It’s heating up in Taormina as only one episode remains of Sicilian satire-meets-mystery The White Lotus Season 2. We’ve gripped many a tense cocktail with our bounty of morally bankrupt hotel guests (let’s face it, they’re all terrible in their own unique way), knowing peril is on the horizon for several of them. After the series’ uneasy penultimate episode upped the stakes, we have questions for the season finale.
Did Harper actually cheat on Ethan with Cameron? Will Tanya’s passionate dalliance come back to haunt her? Who is Alessio, really? And most of all, who will die? We need answers, Sunday’s finale is too far away!
Did Harper cheat on Ethan with Cameron?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
Things haven’t exactly been cordial between Harper Spiller (Aubrey Plaza) and her husband Ethan (Will Sharpe) since she returned from Noto to find an open condom wrapper on the sofa in their room. While Harper seethed with rage, Ethan consistently gaslit his wife and made a real choice by protecting his friend Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) and his extra-marital shenanigans and lying to his wife’s face when she asked what happened.
So, of course, Harper is now giving Ethan a taste of his own medicine by brazenly flirting with Cameron. And, well, Ethan isn’t exactly coping well. Now you know how it feels, Ethan!
All season, The White Lotus has dropped heated moments between the pair, from that shorts drop in episode 1 to that leg grab in episode 5. After their flirty drink at the bar together in the penultimate episode, the pair then disappeared off to their rooms, Ethan strongly suspected something was afoot. Later, he even had an extremely vivid intrusive thought featuring Harper and Cam shagging on their hotel room table. But, imaginary sex aside, did it actually happen? Or is Harper just toying with Ethan (and Cameron)?
It seems like the latter is the most likely explanation, given Harper’s previous contempt for Cameron, which seemed deep-rooted enough to not disappear overnight. On the other hand, it seems like Cameron would be down for it and he’s been making it pretty clear through his actions. Maybe Harper’s sexual frustration will bubble over into a hate-fuck situation? Only time will tell. — Rachel Thompson, Features Editor
Who is Alessio, really, and what is Lucia’s plan?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
The sudden apparent threat in Sicilian sex worker Lucia Greco’s (Simona Tabasco) life is all part of the play, as Mashable’s Belen Edwards explains in this detailed analysis of the character Alessio. Alessio first showed up in episode 1, cheerfully greeting Lucia in passing. Later in the series, Lucia became visibly anxious at Alessio’s presence, with her friend presenting a far more menacing energy. In episode 6, Lucia told Albie (Adam DiMarco) that she owed Alessio a considerable amount of money as her pimp, then later, an apparently voluntary abduction in front of Albie’s family appeared to solidify the threat. But it’s likely not what it seems, as everyone in the White Lotus hotel is playing the game of deception. As we learned in episode 1, Lucia aims to own her own store and her BFF Mia (Beatrice Grannò) aims to be a famous singer, so they’re looking to come into some serious money, so Albie could be about to get scammed. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
What’s in Tanya’s prenup agreement with Greg? And who’s he cheating with?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
We hate Greg Hunt (Jon Gries). He’s mean to his wife, our beloved-but-ridiculous Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (Jennifer Coolidge), the show’s most iconic character. Early on in the season, it’s made clear that Greg is making secret phone calls to an anonymous person who appears to be a lover. When he ditches his wife to fly back to Denver from Sicily for “work” (sounds like BS to me), Tanya makes some too-good-to-be-true friends, including Quentin (Tom Hollander), who ply her with bottomless rosé, pineapple mimosas, and — most recently — a never-ending supply of cocaine.
We all had our chins on our chests in episode 6 when a very high Tanya spies an old photograph in Quentin’s room — in it, we see a much younger Greg (looking distinctly like the long-lost Wyoming cowboy Quentin was waxing lyrical about) standing beside Quentin. Uuuum, excuse me? However, Tanya doesn’t seem to react, and instead is seen getting busy with Niccoló (Stefano Gianino), one of Quentin’s many friends, while a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it camera is spotted in the background. Don’t do it girl, it’s not worth it!!!!
So, what’s the plan here? It’s been clear for a while that Quentin is up to something fishy. Is he trying to scam Tanya out of her millions? Is he planning on blackmailing her? Is there an infidelity clause in her prenup with Greg that could see her losing a hell of a lot of money? Or are they planning on pushing her off a cliff so that Greg will inherit everything? The White Lotus‘ version of a Love Island bombshell Jack (Leo Woodall) drunkenly tells Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) that Quentin’s about to come into a lot of money. So we know something’s afoot. Tanya, we’re worried! — R.T.
Are Quentin and his “nephew” Jack actually related?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
This isn’t Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, so you can’t just chuck in some potential incest and assume it’ll glide right past viewers.
When we first encounter Jack in episode 4, he’s exclaiming about his “sensitive nips” as he enters the hotel’s swimming pool. He’s later formally introduced to Portia, and he gets to work using his Essex boy cheeky chappy charms on her. A holiday romance ensues between the pair and Portia’s finally able to ditch “nice guy” Albie (sorry to any Albie apologists). After the opera in episode 5, Tanya awakes in the middle of the night to lots of grunting noises so naturally she gets up to go investigate, only to discover Jack and Quentin in flagrante delicto. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that they’re definitely (and hopefully) not related. Jack in his deeply revealing drunken ramblings lets slip that Quentin got him out of a “big hole” and that he, in return, does stuff he doesn’t want to do. So, what dirt does Quentin have on Jack? And has Jack’s romancing of Portia all been part of the plan? — R.T.
What will Albie do when he finds out Lucia slept with his dad?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
It’s no easy pill to swallow knowing the person you’re falling for (and possibly being scammed by) also slept with your dad. Albie insistence at being some form of performative feminist “saviour” for sex worker Lucia could get him into all kinds of financial trouble, but besides that, he’s going to have to deal with the fact that his father, Dominic (Michael Imperioli), who cheated on his mum, also slept with Lucia. I have a feeling Albie’s self-promotional attitude as a “Nice Guy” may zoom out the window here. Whatever happens, I truly hope we’re given a Laura Dern in-person cameo as Albie’s mother, Abby, after her surprise appearance screaming down the phone at her ex, Dom in the very first episode. — S.C.
Will we see the pianist again?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
Last time we saw sleazy hotel pianist Giuseppe (Federico Scribiani) he was being wheeled away into an ambulance after taking MDMA instead of Viagra — an “accident”, Mia? Now Mia’s taken his job as the White Lotus’ lounge singer and is crooning away in the bar, we might see the musician return for a final bow. — S.C.
And of course, who will die in the Season 2 finale?
Credit: Fabio Lovino / HBO
Mashable’s Belen Edwards has also done a hell of an analysis on this, and we know that more than one person will die this season thanks to the first episode, when we saw resort manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) learning of multiple bodies found. Everyone and their cat is yarn-walling it all over TikTok about who will die, but let’s remember that those poor souls who end up in Davy Jones’ Locker might not be murdered per se, but find their death in an unfortunate “accident” like Season 1. There are several characters whose deaths have been foreshadowed — will Tanya be the Madame Butterfly of this season? We know Daphne survives because she’s in the first episode, but will her holiday crew Harper, Ethan, and Cameron make it? Will Mia and Lucia get the hell out of this hotel of high drama? — S.C.
The White Lotus is now streaming on HBO, with the finale airing Dec. 11.
