at first glance, but in retrospect this may have been what Mike White does best: his own brand of social commentary.
This episode of “The White Lotus” was a really good way to amp up the pressure before the finale, and to deliver small bits of its main thesis statement.
Rating: 4/5
Izzy Charboneau is a second-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email ijc5186@psu.edu.
