HBO's White Lotus

Love Murray Bartlett

Lucas Gage was the guy who called out a director who talked shit about his tiny apartment.

Wow Steve Zahn got old!

Luke Gage handled that director's shitty comment very well. Most people Gage's age live in tiny apartments.

Well only in select major cities r4. Outside of those areas apartments are not that tiny, space isn't that expensive.

I cannot wait for this. Love Mike White and all the actors really. According to reviews Murray and Jennifer walk away with the acting honours.

Well r5 tiny apartment exist all over the US and many people his age live in them.

I enjoyed episode 1. Jennifer Coolidge makes me LMFAO, she has ever since Best in Show, she always delivers. Great, game cast and dark as fuck!

The trailer is not promising. Did I spy one of the Manson girls from “once upon a Time in Hollywood”?

Jennifer Coolidge always delivers. Love her!

R9 Yes, Sydney Sweeney (from Euphoria) was also in OUATIH.

No one wants to watch some stupid YouTube video OP

Jake Lacy has a really nice ass.

R11 Sydney has a very distinctive speaking voice. She only said a few words and I instantly thought it was her.

Episode 1 was a lot of fun.

Glad to see Jennifer Coolidge get a meaty dramatic role. Her line readings and phrasing are like no one else's.

Also: closeups of Steve Zahn's stand-in's balls!

I knew I recognized Jake Lacy. He was Rooney Mara's boyfriend in "Carol."

I love the tone. There’s something a little mysterious and lurid about it. I’m looking forward based on the previews to Murray making out with that blond twink and Jake Lacy bearing his ass. Coolidge is a goddess.

* baring. Woof!

I love shows about entitled white cunts who are horrible people! Fuck diversity!

R16 And The Office and Fosse/Verdon and a small but memorable role as a Washington DC escort in a movie hardly anyone saw called Miss.Sloane.

I'm going into this blind. The intro didn't give me anything. But this first scene in the airport looks good. I must admit, after GoT, Chernobyl, Euphoria, Succession, Watchman, We Are Who We Are, and Generation, I'm bought into HBO/HBO Max. Even when I don't love there new shows, I end up at least entertained. They know what they are doing which is why they have the mot buzz and growing with younger demographics.

Thank you, OP. Sadly, I'm used to the ads I get with Netflix and Amazon so I didn't even know about this show till this thread.

WTF is this supposed to be -- a drama? A farce? A black comedy? A murder mystery? I'm so repulsed by the trailer I would never even consider watching it.

I feel the same way about that F**k show.

I guess I must be missing something.

The trailer is more like a teaser, which imho is a good thing, because I don't like it when trailers tell the whole story.

Saw the first episode and loved it.

I wonder if Murray and Lukas hooked up

Because of Jennifer Coolidge I may give it a try, but the teaser isn't engaging at all. It looks like a revenge comedy written by two dolts from the food service or hotel industry. And Steve Zahn...FFS he's terrible and ruins anything, and yet another of HBO's contract players.

I have never seen Lukas Gage before. He isn't very attractive. His FAKE TEETH are awful. His face is FAT...He is feminine..And mouthing off about a director is one of the stupidest things you can do in Hollywood....Personally I would have bathed before a zoom call...

R27 Nobody cares what you would've done, Moses.

R28 = He is pushing 30....Expiration Date Approaching...Video of him 3 years ago....He is not getting better with age he is getting fuglier..He isn't even hot enough for an OnlyFans.

The trailer was oddly meh. It didnt pull me in at all. Usually even poor quality shows have decent trailers now.

Even Connie Britton looked bored in the trailer.

That trailer did not make me want to watch.

Years ago there was some hotly awaited sequel due to come out, I forgot the movie but I really wanted to see it. Someone posted a link to the new trailer and it was just so meh, a big nothing, I didn’t understand until someone in the comments pointed out it was a fan’s compilation using bits from the first movie. That’s what this trailer feels like. Random cuts.

R27/r29 Lukas is a gay actor trying to claw his way up in that industry. He’s completely harmless and was 100% in the right releasing that video with the haughty director.

He’s playing bit parts at 30. I’m sure he’d love to be the lead but this is what it’s like for most actors. Even then, he’s doing better than most since he’s in all of these shows.

You don’t have to like his looks but I’m struggling to see why he’s getting attacked when he has the struggling actor thing going. Far more people deserving hate then Lukas, especially since he is gay. Let’s not eat our own.

E1 was really good and reminded me of the resort I stayed at in Hawaii. Loved that HBO Max gave us some cock and balls. Nice treat.

I must know why that journalist married the frat boy. Is she doing a long con for a story? Is he abusive or bisexual and his parents forced them together? I’m so intrigued. Also, her husband is hot enough, and rich as hell, if he wants to upgrade your room, then bitch shut up and let him upgrade your room. She doesn’t deserve him or his money. She’s such a gold digger.

“Also, her husband is hot enough,”

Nope, just a slightly below average typical white guy.

I can accept that Jack Lacey isn't everyone's cup of tea but I find him hot enough. His body is great wit those pink nipples. Given his looks, body, and the character' money I would have been happy as a clam to have snagged him. He wants a BJ after a 12 hour flight, in first class, before he fights to upgrade out room, then he would get a bj.

I hooked up with guys like him on my Hawaii vacations. Be in your 20s, have your own room, and bam, get to service these hot white guys with blue balls from their lazy spouses.

Watched it last night.......enjoyed it......an accurate portrayal of how self-absorbed and clueless the American upper crust are.

I've seen the entire series and loved it. Please watch! I'm tired of Mike White projects flopping. He's too talented for this crummy world.

No spoilers r37, but where did you see all of it? Are you in the industry?

Mike White's Enlightened was one of the best TV shows of all time, so he has me as a captive audience until he decides to stop creating things.

r38 I'm a critic

Nice r40. Can you suggest any other good shows we should check out?

R39 Me too, that is the primary reason I watched White Lotus. Plus, Laura Dern was perfectly cast. White really knows how to navigate a very specific tone.

So, R37, what would you say the genre is? I’m thinking it should be a murder mystery, but I doubt it is.

One of the (many) things I like about White's work is that it's not so easy to pigeonhole. I don't worry about categorizing, I just let it wash over me. I

From the trailer, I can't decide is it is a remake of Fantasy Island or a reverse Benidorm. with wealthy people instead of working class Brits.

r41 mainly a movie critic, but I watch everything Mike White. I don't watch a ton of TV but I will say I am liking the two episodes I've seen of that Rose Byrne show so far

r43 I don't really understand why there's so much talk of classifying what "genre" this show is in this thread. Who cares? I'm not trying to be a dick but it is what it is, it straddles several genres, and that's why I love Mike White. He's not shoving things into boxes - the show is simultaneously funny, sad, horrifying, the more mixed emotions and complicated reactions the better

The obviously rubber scrotum….why? Shock value?

Does the daughter drown? I hope the daughter drowns.

Enlightened was amazing because the tone was so perfect. It was warm without being sickeningly sweet and snarky and critical about American " optimism" culture without being nihilistic. And I liked that it poked fun at some of the sad sack characters without being hateful or demeaning. So many shows don't know how to strike that balance and go overboard with the nastiness. I never understood why Netflix couldn't pick it up if HBO didnt want it.

The daughter and her friends are perfect representations of so many teen girls these days. They're fucking insufferable.

[quote]Murray making out with that blond twink and Jake Lacy bearing his ass.

load-bearing, FIFY, so no Oh Dear! needed

Oh shut up r50

I’ve always thought Jake Lacy was cute.

I like the first episode. I also love Murray Bartlett, Jennifer Coolidge, and Natasha Rothwell so I think I will really like this.

I want to eat Jake Lacy's ass

Why are all of HBO's shows about depressed rich white people with problems?

I missed that angle in Lovecraft Country, R54.

R45 Those are the two shows it made me think of, too. Like how Lost always seemed like a dramatic Gilligan's Island.

Because r54 that's what HBO Max's audience wants to see.

Careful, OP, you’re going to be accused of being an HBO Max shill!!!

Does this show have gay characters? Will there be a gay storyline?

The guy who runs the resort is gay.

R49, teen girls probably think Boomer Trump supporters are insufferable

Yes and yes, r59.

Who's a Boomer Trump supporter r61?

Interview with Jennifer Coolidge

Uh oh, we are getting spoilers. I loved this thread but I don't want to read any spoilers. Want to watch the story unfold, like those rubber balls that popped onto my scream in episode 1. Yes, I gave a muted Diana scream. HBO never fails to show some cock and balls these days. Love it, but may need to leave if we get spoilers in here.

I thought the trailer was great for the same reasons so many disliked it. It didn't try to define the show, just give the viewer a flavor...sort of like a 'sampler dish'. I can't wait to watch.

There are no spoilers on this thread

r66 that's how trailers should be. You shouldn't know too much from a trailer.

no spoilers until someone posts a clip of the rubber balls

OP, I watched this because you made this post/thread, so thank you. I like it so far.

One thing that struck me is that no one is getting what they want when they want it.

Teenage girls are the worst. (I was one. Awful.)

Is Jennifer Coolidge improving? I know she has a history of that & watching her scenes, I get the feeling that she’s entirely rogue. This show is delicious.

[quote] Is Jennifer Coolidge improving?

I think you meant improvising, dear.

Hi girls @ r70, r71, bring snacks for episode two of ‘White Lotus.’. Guys, I think we better get some rosé on the next trip to Total Wine or BevMo. I only have the hard the hard stuff.

R70 great observation! I didn’t realize that until now. Did anyone else find it odd that these people are enough of VIP’s to be brought in on a private boat, but the Spa manager, present at the greeting for some reason, wasn’t able to fit this level of VIPs into a simple massage upon arrival?

Idk, I expected more but no one is making this rather subpar service into anything. Same with the room or the suggested events. Very odd vibe at the resort. I’d be less shocked if everyone is dead from a plane crash or something based on the odd tone and lack of service.

Must have been away shooting in Hawaii after a long pandemic!

R74, ok thank you! My partner laughed at me when I tried to argue Jake lacy's case. He said he knew I would, and that's the point... but he paid for the room and the manager admitted it was double booked. And he's not very solicitous.

This is only going to get one season. How the hell does Mike White keep getting development deals? His work truly does suck.

The teenage girls are the Greek chorus?

Agreed, R76. The preview was miserable but I thought I would give it a try, hoping to have underestimated it.

The whole thing just had a weird awkwardness to it, and to no end. Forced and tense but without any end or element of aurpriae.or unexpected turns. Neither light nor dark nor anywhere in the.middle of the.humor range, I hated it. And the characters. And the actors. Murray Bartlett had no dimension to him, Jennifer Coolidge had none of her blousy duck-it-all charm but just seemed stiff and paralyzed and pained, not clever, not sharp, not self aware just a piggish character.

Sorry to find it's another disappointment from HBO, but their.non-disappointing programming is getting very far apart.

r75 that's it for me as well. Why would the guy at the front desk even bother to lie. They were there for like 6 days, they were eventually going to check the email to review the reservation. What's worse is that they are paying for the upgraded room so I'd also be pissed. Yes, their current room was gorgeous, but it didn't have that infinity pool or privacy.

I was also on team Jake and wondered why his wife was so angry. Yeah, it's not that important but she was hardly jumping his bones to fuck and she left him to go to the pool alone, which was super awkward considering her frustration about him not focusing on her and not telling him where she went. She seems to either not respect him or his money. "We aren't paying for this, your parents are." Um, in those families with their golden boy working for them, it's all the same. More importantly, it's the principle of the fact. The rich hate being ripped off.

Either way, I suspect she's has ulterior motives. I mean, she is a journalist and was already doing exposes on powerful people like the girl's CEO mother (who she couldn't remember - sure sis). I don't trust that gold digger.

They need Deborah Vance to come in there and liven things up!

r76, it was bought as a one-season limited/mini- series, so...yeah. Only getting one season was the intention.

Dr. Rezz is hot

Annoying mother-in-law storylines are fucking tiring on tv shows.

I'm another huge Enlightened/Mike White fan. I love his work so I was all in as soon as I realized he was behind this show.

I'm digging the mystery elements and the score goes a long way in really driving a haunted sense of dread.

[quote] Also, her husband is hot enough, and rich as hell, if he wants to upgrade your room, then bitch shut up and let him upgrade your room. She doesn’t deserve him or his money. She’s such a gold digger.

I don't think you understand what a gold digger is, hon. She was trying to get him to let it go because it didn't ultimately matter. One gorgeous room for another, and he's bitching about it like a little bitch when there is a staff member having a baby in the manager's office because she needed the work so badly. AND he didn't even PAY for the room!

She's obviously not as shallow and as obsessed with money as her husband and wants to "change the world". She even brings up the fact that she's still trying to pay off her school loans. So it remains to be seen what she saw in her new husband. Her exchange with the two girls was so on point, I've had a few of those myself. Their absolute scorn that they barely bother to conceal. And she was obviously disturbed by it. (I also loved the detail of the girls reading Nietzsche and Freud).

Any guesses on who was in the box being loaded into the plane?

Steve Zahn? Count me in!

[Quote]I wonder if Murray and Lukas hooked up

I was thinking the same thing. Sure there is an age difference but they are off secluded in Hawaii, wonder if those two ended up fucking during production.

r84 it was his honeymoon and what's worse is that the family WAS being charged for the upgraded room. Surly you can see how that would be an issues. He wanted something specific for his new wife, didn't get it, but was charged for it. She's in the wrong for throwing in his face that it's not their money, it's his parents. Well, that makes it twice as bad because you are free to fuck around with your own money but not with someone else's gift.

I understand her point that it's not a big deal because they are rich as hell, but that hotel is 100% in the wrong for basically grifting. He caught it and wanted it resolved. She could have also just let him have that since again it didn't feel like she was all that intersted in hanging around him.

No different then being charged extra for your meal. No one at a restaurant would accept that, even if rich. What should someone accept the wrong hotel room on their expensive honeymoon? he wasn't a jerk about it so for now I understand his POV.

R84 Either his wife or mother.

Steve Zahn is cuter than ever.

[quote]The whole thing just had a weird awkwardness to it, and to no end.

Weird awkwardness is Mike White’s stock in trade. And how in the world do you know it’s “to no end” when there are five episodes still to come?

R90 posters say one episode of Gossip Girl and wrote it off. I never try to judge a show too harshly based on E1 which is typically out of sync from the rest of the show.

[quote]Weird awkwardness is Mike White’s stock in trade.

Clearly. And it hasn't worked for me yet.

That entitled cunt who, in her mind, still thinks she's 30 lbs. lighter, 25 years younger, and had the money she had two husbands ago just in front of you at the chic coffee shop who launches into her order of great specificity only to be interrupted by the barrista that "we're out of X" and that long, long frozen in time like a traffic accident slow grind of her jaw as she formulates the appropriately haughty-cunty response... Watching anything by Mike White is like watching that millisecond expanded into an hour of ugly, unpleasant people make weird shapes with their mouths.

If that's brilliant in someone's book, carry on. But if that's what I'm in the mood for I'll look to Todd Solondz or someone who does it well, not the Dollar Store equivalent who keeps getting chances to make the same mistakes.

R33 How do we know that he's gay?

[quote][R76], it was bought as a one-season limited/mini- series, so...yeah. Only getting one season was the intention.

I hope this is true. Series that go on too long usually die a painful, withering death. I've only seen the first episode and am looking forward to the second.

Mike White has written some entertaining movies but I wish he wasn't so enthralled with Molly Shannon. She is one of the most talentless of former SNL players.

R87, I understand it, too.

It felt like “Fantasy Island”, but there’s also this subtle feeling of frustration and thwarted expectations. (Kind of reminds me of “After Hours”; the frustration part.)

I don't think we're supposed to think that Jake Lacy's character is 100% in the wrong here. I don't think he's supposed to be 100% a villain. Murray's character is also a disaster -- he didn't even notice his employee was pregnant. I think Mike White shows us human beings and watches the bad choices they make with what they're given. Nobody feels like a cartoon to me. It's what they do with the circumstances they're handed, how they do or do not move on from things. So keep watching. The journey is the destination!

r93 preview for next week

I absolutely loved Enlightened. Still on the fence about this, although I think will pick up a bit in the next episode. I love Murray Bartlett.

I'm hoping the new bride is not dead herself, but in jail for murdering the cunty teenage girl.

[quote] that long, long frozen in time like a traffic accident slow grind

Rather like your posts then?

I really like Murray Bartlett and I hope he gets to do lots of comedy on this show. I loved his reaction to the woman giving birth in his office.

I watched it because of this thread and I enjoyed it. It sucks I can't binge watch it though.

r101 only 1 episode aired so nothing to bing. It will be released on episode at a time like all HBO shows. In a way, I like having something to look forward to on Sundays (?).

Binging doesn't work. There is a reason when Disney+ launched they were like fuck this binging idea. Your set your show up for more success by releasing it week by week so excitement can build and the audience can grow.

R101 I agree with you. I like to binge the whole season. I watched E1 and enjoyed it but now I'm thinking of holding off until the whole series is available to stream.

I used to agree r104, but I like that this gives me something to talk about. HBO forcing me back into the 1 week wait stuff since GoT made me appreciate the build up and endless conversation with friends and colleagues about a show. I guess I just can't stand commercials anymore on TV, which is why I never watch regular TV outside of the Super Bowl.

Enjoyed the first episode but I'm more than weary of the "pregnant woman unexpectedly giving birth in an inconvenient place" scenario. In every fucking series, inevitably, this storyline appears and it's always the most annoying episode. Leave that fucking shit out, it's not entertaining.

^”Leave it to Beaver”

funny the only name that matters to me is that mike white wrote and directed...i'll watch

Those two teen girls are cunts. They seem to sneer at everyone.

Chuck & Buck’s Fuck & Suck

It's Mike White so I expect utter cringe. I'm in.

I wasn't into Murray Bartlett at all on Looking, but he's doing it for me here. Yum!

R112 honestly, exact opposite haha. I still would, though

I can't decide if Jake Lacy is hot or not... Something about his mouth and chin just looks odd to me. The body is okay, but nothing remarkable... He just looks grumpy or constipated most of the time.

[quote] looks grumpy or constipated most of the time

That could be the subtitle of a Bernie Sanders autobiography!

R112, I think you just fancy Murray's Aussie accent.

[quote]I can't decide if Jake Lacy is hot or not.

R114 He looks like he could be cast as Superman, the ultimate 'hot or not' guy. It all depends on whether he wears his glasses or not!

Murray Bartlett gave the best performance on Looking, I was happy to see he landed a lead role here.

[quote] Surly you can see how that would be an issues.

I can see that. And don’t call me Surly.

Lacy is hot to me.

Lacy's got an odd face but in a good way - much preferable to some bland pretty thing

I saw most of the first episode yesterday and struggled. The new bride is obviously not enamored of the husband. Avoiding sex and his company much of the time doesn't exactly bespeak a great marriage.

And the husband was more concerned over the stupid room than getting his wife into bed?

Yeah, he didn't seem in too much of a hurry to fuck her.

^^But he asked for a blow job as soon as they got the hotel lobby and registered...

Usually a couple fucks first thing on their honeymoon

All these comments about Lacy but no one mentioned that he played the boyfriend of Lens Dunham on her HBO show.

Remember the “hot girl/schlub guy” TV trope? Lens flipped that script.

Usually a couple does not fuck, first thing on their honeymoon.

If they depart directly after the wedding reception, they’re too drunk/hungry/exhausted.

They probably live together or have been fucking for a while and it can wait until the next day or so.

I'm also a fan of the one-episode-a-week release schedule. All viewers are on the same page, and no one has to worry about spoilers. (That said, I just binged The Flight Attendant on HBO Max, but it's been out for awhile, I don't know anyone else who's watched it and I avoided any reviews or Internet sites about it until I'd finished it.) And I recently thought about TV recaps -- I kinda miss them. TelevisionWithoutPity was like crack to me, back in the day.

Topic! Jake Lacy was cute in Obvious Child.

[quote] All these comments about Lacy but no one mentioned that he played the boyfriend of Lens Dunham on her HBO show.

That poor man, he has suffered enough and should be made into the biggest star in Hollywood for having to act as her boyfriend.

R129, I watched it and mostly enjoyed it. Is there another season coming?

Jesus, this is horrific. And I love Mike White. Not sure what ketamine or strong CBD he was on when he wrong this, but still. (Hi, Mike White! I'm sure you're still a DL'er.)

I watched 36 minutes of the pilot and I'm out. This is an embarrassment for HBO Max. And Connie Britton...you were better in your Ryan Murphy cameo as Faye Resnick. This is a catastrophe for your career...and you're a single mum!

[quote]This is an embarrassment for HBO Max.

Yes, that's clear from the critical huzzahs.

Not a great opening.

[quote]I watched it and mostly enjoyed it. Is there another season coming?

It's a limited series. How the fuck did you watch all of "season 1"?

i finished the first episode and was irritated that i couldn't watch more. I really like the episode dropping in batches, at least 3 at a time, I'll be waiting a month before returning....cant do this one per week shit.

R74 I think part of that is just a reminder that no matter how much you pay for something, you can’t pay for people in service to truly care about you, even if they’re well versed in emotional labor; likewise I think it is also a reminder that one of the reasons people go to a place like that is to guarantee you’ll be surrounded by other wealthy guests, and you’re not necessarily going to get exceptional service. You should, but sometimes you pay $4,000 a night and the service is “meh.”

R134, the trailer was confusing. No wonder not a lot of people tuned in. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the first episode. It's delightful , well acted and totally entertaining.

I don't think HBOMax did a lot to promote it. I only saw a billboard for this a day before it premiered.

Oh...freaky eyes Daddario and Connie Britton(?!), ubiquitous and seem to pop up everywhere lately. I'm not sure why; neither are very talented and both seem very one note.

That said, I will probably check this out. It looks quirky enough to have a look at.

Watched episode 1 after reading about it here and I liked it. I'm not familiar with Mike White so I'm going in without any expectations, but I liked the pervasive sense of "something not quite right" in the background and among the characters.

That being said, I feel like this would be a hard show to market and promote. I agree trailers shouldn't give the good bits away, but watching the main trailer, it's hard to answer, "why should I watch this?"

In any case, I love Bartlett's accent and laughed out loud to his reaction when the woman screamed while giving birth in his office.

And the trailer for episode 2 has some nice gay sex action so I will be watching!

SEMI-SPOILER!

Why was the sex scene so long at the end? I mean, it was barely sex she was just sitting on top of Shane, but I felt like the scene went on for an uncomfortable amount of time.

thanks, r141, i'll check it out.

They keep displaying book covers prominently in scenes that deal with psychology and behavior. The cunty girls reading Nietzsche and Freud. Shane reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, a book about "on investigating how first impressions help us make right decisions in some situations and betray us in other situations."

Anyone have any theories? I heard (good) directors never prominently display certain things in a scene unless it is meant to mean something, like a clue to a puzzle or something.

This is a really good review of the show. I think it also answers R142's question.

I just watched it and liked it. "I thought she was just chunky". So did I, lol.

I wonder if the son, Quinn, is supposed to be secretly gay.... The dad goes into the galley/kitchen where the son is and says something like, "Come on out of the closet," and the son does a short but awkward stare at his dad.

Now that dad didn't mean it as the gay expression, but I wonder if it was hint.

Also, when the dad brings up women, Quinn stays mostly silent. The dad is completely clueless.

Regarding the dick and balls scene:

1) those are the most unrealistic balls I've ever seen, and that's sayin' somethin'! They look like they would bounce around the room if you dropped one.

2) he says his balls are "fuckin' huge!" But I've seen and played with much bigger balls than that! His looked standard size. I wonder what their model was for the prosthetic.

I love everything Mike White. Enlightened was great.

What are all the pills the girls have?

I guess I'm the second person to reply since watching the new episode. Did anybody else fall on the floor in screaming laughter from Steve Zahn's phone call with his uncle? That has to be a classic DL moment if there ever was one!

R150 I caught them saying Klonopin, Ambien, but couldn't make out the third one. Whatever it was, Bartlett's hotel manager is going to take the whole bottle.

re: Steve Zahn's phone call with the uncle, I felt like that was coming as soon as the uncle said he didn't die from cancer.

I'm really starting to enjoy Jennifer Coolidge's character, but you know that Belinda is going to get screwed over in this "relationship".

2nd episode better than the 1st...

I'm hooked now

R150 I think it was Xanax.

I think the first episode was better than the second. This is two second episode disappointments from my lovely HBO Max, first GG terrible e2 and now this one. It doesn’t feel like anything really happened. I feel like there is a buildup of tension but nothing happens. Thank god fir that dead body, hopefully we get some drama.

The newlywed wife is a cunt. The worst type of cunt, because she thinks she’s some self righteous righter. You’re on your honeymoon and married to rich man. You have the rest of your adult life to rebuild or build those work relationships. Accepting a job to do during your honeymoon is disrespectful, as her husband stated. He was wrong for making it her choice then overruling her when she attempted to do what he didn’t want. I don’t understand or connect with her dumb ass at all.

The take down by Mrs CEO to our little journalist was so sweet! Chef’s kiss!!!

I’m he college girls are terrible. I don’t understand why they are such downers. The other friend has the audacity to tag along on their family vacation but act rude and ungreatful the entire trip.

For the love of all that is good, why won’t their mother let them have their own hotel room? They are rich as fuck, no reason for pull out beds and cots.

The dad bringing up his cancer every 5 minutes made me laugh.

This episode was a lot funnier than e1. The littering comment about the ashes during the girl’s drug high had me dying!

I like that the judgmental daughters turns out to be a bitch, while addressing the hotel manager.

That Hawaiian bud boy was hot. Can’t blame the friend for going after him but since she’s vacationing on that family’s dime, perhaps she shouldn’t be two-timing her friend with lies and secret hookups.

The two cunts need to get eaten by sharks or something.

Quinn had a hell of an ass in his underwear, but it seemed to have disappeared when he had the actual ass shot, which is a shame.

Agree with R155 can't believe that they used one of their six episodes for a nothing happens episode. Even more so with it being the second episode.

The show got me wondering where it was filmed and apparently it is the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Funny how they purposefully exaggerated the tropical theme.

[quote]r12 No one wants to watch some stupid YouTube video OP

Isn’t it called a trailer?

Took me forever to figure out that the Reporter Newlywed Chick is a younger Mrs. Maisel. Even her mannerisms and the tone of her voice are exactly like that actress who plays Maisel..

The show is just a B- for me. If it wasn't summer? I wouldn't keep watching. And like others have said, Enlightened is in my top 5 favorite shows of all time - so Mike White, if you're here? Thanks for that.

R159 and others. Like you, it was my love of Enlightened that brought me to this show. Did any of you watch certain episodes of Enlightened repeatedly and find deeper insights with each viewing? (My favorite episode was "Ghosts").

I think you might be missing the boat with this show, and I urge you to watch again. I am loving this, I think it's amazing so far. The stand alone scene where Connie Britton eviscerates the young "journalist" was brilliantly written and acted by both. Take another look at Alexandra Daddario's face when she walks away from the table.

I bet there are a few The Comeback fans on this thread. Remember how cloying and uncomfortable you thought the show was after first viewings? You didn't think you could bring yourself to watch another episode. And now thinking back, it's one of the greatest shows ever. Right?

I really think this series could be of that high caliber. I think Mike White is a genius.

Anyone in agreement with me?

I'm halfway thru ep 2 R160 and will reply shortly.

Ok back! SPOILERS!

I was not going to watch this show at all until I read this thread. However, the first episode got me hooked. There is this weird combination of both mundane but bizarre, and having this dark insight into the shallowness of these people's problems.

Britton's character is overbearing. She gives a feminist vibe, mentions supporting women but then excoriates Rachel even after she apologized because she found some random article unflattering.

Dad is clueless.

Not sure what is going on with son.... no one seems to give him much attention and when the dad does he doesn't want it....

Daughter and friend are horrible people, but it's starting to come into focus how the daughter is possessive over her friend (or sees her as a possession) and doesn't want her to spend time with anyone else.

With Tanya promising Belinda so much, I can tell this relationship is going to end tears already.

I thought Shane was a bigger cunt in the beginning but starting to think he's not that unreasonable and Rachel is actually the instigator perhaps? He reasonably wants what he paid for and would like for her enjoy to enjoy the honeymoon. Still douchey though running to rich mommy and daddy when there's a problem.

Armond is the best so far. He lectures in the beginning about providing the best service to the VIPs and seems to be doing everything but still wears his "mask." He's slowly starting to crack.

The preview at the end of episode 1 showed GAY ACTION between Bartlett and Gage for episode 2 goddammit and there was NONE!

R160, the episode where Dern and Luke Wilson go camping is utter perfection.

The voiceover she delivers, as he lounges on the river, where she dissects their breakup/love story is so jaw dropping poignant. Has to be my favorite speech in tv. Ever.

I found it!

R163 it was a WEEKS AHEAD preview, Mary

Didn’t enjoy episode 2 as much as the first. In addition to so many characters having unlikable traits, the music is loud, overbearing, and intrusive.

Love the music, love that the writers don't pander to the audience by softening characters' edges so we will "like" them.

R155 I also find it puzzling that the Connie Britton family is crammed into that one-bedroom suite when it seems like they have plenty of money for more spacious accommodations.

I liked the son having that moment of awe at the end — the kids seem so utterly joyless.

Starting the episode with those two ugly annoying girls was a major mistake. Threw the whole episode off for me. Why couldn't they show Lacy's ass when they showed the wife's breast ?. Not fair. I like the masseuse. Enjoyed her in Love Simon too. You just know that the conversation Zahn and Bartlett have in the preview is not about what they imply it is.

I see a parallel between Jake Lacy's desire for possession over the Pineapple Suite and his new wife - he's paid for both and deserves access to both. (Now I think the actress is miscast, she should be ten years younger, prettier and more lithe to sell her innocence at her gold dig. She looks like the prettiest 35 year old mom of at least two kids.)

Belinda wants to possess the masseuse, the white cunt daughter wants to possess her friend... emotional vampires...

That is a gorgeous scene, R165. But IIRC, I thought it was a bit of a cheat at the time because it didn't seem to me that Laura Dern's character had achieved the level of self awareness necessary to express those emotions so clearly and objectively. But it's been a long time now, my memory may be completely wrong. Enlightened is definitely a series I want to revisit at some point.

Enlightened is perfect so will encourage me to at least watch White Lotus all the way through. Also motivated by the scene where Bartlett gets his hands all over blondie surfer.

Bartlett gets a blonde boy per every HBO role.

Jeeeez......I'm loving the series and I'm baffled by all the whiny complaints here. I love the way it is slowly unfolding.

Special mention must be made for the fab opening credits that show those beautiful painted images that become more grotesque on closer viewing, a perfect metaphor for the entire series.

I watched the second episode.....now I'm hooked.

I use to live in Laguna Beach......the characters in the show are very accurate portrayals of the vulgar rich

The other theme...............the ways we give up our personal power to other people.....often willingly

R175, slowly unfolding is fine but when they release multiple episodes at once. But taking a show with a weak opening and adding a weaker follow up isn’t the best way to see this. Nothing freakin happened this episodes. I can appreciate and see that chess pieces are being moved around, but not sure if White is interested in a big payoff considering how muted he appears to keep everything.

If heavy plotting and a big payoff are what you're after, R177, this probably isn't the show for you.

And now I understand why his shows keep getting canceled

Nailed it R175. I actually said something very similar about the opening as I watched last night.

Including the opening, there is not one little detail that has been overlooked. The show is fascinating perfection.

I also loved that while everyone is miserable, the son, who was kicked out of his room and went to go sleep on the beach, saw the magnificence and beauty of the island.

The newlywed guy needs to give it a rest about the honeymoon suite.

I'm a big fan after the first two episodes, but it's a hard show to love because the awkward human interactions are almost TOO real. Sometimes you wonder, does White love his characters, or does he hate them?

But a couple of the scenes last night were just bloody brilliant. The way the scene between Britton and Daddario and the way it turned on a dime ... so well played. And it's such a great role for Steve Zahn. I've had a little crush on him forever. Lurching from a cancer scare to the revelations about his dead father ... the scene where he's on the phone with his uncle is the best new thing I've seen on TV this year. And the bit at the end with the son seeing the whale was lovely.

Also, I agree with the poster who said the music is a little bit much. Not bad, it should just be dialed back about 20 percent.

Ugh...It was perfectly fine with great homoerotic visuals. Y'all need to turn out in support of gay created contents, otherwise, it will just be Michael Bay shoving bi-girl-lesbo-stuff onto our face.

Question: How many more threads will R182 feel the need to wedge-in "bloody brilliant"? R182, I actually took the time to look. It's like you learned a phrase while watching a British mystery show and decided you'd drop it into every conversation you have because it makes you feel sophisticated and edgy.

Give it a rest, Mary. Really.

Another example of white privilege.

Truth versus reality.

"Bloody Brilliant" is fine. Calling gay guys "Mary" is old and tired and needs to be given a rest

Pardon the shit out of me, r185. You're quite the haughty little creature, aren't you?

R186 Written by a white woman who moved there from Chicago but she writes like she's a native. Typical

So we're not going to obsess about seeing a penis on TV???

I really hope the plot goes somewhere and there is something sinister behind all this.

So far. no one is really that interesting.

The first scene with the dead body is what will keep most of the audience hanging on.

Really love this show so far, Mike White is terrific.

Jake Lacy is very cute in this, and loving Fred Hechinger's hairy legs and VERY hairy pits.

Who is Fred Hechinger?

[quote]The show got me wondering where it was filmed and apparently it is the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Funny how they purposefully exaggerated the tropical theme.

I've stayed at that property. And the Fairmont Kea Lani next door. I thought the Fairmont was nicer. But both hotels totally overdid the Polynesian themes with their decor.

I enjoyed the first episode and thought it had promise, but was bored by the second episode.

[quote]And the bit at the end with the son seeing the whale was lovely.

That scene rang true to me. I stayed at that same hotel and woke up early one morning and went down to the beach. Suddenly, something the size of a school bus came out of the water and slid back in. I then realized that the whale was not alone and several of them were playing about in the water. It made the trip for me.

Fred Hechinger plays the son of Connie Britton.

R196 I was on the big island but went on a whale watching boat with my mom. We didn’t see a single whale. I went snorkeling the next day alone and say a pod of whales along with sea turtles. My mom was so jealous. It made me trip to be in that Crystal clear water and seeing these majestic creatures.

I need to get me ass back to Hawaii. Best American vacation spot I’ve ever visited.

I watched the first episode. Is it supposed to be a comedy? The most annoying people but I didn't get any laughs out of it.

"The show is fascinating perfection."

Hi, Mike!

R198 I had been to many parts of Hawaii over the years but never saw any whales.

But then I went before Spring and saw many of them. I had just been going at a time when the whales weren't in those waters.

Inside the Episode.....

[quote]I've stayed at that property. And the Fairmont Kea Lani next door. I thought the Fairmont was nicer. But both hotels totally overdid the Polynesian themes with their decor.

I picture you in a caftan, poolside, flicking the ashes of your Virgina Slim while saying this in a haughty, pissy manner.

The 2nd episode is funnier. I'm ok with the story pacing so far though others might find it slow. Some episodes are meant to be that way. The 2 teenage girls are annoying.

Can't stand the 2 teenage bitches.

R205, that's what makes them fun

[quote]His FAKE TEETH are awful. His face is FAT...He is feminine..And mouthing off about a director is one of the stupidest things you can do in Hollywood....Personally I would have bathed before a zoom call...

Sometimes you should research people before you start talking shit on them. It might make you look like a bigger asshole than you intended.

[quote]When he was 18, he was assaulted badly. He and his friend were at a party when someone decided to attack his friend because he was gay. He jumped in to protect his friend and ended up with many injuries. His nose was broken, eight of his teeth came out, and his jaw was broken.

I have a theory that the blonde daughter is feelings the stirrings of love for her bff and that's why she got upset about seeing her with the waiter. And the best friend probably has an inkling.

I don't think I've seen the actress who plays Belinda before, but what an amazing performance. Most of her dialogue is about customer service, but she manages to show every emotion under her polite veneer. And when she blurted out her feelings toward "white rich people" and Jennifer Coolidge agreed, I busted out laughing.

It drives me nuts that the mom keeps cleaning the rooms. The hotel has staff for that!

So who was killed? It can’t be so easy that it was the newlywed who wasn’t shown with her husband in the opening scene of the first episode. And who was the murderer?

I am loving this show.

Of COURSE the daughter’s friend has Morgellons! In a couple of years she’ll have fibromyalgia.

[quote] Did anyone else find it odd that these people are enough of VIP’s to be brought in on a private boat, but the Spa manager, present at the greeting for some reason, wasn’t able to fit this level of VIPs into a simple massage upon arrival?

I assume everyone comes to the resort by boat. They aren’t VIPs, at least not vs the other guests.

[quote]I picture you in a caftan, poolside, flicking the ashes of your Virgina Slim while saying this in a haughty, pissy manner.

You are projecting. I was more likely mountain biking on the volcano or hiking through the rainforest. I'm not you with money.

I thought the same thing R213 but rewatching episode 1, Armond does single them out among the guests as "VIPs" at the very beginning when he's explaining the job to the pregnant lady.

It’s an expensive resort. All of them are listed called “VIPS” to make them feel special

I want to have sex with Murray Bartlett and I don't care who knows it.

R217 get out of my brain!

Can’t believe no one here has mentioned the dig at Lens Dunham!

R219 that was hilarious. A great episode for Connie, between rolling her eyes at the girls and the smackdown on the bride

R219 or the AIDS thing?

I predict that Connie Britton ends up hiring Rachel and she leaves her husband—but she’s not the dead person being loaded on the plane.

I'm already checking out the menu at the Fairmont R214!

I'm guessing its the honeymooner's mother in the casket.

[quote]Belinda wants to possess the masseuse, the white cunt daughter wants to possess her friend... emotional vampires...

Belinda IS the masseuse.

[quote]It can’t be so easy that it was the newlywed who wasn’t shown with her husband in the opening scene of the first episode. And who was the murderer?

I don't think anyone was murdered, and I thought it was weird that apparently audiences are assuming this is a murder mystery. However, Rachel, as the newlywed wife, seems increasingly fragile. Maybe she killed herself, or was in an accident, but she is having a hard time asserting her place in this new world of luxury.

The Lena Dunham crack was hilarious.

I might be the only one here who is actually enjoying the two teenage girls. Yes, they are cunty, but its like they are trying on a personality when at the root of it you can tell they are both kind of lost (and medicated). I appreciate their shameless digs to remind the adults of their privilege and that they're fucking up the world. It was telling that they were bemoaning not having drugs but then realized they had weed, a bong, ketamine, adderall, klonopine, and xanax that they'd sneaked onto the plane, somehow.

I think the fact that this successful CEO of one of the most successful search engines in the world won't spring for a bigger room, or extra suite so her kids can sleep in an actual bed is to draw attention to how frugal rich people can be.

I also loved the ending of the episode. It was lovely and it was great that it was the son who got to see it.

"We're sea hags...."

R225 Nicole, the mother, also wasn't born rich (presumably). She explains she had to climb her way up from the bottom so maybe that is the root of her frugality as well?

And how do you get that many drugs on a plane? I know some are prescription so they could rationalize it, but a bong? Wouldn't that show up in the xray machine? And I thought those body scanners at the airport can also check for drug residue.... but maybe I'm thinking of something else.

[quote]You are projecting. I was more likely mountain biking on the volcano or hiking through the rainforest.

Of COURSE you were.

[quote] I'm not you with money.

Masc. and wealthy here.

[quote]Masc. and wealthy here.

You forgot "and look 10 years younger, " Jan.

No r229 I look my age and it doesn't bother me at all.

But you are neither "wealthy" nor "masc." if you get all pissy thinking someone is putting on airs by simply stating they stayed at those two hotels, which are not all that high-end.

You come across more as a catty, jealous poor.

r231 it was a fucking joke, making fun of how gay men can't go anywhere or do anything without being opinionated and bitchy. It wasn't about "putting on airs," that's your own insecurity and anxiety interpreting things. Jesus, calm down and stop taking things so personally.

I thought it was pretty clear that the comment was a play on how gay men are always critical of everything, it's a stereotypically gay male thing. r231 got quite offended and took it personally, however.

Girls, girls, girls... you're all terrible.

And I've been staying at the nicest Hawaiian resorts in suites since I was a child, so suck my dick. I'M THE FANCIEST QUEEN HERE! NOT YOU!

I once picked up a disgusting horseshoe crab on the beach when my tween friend and I were skinny dipping while our parents were hammered at a party or the bar thinking it was my white robe.

Sydney Sweeney (Zahn's daughter) looks like a cross betwee Shelley Duvall and Aubrey Plaza, with a touch of McKenzie Phillips thrown in. Also, she has wierd Sanpaku eyes.

Jennifer looks older than 59.

Did people miss the part in the first 5 minutes of the first episode where Shane says it’s his wife in the coffin? Did I not hear that right?

You did not hear that right, r237

The identity of the dead person has not been revealed yet.

R234 how you mistake a horseshoe crab for a white robe?

I don't believe this is a whodunit mystery. It's probably the manager probably od'ed or someone dying of natural cause.

I'm afraid I'm just like the Connie Britton character. When my husband I stay in a hotel he just opens his suitcase on the floor and lets everything out anywhere he likes. I'm constantly picking up after him (a hotel maid can't do that) and straightening the room out. He never does this at home.

Murray is gorgeous, his name is hideous. How do you name a kid born after 1950 "Murray"?

I’m not meticulous about housekeeping at home but I keep hotel rooms neat as a pin. I hate the thought of making someone clean up after me.

I'm so OCD I also keep my hotel room neat and orderly.

I'm liking it so far but I'm finding it a bit improbable that the character modeled after Marissa Mayer (Nicole) would take her family to a lower level nouveau riche resort like that.

Marissa Mayer probably wouldn't even go to a resort, but a compound owned by one of her filthy rich friends.

Sydney Sweeney, who plays the blond daughter, who was also in Euphoria, reminds me so much of Elizabeth Berkeley in Showgirls. The face pouts, the way she moves her body, flips her hair, other mannerisms. She could pass as Berkeley's daughter...or definitely get the lead if they remade Showgirls.

And I love Jennifer Coolidge. But wouldn't she be perfect if John Waters made a bio pic about Edith Massey??? They have the same enunciation.

It was filmed at Four Seasons

I’m surprised there aren’t any opening gay characters at this point

Bartlett's character is gay.

I guess we are supposed to think the newlywed husband is an entitled ass, but I'm totally on his side the wife is just being rude to her husband.

With the family I like the son and mother, the sister, her friend, and the father are annoying. At least with the dad he thought he was dying, so I can give him a pass.

The reason Nicole smacked Rachel down so hard is because the inequality in Rachel’s marriage mirrors her own. Nicole is the more wealthy and successful spouse and she didn’t like being reminded of the “lesser” spouse’s perspective. It upset Nicole to think that her her husband might be resentful and dissatisfied. We don’t know that he feels that way, but women are always warned that they shouldn’t be more successful than their male partner because it hurts their egos (not true in all cases).

R237 I heard what you heard.

The newlyweds seem to present a sort of litmus test for viewers.

I, for one, am on the side of the young wife and find her totally reasonable and sympathetic, even to the extent of understanding why she wants to accept the writing assignment. The young husband is a total buffoon and not particularly attractive.

I also find the Connie Britton character totally reasonable. I figure she doesn't want to spoil her children and that's why she didn't rent a room for them, not that she was being frugal or couldn't afford it. Her husband veers between fool and sweetheart as a husband and dad. The same with their son for me.

It's this moral ambiguity that Mike White does that I find fascinating.

R251, I don't think his being gay has been mentioned at this point

Well, now I want to see more of Mike White’s work. I could not stand “Chuck and Buck” because it made me cringe so hard.

[quote]I could not stand “Chuck and Buck” because it made me cringe so hard.

That was why it was so good.

I don't buy any of these characters. Totally written to serve plot points without authenticity.

I was hoping for the dad to show his swollen nuts to his son maybe him ask him to inspect it himself.

[quote]And I love Jennifer Coolidge.

I used to like her, but she is always the same.

She's not an actress, she's a routine.

I thought the third episode was boring, and the characters are becoming more and more unlikeable, which usually I enjoy, but not so far. I'll probably watch the entire series, but I'll wait until a bunch of episodes have already been released. Maybe the story flows better when binged (as is the case with most series, in my opinion).

Where did you watch the third episode, r262?

Maybe that’s the point R262 - they’re supposed to become unlikable.

I just realized that Quinn is the flaky stoner kid from Fear Street. They actually shaved him down here; he’s super fuzzy in FS.

this show is like watching a car crash slowed down frame by frame. If you can enjoy watch it (and can appreciate Mike White as a talented writer/director who knows exactly what he's doing) then its very satisfying. If you watch the first episode and aren't amused, stop watching.

R265 He IS fuzzy and cute on FS. His character is also, someone I would've hung out with in HS and probably wanted to sleep with but wouldn't have had the nerve to, until I went to college.

R243 I'm sure it's by design, Murray's character expects his employees to be on point, while he seems rather scruffy and unkempt. Sure his cheezy wardrobe is a uniform, but he's exposing way too much untrimmed chest hair for a classy resort. And Lacy's character wears shoes while on the bed. This show is triggering me.

Don't even get me started on people who wear shoes in their bed or on their sofa R268.

I hope this show gets a plot soon.

If that's what you're after, R270, you'd be better off with a Law & Order rerun.

I also understood from the beginning that it was the new bride in the coffin.

About halfway through the second episode I told my husband that I really needed a character to sympathize with and wasn’t finding one, and it was as if the TV heard me, because all of a sudden (but organically) we started seeing everybody’s insecurities and loneliness start to surface. I thought that was brilliant. I also think the manager is a Datalounger.

I liked the scene of Murray Bartlett walking away from the camera. I find his walk very sexy.

Murray Bartlett just might bring back Magnum style mustaches and Hawaiian shirts single-handedly!

I'm happy for Murray for landing this part. He was supporting in Looking (even though he was one of the best parts), and as for the Netflix Tales of the City...well, I'm sure even he'd like to forget that ever happened.

Would pay cash money to watch Bartlett and Zahn make out. While I'm sure it won't happen on the show, the suggestion of it in the previews made me laugh out loud.

Can someone describe what they as sexy with Zahn? I don't see it, although I know everyone has different taste.

Murray is a no brainer though! Face, body, accent, stache, hairy!

The quirky music they use ruins it for me. Also, none of these people appear rich and privileged to me. Maybe Dynasty skewed my perception,

r277 I know I must have jerked off at least 40 times to Zahn's nude walk in "Joyride" but that's really because I wanted Paul Walker to make me his sex slave. I was a very imaginative youngster. Zahn is never the sexiest guy in a room so he plays the normal dad well.

I agree r278, what's odd is that no one is acting like they are on a vacation. Even families that hate each other, will do some activities together. No one has any planned activities. The dad and son are doing a last minute scuba class but everyone else of these rich people are doing nothing. I mean, barely even lounging by the pool or beach. They spend way too much time in their hotel room for people vacationing in Hawaii.

The CEO would have never picked out a room with a pull out bed and cot for his family. They would have gotten a larger suite, especially with older children in tow.

What is the bitchy friend even doing on this trip?

Laura Dern and Kyle Chandler would have been picture perfect as the parents.

Jake Lacey is hot. Easy to forget because he’s straight laced nice dork. Liked seeing him as the male hooker in that Chastain shite.

Laura Dern would've been a great choice. She can play "rich bitch" like nobody's business.

R280, the wife/mom is the CEO.

And I agree she would have booked a 2-bedroom suite at the very least. I don’t even think hotels will allow five people to stay in a 1-bedroom suite.

I know a billionaire family, and they bring the kids’ friends on vacations. They have a few vacation homes in the places they like best. The wife likes a constant festive atmosphere, and lots of group activities. That Paula chick would not have been invited twice, by the billionaire wife I know. You’re invited to be fun and bubbly and game for anything.

Is that Murray's real accent?

If you watched and thought Jake Lacy's wife was in that coffin, congrats, you can still enjoy TV and movies without being jaded by understanding the tools of screenwriting. That's not a bad thing.

Mike White intended for you to assume the wife was in the coffin. There was no dialogue to even suggest that, other than Jake Lacy clearly having had a disastrous honeymoon. Chances his wife is in the coffin: 1-5%

My money is on it being his mother, and the wife left him.

I think it is either his mom, or the billionaire girl's friend in the casket, maybe both? She made a point of the fact that she needed her panic attack medicine which was in that bag.

Have they said that Connie Britton / Steve Zahn are supposed to be "billionaires" though? She's clearly only been rich / famous for a couple of years, given the "ride the #MeToo wave" dig. Like a lot of rich people she's cheap, that makes sense to me

There is nothing at all in the script about Britton and Zahn being billionaires. More like newly millionaires.

R289 They said she is basically the equivalent of being the CEO of Google, so I don't know if she is a billionaire but she should most certainly have enough money to get a fucking two bedroom suite, especially if she allowed a guest to come. Plus I would assume she was a well-paid executive prior to becoming CEO.

She's the CFO, not CEO. It's a pretty big difference. And also, being a CFO would account for her being cheap.

R292 Sorry I thought they said CEO. I'm pretty sure they said she ran things.

R293 The husband did, but in the first episode they definitely said she was CFO, so guess he's just overstating to be a good husband

So how many of you whores would have sucked off Shane (Jake Lacy) when he asked you?

Me 🙋‍♂️

[quote] There is nothing at all in the script about Britton and Zahn being billionaires. More like newly millionaires.

I doubt even millionaires

Based on nothing whatsoever, I say it's Armond in the Human Remains box.

[quote]Based on nothing whatsoever, I say it's Armond in the Human Remains box.

It's entirely possible that Shane ends up physically attacking Armond over the Pineapple Suite assignment, and the shock on Shane's face at the airport is because he knows he'll be arrested for murder when the plane lands.

But Armond lives in Hawaii, why would they be sending his remains to the mainland?

The plane is headed to Honolulu, which is confusing.

I say Mark’s scrot explodes while he’s in the ocean, and the little shark family eats him after being attracted to the smell of scrotal blood. So it’s him in the coffin.

I was very moved by the end of Episode 2, really reared up and grabbed me. I love this show.

For Shane to be so emotionally affected by the death and watch it get loaded into the plane, I would think it needs to be someone who is in his emotional orbit (either positive or negative). This makes me think it's either the bride (although this seems too obvious), the mother which he has a VERY close relationship with apparently, or Armond with whom he has an escalating rivalry.

In my dirty gay mind, Shane and Armond have a sordid past (like, they hooked up) and that's why they have this weird tension.

R303 I like this show too but moved about what exactly?

Not, r303, but I too was moved by Quinn seeing the whale at the end. His whole arc thus far makes me both sad and hopeful. It’s like he’s only just now discovering his right to even exist.

[quote] She's the CFO, not CEO. It's a pretty big difference. And also, being a CFO would account for her being cheap.

You don’t think the CFO of a major tech company makes huge money?

[quote]The plane is headed to Honolulu, which is confusing.

They are on Maui so taking a plane to Honolulu for a connection to the mainland would be pretty ordinary.

I wish people would stop acting like the CFO's family isn't loaded. We know that years ago, the cunty wife did a profile on women in leadership and focused on Mrs. CFO. We also know that the father is basically a kept-man. Mom makes the big bucks and leads the family. She's been killing in the corporate world for a minute. MeToo was years ago, she positioned herself to capitalize on that to get her current position, that means she was already in a well paid position prior to the CFO promotion.

Anyway you cut it, they would have enough money or hotel points to afford a second room for their kids or a larger suit.

I need Murray Bartlett inside me quite deeply

Some of you are simply missing the point. The Connie Britton character is wealthy enough to have rented two rooms but she didn't because she's frugal and a control freak. She doesn't trust those kids to be on their own. And can you blame her?

I think Jake Lacy has big fuzzy Blondie balls. Mmmmm

*blondish. Lol

Has Murray tasted Jake's big blond sack?

R315 That's in episode 4.

R308 Not compared to the CEO. Plus the big money there is in stock options, and it will depend if they've vested yet, given we know she got the job fairly recently.

Many of the responses on this thread are missing the point of the show entirely, and paying attention to the wrong things. For instance, the whole crux of the room dispute between Shane and Armand isn’t who’s right or who’s wrong, it’s what their behavior tells us about them. The logistics of who’s in the right are completely beside the point. It’s the same with Connie Britton and the one bedroom suite. Of course she could afford a bigger one, but as R312 said, that’s totally not the point.

Well Mike, if your writing was better maybe that wouldn't happen.

My inner Nicolas Fairfield LOVES the opening credits with the monkeys and chameleons and flowers on that wallpaper!

There were so many beautiful moments in Enlightened. Her voice overs were so touching. I loved this show.

The 2nd episode of White Lotus was a drag

There are so many comments here from people complaining there are no characters to sympathize with, but I completely sympathize with Rachel, the new wife. I thought she was our main point in. She's the outsider amongst all these rich people. She's the only trying to point out to her husband how much they have, the room is gorgeous, his nitpicking is disturbing to her. She tries to connect with the young college girls and feels judged, she tries to connect with the tech cfo and was judged. And from the previews, we know Molly Shannon is showing up soon as the mother, so she will most definitely be judged. Rachel seems like an inherently decent person who picked this guy because she's tired and lost and wants someone "decisive" to make the decisions for a while, but she's realizing she doesn't want to get swallowed up in this relationship. Anyway, that's all to say that I feel for her.

Also, I can almost guarantee you that Mike White wrote the Connie Britton character for Laura Dern - a wiser, restrained Amy Jellicoe perhaps - and Dern was probably unavailable to do it. Connie def feels like an after thought.

I'm curious if we are going to see the trainee who just had a baby in the next episode. I liked her.

[quote}Also, I can almost guarantee you that Mike White wrote the Connie Britton character for Laura Dern - a wiser, restrained Amy Jellicoe perhaps - and Dern was probably unavailable to do it. Connie def feels like an after thought.

I don't know r322 -- Connie was in wonderful and funny and perfect in a very similar role in Beatriz at Dinner, which Mike White wrote (but was directed by his oft collaborator Miguel Arteta) -- seems like she might've been in his mind since then

I LOVE Jennifer Coolidge and she is stealing the show, although Steve Zahn and Connie Britton are always great too. Does anyone remember Jennifer's appearance on SATC? She kills it! Classic!

[quote]Connie was in wonderful and funny and perfect in a very similar role in Beatriz at Dinner, which Mike White wrote (but was directed by his oft collaborator Miguel Arteta)

I did not know Britton was in Beatriz At Dinner. I meant to watch that film and never got around to it but I had no idea that White had written the screenplay. I should check that movie out. I heard Salma Hayek was wonderful.

[quote]The Connie Britton character is wealthy enough to have rented two rooms but she didn't because she's frugal and a control freak. She doesn't trust those kids to be on their own.

It was even IN THE SCRIPT that she acknowledges not getting a second suite so the family can bond.

R326 If youwant your family to bond, you shouldn't allow one child to bring a friend.

r327, again not the point, I'm just pointing out that some people need to turn their close captioning on.

[quote]If youwant your family to bond, you shouldn't allow one child to bring a friend.

You are watching the wrong show. You need to watch something simpler.

The whole point is that none of these people know what they fuck they are doing with their lives.

Also it's been established that the son character only has online gaming friends, and no human ones (they mentioned one who moved away years earlier, which the mother hadn't even noticed). Y'all aren't even paying attention and then bitching about the things you've missed!

I loved Beatriz at Dinner -- more than anything White's done, even Enlightened, it feels of a piece with this show

I also loved Beatriz at Dinner. Salma is wonderful and John Lithgow is great too. They have a scene together toward the end that really crackles.

I think most of the characters could be considered sympathetic but flawed.

To whoever made the comment about Connie Britton's character originally being written for Laura Dern, sounds about right.

The amazing thing about Dern: she nails White Privilege, but she also can switch gears and nail the opposite, white trash, just as well.(Citizen Ruth, The Baby Dance).

I suspect "Quinn" will turn out gay. I also suspect Quinn is the alter-ego of Mike White.

[quote]The amazing thing about Dern: she nails White Privilege

She was the best thing about Big Little Lies. If you've moved in those circles, you're very familiar with entitled white cunts like the character Dern played.

[quote]You are watching the wrong show. You need to watch something simpler.

Genuinely embarrassed for you that you actually wrote this.

Mike White is a fucking genius and I’m laughing my ass off at every episode. Plus I’m even more in lust with Murray Bartlett.

I had never seen Jake Lacy in anything before. I was watching Diane today & he played Mary Kay Place's son.

He's the putz in Carol too, the one that Rooney ditches for the Blanchett. And of course he was forced to let Lens molest him on Girls, poor thing.

He's been in lots of things when you start noticing him. First time I realized he was sexy was when he played a prostitute in some Jessica Chastain movie

Jake Lacy is a hot version of Steve Kornacki. He could play Steve in a biopic!

I'm a few minutes into e3 and the wife is acting like a cunt again. She's got a fit rich man fucking her and she's off in her head. She's already talking about sex no being a priority, which means she's going to be the type to withhold sex from her husband. This marriage is a disaster.

The teenage daughter looks like a slightly less unattractive version of Billie Eilish. Same sullen and annoying personality, though.

She fucking sucks at this gold-digging thing, you fuck them constantly until you get at least two kids before you stop having sex.

The dad is overreacting about the AIDs/gay news. Like he's a grown ass man, get over it.

If I was married to Jake Lacy, I’d let him fuck me regularly, on the hour, if he wanted. No complaints.

And I don’t even LIKE anal!

R345 are you a gay man?

I meant receiving! I’ll fuck you, r346.

R347 You'll fuck me? But you don't even know me?!

[quote]The dad is overreacting about the AIDs/gay news. Like he's a grown ass man, get over it.

In fairness, it is difficult to know about your dad's sexual preferences, up the ass or otherwise.

R348, if you look like Jake Lacy, then yes.

Jake Lacy has always aroused me. But I was a little disappointed with his ass.

Mike White is turning the sexual awkwardness up to Todd Solondz levels.

Dad was a bossy bottom!

I know Jennifer Coolidge is about as old as Sarah Jessica Parker, but she's put on a lot of upper body weight. I'm concerned for her health!

What's the deal with the daughter? Did she have some lesbian attraction to Paula and now she's jealous, or is she just possessive?

When the fuck do we get the gay action with Bartlett? That scene better be 30 mins long at this rate!

Nicole’s teal blue caftan on The White Lotus.... if any DLer is interested in buying it.....

Or Quinn's shark underwear....

I loved this episode.

(I thought the teenage horrors girls were spot on in their "sexual" teasing Zahn about his father. My Gen Z nephews love doing that shit to me. I swear they know more terms/positions/etc than I do.)

Coolidge was amazing this week. She didn't over do it on the boat. And she easily could have. It was understated, sad, and raw.

R359 She’s so special

Anyone else lusting after that awkward twink son? His body is looking good in those underwear. Very soft and cuddly.

I was only mildly interested in this show, but episode 3 got me hooked. Sydney Sweeney is my favorite. She's bitchy, but she's woke but she reads Camille Paglia books. I also have to wonder if she's sexually interested in her friend? Very complex.

Okay, that episode was amazing! I was dying laughing through most of it, especially the bitchy daughter and her friend teasing the father about grandpa being a bossy bottom. Zahn was excellent as his character gets progressively drunker throughout the day, while trying on his "realness", all culminating in his amazing gorilla-flirting with the wife. Also, his interaction with Armand was so fucking delicious. And can I just say that I was in LOVE with Armand's flowery shirt with that powder blue suit. LOVED IT! He looked flawless in it.

I posited back in R208 that the bitchy daughter was in love with her bff and just hadn't realized it yet. It's certainly starting to seem that way, unless she's just upset that her friend is keeping secrets from her. I love when the music goes a little sinister, as it did when Olivia was watching them having sex in the cabana.

This should be Jennifer Coolidge's Emmy nom episode. She was amazing. From Tanya's daydream of her scattering her mother's ashes in the ocean with grace, to her raw and unflinching grief on the boat, I was just in awe. She and White got that perfect edge of allowing grief to go past the accepted version for the rest of society to the deep-rooted, incredibly uncomfortable to witness, real edition where everything just comes pouring out. That was like watching a cathartic therapy session. And then Tanya so child-like afterwards while Belinda held her and sang to her. She took a woman who by all accounts should be unlikable and insufferable because all anyone sees is her privilege and wealth, and made her an open wound who just wants someone to love her.

And I am still on Rachel's side. The husband is odious. As soon as he started in with the "people have been coming for me my whole life" pity party I was over him. A part of Rachel is already starting to see that she's made a mistake but the rest of her hasn't caught up with it yet. The chat she was with Zahn was hilarious.

Lastly, I am really worried about Armand! He is disappearing down into that hole and I am wondering who is going to pull him out. I think it is possible, as someone suggested above, that he might be in the casket, which would bum me out. Maybe the twink will pull him back from the brink.

Looking forward to Molly Shannon's appearance next week.

The chat *she had with Zahn ^

Episode 3 really pulled me in. It really is a great character study. And I love the pacing and how the score pulls the scenes together. I know some find the music annoying, but I think it’s just as much a part of the series as the dialogue and acting. I know - MARY!

How realistic is it that family members have sexually explicit conversations with each other? And Sydney Sweeney is constantly talking about her brother jerking off.

R366 - I’ve known families like that, and who’ve talked about worse. There are families with no boundaries.

r367 is right. I think Gen X parents tend to be more open with their kids about sex, drug and alcohol use, etc. I have friends in their mid-40s with three kids in their late teens/early 20s, and am still occasionally shocked when my friends relate some of the conversations. The mom buys condoms for her 18-year-old son, and he recently told her that they're "too small" for him (sounds like a DL EST, I know!) ... anyway my point is that for those of us raised by uptight Silent Gen or Boomer parents, family vibes are different now ...

I know critics have been trying to make Alexandra Daddario happen. They may finally have their wish, because this is the only time she's been good in anything.

Eww, R361. I find the Quinn character to be unusually unattractive of a sort you usually don’t see in film.

r363, I've been the one calling the newlywed wife a cunt. Her husband's immaturity is a feature, not a bug. You can't tell me that it's him that suddenly changed since they've gotten on that island. She's the one having reservations and pulling away from their relationship. Is he a pampered asshole? Yes, but she willingly married him and I bet it was because of his money and body. She's wins the rich husband and then starts complaining that she's married to a rich man-baby. Why did she take another's girls spot in the 1% club? Because, she has those student loans, she's living her Carrie Bradshaw life (writer, moved to NY, from humble beginnings, sporadic contract work, marries a wealthy man), and now her true colors are coming out. He just wants her to look pretty, enjoy the vacation, spend his money, and fuck, what more could you want?

Then she drops the cuntiest of bombs, when she basically says that sex means nothing to her or isn't even a priority. That has "dead bedroom" written all over it. So she doesn't want sex with her husband, she doesn't like his personality, she's awkward around everyone, she wants him to be romantic (as if trip to Hawaii and Tahiti aren't romantic) and she has no sense of humor. My parter and I would be laughing about that sad boat ride as a crazy thing that happened in life, instead she's all weird.

I wrote a lot but I can't stand people that suddenly change once they get a ring on their finger. Women do this a lot with regards to sex, holding it over men like some dg treat. It's stupid behavior that leads to resentment. They need a divorce ASAP.

Good episode.

I'm still having issues with the friend. She brings nothing to the trip and the daughter needs to do a better job of picking her friends. That girl is not loyal and breaking girl code left and right. She has impeccable taste in Hawaiian men. What's with these white families letting their children cuss at them. If my son cussed me out the way their little freak did in e2, I would have thrown his phone and ipad into the ocean myself. He didn't need a phone for this trip, he needed to socialize with people his own age.

On that note, the daughter and especially her friend would not be allowed to pick on him in my presence. I could tell that Mrs. CEO was done fucking her husband when they put their children in the living room with only a small door as separation. I kept thinking how you gonna fuck with your kids in the living room? That mystery was solved.

[quote]Coolidge was amazing this week. She didn't overdo it on the boat.

Yes, I was waiting for this scene:

JAKE: "The reason I wanted this romantic evening is to tell you that--"

JENNIFER [Plopping down on the table] "You know something? My mother was a real CUNT!"

I keep wondering why the rich CEO couldn't get more than a 1 bedroom suite. Get the kids a standard room :P

She wanted a reason o rebuff her husband's monkey behavior.

Quinn is going to turn out to be gay, right?

So who’s going to die? I almost could hardly blame Shane for taking out Armond for that stunt he pulled.

Maybe it’s none of them in the coffin?

Dillon, because he wouldn’t give up his hole to drug-addled Armond (who brained him with the see-no-evil monkey objet on his side table.

I thought it was interesting that Tanya complained that her mother manipulated people with her money and was a borderline. That’s exactly how I would describe Tanya.

Oh, and I am excited to see Molly Shannon. YESSSS!

R376 he was jacking off to girl porn alone on the beach so...no

[quote]I thought it was interesting that Tanya complained that her mother manipulated people with her money and was a borderline. That’s exactly how I would describe Tanya.

But I'm ain't no NYMPHO!

And how much you want to bet Tanya doesn’t have money…

Or she does, but once Belinda helps her over his grieving she suddenly forgets about any promises she made

And thus providing Belinda with the motivation to off her, R385?

That’s likely too, R385, considering what a flake she is.

This last episode was fantastic, impressed by this little show.

Murray Bartlett's "Do you want to find out?" to Steve Zahn was great. I'm glad he landed this show and I hope that isn't him that dies in case there are future seasons.

Also can we a picture of the Hawaiian dude the friend was fucking? His ass looked great (Unfortunately Jake Lacy while hot is not blessed with ample backside)

R388

Here's his instagram.

[quote] Sydney Sweeney is my favorite.

I thought she was great in Euphoria, and well cast here. I checked out her Instagram page, pose after pose, kind of like a Cindy Sherman who doesn't really get it. Or maybe she does. Still fun to watch.

[quote]If my son cussed me out the way their little freak did in e2, I would have thrown his phone and ipad into the ocean myself. He didn't need a phone for this trip, he needed to socialize with people his own age.

I think that was the point. Quinn has seemed pretty laid back since they got there but he lost his cool because the prospect of being away from his phone/offline for a day was terrifying to him.

[quote]I'm still having issues with the friend. She brings nothing to the trip and the daughter needs to do a better job of picking her friends. That girl is not loyal and breaking girl code left and right.

The way she fell to the floor when they were pushing the sofa bed back together cracked me up. But Paula is not white and looks like she has some islander in her, so I am starting to get why she's not willing to share that she's hooking up with the Hawaiian waiter. She wants something of her own away from the rich white people.

[quote]Murray Bartlett's "Do you want to find out?" to Steve Zahn was great.

What I loved even more was that long buildup to the reaction shot when he was asked "you're gay, right?" ...............*eyebrows up*.............."Yes."

[quote] he was jacking off to girl porn alone on the beach so...no

I think we’re going to find out that he’s non-sexual. His "I don’t jerk off!" to his sister seemed weirdly sincere. I think the scene on the beach was him *trying* to jack off to porn. But in the end, he was more interested in looking out at the water.

I'm not buying the idea that Nicole would allow each kid to have their own keycard.

[quote]Quinn has seemed pretty laid back since they got there but he lost his cool because the prospect of being away from his phone/offline for a day was terrifying to him.

Same with the girls and their drug stash.

Rich dudes always end up with these humorless, frigid, four bitches like Daddario’s character. Why is that?

Dour

The type of girls that are fun and have a strong personality are less likely to put up with their shit r395.

Daddarios character is still believable as someone that would let a forceful guy come, shower money on her, follow along with whatever he wants and before she realizes it they are married.

The bitch daughter and her bitch friend demonstrate the weakest writing.

The fact that you think they are bitches belies your comment, R398.

Every character is piece of shit, but I like the show.

Critics like A. Daddario? Her IMDb has nothin good. Zero career path.

I hope Belinda gets to be more than the Magical Negro. But her name may be a clue to the corpse. “Thy hand, Belinda….”

I think a distraught Tanya drowns or jumps to her death to either recover her Mother’s ashes or to be with her.

R363 I agree with every paragraph except your last. I'm dreading Molly Shannon appearance in this series, can't stand her.

Ep 3 really got me hooked! Steve Zahn's performance being 'real' and going down that drunken rabbit hole was a real surprise; his scene with Armand and his chest pounding at the end was golden! Jennifer Coolidge is growing on me (and I love her caftans). When the series began, she appeared to be doing her "Jennifer Coolidge" thing but she really reached a different left in E3.

[quote]I'm dreading Molly Shannon appearance in this series, can't stand her.

I agree. She is a ham. And I am afraid she will throw off the balance of the show and make it too sitcomy

Jennifer Coolidge is also known as a ham but it's been a more controlled performance from her. Maybe Molly Shannon will surprise you, we will see.

Jennifer Coolidge plays different variations of the same character. Makes me wonder if she’s like that in real life.

Jennifer Coolidge has zero range. She's fun, but not surprising.

I think this series is a total snore...I'll stick with it for Murray Bartlett and the scenery.

I agree r409. We are half-way through the mini-series and I just don't see the point of it all. Just feels like a vanity project to make pretentious HBO viewers feel as if the network is somehow high brow. I like it enough because it gives me something to watch Sunday night, but I won't miss it when it's gone.

Comparatively, Watchmen was thought provoking and worthy of praise. I'm no comic book or action movie fan. We Are Who We Are was even more entertaining, once you acclimated to life on the base and the neurotic lead. And it gave us some sexy Jewish-American cock.

This show feels claustrophobic; 100% a COVID era production.

Adding to my thoughts above (r410), there appears to be nothing gained or insightful about this show. We all seem to understand these cookie cutter character's (a plus) and where this is leading (a minor). What r40 says about Jennifer Coolidge can be applied to this show, thus far.

"It has zero range. [Sometimes] fun, but not surprising."

Give me another Chernobyl, season 2 of Euphoria, or season 3 of Succession. All shows that had something to say, beyond the obvious.

The comparison to the Watchmen is pretty silly r210, drastically different types of shows. The comparison to We Are Who Are makes sense, to me this show is better executed than that one.

I love Molly too. And I've seen her in Divorce (which probably no one watched) , she can be versatile.

I'm only comparing them because this is getting praise where I just don't think it's warranted. Watchmen was also praised, but deserved the positive reviews. Style wise WL is up to HBO's standards, but content wise, it belongs on STARS or Netflix.

The execution on We Are Who We Are was clunky or melodramatic at times, but you really felt the atmosphere of that base and didn't know if that kid was gonna fuck that sexy soldier or have a mental breakdown, maybe both and jump off a bridge. The daughter's bubbling sexuality was well done. You felt like the friendships were genuine. All of the characters had layers to their personalities. This is like a muted version of "Best in Show".

Of course the CFO isn't fucking her husband and is work obsessed. Of course one kid is off in his online world while the other is an "enlightened" co-ed. Of course some rich lady is an alcoholic pill-poper. Of Course the hot rich guy is an asshole. Ok, what's the point? The characters are all well in good, but the plot isn't connecting to me yet. I'll keep watching and I don't mean to shit on other's taste; I just don't get what we are supposed to be taking from this show now that we are halfway through this story.

Not really, r399. Nasty, privileged, sexually frustrated brat daughters are very much a type.

[quote] I was dying laughing through most of it, especially the bitchy daughter and her friend teasing the father about grandpa being a bossy bottom.

Yeah, because wealthy fathers totally take that kind of sexual humiliation with nothing but bemusement from their sponging daughters. Weakass, sitcom-level writing.

These parents are GenX, educated, progressive.

Do you really expect a wealthy GenX father to act like some authoritarian, hillbilly boomer?

R416 is delusional if you think teenagers in wealthy families don't talk back to their parents. God if anything teenagers in those families feel more entitled to speak however they want to their parents.

Suurreee, blinking like an ineffectual sitcom dad after your daughter humiliates you in front of a guest is totes normal. Sure, Jan.

[quote] I have a theory that the blonde daughter is feelings the stirrings of love for her bff and that's why she got upset about seeing her with the waiter

No shit. The daughter is a big ol’ rug munching lesbian who has forced her little brother from the bedroom so she can seduce her friend. That’s why she’s always emasculating her father and brother, cos she’s sexually frustrated.

This is not subtle, elegant writing, people.

There’s a reason parents in poor families skew authoritarian. The parents have no power outside the family (failures at life), so they bully the kids.

Educated, successful parents don’t have this pathology. Plus GenX grew up absolutely HATING their asshole parents, so of course they don’t want to be anything like them.

What r417 said. Zahn's reaction was typical of Gen X. We just rolled our eyes in exasperation and ignored Boomers and Millennials, and now we're doing the same with Gen Z. They're all a bunch of cunts.

Steve Zahns character wasn’t HUMILIATED, Mary.

The very fact your ego is so easily triggered tells me you aren’t going to be able to understand family dynamics among self-confident people who actually like each other. (Parents/kids, that is.)

[quote] Shane reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, a book about "on investigating how first impressions help us make right decisions in some situations and betray us in other situations." Anyone have any theories? I heard (good) directors never prominently display certain things in a scene unless it is meant to mean something, like a clue to a puzzle or something.

It’s not a puzzle, just indicators to their characters.

The girls are reading their college texts for psychology and philosophy.

Malcolm Gladwell sells very well in airport bookstores the world over. Ditto Yuval Noah Harari. Those books are easily digestible and occasionally very good popular non-fiction that in this case people read when they convince themselves they would be wasting their vacation reading something fun like Lee Child.

Reverse the situation. Would the parents mocking the daughter’s sexual failure in not managing to fuck her friend be ok?

[quote] you aren’t going to be able to understand family dynamics among self-confident people who actually like each other. (Parents/kids, that is.)

You think these pathological people are self-confident and that the daughter likes her parents? Hahahaa

Give it a rest r424. Your argument is nonsensical. The most obvious being thr scene was about their grandfather who died young and and these grandkids have never met.

God this "how dare they embarass their father" routine. Mary, I can't.

"Cute bun".

[quote] [R416] is delusional if you think teenagers in wealthy families don't talk back to their parents. God if anything teenagers in those families feel more entitled to speak however they want to their parents.

Especially, since these are obviously newly rich tech people, not old money.

My daughter called me a “tough old bag” the other day and I laughed my ass off. It wouldn’t even occur to me to be offended.

Also, the friend was joining in teasing Zahn’s character. He couldn’t exactly yell at his daughter because he’d have to yell at the guest also. Bad form as a host to make a scene like that.

[quote] Also, the friend was joining in teasing Zahn’s character. He couldn’t exactly yell at his daughter because he’d have to yell at the guest also. Bad form as a host to make a scene like that.

But it’s not bad form for the daughter to make a scene like that?

[quote]Especially, since these are obviously newly rich tech people, not old money.

"Old money." Christ, only on DL.

What the girls were doing wasn’t making a scene. The dad blowing up at them WOULD have been making a scene.

Christ, you sound like a fucking psycho.

You do realize it’s a red flag for narcissism when parents or other adults interact with kids (and these are older kids here) in a combative, egocentric, bullying way?

[quote]I just don't get what we are supposed to be taking from this show now that we are halfway through this story.

You praised We Are Who We Are -- what were we supposed to be taking from that halfway through?

Alec Merlino from Mike White's [italic]Survivor[/italic] season has a small part in this.

Only on DL would anyone defend that disgusting POS newlywed husband. His wife is the only sympathetic guest at that resort. I don't find him particularly attractive so am able to think beyond my cock.

The actress playing Belinda was hilarious on "Insecure".

I think Zahn's character is the dead one because he DIDN'T have cancer.

R432 Is a parent being a narcissist if they quietly tell their daughter she is acting narcissistically?

I think the parents act the way a lot of today’s parents do when their kids get mouthy or challenging - they roll their eyes and change the subject. I, on the other hand, got a backhand across the face.

r437 that's because you were raised white trash.

What a dickish think to say, R438. I was raised by boomers who were raised that way.

Most people knew at the end of the 19th century that hitting kids was a bad idea. So most of our parents were only 100 years behind the times. Doesn’t say much for our parents’ education or social standing.

I guess a lot of us were raised PWT.

I am always amazed at how many DLers come from very modest backgrounds.

Not really, R440. I recall principals being able to give the strap up until the late 70s/early 80s. Laws outlawing child corporal punishment didn’t really come around til the 1980s. Spare the rod/spoil the child was very much still taught by the church through much of the 20th century.

The shift in parenting really began with Gen X.

Love the show and especially Ep. 3!

God, what a bunch whiners you all are. Relax and enjoy yourselves.

[quote]I think the parents act the way a lot of today’s parents do when their kids get mouthy or challenging - they roll their eyes and change the subject. I, on the other hand, got a backhand across the face.

And people asked me why I wore cocktail rings during the day. Well ...

R434, I’d totally forgotten Mike White was on Survivor. I don’t remember that Alex guy at all.

I thought it was poor form to be discussing the dad’s gay father’s AIDS death in front of their guest. As of the dad wasn’t even there.

Mike was on Survivor? I only saw him and his dad on The Amazing Race. They were adorable.

[quote] Only on DL would anyone defend that disgusting POS newlywed husband. His wife is the only sympathetic guest at that resort

Ugh, the wife is a total pill. Not that her husband is not.

I am dreading when Jennifer Coolidge inevitably stiffs Belinda/gets her fired.

Is the gay storyine any good? Like, do the gay characters get screen time, do they get a love life, like kissing and sex? Won't watch otherwise.

Tanya reminds me of an incredibly wealthy woman I know IRL. She makes these wild promises with her money to get what she wants, emotionally. She’d promise crazy field trips to Europe and Japan, and there would be dinners out where she’d be embarrassing. I would never take her up on it because dignity. One time I paid the check for our overpriced coffees and she was SO MAD. I said it was the only way I could possibly reciprocate her generosity and to just let me buy her a cup of coffee at least. I figured she was mad because I took away her leverage.

98% of the things she waved in front of people to get them to do what she wanted didn’t ever materialize.

Does anyone know what the rules are for in hospitality for fraternizing/hooking up with guests? I'm assuming it's a no-no, but not sure and if it's Murrary Bartlett/Armond I wouldn't care.

Although his taste in men with man buns is questionable....

R451 That's what I'm expecting here, possibly with Belinda screwing up the courage to ask Tanya to follow through, only for Tanya to accuse her of trying to take advantage of her when grieving, and painting herself as the victim.

Will Jennifer Coolidge be stealing Jean Smart's Featured Actress Emmy?

Seeing as White Lotus is still on and thus isn’t nominated, I don’t see how r454

Jennifer Coolidge's breakdown on the boat wasn't really great acting, nor was that scene shot smoothly. I did love the fact that the ashes kept blowing into the hotel worker's face. What a day, he had ashes thrown at him, had to serve a grieving woman and upset honeymooners, then later on his boss sexually harasses him.

Alexandra Daddario's reactions were way over the top during Jennifer's breakdown (watch it again). Jennifer's ramblings went on a bit too long and felt like acting rather then a hilarious/sad scene. Boat disaster was setup nicely, but should have been shot better or re-edited.

If you've ever had a relationship with a narcissist, then you can understand what is going on with the newlywed wife.

When a narcissist is pursuing the object of his desire, they are on their best behavior. Love bombing and constant attention and romance. They make you feel like you are the most interesting and special person in the world. You get swept off your feet.

Once they have you, that's when , little by little, their true horrible and dominating angry self starts to reveal itself and you realize that this is not the person you fell in love with. Red flags start to rise up all over the place and you start to think, what have I gotten myself into?

That's what she's experiencing right now.

But he hasn't once been cruel or angry. He's been 100% consistent throughout this show. He upset with the hotel manager for gas lighting and stealing from his family via the room upgrade fiasco. The manager also lied about when the German couple would depart from the room they newlywed's booked. He has every right to be upset because the manager is doing absolutely nothing to correct his mistake.

His wife is the one that suddenly decided to take on a crap work assignment in the middle of their honeymoon. He's reminding her that they are on their honeymoon and that her actions would disregard his feelings (very valid response). He is a jerk about the gig and her decision to continue taking crappy writing gigs because he's a snob.

I'm not seeing a narcissist from the husband, if anything it's the wife with simmering rage coming out.

"Be romantic"

"Sex isn't a priority"

"Sorry, sometimes I get insecure..(and lash out)"

She can't take criticism because when the CFO cut her down on over the profile, her reaction is that the CFO is a bitch. Same type of reaction her husband has with the hotel manager.

I don’t understand how anyone can see the new groom as anything but a horrible person. He’s a total douche.

Don’t overthink it, r459. They just can’t see past Jake Lacy’s tits.

It’s possible Rachel married Shane for his connections or name. Maybe her reactions to him are because she hates him and has hated him all along.

Groom is 98% douchebag, but so is the wife.

As in real life horror couples, there’s really no victim there. Just two huge assholes who deserve each other.

Women who go for security / money and then are shocked when their quirky, freewheeling life gets subsumed… well, what did they think would happen? You want to keep your independence, maybe don’t go for the rich, controlling asshole.

I think Molly Shannon’s character will shed some light.

I think the show makes all of your opinions valid, which is why I don't get people who say nothing happens on this show -- it's rich in bewildering character details that stimulate these conversations about human behavior.

Eh horrible person is strong r459. He isn't crazy, they were not put into the room they paid for. Armond did lie to him about that. Its not crazy for him to not want his wife to work during the honeymoon.

I think they have done a good job so.fsr of making him a bit of a tool, while still keeping him a grounded character rather than some villain. He is spoiled and used to getting his way.

astute, R464.

I think Jake Lacy said it well, re: his character, in an interview:

[quote] "He knows he’s allowed to be an asshole, and he thinks he’s being generous by not immediately being an asshole. But that’s not the same as grace or compassion,” Lacy says. “It’s just someone cocking their arm back and being like, ‘Dude, don’t make me hit you.’”

What a terrible photo of Jack. The sweater is nice but the background, the jeans are all weird choices.

I keep laughing to myself over the scene where Jennifer Coolidge asks the honeymooners if they want to sit with her and she says it might be more convivial. I love the choice of that word by Mike White. Also the kid playing Quinn gave me young Joaquin Phoenix vibes in episode 3.

[quote]It’s an ensemble show, but Lacy’s feud with Bartlett is what propels the plot toward its deathly conclusion.

R467 Thanks for the link. I was especially drawn to the above line. I'm thinking the body on the plane has to be Shane's mother or wife.

I only know Jake Lacy from his stint on The Office and yet that show is seldom mentioned in any conversation about his career.

I only know Lacy from “ Girls,” where he also played a smug, controlling twat.

I am repulsed by him even as I recognize he’s a good actor.

We'll eventually see how her character develops further, but so far, I don't think she's a horrible person. She does seem to be insecure , timid and a bad journalist. A man like Shane would absolutely be drawn to a pretty and weak woman like her so that he can dominate her and use her as a sex object.

Maybe after her mother-in-law arrives, she freaks out and snaps.

I love this show. I want to have sex with it (I'm top vers) and then in the middle we can flip and I'll bottom.

Those of you defending the newlywed husband seem to be conveniently forgetting the scene in which he obnoxiously and relentlessly flirts with the 2 teenage girls in front of his new wife and everyone else at the hotel.

R475, true, but we don’t know if that’s new behavior or not.

Was it really that bad, R475?!

R477 ...uh, yeah

I don’t have a lot of sympathy for insipid cunts like the wife.

“Oh, gee whiz, I somehow drifted into a marriage with a wealthy man, and I somehow seem to be always flashing my tits around, but what I really want to do is complain about how dissatisfied I am while on my luxurious honeymoon, but mostly I’m just so bewildered as to how this all happened to me…(bites lip, tears up)…”

Get it together, bitch.

[quote] Those of you defending the newlywed husband seem to be conveniently forgetting the scene in which he obnoxiously and relentlessly flirts with the 2 teenage girls in front of his new wife and everyone else at the hotel.

Olivia & Paula were shown to have as much (non-carnal) fun as we've seen them, yet.

Is Jennifer Coolidge a lesbian? I mean in real life.

not unless she's closeted r481, she talked a bunch about dating men in recent interviews

Yes R477. He's on his honeymoon! He should only be interested in his partner. And she's not turning him down for sex, and he seems to be satisfied. So, he's just a creep.

[quote]she talked a bunch about dating men in recent interviews

She dated Chris Kattan and then obliquely outed him in an interview after their breakup.

I think it’s Jennifer in the coffin.

R484, where did she 'obliquely out' him? I can only find a reference where she said he was often mistaken for gay due to parts he had played but that he was 'very heterosexual' with her.

The Brilliant, Biting Social Satire of “The White Lotus”/ Naomi Fry (NYer)

Aboat ferrying a gaggle of rich American tourists makes its way toward a Hawaiian luxury resort. At the shore, the resort’s decidedly less wealthy, more ethnically diverse staff waits to greet the guests. The groups face each other, as if they were equal expressions on two sides of a mathematical equation, but the equivalence is just an illusion. “Wave like you mean it,” the resort’s manager, Armond (the Australian actor Murray Bartlett), instructs Lani (Jolene Purdy), a native-Hawaiian trainee. Armond explains that the guests expect a kind of pleasant blandness, or an “impression of vagueness,” from the staff. “We are asked to disappear behind our masks,” he says. “It’s tropical Kabuki!”

Aboat ferrying a gaggle of rich American tourists makes its way toward a Hawaiian luxury resort. At the shore, the resort’s decidedly less wealthy, more ethnically diverse staff waits to greet the guests. The groups face each other, as if they were equal expressions on two sides of a mathematical equation, but the equivalence is just an illusion. “Wave like you mean it,” the resort’s manager, Armond (the Australian actor Murray Bartlett), instructs Lani (Jolene Purdy), a native-Hawaiian trainee. Armond explains that the guests expect a kind of pleasant blandness, or an “impression of vagueness,” from the staff. “We are asked to disappear behind our masks,” he says. “It’s tropical Kabuki!”

Welcome to “Upstairs, Downstairs,” Aloha State edition. The series, called “The White Lotus,” named for the fictional resort where the action takes place, is a near-note-perfect tragicomedy, created by Mike White for HBO. White has written mass-market Hollywood fare like “School of Rock,” but he is better known for his work on small-screen comedies such as “Freaks and Geeks” and, more recently, “Enlightened,” a short-lived cult favorite, also on HBO. Much like the latter series, in which Laura Dern plays an executive who tries to make a comeback after suffering a public nervous breakdown, “The White Lotus” is an examination of what happens when the veneer of conventional sociability dissolves and the power struggles stoked by race, class, and gender erupt from beneath the surface of everyday life.

In the first of six episodes, Armond tells Lani to make each guest feel like the “special chosen baby child of the hotel.” These baby children include the Mossbacher family: Nicole (Connie Britton), a Sheryl Sandberg-like tech C.F.O.; her beta husband, Mark (Steve Zahn); their porn-addicted sixteen-year-old son, Quinn (Fred Hechinger); and their daughter, Olivia (“Euphoria” ’s Sydney Sweeney, once again playing a parent’s nightmare), a bitchy, performatively woke college sophomore, who has brought along a friend, Paula (Brittany O’Grady). There is the obligatory newlywed couple—Shane (Jake Lacy), a real-estate scion in a Cornell baseball cap, and his wife, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), a clickbait journalist who, hours into her honeymoon, is starting to have second thoughts. There is also Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), a lonely alcoholic who carries around her dead mother’s ashes in an ornate gilt box. The chief coddlers are Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), a soothing, long-suffering spa manager, who is perhaps the only truly likable character on the show, and Armond, a mustachioed dandy and a recovering addict whose sobriety is tested by his stressful job.

The White Lotus is a breeding ground for conflict, not unlike the Hell masquerading as Heaven in “The Good Place.” Nicole, who complains that her suite doesn’t provide “nice feng-shui” for her “Zoom with China,” feels attacked by her daughter’s mocking of her Hillary-style feminism, and insulted by Rachel, who once wrote a profile of her insinuating that she had capitalized on the #MeToo movement to climb the corporate ladder. (Rachel’s defense: “I was just basically repurposing the profile of you from the Post.”) Shane, who becomes increasingly consumed by his belief that Armond is cheating him out of the top-rate suite his mother paid for, feels that he is being unfairly persecuted for his privilege. “People have been coming for me my whole life,” he says. “I’m just playing the hand I was dealt!” The guests’ awful behavior is a vehicle for satire. “My mother told me I would never be a ballerina, and that was when I was skinny,” Tanya says, while attempting to scatter her mom’s ashes in the ocean. But White has an affection for his characters, who never feel like caricatures. When Tanya murmurs, “Oh, my mother, mother, mother,” we hear the call of a soul in true distress.

White’s greatest sympathy lies with those who have a more tenuous connection to power and money. One example is Belinda, who not only tends to Tanya in the spa but also tucks the grieving woman into bed when she is blackout drunk. Belinda hopes that Tanya will pay for her to open up her own wellness center. Rachel, meanwhile, is adjusting to the idea that being wed to Shane means being rich—a blessing and a curse. When she is offered a reporting assignment during their honeymoon, he tells her, “Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it.” Paula, one of the only nonwhite guests at the resort, has a fling with a native-Hawaiian employee, and is perturbed watching him do a traditional dance for the guests. “Obviously, imperialism was bad,” Mark tells her. “But it’s humanity. Welcome to history. Welcome to America.” One thing that White captures, through Paula, is what it’s like to be on vacation with your friend’s family—a tiresome experience of being dragged into tensions that are not your own and still being expected to perform gratitude, which ultimately ends with you despising everyone, including your friend.

“The White Lotus” is largely a character and relationship study, but it does have a plot. The series opens with an ending: Shane, sans Rachel, waits to board a flight back home as a box containing human remains is loaded onto the plane. Someone has died, but who? We are then hurtled, backward in time, to the beginning of the vacation. This makes the show one of many recent HBO series to use nonlinear storytelling (“Sharp Objects,” “I Know This Much Is True,” “Made for Love”). It is also yet another series on the network that seeks to unravel a mysterious death (“Big Little Lies,” “The Undoing,” “Mare of Easttown,” “Sharp Objects” again).

And one would be remiss not to mention “Succession,” given White’s focus on the wealthy ruling class. But, unlike that show, which relies on crowded plots and multiple locations to sketch out the lives of its characters, “The White Lotus” was shot in one place, the Four Seasons in Maui. The focus on a single site—apart from making filming easier during the pandemic—gives the show a Pinteresque airlessness. The guests and the employees crouch and circle one another like animals in a cage. Sometimes the characters have difficulty escaping White’s gaze. At breakfast, Rachel tries to talk to Shane about her career, and he abruptly leaves the table to chase down Armond. In a later scene, of the Mossbacher family fighting at breakfast, we catch a glimpse of Rachel, still alone at the table, staring down at her plate.

White is obsessed with reality television; he has even been a contestant on “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor.” Perhaps this is why “The White Lotus” is the most reality-TV-like scripted series I’ve seen in a long time. The naïvely blissful guests on the boat reminded me of the horny contestants on “Too Hot to Handle” docking at Turks and Caicos, not yet knowing that they’ve agreed to participate in a game of abstinence. The character of Tanya, in Coolidge’s hands, is as heartrending and unbearable as any Bravo housewife. And owing to a slew of rivalries, and a foreboding, tribal-drum-heavy score, composed by Cristobal Tapia de Veer, White’s show also has ample tinges of “Survivor.” After duking it out for a week on an island, who will come out alive?

“Is this like a kamikaze situation? Are you gonna take me down with you?” Dillon (Lukas Gage), an employee, asks Armond, who—spoilers ahead—has broken his sobriety and is in full fuck-it-mask-off mode. “What do you care?” his boss answers. “You make shit money. They exploit me, I exploit you.” (The actors are excellent across the board, but Bartlett, whose practiced amiability turns progressively feral throughout the series, is a revelation.) Later on, Armond, in a drugged haze, enters Shane’s room, drops his trousers, and squats, straining out a memento in his rival’s suitcase.

Watching this hilarious, horrifying moment, I thought of Jamaica Kincaid’s “A Small Place,” in which she derides the tourists who come to her native Antigua in search of a scenic vacation. “You must not wonder what exactly happened to the contents of your lavatory when you flushed it,” Kincaid writes. “The contents of your lavatory might, just might, graze gently against your ankle as you wade carefree in the water, for you see, in Antigua, there is no proper sewage-disposal system.” Staying at the White Lotus might seem like the most wonderful thing in the world, but don’t be surprised if, by the end of the vacation, you end up with shit in your luggage. You’ve more than likely done something to deserve it.

BE WARNED that the New Yorker review post above includes a mild spoiler -- although it does not reveal who's in the coffin.

R477 he was clearly only flirting with them to wind his wife up. It worked.

“He’s the most entitled victim possible,” Lacy tells me mid-bridge. “He’s technically correct. He did not get what he paid for. But also, dude, let it go!”

SERIOUSLY

[quote]he was clearly only flirting with them to wind his wife up.

Oh, that's much better, then.

R494 you might want to loosen your clutch on your pearls.

I don't like any of the characters on this show but I'll keep watching. I did like the pregnant hotel worker in the first episode but she's gone now.

They aren't supposed to be likeable, R496. This isn't a sitcom.

[quote] They aren't supposed to be likeable, [R496]. This isn't a sitcom.

Indeed.

I do hope Lani, the pregnant hotel worker, returns before the season finale.

"White Lotus" clearly struck a thread with DL, this thread got to 500 posts after only three episodes. Not that many TV series threads do this well anymore. Even the haters can't seem to stop themselves from posting ...

I was feeling the same thing the other day, R500. Who's starting thread #2?

Isn't it custom to wait until around comment 550 to start the next thread? Threads max out by 600 comments.

Lacy needs to do a few squats and lunges to firm up that ass.

I'm just gonna leave this here...

And this....

“Maybe do some squats… pop that booty?”

He should do some Bend ... and Snaps!

Any fans of Mike White's ENLIGHTENED? Because I'm loving WHITE LOTUS so much I decided to check out but after the first 2 episodes I'm underwhelmed. Does it get better?

I think it may have been discussed way upthread but I can't recall what was said.

Most of the early replies referenced Enlightened, and yes, there are many fans of that show on here. I don't know how you couldn't get immediately sucked in with that opener! I adored it. I was heartbroken when it got cancelled. There is an episode toward the end of the first season that features mostly Laura Dern's real life mother Diane Ladd that is just startling. And the one where the ex husband gets an episode to himself was also just glorious. Stick with it.

Thanks, r509, I definitely will continue. I guess I just felt that the first 2 episodes were all set-up and I'm waiting for the plot to begin.

R508 Yes! In fact, this thread got me interested in watching Enlightened (I had never seen it before). I thought it was a good study on how people with good intentions can still be incredibly flawed and selfish.

Since I was watching Enlightened and White Lotus back to back, I noticed Mike White reusing a joke. When Laura Dern finds Luke Wilson's drugs everywhere she jokes about him having a "Mexican pharmacy." Zahn's dad character says the same thing to the daughter about having a "Mexican pharmacy" when he notices the bong and all the pill bottles the girls had brought with them to Hawaii.

Oooh, R103 is right.

I wrongly assumed Shane was on his way home from Honolulu. But the plane he's boarding, and the plane the body is boarding, is headed to Honolulu. Rachel mentioned their honeymoon was Hawaii, then Tahiti. Wondering if the death occurred in Tahiti? Here's transcript of the scene:

Voice over: "Hawaiian air flight to Honolulu will be boarding in fifteen minutes . . ."

Woman: You headed home?

Jake: Yeah.

Woman: We were at the Amanari. The food was fine. The food was good. Not much to do there but we just like to sit around anyway Which hotel were you at?

Jake: White Lotus

Woman: White Lotus? Our guide told us someone was killed there.

Jake: The body's on our plane.

Woman: On our plane? To Honolulu?

Jake: Yeah, they're about to load the body on our plane.

Woman: Well other than that, did ya have a good vacation?

Jake: It was my honeymoon.

Man/woman: Congratulations. Wonderful. Was it everything you'd hoped? (Jake scoffs.) Where's your wife? Yeah, where's your wife?

Jake: No offense, leave me the fuck alone.

R309 was right.

I wrongly assumed Shane was on his way home from Honolulu. But the plane he's boarding, and the plane the body is boarding, is headed to Honolulu. Rachel mentioned their honeymoon was Hawaii, then Tahiti. Wondering if the death occurred in Tahiti? Here's transcript of the scene:

Voice over: "Hawaiian air flight to Honolulu will be boarding in fifteen minutes . . ."

Woman: You headed home?

Jake: Yeah.

Woman: We were at the Amanari. The food was fine. The food was good. Not much to do there but we just like to sit around anyway Which hotel were you at?

Jake: White Lotus

Woman: White Lotus? Our guide told us someone was killed there.

Jake: The body's on our plane.

Woman: On our plane? To Honolulu?

Jake: Yeah, they're about to load the body on our plane.

Woman: Well other than that, did ya have a good vacation?

Jake: It was my honeymoon.

Man/woman: Congratulations. Wonderful. Was it everything you'd hoped? (Jake scoffs.) Where's your wife? Yeah, where's your wife?

Jake: No offense, leave me the fuck alone.

They never make it Tahiti r513, he is flying Hawaiin Air(!) from Maui (where White Lotus is) to Honolulu where the main Hawaiin airport is.

Fair enough, R514. But there are direct flights to the west coast from Maui. Shane doesn't strike me as the layover type.

What's the possibility it's Lani in the box? She comes back to work in the last minutes of the final episode, Shane attempts to attack Armand and kills her instead.

That would add a bit of the randomness Mike White loves.

Well they were planning to go Tahiti so this flight would be last minute. And he isn't from the west coast btw, they live in New York. Very, very rare to find a flight go direct from Maui to NY. So that detail is actually pretty accurate.

It is very clearly not his wife in the box. But it is just as clear that marriage is going to be over by the end of this miniseries / by the time they check out. She's already realizing she made a horrible mistake, he's a narcissist, and his mother shows up in the next episode.

I'm enjoying this show as a character study.

So the woman at the airport did reference a killing at the hotel. Upthread, there was some discussion that someone merely died.

For the people above who don’t find any of the characters likable, what’s wrong with Belinda the spa worker?

I am not a person who finds the characters "unlikable" - I find them merely flawed and human - but in that vein Belinda does have a flaw, and it's that she IS willing to pretend she's the white lady's friend in exchange for financial benefit. You can see on her face that she knows her behavior is sketchy and she doesn't like seeing this side of herself, and she doesn't trust it. But she clearly made the choice to take Tanya's bait. On the scale of shitty behavior on display on this show it's probably the most understandable one, but look at it from Tanya's POV - here's yet another person who won't say no to her, who's willing to feign friendship in exchange for money. Yes it's what Tanya thinks she wants, but Belinda isn't helping her like she really needs. Nor could she! White puts his characters into these impossible knots, where there is no way to actually model absolutely correct behavior - society and its structures demand behavior that compromises everybody

I think Belinda is giving Tanya legit therapeutic spa work.

The actor who plays Quinn has a very strangely shaped body--his head is massive compared to his torso. It's distracting unless it'll come up as a plot point.

That wife should've known that Shane was an asshole long, long before she said "I do." Does she want to change him now that he put a ring on it? Stupid girl.

Murray Bartlett sucks alot of dick.

Do you think Murray is top or bottom?

R525 Do you know him? Spill it.

Hopefully the body in the coffin is one of the cunt teenage girls.

I rewatched the first ep and the new bride is so obnoxious when she does that “omg, some teenagers were rude to me, so I’m going to shake my tits and ass around and put them in their place.”

She has a whiff of the crazy skank about her.

Sydney Sweeney is proving a lot. From Handmaids Tale to Euphoria and now this. Is one of those actresses that get lost in their roles. If I didn’t know I couldn’t recognize her from the Handmaids Tale.

The fact that everyone hates her character is proof enough of her talent. Tho this is her easiest role to perform by far, any blonde girl could do this.

Oh my gosh, r529, I didn't know that that was the same actress! She was so haunting in The Handmaid's Tale, and she's quite memorable in White Lotus but in an entirely different way. Wow.

R528, she was wearing a swimsuit and took off her robe to go swimming. What was she supposed to be wearing at a beach resort? A burka?

I think you missed the subtleties of that scene, r531. Re-watch it. She was deliberately flaunting her body at the girls.

Hey— she has a great body, why not? But it’s such an arrested development, bunny boiler thing to do. Any normal woman would just roll her eyes at some obnoxious teens.

Daddario’s character alternates twitching around half naked with being a frigid bitch. She seems pretty kookoo. Even in the scene with Connie Britton, she’s getting her tits out for some weird reason. It was unsettling how her tits were the focal point of the entire shot. I doubt any of theirs is an accident.

Plus, who marries some raging asshole she just met? I bet we’re going to find out she targeted him in some way.

[quote] Hopefully the body in the coffin is one of the cunt teenage girls.

They’re pretty skinny. Room for both in there, fingers crossed.

[quote] What was she supposed to be wearing at a beach resort? A burka?

Are you new to DL? In these parts we default to the caftan.

Daddario body and tits triggered the last few specks of heterosexuality within me . MARY!

Triggered or eradicated? She’s too skinny— wormy looking.

I love the show. People who "don't get the point of it" are the kind of people who clap when their plane lands.

She does have great tits. Who knew???

Rachel's inner conflict is that she wants to be loved and appreciated for something other than her beauty and great body, but often when she makes the attempt to reach out, she fails. So she falls back on the one thing she's always been able to count on. Thus her deliberate disrobing in front of the teen girls when they refused to engage with her intellectually.

Google her. Her breasts are kind of what she's known for. She does a lot of nudity.

She has nice titties!

Her brother has nice titties too

Yeah the siblings are both really hot, it's why they are famous.

She really does have amazing tits. Like perfect ones, and I'm a gold star gay.

Really enjoying this.

As other posters have said so few characters in this are likeable. Dillon is a nice person, and his scene with a drunk horny Armond was very well played.

Intrigued as to where everything is going.

Murray Bartlett is fantastic. He is one of the most underrated gay actors along with Ben Daniels from The Crown and Fox’s The Excorcist .

[quote]Belinda does have a flaw, and it's that she IS willing to pretend she's the white lady's friend in exchange for financial benefit. You can see on her face that she knows her behavior is sketchy and she doesn't like seeing this side of herself, and she doesn't trust it. But she clearly made the choice to take Tanya's bait.

It's a fantastic performance with a ton of layers.

[quote]She does have great tits. Who knew???

I knew.

Some of you are confusing the intentions of the character with the actress playing the character. And I'm referring to several characters/actresses. If those characters so strongly ignite you (either way), credit the actress, don't flame her.

Link to Thread Two:

This thread's derailed anyway:

The New Yorker did a series of cartoons based on the show. They may be spoilers and if so, Zahn is the dead body.

NO!

The little incel sleeping in the kitchen R193.

Hopefully this photo will upload correctly. Mike White on the left, Alec Merlino, second from right.

How can we watch ep4 early? I can’t wait!

I really wanted Murray Bartlett to fuck Steve Zahn, that would’ve been quite a scene. I read in the New Yorker review that there are only a total of 6 episodes, only 3 left. Shit’s gonna go DOWN in these last 3 episodes.

Great episode tonight!

What is it about Jennifer Coolidge that's just so damn funny she can just give the merest look with her eyes and have me giggling?

Another sub-par series from HBO. At least it's not as terrible as Starz latest installment of The Girlfriend Experience, possibly the worst current series on premium cable! Alexandra Daddario is also in the current The Girlfriend Experience train wreck. Or that awful CAMPING bullshit from Lens Dunham.

In White Lotus, few characters are likable, a bunch of uninteresting shallow spoiled excruciating annoying people. Aren't we subjected to enough of these types in real life, we have watch them on TV and pay for it?

I'm only watching this mess for Jennifer Coolidge.

Still loving Belinda.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

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I think the kid is going to stay on the island and attempt to go native with the canoers.

The BLM joke was really funny, mostly due to Jennifer Coolidge.

I never thought I'd see explicit rimming outside of gay porn. What must the "intimacy coordinator" done with THAT?

Andrew Keenan Bolger would've been perfect looks-wise to play the son.

The staffing situation is just ridiculous. The restaurant is going to have its own staff. The spa manager isn't going to do double duty as the night manager.

Brittany O'Grady (Paula the cunty BFF) is gorgeous.

Seems people have already moved to the new thread

The White Lotus is the best satire of wealth privilege on TV right now

Jake Lacy's character made a Baby Jane joke/reference. How would his character even know about that?

What was the Baby Jane reference? I don't remember that.

R566/567, this was discussed in the precipitous 2nd thread. Shane made the reference in talking about Tanya. And yes, Shane would likely have no idea about Baby Jane.

The hotel manager really needs to shut the blinds on his office

He needs to learn to lock the door

Jennifer Coolidge is a complete bore on this show. I don't understand the Emmy hype.

How many times have we seen that Molly Shannon character in comedies? Such an overused caricature.

The politics makes some of the other characters more interesting than they would've been otherwise. It's very messy, though.

A straight guy can know about Baby Jane, he could've had a gay friend or he could just enjoy old films. I had a friend in college, I wrongly assumed was gay because he loved old movies, especially Bette Davis ones. People can and often do surprise you, with their knowledge and experiences.

Not saying it’s not possible, R572, but it doesn’t seem likely that, from what we’ve gleaned so far, this particular straight young guy would know of Baby Jane.

RIMMING AT LAST!

"Call in the stunt asshole"!

R573 Part of the problem is all we have seen of these people is them on vacation. People can be entirely different on vacation than they are in real life. Also, maybe he doesn't really know Baby Jane, he could've just watched Feud it was a hit, hip tv show a few years ago.

Was the same body double used for Steve Zahn's balls and Lucas Gage's ass??

I'm really like that Connie Britton's character points out how the wokeism as espoused by the daughter, is against everything people have been fighting for, for decades.

Yes, that’s GenX vs GenZ.

[quote]How many times have we seen that Molly Shannon character in comedies? Such an overused caricature.

I noticed the same, the problem is Molly, not the tiresome rich housewife character. Molly isn't much of an actress, she's very one note. Since leaving SNL, she's always playing the same types of shallow superficial rich characters.

The resort manager is excruciating. Why do some people here think he's attractive? His personality is grating and he's an addict.

What's the appeal? He's not even all that attractive. There's no accounting for taste.

R580 is Shane.

Agree about Molly Shannon. I think the character is very well-written....it's her performance that makes her overly shrill and one-note.

However.....why have they introduced those $75,000 bracelets so late in the series? If they figure in a robbery it will seem lame now.

Can somebody pimp slap R580? People think the ACTOR is attractive. Go back to your "Free Britney" documentaries.

Anyone who doubts Molly Shannon's acting abilities should watch her award-winning turn in OTHER PEOPLE.

Or her monologues as Mary Katherine Gallagher, especially the one from Long Island Lolita.

R580 the actor is hardly hideous and the whole point of the show is the characters have various flaws.

He’s very handsome, but not my type.

Almost all the male actors in this have an unattractive nose, with the exception of Murray Bartlett.

[quote]Since leaving SNL, she's always playing the same types of shallow superficial rich characters.

I have not noticed these characters. She was anything but in White's last series, Enlightened, and gave, perhaps, one of the most devastating lines in the whole show. Also, as R584 noted, she is not this character in Other People, where she plays a woman dying of cancer.

Saw her at brunch in a diner on 14th Street, she was totally holding court at her table and was fabulous!

Ah, for the days of a 60-ish Frances Sternhagen.

Did Gage get a nose job? Looks like it.

My understanding is he had his face completely reconstructed after defending a gay friend during a hate crime, so basically a Mark Hamill or Dylan O’Brien.

[quote]Can somebody pimp slap [R580]? People think the ACTOR is attractive. Go back to your "Free Britney" documentaries.

"Free Britney"? I'm not a a teen or a 20 something drooling pop music fan, oh how wrong you are. You got ALL that from my post stating I didn't find an actor attractive? Seriously?

I'm not even a fan of BS, she can't sing, I listen to performers who can actually sing.

DL is now filled with ReThugs, people who are obsessed with porn and others who have little to no taste in music, film and much of anything else. There are so many people who seemingly cannot think for themselves and always need to follow the pack. To feel they belong to some group.

Because someone this thread find this actor 'hot', everyone must? Are you serious? The character is extremely annoying. I don't find this actor attractive in the least. Everyone has a type and this dude isn't mine. You got a problem with someone having a differing opinion?

Enjoy masturbating to the screen caps of this actor.

Close

Out.

This.

r593 I can't find anything online about this. Do you have an article?

Thread

Part two