[This story contains major spoilers to the season two finale of HBO’s The White Lotus, “Arrivederci.”]
The last episode of The White Lotus delivered to its premiere lineup – revealing whose corpse has mysteriously washed up at the resort chain’s location in Sicily, Italy.
The hit HBO series has introduced a who’s who of characters over the course of its seven episodes of its second season, all of whom have arrived on their own vacations on the coast of the White Lotus, but who are nearly lost by season’s end. all become intertwined. The only person confirmed to survive was vacationer Daphne (Meghann Fahy), who uncovered the body while taking a dip in the water.
Could the deceased be the result of the alleged extortion plot surrounding heiress Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge)? Did one of sex worker Lucia’s (Simona Tabasco) several hotel clients kill her because of money, jealousy or secrecy? Or could Daphne have taken revenge on her philandering husband, Cameron (Theo James) herself?
Like a high stakes game Clue, all of these theories and more were a possibility on the way to the conclusion of Mike White’s whoddunit dramedy, which delightfully explores the rich and wretched. However, the final hour revealed an ending even more sinister than predicted.
Tanya (Coolidge) turned out to be the dead body that Daphne swam on, after the favorite character fell off a yacht to her death after she arrived. this close to escape what seemed to be an attempt on her life. In the penultimate episode, Tanya was partying with Quentin (Tom Hollander), the wealthy gay stranger she’s been wandering around Sicily with since her husband, Greg (John Gries), nearly left her on their vacation, when she saw a curious photo of what kind of many eagle-eyed viewers resembled a young Greg and a young Quentin. The leading theory heading into the finale was that Quentin was working with Greg to make it easier for Tanya to have an affair so Greg could access her money in a divorce (the couple had a pre-nup).
Quentin (Tom Hollander) and Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) at the opera watching a performance by Miss Butterfly.
Courtesy of HBO
However, Tanya stumbles upon the dark truth after a disturbing phone call from her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) confirms that Quentin and his “cousin” Jack (Leo Woodall) are indeed not who they appear to be, and Tanya realizes that Greg is probably her throw a punch because of the money. Now stranded on Quentin’s yacht with two of his friends, Tanya is informed that the man she slept with the previous night is arriving to take her from the yacht back to the island in a dinghy.
Terrified for her life, Tanya swipes the bag her “lover” brought, discovers a gun and shoots and kills her attacker, along with Quentin and one of the other men. The surviving man and captain flee for their lives, and when a nervous and frightened Tanya makes an attempt to disembark the yacht and onto the dinghy, her stiletto catches on the railing and she tips her head, presumably on the way jerking. down, and she falls into the water to her death.
As Tanya’s body sinks, the camera zooms in on her face as the music of the iconic and tragic plays Miss Butterfly, where Quentin had taken her a few nights earlier. The Puccini opera in three acts, it turns out, had harbinger the tragic death of the season two heroine.
Coolidge is the only main character to return in the anthology, with both she and Gries reprising their newlyweds from the first season. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the beginning of the season, Coolidge described Tanya and Greg’s relationship: “He’s come into her life and kind of fills it up. She has lost her mother. She is going through an incredible grief. She feels vulnerable. And because she feels so vulnerable, she’s kind of all over the map. And here comes this man [in season one]. But now suddenly relationships develop in a place and sometimes things change after the honeymoon is over. People change.”
The ending answers the biggest burning question of the season, but leaves a lot to explore both about Tanya’s fate and the endings for the rest of the main ensemble, including the foursome of Daphne and Cameron, and Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza). ) after a revealing week of infidelity for the two marriages. “When you meet them, even if they don’t realize it, it’s already coming to an end,” Sharpe recently said THR from Ethan and Harper. “The first time you see them, they’re bickering and it’s getting worse. So we’ve definitely thought about where they came from and why it’s important to them, and what they’re trying to come back to.
Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza)
Courtesy of HBO
However, a common thread that neatly intertwines is Portia and Albie (Adam DiMarco), who leave the White Lotus in hopes of a romantic connection after being betrayed by Jack and Lucia respectively, with the latter revealed to be the American men cheated. she sleeps with, which also includes Albie’s father Dominic (Michael Imperioli).
While Portia and Albie seemed to get along at the start of the season, it was clear to everyone – except Albie – that Portia didn’t love him as much as she loved her, which only became more apparent when Jack arrived. Speak against THR Prior to the season, Richardson explained that the trait that drew Portia to Albie is the same one that turned her away. “He’s not the thing that takes up all the energy, and she’s there because of this woman who takes up all the space and all the energy. Portia is the little one in that dynamic. She has all the baggage of this woman and Albie is the kind of man who will carry your wallet.
About halfway through the season, she dropped Albie for Jack because he seemed exciting and mysterious. “There’s something very decidedly unhealthy, unstable, desperate that she wants Albie to never fulfill, because he’s Albie,” she said. However, by the end of the season, it looks like Portia has had quite the adventure.
Christy Piña contributed to this story.
