Thursday, March 28, 2024

UPDATE “White Lotus” Season 2 Comes to a Tragic, Unsatisfying End, Killing Off Major Character

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SPOILER ALERT

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EARLIER Tonight a lot of attention will be focused on the season two finale of “The White Lotus” on HBO. Who dies? Who killed them?

At the start of the series, we saw one dead body floating in the water. There was an illusion to others who were dead.

In season one, Murray Bartlett’s very bad guy, Armond, was the loser. He deserved to be killed. Everyone else walked, especially Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya.

I do think Tanya will escape the Grim Reaper this time, too. She and show creator Mike White are very close, she’s very popular and we’ll probably see Tanya through all the seasons.

Tanya’s assistant, Portia, is likely safe, too. She’s the Good Girl. Somehow she’ll blow the whistle on “the high end gays” who want Tanya dead. My guess is, one or more of the high end gays is a floater.

Cameron, played by Theo James, is a walking target. He will either be killed by his wife, Daphne, or his best friend, Ethan. Even Harper, Ethan’s wife, could be his killer. He’s been set up for doom since day 1.

It’s unclear what will happen with the prostitutes– Lucia and Mia– and the DeGrasso’s — Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, and Adam Di Marco. Will Lucia’s pimp (or brother) get it? Could be. And in the lobby, I’m betting on the manager killing either that woman she has a crush on or her fiancee, even though we see them both alive in the prologue.

Whatever happens, it’s all fun! And then we move on to the White Lotus anywhere there’s a Four Seasons Hotel. (The next one should be set at the one in West Hollywood during Golden Globes week!)

WITH SPOILERS

Well I was wrong. I guess some people did know that Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya would die in the final episode. She did, which is surprising since I thought she would carry over to other episodes. Did Coolidge ask for too much money? Have a fight with Mike White? Her death makes no sense.

But little about this season made any sense. Two couples who didn’t like each other traveled together. They had ambiguous sexual encounters. Did Daphne have sex with Ethan on the island to get back at Cameron and Harper? We’ll never know.

Most disappointing character was Portia, who could have called the police when she got to the airport. She didn’t. She just took her flight home. She could have saved Tanya after the “nephew” dropped her off. Tanya’s blood is on her hands.

And the people at the hotel? Who cares? Lucia scammed Albie, Mia slept with the hotel manager and got the piano playing job. The piano player was furious but did nothing. And the DeGrasso’s learned nothing and returned home just as they’d arrived.

This was inferior season to the original. In the first season, the characters were richly drawn, their plots crossed over one another, and there were plenty of people to root for. Here, everyone was rotten. And the show killed off its one continuing character. I don’t get it. Grade: F.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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