The White Lotus Season 2 Thread Due

Previous thread

The reference for that Aubrey Plaza scene.

Was there some sexual tension between Valentina and that staff girl or was I imagining things?

The thought crosses my mind as well r3. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to be reading that, but I felt it.

why does mike white obsess with this annoying jungle sound 4 opening songs?

it was annoying season1 , it is annoying now

Nothing could be more annoying than writing "4" for "for."

My issue with Season 2 is that the novelty is gone and Jennifer Coolidge is stinking up the show.

There is no tension and the stakes seem much lower. For example, Ethan kissing a prostitute, or Michael Imperioli’s marriage, or a frau assistant getting laid. Why do we care? The characters barely register.

The chubby girls who I grew up with were all sluts. I find it completely believable that Natalie was the first girl to lose it.

r8, somehow I think you're on the wrong thread.

Otherwise, this must have turned into a mash-up thread: "What would happen if The Facts of Life girls spent a vacation at the White Lotus?"

This season seems awfully dull so far -- just a bunch of not very interesting people yakking at each other. Is it time to give up?

[quote]Continue your discussion of how you are disappointed that Theo James and Will Sharpe aren't making out.

Yet.

Murray Bartlett was the key to the success of the first season. Without him, it's very dull.

S2 is doubling down on the flaws in S1: Two much filler and not good enough payoff to anything.

I loved Bartlett, but I think the bigger problem so far has been the writing. We need a bigger crisis to really set things in motion, and it should be apparent by now (half-way through the season).

People should go back and look at the first three episodes of season 1, people are definitely overrating how much "happened" in those

Episode 3 of Season 1 was just Steve Zahn getting drunk, and Coolidge on a boat with her mother's ashes annoying Jake Lacy.

Rose tinted glasses

where's tom hollander tho?

[quote]People should go back and look at the first three episodes of season 1, people are definitely overrating how much "happened" in those

Yes, we saw the same complaints here about season one.

Season 1 was all new with better actors and writing. Season 2 is weak.

Yes, it was in the fourth episode of Season One where Armond (Murray Bartlett) finally snapped and returned Paula's backpack without the drugs in it, and then took the drugs and paid the hot hotel boy Dillon (Lukas Gage) to do drugs with him and let him fuck him--that was the episode that ended with Armond performing analingus on Dillon.

So next episode things should happen.

[quote] where's tom hollander tho?

Episode 5

I thought I saw Tom already in the restaurant in E3? The guy staring at Jennifer. Anyway, my guess is Theo's character will hook up with Tom as a gay-for-pay.

My guess is Theo's character wants money from his old college pal. I'm betting he is not as wealthy as he says he is and wants something to hold over his friend. Wife is in on it.

Definitely Hollander in the hotel restaurant and bar with three male friends in E3. Not speaking, just waving.

[quote]My guess is Theo's character wants money from his old college pal. I'm betting he is not as wealthy as he says he is and wants something to hold over his friend. Wife is in on it.

The twist is, that while people were berating Harper for her attitude (to the point where she tries to fake being more positive) she has been right about everything all along.

She'll learn what Cameron wanted (Ethan to let him invest his money with him) and think back to her conversation with Daphne who told her about the kind of people he works with. So while I think Daphne was in on it, I don't think she's totally invested. She talked too much about her husband's cheating, and I got the impression that she may not like him that much at all.

I can see Ethan not believing Harper because of her cynicism, and because Cameron spent the day and night seducing him.

That's a nice parallel to Tanya not believing the psychic because she told her negative things. The psychic hit the nail on the head but Tanya didn't want to hear it. Harper will be right but Ethan won't want to hear it because Harper seems negative.

the psychic was freaking out, so i guess tanya will b killed or somethin

The show is a slow build. I like that about it. Nothing is obvious at first and little by little, we start to know the characters personalities, their foibles and what their motives are.

I hope there’s some call backs to the Godfather, like Michael Imporioloi wakes up with one of the hookers heads in his bed or something.

It’s going to be something to do with the scene Abraham was talking about. An explosion.

[quote]the psychic was freaking out, so i guess tanya will b killed or somethin

Or maybe Greg will when he is supposed to be coming back a couple of days later.

Also someone on Reddit had a theory that Cameron and Daphne are like George and Martha from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" They're playing a game with Ethan and Harper. It's not that they don't have money, it's that they're trying to destroy their marriage because they get a kick out of doing things like that.

Every Sunday night in high school I'd jerk off to Michael Imperioli in The Sopranos. He's still hot.

This season seems to be themed around unwanted sexual desire in all its various forms, either the character's own desires (like Dominic) or others presenting them with unwanted sexual opportunities they try to navigate away from (Portia, Ethan, Greg).

Scenes like Valentina in the coffee shop, and Harper suddenly finding herself alone and surrounded by dozens of horny Sicilian men, underscore the theme.

I also thought there the guy in the pool was kind of ominous...like he represents the extreme opposite of Albie. Albie is a huge pussy, and therefore not desirable to Portia, but I got the sense that this guy is going to go too far in the other direction, and she's going to find him equally undesirable.

Will Sharpe is my new imaginary husband.

How come Will Sharpe be presented as the supposed beta and nerd? He's obv the popular type among girls nowadays, even more so than Theo James.

I think the fact that one of the hookers can sing and play the piano will become a bigger plot point.

I think the theme for season two, in fact the entire opening credit sequence, is among the best of all time.

Yes, and the male lounge singer will be involved. Can’t tell if he’s a total creep or really likes the girl. I’m leaning towards creep. I think the singer prostitute will have to kill him.

Would anyone be upset if Porsha was killed?

And Greg would never fly back to Italy in real life after 2 days. Never.

I don’t get how or why this thread is due?

Should be deux. I think the thread was started by Tanya.

‘Due’ is ‘two’ in Italian.

Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci.

Anyone who does a rewatch, please let us know how many times Cameron kissed Ethan, either on the cheek or right on the mouth, I mean, when he wasn’t patting or squeezing or hugging or otherwise groping Ethan (whose boyish haircut is doing him no favors, although I suppose it works for the character).

Albie will turn out to be an Ocean's Eleven-style con man, using Portia to steal Tanya's fortune in the season finale. Or he’s a space alien. Mike White loves these sorts of twists.

I thought something lesbian will happen between the wives in that luxury resort. Am I the only one?

Albie is such a creep. As is the lounge piano player/singer

Albie is like the only son of many single mothers I know who have been fucked over by their exes and have struggled mightily to raise their children alone.

I wish there was a more pronounced gay angle. Instead it’s kinda if lesbianish and straight straight straight.

Pretty sure Greg has to see his doctor, not a girlfriend.

R48 didn't Greg say 'I love you' when he was whispering on the phone though?

He did. Maybe the doctor is his girlfriend and they fell in love during the treatment Tanya paid for.

Wouldn’t that sting extra hard?

I think Greg’s a goner.

Can you blame Greg? Tanya is such a soul sucking black hole of clinging neediness and whining. I wouldn't blame him if he killed her.

I think Mia and the creepy lounge singer will lead the cast in a sing-along of FOLLIES in the final episode. Tanya will kill "I'm Still Here."

As unlikeable as she has been portrayed, Harper has been right about some important things - that Cameron and Daphne's demonstrativeness is 'performative' (he cheats on her), and Cameron was gong to hit up Ethan for money somehow.

Got to admire her sang-froid when she learns that she has basically been kidnapped.

Hmm, yes. Maybe Greg planned for Tanya to have ‘an accident’ while in Italy. That’s why he left for two days (to have an alibi) and was why he was mad the assistant was there (because she’d be a witness/could possibly help Tanya). Greg is over the marriage for sure.

But Greg has signed a pre-nup; he'd get nothing. However, Tanya has just said she would get rid of the pre-nup to please him; in that case, Greg would wait awhile before she met a tragic end.

[quote]Where's tom hollander tho?

[quote]Episode 5

He's in the promo for the upcoming episode, talking to Tanya

I'm pretty sure that Tom Hollander appeared in Ep. 3. He was sitting at a table with a bunch of men and looked over at some other characters.

I actually like this Season a lot more than Season 1 - and I liked S1 a lot. The writing is. fantastic. This show is tied with Severance as my favourite at the moment. Fantastic cast too.

[quote]I'm pretty sure that Tom Hollander appeared in Ep. 3. He was sitting at a table with a bunch of men

Yes that was him, he waved at Tanya

R47 There's zero lesbianism. What show are you watching?

You guys said he will play a gay guy but it looked like he was trying to seduce Tanya.

Tom Hollander is a hitman there to murder Tanya!

[quote] The twist is, that while people were berating Harper for her attitude (to the point where she tries to fake being more positive) she has been right about everything all along.

Not really so much a “twist” as just the way things are. People like Harper who see things as they are aren’t really rewarded for this ability. They’re called “negative” or “cynical,” at least in American culture. Especially if you are a woman.

I really like Harper. There were a few awkward moments between her and the other couple in the first episode or two, but they weren’t because of anything Harper did. The other couple were being douche bags and Harper reacted fairly gently to that instead of laughing it off the way a good little wifey would.

We had the black girl in season 1, now we have a Latina in season two to show diversity. I didn’t know Aubrey Plaza’s father is Puerto Rican in real life.

I thought it was very touching when Harper told the douche couple “you can stay with my family in San Juan.”

It was a very sincere and nice thing to say.

Fun fact: San Juan is full of old families who have been powerful attorneys for generations. Benecio del Toro is from one such family.

Douche couple might have been looking down their noses at Puerto Rico, but it’s quite possible Harper is from a prominent family whose home resembles the palazzos Daphne is always yammering about.

[quote]and Harper suddenly finding herself alone and surrounded by dozens of horny Sicilian men

Not sure if it's been posted yet, but that scene was a homage to Monica Vitti in L'avventura

What Daphne said was right. It's boring and lonely being a man.

I don't think Aubrey Plaza is in the cast to represent Latinos for diversity. I had no idea she has Puerto Rican heritage.

Will Sharpe's "haircut" HAS to go.

Mike White hasn't cast anyone this season from either his Survivor or Amazing Race cast?

Two of his Survivor cast mates (both female) had a cameo in Episode 1.

^ I didn't know about that. I know that a male Survivor castmate was in season1.

I liked season 1 more, especially because of having more focus on the staff. Even that pregnant Asian staffer who was only in like 1-2 episodes was more prominent than any of the staff this season.

[quote]We had the black girl in season 1, now we have a Latina in season two to show diversity. I didn’t know Aubrey Plaza’s father is Puerto Rican in real life.

Aubrey Plaza's father is Puerto Rican. Will Sharpe's mother is Japanese. Oops! There's more than one! Guess that blows your theory to hell.

Sometimes people are hired because the person casting the show LIKES them. It's not to "show diversity." It's because, at least in Aubrey's case, I can't picture anyone else playing this damn role now because she's good.

[quote]How come Will Sharpe be presented as the supposed beta and nerd? He's obv the popular type among girls nowadays, even more so than Theo James.

Have you or someone you've known gone to one of your school reunions and noticed that suddenly, no matter how long its been or what they've done since then, people start to "slip" back into their "old" personalities?

His character and Theo's character were friends at a different time in their lives when their financial situations were different. While Ethan has obviously grown, he still lets Cameron alpha dog him.

It's not about his character's looks as much as it's about his character's attitude. It think that's part of what Harper has been trying to get Ethan to realize to the point where they may not even really be "friends." It's completely nonsensical to Harper and maybe even the audience but Ethan has yet to stand up to him because of their previously relationship dynamic.

Someone posted up thread that one of this season’s themes is the conflict between people who see things as they are and people who don’t—or don’t want to.

People who see things clearly: Harper, Portia, the tarot card reader, the hotel manager (Christina?)

Albie THINKS he sees things as they are, but I’m betting Nono or Dad actually see things more realistically.

Compare Albie's interactions with Portia, and then his father's interactions with the hookers. Albie is deeply manipulative with women, while the father is actually a no game simp.

I’d fuck the dad.

Albie is cute, but too young for me.

Adam DiMarco (Albie) is 32 years old.

i hate Portia. I hope she's the floating body

Portia IS annoying. But she’s also accurate in her perceptions.

Sure, it doesn’t pay to sit around complaining about how lame the world is nowadays.

But she’s not wrong.

portia basically got paid 2 vacay in a 5* resort and not having 2 do any work

this bitch does nothing but whine

throw her in2 1 of those amazon, see how she likes it

I started watching Antonioni's "L'Avventura" because of that odd town square scene. I'm guessing they're going to keep quoting that movie, which involves a young woman who goes missing in Sicily. (if I'm not mistaken the town square is the same as "L'Avventura".)

So my major question: have Cameron and Ethan previously fucked? Or are they about to fuck? Because Cameron's going to be sampling that ass sooner than later.

Ethan turned down the hooker and I was kind of proud of him.

I feel like they're setting up a major twist in which it will be shown that Cam and his wife will end up being hot messes with a terrible relationship. One of the things I appreciate about White Lotus is that it doesn't glorify sex as some kind of goal, almost depicting the sexual situations as outright disgusting and gross, particularly in this season. While Armond and Dillon's interaction in the first season was arguably hot, the "sexiness" was very toned-down due to the presence of the drugs and the characters spiraling out of control, as well as the concerned actions of Belinda and the predatory nature of the older adults. And yes, while maybe Ethan and Harper are going through a tough time, a lull in sex doesn't mean a bad relationship.

Never mind the sex, we haven't seen any kind of warmth or companionship in Harper and Ethan's relationship so far. He seems totally distracted and unengaged and she seems perplexed and helpless.

I think Cameron's psychopathic business partners are going to go on a rampage.

[quote] I'm guessing they're going to keep quoting that movie, which involves a young woman who goes missing in Sicily. (if I'm not mistaken the town square is the same as "L'Avventura".)

That is the same town piazza--it's in beautiful Noto, one of the most gorgeous cities in the world.

But the woman does not go missing in actual Sicily in "L'Avventura": she goes missing on one of the Aeolian islands off of its northern coast.

Aubrey can look really hot at times and gives off a sizzling energy even when she doesn't look her best.

I agree Albie is manipulative, dove right in to kiss Portia unexpectedly, and didn’t take her rejection well when he invited himself back to her room with a follow up, “Do you want me to walk you back?”. I think we’ll see more of his true self coming out as well over time.

Before I got married, I knew a lot of guys that were like Albie that are work hard to present an unassuming, innocent look but are extremely devious and manipulative just under the smooth surface. They also gaslight and fuck with your emotions.

I’ve also been in the same situation as Portia poolside where a much hotter, sexy guys discreetly cruises me in front o my date and somewhat flustered I suddenly say no to the nice, reliable guy!

I was in Sicily a few years ago and did a day trip to Noto. It is indeed beautiful and has a wonderful "old" energy to it. However, when Daphne was describing it as "the place to be" and all the shopping etc, that does not at all align with my experience of Noto.

R90, well you're pretty much admitting nice guys finish last.

I loved the first season (except the pooping scene, which really discolored the whole season in a way), and I like this season a lot. I enjoy the off-kilter sensibility of the whole thing. Everything is mostly realistic, but just with a lot of worst-case-awkward-scenarios all happening at one time.

I don't understand the hypercriticism, but I do understand it is applied to absolutely everything these days. People who compare this season unfavorably to the first undoubtedly complained in all the threads aboit the first that it was disappointing. Everyone either hates everything today or else claims everything would be so much better if the story were rewritten as the viewer imagines a very different story, or if it were cast with an entirely different cast.

It's funny; I consider myself a creative person and I've known so many people who say "I am not creative at all!" and they seem to be the people most likely to imagine an entirely recreated narrative in their heads and hold it against the original writer that they didn't write the story the viewer imagines. So peculiar.

Albie is an age at which guys are controlled by their hormones, and we are shown almost excessively that his father and elderly grandfather are always trying to get laid. Both men told Albie during a meal that they're always in the mood. Meanwhile, Albie is clearly pursuing Portia and he has been gentle and respectful and she has told him explicitly more than once that she is turned on by guys more—as he put it, aggressive—than he has been and she encouraged him to be more like that, which doesn't seem to be his nature based on what we have been shown, despite what people here speculate.

It does seem like a recipe for disaster. Albie is trying to get laid. The girl is wrapped up in her own world and seems half engaged, but she sort of seems interested and is spending a lot of time with him, but she told him he should be more like guys who come on a lot stronger and don't ask permission. So he is doing that.

This is a very risqué and risky plot post-MeToo because as I see it, and this could probably only be said before something awful happens, Portia does seem to be almost 'asking for it.' It seems to be going in one direction and I can imagine a lot of backlash from the press toward White if Albie assaults her or ambiguously assaults her.

Portia in some ways is a mini-Tanya, and the actress who plays her explicitly said that in her commentary after the first episode. She is totally self-absorbed and perpetually suffering. She makes her own problems and blames others. So in a nutshell, that's a combination that does not bode well with her and Albie.

Since Albie's dad has been paying off hookers, and since Portia is working for Tanya because she needs a job and gets frankly easy money from this rich lady, I can imagine that she will be or feel violated by Albie and the wealthy Hollywood exec will pay her hush money, which would make her feel compromised but also be her ticket to dumping Tanya and becoming her own autonomous version of Tanya.

[quote] How come Will Sharpe be presented as the supposed beta and nerd? He's obv the popular type among girls nowadays, even more so than Theo James.

I wasn't familiar with James before this show and during the first episode, I thought he was gorgeous. Of course, his body is Instagram-standard, and there are objective measures for a 'hot' man's body and he checks all the boxes...but...some faces grow on you, and occasionally some become less attractive the more you look at them. There's something really peculiar about the arrangement of his features and how they move. It's really weird. I can look at him and immediately it's evident that 98 percent of people will think he's 'hot.' As he talks...I don't know. He's very strange looking to me.

So, r95, you never saw Downton Abbey or The Time Traveler’s Wife? In the latter James is butt naked at least twice per episode, since his clothes don’t time travel with his character.

R96 I watched part of the first season of Downton Abbey and then I gave myself permission to acknowledge to myself that it was a boring derivative of Gosford Park, one of my favorite movies, and never watched it again.

I did not watch the Time Traveler's Wife. I read mixed-to-poor reviews of it and among them lots of questions about the whole premise of (I think?) the protagonist going back in time to be with his wife as a child and I don't think I could get that out of my head to watch it. I've never really watched TV shows or movies just to see naked people, and especially not butts, which don't do much for me. I've always been amazed that, for example, a 1.5-second-long glimpse at what may or may not have been Ben Affleck's penis in Gone Girl was probably responsible for 25 percent of the movie's revenue. I'd never think to watch something for a fleeting glimpse of a naked body. Between porn and social media, naked CrossFit bodies are everywhere I look. I watch movies and TV shows for stories.

I don't see Portia as a Tanya-in-training. She is one of the working class people exploited and victimised by the rich in Mike White's dramas. She went to a no-prestige college, had no job for three years, and finally landed what seemed to be a good job in a luxury setting. But again, life has fucked her over because Tanya and Greg are crazy and selfish.

She really could turn out to be one of corpses.

I would kill for Portia's job. My advice to her: tune out the bitch.

R98 Yes and no. Her social class certainly keeps her from being exactly like heiress Tanya, but her self-indulging suffering spirit is kin to Tanya's. Consider how Belinda and the Hawaiian guy and the hotel owner all put on a smile and were good servants in the first season while covering up extreme frustration and disappointment. Portia mopes around and feels sorry for herself in a way very similar to how Tanya does.

*Portia doesn't only feel sorry for herself, but she takes advantage of Albie and his family and talks primarily about her problems. Her whole introduction to Albie was him asking if she was OK because she was looking like Eeyore. She dumped her problems on him. They met again and she dumped her problems on him. She used him to hide from her problem (her boss). She doesn't like him or respect him, but he is willing to listen to her and to give her a 'safe space' to complain and so she is using him for that.

Portia could be further down the road of misery from frustration and disappointment. The three hotel staff from S1 all had decent secure jobs. Portia had been ground down from being unemployed, at home, 'doom-scrolling' for three years.

[quote]I watched part of the first season of Downton Abbey and then I gave myself permission to acknowledge to myself that it was a boring derivative of Gosford Park, one of my favorite movies, and never watched it again.

What a tedious way to say you didn't like it.

[quote] I feel like they're setting up a major twist in which it will be shown that Cam and his wife will end up being hot messes with a terrible relationship.

Don't we already know that? Even in Epi 1 that seemed almost obvious.

R103 I didn't like it. But I put effort into trying go convince myself I did because people would not shut up about it and I thought I must be missing something. After I gave up on it, I rewatched Gosford Park and I realized the show indeed was missing something.

Murray Bartlett said that was a real doo doo that came out of his ass last season. He held it in all day, hr said.

Gross! Absolutely no one wants to hear about that shit - literally.

Noto may be one of the most beautiful cities in the world but it looked on the series like they hadn't even left the town the hotel was in.

Re: Portia/Albie - my take is that the commentary is also on girls who are really more attracted to "bad boys" and then wondering why things don't work out. Albie is being polite and it's NOT turning her on.

Sorry, but I just don't see nice boy Albie turning creepy in this.

The reality is take most straight girls and gay guys and the it's those guys with sex appeal and who seem a little like a bad boy who get the blood pumping. That's clearly what Mike White was trying to say with the ripped tattooed pool boy who she couldn't take her eyes off of.

However I think her hooking up with cold nipples guy is going to cause Albie to lash out

The fact that he likes “wounded birds” is a MASSIVE red flag.

[quote]The reality is take most straight girls and gay guys and the it's those guys with sex appeal and who seem a little like a bad boy who get the blood pumping.

And Tanya, mess that she is, warned Portia about this very thing.

[quote] Murray Bartlett said that was a real doo doo that came out of his ass last season. He held it in all day, hr said.

No, he absolutely did not. You're a scat freak.

it was wholly done by CGI.

According to the article, it was done by a combination of CGI and a prop.

But it was NOT real.

That was a REAL doo doo. Murray said so.

The multiple deaths plot point at the beginning could be a fake out, much like how in the first scene of season one you were led to believe Shane's wife had died.

The end twist could be that the floating dead body at the beginning was no one in the main cast (i.e., sensitive nipples guy) and the other death(s) being a miscommunication among the hotel staff.

The older men on this show are so hot. The piano guy, Tanya's husband, Albie's dad, etc.

I never found Imperioli particularly hot on The Sopranos, he just seemed to skeevy, but I'm really into him on this. The silver hair, above and below, suits him.

My thanks to the folks on the first thread who mentioned Giri/Haji. Just finished binging it, and it was fantastic, and, frankly, much much better than this show.

When I saw that scene with Aubrey Plaza, I immediately thought of this classic old photograph.

R104, I'll need to watch it again, but I thought the first few episodes showed Harper, a cold shrew, and Ethan, a dour awkward type, in an intimacy-free relationship riddled with problems, contrasted Cam and Daphne's "happy" relationship where they make jokes and chase each other around the hotel room loudly like horny teens. And the scene at dinner when they discussed kids and Daphne's birthing room fiasco seemed to imply that, although things between them aren't perfect, the relationship looks better than Ethan and Harper's superficially. Obviously, this last episode discussing the cheating and possible financial issues are now another thread to pull in the series, so at this point it's obvious. But I got the impression White was pushing us to see Harper and Ethan as mismatched in the first couple episodes while trying to make the other two look happy and in love.

It's clear that Ethan has no sexual interest in Harper, or maybe not in sex (with women?) at all, because he turned down the pretty Italian girl.

Whatever Cam and Daphne's problems might be, it looks like they have an active sex life after five years of marriage, and that bodes well for their future. Unless of course, his cheating blows it up...

It's curious to me that people here say nothing happened in the last episode. Cameron was shown fucking a hooker on his lap while Ethan stood by uncomfortably in the same room and tried not to notice.

That's not going nowhere.

Daphne removed Harper from Ethan and Cameron rented a whore for himself and for Ethan. Then Cameron boinked his hooker while Ethan stood there practically watching.

Do you guys really think Harper will be OK with any of this and will not completely lose her shit? She told Daphne that Ethan is "honest to a fault." So he either is going to break his own policy and lie to her and conceal what happened, which is against his nature, or he will tell her—and she is was too judgmental and emotionally sensitive to believe everything he says and not hold it against him that he let Cameron hire a whore for him and only chose at the last minute not to fuck her.

And since Daphne told Harper that Cameon cheats while she is away, and Harper was with Daphne away from both their husbands, and she is a lawyer who follows logical patterns, she is going to want to know what Ethan and Cameron got up to. She's going to tell Ethan immediately that Daphne told her Cameron fucks other women. Harper is going to HARP on it like a HARPY until Ethan confesses what happened.

And in the meantime, Cameron already leaned on Ethan before he got the hookers. He chastised him for not giving him inside trade tips and made Ethan apologize for it. So we know Cameron does indeed have a financial guilt/blackmail agenda, and he's likely to be like, "Dude. We're in this together. Everyone saw us with the two known local girls while our wives were away. Do you think anyone is going to believe you didn't fuck them, too? And you may as well have. You were here the whole time watching me fuck her, you creepy perv!" and using the setup to squeeze Ethan for some kind of financial payoff.

I laughed so hard when Tanya booted the psychic out for being negative.

[quote] Whatever Cam and Daphne's problems might be, it looks like they have an active sex life after five years of marriage, and that bodes well for their future. Unless of course, his cheating blows it up...

They have a terrible marriage - wtf is wrong with you? He's just gross.

And Theo James gets worse as an actor as this goes on. There's just nothing believable about him. It's like the pretty jock who gets the easy pass to play in the big game and cluelessly thinks he actually knows the subject. I want him to stop talking. Now.

Albie = A Nice Guy

Cameron = A Bad Boy

They’re both manipulative assholes.

I predict the fuckboi in the pool will completely destroy Portia.

R128, maybe Albie and Portia go out on a "date" and they get drunk. He takes her up to her room to have sex, but she passes out and he leaves. Poolboi saw all of this happening and gets into her room and rapes her. Albie gets blamed. Being so drunk, Albie doesn't remember if he did it or not.

In a fairly recent interview, Mike White called himself "overpraised." He's got that right.

I think he's great. There's not a lot else around that's interesting like this.

In fact, does anyone have any recommendations along the lines of White Lotus? I'm a bit annoyed having to wait a week in between episodes and nothing else is interesting me.

So many series around, so much better than this. Though not similar.

If you haven't seen it, R131, I suggest both seasons of Why Women Kill.

If you haven't watched Mike White's series Enlightened yet do that, it's even better

Fans of Mike White should watch Beatriz at Dinner which he wrote but Miguel Arteta, a frequent collaborator, directed. It stars Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton and jay Duplass and is quite stunning in examining class differences.

And, of course, Chuck and Buck, which is really something else!

No surprise - it has been renewed for Season 3.

[quote] maybe Albie and Portia go out on a "date" and they get drunk. He takes her up to her room to have sex, but she passes out and he leaves. Poolboi saw all of this happening and gets into her room and rapes her. Albie gets blamed. Being so drunk, Albie doesn't remember if he did it or not.

This very storyline happened 2 years ago on "Days of Our Lives".

I recommend watching Antonioni's "L'Avventura", which this show extensively quotes.

Mike White gets another vacation paid for by HBO r136, great job he has.

Season Three needs to have a high end Gay A-list couple as characters played by Gays, I suggest Froy and Madden for the roles.

Terrific series and I think season 2 is better than season1. There is always a slow burn with this show, but I’m into the sexual chemistry and dysfunction evident here and I honestly don’t know how any of these storylines will end.

All gay S3 on an African safari. The White Lotus Nairobi.

I really hope this show doesn't turn into another fucking consent drama. I mean, enough is enough.

R143 It gets worse than that. Lets say some rape rape happens......

I hope the sex scene in ep5 involves Theo James fucking/getting fucked by a man.

there’s gonna be a rape? most likely Albie raping Portia. but hoping item Cameron raping Ethan.

S3 should be set in Asia. There are stunning 5* resorts in Thailand or Bali. And throw in the mix some delicious, scantily clad Thai hunks being ogled on by the hotel’s patrons! Yum!

It should be set in Wisconsin Dells.

R145 It is not exactly that from what I understand. There is a big twist involved that is out of a soap opera. Previous episodes hint as to who is involved.

Oh, R149. You big tease. Tell us.

No, don't spoiler it please. Or create a separate thread with a spoiler warning?

^^^ Yea that would work. Didn't we used to do that in the DL prehistoric times?

[quote] Season Three needs to have a high end Gay A-list couple as characters played by Gays, I suggest Froy and Madden for the roles.

Madden and Froy are not really "high end" or "A-list" though.

It’s called acting for a reason, the a-list high end gays are the ones that go to those types of resorts, it’s kind of weird he hasn’t had characters like that already.

jesus! if you don't want spoilers, don't read the gd thread until you've caught up!!!

[QUOTE]jesus! if you don't want spoilers, don't read the gd thread until you've caught up!!!

I *am* all caught up though unless you mean the entire season? I want to discuss hypotheticals and what happened in the latest episode - it's fun to.

Could it be the weirdo piano player rapes the hooker’s friend? Forget their names but their tension is strange. Worrisome.

Or shit, dominic rapes portia. I dunno, now i’m wondering.

Or Cameron/Harper. He undressed in front of her for a reason, and then left his wife to go in the ocean to sneak up on her.

Why are the men such creeps on this show?

R159 Have you never met men before?

Usually everyone tends to be a creep in the show, not just the men. That’s what makes it so difficult to decide which one character you want offed.

Sort of like House of Cards or Seinfeld. Everyone’s an asshole. But in WL it’s not as extreme, so it keeps me watching. I gave up on the other two as soon as I realized no characters in those shows - big or small parts - had any redeeming qualities.

R160 man-hating is gonna get you far in DL. Keep up the good work!!!

This is an interesting compendium of interviews.

Everyone agrees Albie is the most 'good' character, totally innocent.

They are torn between Greg and Cameron being the least-good characters. Theo says Cameron is revealed as the show goes on to be more and more calculating.

The actress who plays Portia looks like a totally different person when slathered in makeup and wearing a skanky top. She doesn't seem very bright.

And it sounds like Mike White and Aubrey are friends and he wrote the character with her in mind and with her input. She says she's responsible for Harper having so many scenes in a bathrobe.

Jennifer doesn't remember anything.

[quote]Jennifer doesn't remember anything.

I laughed.

Jennifer’s a mess.

Those 3 Italian ladies at the end are adorable. Very sweet!

R163, Cameron has been calculating since Episode 1 and not even hiding it very well. Is this guy just not very bright?

Greg is obviously the corpse.

Tanya is hard to watch--she's so deeply sad and doesn't know how to take care of herself. That scene where Tanya asks Portia to stay in her room until she falls asleep...oof.

I'm observing that this season delves into the darkness without interspersing comedy/hijinks throughout. I'm struggling to get through it.

Jennifer’s just trying to get through the day. Every day. Every fucking day. Good thing she has Gay men around to protect her and give her work.

Don’t ya think that Jennifer basically plays herself?

R150 this subplot involves 2 of the males and one of the females. One of the characters is a mystery to us. The rape subplot involves a mixup of who did what! It is very Days of Our Lives......

I'm intrigued, R172. More please.

Maybe Ethan is in the closet. He is not into his wife but he also doesn't seem interested in women

Well, as we've seen, Ethan masturbates to female porn, so there's that.

Watching those interviews with the cast at r163, I was struck by how truly dull, humorless and clueless most of those actors actually are. Even Jennifer and Aubrey, whose characters are supposedly based on their real personalities. I mean they're just normal people, no more interesting than you or any of your friends.

Props to Mike White for writing characters who are so genuinely engaging and witty and mysterious.

Does Jennifer Coolidge still look nine months pregnant?

Yes R177 her gut is huge.

R177, she's having a linguine and clam baby. It's been backed up for the last nine months, but she's due soon!

Does pregnancy cause perpetual squinted eyes? Or is that from a hookah?

[quote]Everyone agrees Albie is the most 'good' character, totally innocent.

Just makes me stick with my theory that Albie isn't going to turn evil when/if he gets rejected by Portia.

A lot of people on Reddit seem to think that is going to happen based upon their own experiences (and we have seen that before on screen) but really Portia hasn't outright rejected him and he seems to be trying to do what she asks.

I think Albie is just trying really hard not to be like his father or grandfather, will realize being their stark opposite isn't working either, and will have to find a middle ground.

I just watched the first episode again. I had forgotten:

1) Greg insists that Tanya get rid of Portia because she's crimping their style. But since we know Greg had no intention of getting especially romantic with Tanya, it looks a bit like he's trying to get rid of a potential witness.

2) Harper predicts that Cameron is going to spring a money-making scheme on Ethan, which is pretty much what happened in the last episode.

Also, in an interview this week with Collider, Theo James said the episodes were about ""wants to — in a strange way — be closer to [Ethan]." He continues, "I think he loves him in his odd, toxic way, and he wants to get closer to him somehow in his fucked- up way of rationalizing the world." My guess is that Cameron and Ethan have a sexual past (or at least one of them was attracted to the other in college), and Cameron is capitalizing on that to bring Ethan in to get money from him.

I'm also curious if Greg plans to murder Tanya for her money. I would not predict that in a show like "Succession," but Mike White likes wild twists you should have seen coming but don't (like Armond falling wildly off the wagon last season, or Steve Zahn's son running away from his family to join the outrigging group).

[quote] But since we know Greg had no intention of getting especially romantic with Tanya, it looks a bit like he's trying to get rid of a potential witness.

You didn't mention that it is very important to Tanya that Portia stays close. She wants her available to her at all times. It looks crazy to us and to Portia, but she may be keeping Portia close because she knows she is in danger. She told Portia to 'stand guard' while she took a nap, after all. Tanya seems daft but she may be intelligent and also crazy. Maybe she broght Greg to Sicily to bump him off. She's very rich. She may have sourced a local mafia person who is willing to do it for the right price.

Albie's evil twin, Scuro, will be revealed as the killer.

Added to my thought above: Remember that Tanya freaked out while Greg was climbing on her. Again, it looked crazy to us but she may have reason to believe he's trying to harm her and had a panic attack as he got on top of her alone in their room.

I was anxious watching them ride the moped together because it looked dangerous, but they were together on the vehicle, so neither could have used it to harm the other.

If there's anything to the theory, then there'd also be a reason Tanya insisted Portia stay close but out of sight.

If Mike White gave the last episode to Ryan Murphy to write and direct, Lady Gaga would show up as a half-biological cyborg vampire witch mafia queen known to mortals as the head of a presitious fashion label, and she'd start whacking the characters one by one and be shown in the last scene bathing in their blood while eating pasta puttanesca.

It’s so weird that Theo and Ethan would party with hookers so publicly at the resort where they’re staying. It’s not a very big resort.

I agree it feels like Theo is setting Ethan up.

Valentina has already proven she has a big mouth. She’s quite likely to blurt something out (to Harper and Daphne) about the guys’ partying with hookers.

[quote]I'm observing that this season delves into the darkness without interspersing comedy/hijinks throughout. I'm struggling to get through it.

Really? The scene where Tanya has the crying fit with Greg is Classic Coolidge Comedy. She’s hysterical in it (literally and figuratively) and I kept laughing minutes after the scene was over. I don’t know, but to me, that’s anything but dark.

Same with the L’Aventura/Vitti recreation. It represents what’s going on in the subject’s mind (an attractive woman paranoid that all men’s eyes are on her - a very common occurrence), except that in Harper’s case, I found humor, especially because of her contrasted behavior.

R173 It involves rape rape and it is a convoluted plot indeed. It darkens the waters as to who is a good guy and who is a bad guy. Also it examines the maxim be careful what you wish for.

R181 It goes into a very soapy angle to show what Albie is. You might Jerry at him or cheer for him at some point. The soap opera trope that gets used here that is so tiresome. It will piss off some viewers.

It's dark comedy. The tone is different than it was in the first season. So are the characters and their relationships and the subject matter being examined. This isn't Friends. It's not a sitcom written by formula to ensure every third line will be formulated to make you laugh.

I thought Enlightened was hilarious and harrowing. I told my dad to watch it and he only watched one episode and said "That woman is awful. I'm not watching that." He said she reminds him of a cousin of his and he doesn't see any humor in a sad, self-deluded and mean person. To each their own.

I've loved most everything I've seen by Mike White but I just couldn't get into Enlightened.

A deleted scene

That wasn't great, but it's interesting. It shows how important editors are. Small segments of that scene seem plausible but taken as a whole, it looks like a little acting class exercise to me.

That character is just creepy at every level. But there's also this inauthenticity to James the actor that ruins it for me. I can see the "acting."

Theo James looks much better in period clothing. He's not doing much for me in this.

So Porsha was raped and Alvie was blamed, but it actually was pool boy?

When did Portia get raped, I’m all caught up and don’t remember that?

She rapes us with her bad acting.

R198 Posters are getting carried away with writing their own daytime soap version of the series on this thread. Ignore them. There has been no rape.

I suppose Michael Imperioli is too old now to be willing to show even his ass in this thing, right?

^^^ there’s always a guy with his dick in his hand, looking for a turn-on

Oh Mary R202, get over yourself! You're on Datalounge, ffs.

Haley makes me ill

Is Valentina a closeted lesbian or just very lonely?

^^^ The cats seem to be marking her as a lonely lesbian.

Valentina is a great character. It's been just barely hinted at but she does have a magnetic kind of pathos, a little like Belinda from last season. And the actress who plays her is so endearing in the interview above. I would love to see more of her in anything.

Good news: if you like Will Sharpe. you can follow Christian Flexx and squint.

no twitter links for me

Same here, R209.

Okay guys, do me a favor. Pay extra attention to Haley Lu Richardson tonight and tell me if you agree she has Linda Cardellini's mannerisms. It bothered me for weeks until I finally figured it out. On the outset, she doesn't really look like Cardellini, but check her facial expressions. Richardson could be her daughter. Thanks.

If you've ever known any tech douchebros, you'll know that Theo James is playing his role very well.

Theo James' character is not in tech r212, he works in finance. He is trying to get Ethan to invest with him, Ethan is the character that comes from the tech industry.

This season is much duller and more vapid than the previous. Coolidge is getting to be too much of a good thing.

Something monumental better happen tonight!

Finance and tech douchebros are pretty much the same. I realize that many DLers are shut-ins who have no contact with modern society, much less the social circles depicted in this show, but Theo James is playing his character very well.

Imperioli will show his 56-year-old cock!

That would qualify as monumental on this dreary show.

Won't happen.

R216, are you suggesting that if we can't relate to the assholes on this show, WE'RE lacking? Finance/tech douchebros?

r218 it was in response to the claims that Theo James is a poor actor. He certainly isn't in this show. His character is spot-on.

Ah, I see. Thanks, R219. I did laugh at your "shut-ins"remark.

I think it's that old tiresome DL thing of not being able to get over an actor's previous performances to judge them fairly in a new role.

If you bitches had never seen Theo James before, you'd be all over him in this, just as you are with Will Sharpe, a new face. Same on The Crown actors, judging them all by what they've done before instead of opening your eyes to what they're doing in the current series.

I never saw him on Downton Abbey. I think he is good/effective in this. He is off putting in a fake-affable 'broish' way that is similar to Shane from the first season but with a predatory layer. When he touches Ethan, it makes me feel creeped out instead of turned on. He seems to be grooming Ethan. So the actor is playing the role effectively. Harper is a great character because she saw this even before we did and now it all adds up, why her instinct drove her to be standoffish and why he has been awkwardly grooming Ethan and trying to confound Harper and confuse her radar that he's bad news. It's all very well written and played out.

I am extremely impressed with both British actors' US accents, too. I never would guess they are not American.

I am rewatching Revenge and the character Daniel is magnetic but just the way he moves his mouth when speaking is distracting—conscious effort!—and occasionally British vowels come out in his dialogue.

I know Brits are much better at doing believable American accents that most of us can do British accents, but the ones on this show are doing particularly well.

"I know Brits are much better at doing believable American accents that most of us can do British accents"

That's not at all true, R222. The Brits who can actually do credible American accents are few and far between. Aussie actors are much better.

R200 There has been no rape rape yet.....the season is far from done.

I haven't seen anyone complimenting Will Sharpe's acting r221. Sure he looks hot but I think he is a one of the weaker parts of the cast this season.

Frankly both him and Theo James were cast primarily because they wanted sex appeal and good looking characters for this show.

[quote]There has been no rape rape yet.[/quote]

Whoopi, is that you?

R223 Some Aussies do horrible accents. Cate Blanchette is half American and some of her US accents have been utterly mediocre. That is an Aussie who grew up with a dad from Texas. Some of the other Aussies don't have such a background......

Look no further than Benedict Cumberbatch for a British actor who has turned in many bad attempts at a American accent.

R227, I'm thinking Toni Collette, Judy Davis, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe...I'm sure I'm forgetting others who are excellent. Even Nicole Kidman's is pretty good.

Had no idea until just now that Toni Collette was Australian, holy shit. Now that's a testament to her accent work.

Mike White creates potentially interesting characters, but he doesn't know what to do with them. A more talented writer could have a field day with these people.

Mike White seems to me the luckiest hack in the business.

R232 thank you!

I'll amend that, R233--Mike White is the second luckiest hack in the business.

Theo James is getting the most attention. Hate the game, but don’t hate the player.

Really, R230? That's interesting. Her starmaking role was in the Australian movie Muriel's Wedding.

Close your eyes and Listen to Theo James.

He sounds just like young Peter Gallagher.

Rachel Griffiths is another Aussie actor who does a great American accent.

how gallant!

Matthew Macfadyen is another British actor who can do a convincing American accent. I love his American Wasp accent that he does as Tom in Succession.

R232 How is Mike White a hack?

I think that because Mike White is an introvert, he is a keen observer of human behavior.

He fleshes them out and creates a touch over the top, bigger than life, but still very believable characters.

He's a hack, R241, because he seems to be playing with edgy subject matter but instead, everything is surface--thin and vapid, and very pat. This season in particular. So far it's been very dull.

[quote] I love his American Wasp accent that he does as Tom in Succession.

I'm from the Twin Cities, where Tom is from, and I cannot recognize a hint of Minnesota in his accent. But it makes sense his character would do everything he could to fit in with the East Coast Establishment and suppress his Minnesota accent.

I think people think badly of Mike White because he was on that game show.

Do you have a saucy secret r240?

Sorry but James is just playing what he has played in other movies. This is just cranked up to max. How does someone so patently transparent as an ass get ahead in finance? Plenty of financial types are corrupt & essentially slimy but to attract big money and instill the kind of trust needed they need a veneer of respectability and "class" which Cameron just doesn't have. Cameron is too recognizable as a con from a mile away which is why Harper knew instantly he wasn't to be trusted. Of course. maybe that's why he's getting sued and desperate to target an old school chum. I don't think he's supposed to be the low rung Wolf of Wall Street types is he? So either the acting just sucks on its own or the director doesn't know how to direct the type of guy he's supposed to be. It's just too much. Too sleazy.

But hey Theo James fans blather on.

Tom in Succession sounds like a Vassar girl to me.

[quote] He fleshes them out and creates a touch over the top, bigger than life, but still very believable characters.

I only recently watched the first season and managed to watch 6 or was it 7 episodes fully until finally I just couldn't stand it anymore and fastforwarded through the rest of the episodes. I found the characters rather skin-deep and there was something furiating about the story-telling. The same with this season. I keep seeing everyone say how wonderful Aubrey Plaza is while I keep thinking the bitch is just playing the same role she always plays.

I don't deny there's something fascinating about the show but we're not exactly talking about a new Game of Thrones here.

Hopefully the Jennifer Coolidge character is the one who dies to save us from having her show up in season 3.

Maybe one of those giant ferries sinking would be welcome and then everyone can die.

Maybe Mike White can be on it, R251.

R247 the guy from WeWork was just as sleazy and he attracted one of the richest men in the world who gave him billions without question. He didn't even get convicted for his scam.

[quote]How does someone so patently transparent as an ass get ahead in finance?

Holy shit you know nothing about the financial industry!

[quote] Plenty of financial types are corrupt & essentially slimy but to attract big money and instill the kind of trust needed they need a veneer of respectability and "class" which Cameron just doesn't have.

We're seeing Cameron in his private life, not on the job.

Late to the thread, has it been said, the photography is really very nice.

Cinematography?

[quote] Plenty of financial types are corrupt & essentially slimy but to attract big money and instill the kind of trust needed they need a veneer of respectability and "class" which Cameron just doesn't have.

FFS, just look at Trump-he's a total sleaze, yet people were still wanting to business with him.

It sounds like Ethan and Cameron were roommates at a fancy college, and the guys from there who go on be businessmen and investment bankers and stock dealers can be total sleazes, but their credentials protect them. Moreover, Mike White has said Cameron is from a wealthy family, and if he has the patina of both a well-known family and an Ivy League school, he'd be able to do very well.

R256 Right, the photography. Lovely.

R65 your obsession with the BIRACIAL girl (Paula) in season 1 is alarming. You mention her every chance you get. And it had nothing to do with diversity. It had to do with the story. Fucking moron motherfucker.

How do you have a story about racial privilege and not have a POC. You need that person there to bring light to the subject and observe/react.

PS Ethan is ASIAN. That would classify as diversity, even moreso than the Puerto Rican.

R94 that’s stupid. Just because a guy is young and honey doesn’t mean he has to act on that at every whim. It’s called have self control. It’s called discipline. Something you must have never been taught or developed.

R95 looks have absolutely nothing to do with being an alpha or beta…. again… WTF????

Life-affirming gay BFF incoming for Tanya

"Finger food is always a must."

What a bitch Portia is.

Is Valentina into hot gal-on-gal action?

Meghann may live in NYC but she’s not a NYer. She’s a transplant.

This has been the best episode yet, since it's for once very fast moving.

I lam fascinated by the resort wear. Most of the Eurotrash guys, the prostitutes, and Cameron and Daphne have tacky (if expensive) busy prints; but Ethan and Harper have the coolest clothes.

r256, are you on the right thread? Who is Meghann?

This episode felt like CineMax soft porn.

Harper saying nothing … why didn’t she just hold it up and say what is this?

And the gays seemed like hideous stereotypes. Ugh

[quote]Meghann may live in NYC but she’s not a NYer. She’s a transplant.

Just fucking kill yourself

Because women like to make men guess what the issue is and drive them nuts. They rarely just say what the issue is straight out.

Are you new to earth? R269

R270 nope. It’s true. She’s born and raised in Massachusetts. She’s not a NYer.

Harper was complaining for staying at the resort. I would love to sleep in that bedroom!

R267 you aren’t that young to have such a short attention span…

This was a good episode but every episode has been phenomenal. Your need of “fast pace” makes me think you’re watching the wrong show.

There is no character on the show named "Meghann."

There's nothing fast-paced about this dull show. Just because they picked up the hedonism and introduced the hot Brit guy? Thank God for him.

[quote]She’s born and raised in Massachusetts. She’s not a NYer.

Nobody goes to NYC to hang out with the natives, honey.

R276 yet you keep watching…

[quote]This episode felt like CineMax soft porn.

Are shows not allowed to cover sex without it being porn to you? Sexuality has clearly been a major theme of this season. And very well explored IMO.

R275 the actress who plays Daphne is Meghann. She always says “I’m a NYer” but she’s only lived there a while. She’s from Massachusetts

Not anymore, R278. I gave it 4 episodes. I'm done.

R277 well enjoy everything WE BUILT. You all kill cities. NYC has been shit with the influx of middle America losers

R281 good. Then that should mean you shouldn’t be commenting on here anymore.

r280 she lives in NY now. So fucking what? You sound very insecure.

R283, what are you, the thread monitor?

[quote]well enjoy everything WE BUILT. You all kill cities. NYC has been shit with the influx of middle America losers

Oh god, you're that crazy fat cholo from some godforsaken shithole neighborhood in one of the outer boroughs. Honey, nobody gives a fuck about you.

NYC is the most international city in the world. It always has attracted people from everywhere. Why so defensive? YOU built? NYC would be unsustainable without people moving there. God, you're a nut.

This thread is over.

LOL R282

Please do tell us all what part of New York City YOU built. *rolls eyes*

We’ll wait.

Can we not let one idiot detail a thread?

This episode gave you snatch hungry Valentina, Theo James telling Will Sharpe how he wants to be inside of them and a bunch of gay men hanging around with their hunky nephew and we are talking about the dumbest shit instead

I’m a generational NYer. Not one of you who moves here in adulthood and believes they’re a NYer. No. You’re a tourist who decided to stay.

Officer Seacow, those thirst traps on TikTok are not gonna stalk themselves.

As for the show, this shot has lived on my brain rent free since episode 1 and tonight I was happy to see Adam DiMarco’s thick meaty ass. For the most part.

^ I can't wait for the O-face GIFs.

r290/Seacow, go kill yourself. You crazy fatassed Puerto Rican loon.

BTW, if you want to talk about ruining a city, look no further than your own people.

Puerto Ricans haven’t ruined NYC…. We built many areas here.

Honey, unless you live in Manhattan and have family roots in the actual City, you might as well be from Dubuque.

One thing I thing that stood out to me was the Nephew freely admitting how often he gets sexually assaulted. Both because it's honest that he would be, but that if the gender was reversed no one would be okay with that happening to a girl and laughing about it but many think it's supposed to be accepted among men. Very purposeful writing there by Mike White.

[quote] Puerto Ricans haven’t ruined NYC…. We built many areas here.

Such as?

That nephew is a piece of ass. I hope we see a lot more of him.

All those queers going out of their way to dote on that cow Coolidge? I dont think so.

[quote]Will Sharpe's "haircut" HAS to go.

Will haircut is hiding his prominent ears...but his body is awesome to behold...

Meh. He’s cute and the actor has “it”. But I don’t wanna see too much of him. And I don’t like Portia.

Theo James saying what we are all thinking

[quote] All those queers going out of their way to dote on that cow Coolidge? I dont think so.

At one point, I started wondering if the British guy is in cahoots with Greg. While he's conveniently away, she's gonna drown on the boat trip to Isola Bella.

R303 he was being playful.

R301 i disagree with that poster. I think his haircut looks good on his face and head shape.

R300 actually that rings true. A lot of gays best female friends are overweight women. Especially older gays. They weren’t young A Gays.

Of course old queens are doting on Coolidge r300. They say write what you know

Tanya McQuoid-Hunt: Who do I look like?

Valentina: I don't know, Peppa Pig?

My favorite line so far, R307.

Valentina is the queen of this season. I'd hate to see something devastating happen to her.

She is clearly head over heels for that lady who seems to only have platonic feelings for her. Heart break is coming for Valentina r308.

And all that sychophantic woman did was pay her a compliment. Valentina is the Murray Bartlett of this season.

R299 he’s charismatic and charming and very attractive yet I’m like, meh. My younger self would adore him but as I get older I am much more attracted to the Albie's of the world.

Armond and Valentina are nothing alike. I’m tired of the comparisons. Outside of being in charge of The White Lotus resort in their cities, their characterizations are nothing alike.

They're both suckers to their own loneliness and sense of disappointment. You don't see that, R312?

Yes they are both lonely people who are in love/lust with a same sex member of their staff r312 as their only outlet to feel alive. It's actually a surprising similarity for the two resort manager characters we have had.

I want to see the actor playing Rocco get his cock out. He's fucking hot.

Valentina is a straight arrow of a character who is very lonely and a workaholic. Armond was nothing like that. He was an addict who allowed himself to fall off the wagon. He loses all human decency while intoxicated.

They aren’t the same.

[quote]Valentina is the queen of this season. I'd hate to see something devastating happen to her.

Highly unlikely that they knock off the hotel manager again, and she was in the prologue scene when the body is found. Her heart will get broken but her body will survive

R314 you must have not watched season 1. Armond wasn’t in love with anyone. He was high on drugs and drunk on alcohol and wanted to fuck his young attractive employees. That’s not being in love.

I'm not saying they're competely the same, R316, I'm saying they're similar. And if you don't think there was an ache and a loneliess to Bartlett's character, you missed it.

He was a foreigner in Hawaii who didn't have a partner and a very demanding job. He clearly has built a long standing crush/fixation on Luke Gage's character that he was only willing to act on once he wasn't sober.

Armond never showed a single sign of loneliness. He showed signs of an aggressive addict who was also vindictive toward the people staying at his hotel.

What he had was a drug and drinking problem r320

This season's momentum is kind of at a low point. But it's still an engaging show.

The music of this show is so ominous. Juxtaposing it with the weird/creepy art is really effective.

Everything about Tanya is such a drag. She better not be back for season three. Ugh.

Where Albie's character is going is unclear. Him having a "nice guys finish last" meltdown over Portia dropping him for Jack seemed obvious, but him hooking up with Lucia kind of avoided him going in that direction.

What do you think his discontent was about, R321? Mere job frustration and addiction rearing its head?

The shoe has to drop of him finding out this "nice girl he met" is actually a prostitute more interested in his money than him r323. And that it is the same prostitute his Dad has been fucking.

Still think we are going for a bad Albie blow up, but we will see.

R324 an addict doesn’t need reasoning. He also never showed interest in his employees (there was 2 of them) until he started taking drugs again and drinking.

He also tried fucking Steve Zahn.

Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries both said the character Albie is the sweetheart of season 2 and the actor is also the sweetest boy.

I think Albie may have a meltdown but it’s not gonna be anything out of the ordinary. Many nice guys feel they’re unappreciated. Nothing uncommon.

All of those things sugges an inner core of emptiness (read loneliness), R326, unless you choose to read everything through the lens of addiction.

R328 emptiness and loneliness aren’t hand in hand. You can feel unfulfilled and empty without feeling lonely. Your argument is invalid.

[quote]Harper saying nothing … why didn’t she just hold it up and say what is this?

She wants him to be honest with her and confess. She kept giving him multiple opportunities but he keeps digging himself further into the sand. In Harper's mind I'm sure the fact he is lying to her face is a bigger deal than the possible cheating.

R330 that is how I’m taking it also. In episode 3 she says that her and Ethan have a very open and honest relationship and they share everything with one another. Their strong communication is why they have a good relationship. Ethan also mentions this to Cameron.

Ethan keeping a secret from her and not being upfront is more the issue than the idea he may have cheated.

On top of that, a lot of women hold shit over Mens heads and are never upfront but instead make the situation bigger and more annoying. But I don’t think she’s that type.

I do wonder if the gay group are Coolidge's own Theo James. Really they just want to get money out of her. They seem to have a history of bringing in wealthy older women.

When de episode where de man go up inside the other man?

R329, the fact that you don't understand loneliness as it relates to addiction is your problem. It invalidates nothing I said.

Jennifer seems pregnant with triplets. Her fat gut is not glamorous.

R334 the fact you think the only issue that leads to addiction is loneliness says all I need to know about you. Know your lane and stay in it. You’re embarrassing yourself.

PS addiction is a trait genetically passed down in most cases.

I also can't help but wonder if that is really a biological nephew. The uncle is this super rich posh guy and his nephew is some working class bloke having his first time out of Essex? Makes more sense that he is a rent boy they brought along, but maybe I am overthinking

Harper left the condom wrapper in the bathroom sink. Are we supposed to think Ethan is so stupid that he won’t see it?

I find Portions really unattractive. That actress reeks of Disney Channel child actress.

Oh, dear, R336. You feel your argument is only valid if you decree someone else's point "invalid" and that I should "stay in my lane." That's a pathetic form of debate. Talk about embarrassing oneself.

No, I think we are meant to be looking forward to him seeing it next episode r339.

I want to see Michael Imperioli totally dominating and hate-fucking that little cunt Theo James like the poseur she is...

And I wouldn't mind if Albie watched and jacked-off while they do it...

(Theo James has the biggest trailer of tacky designer clothes on the set.)

Portia reminds me of Florence Pugh

Cameron and Daphne being NYers doesn’t ring true. That’s the one issue I take with the season. They just don’t feel or vibe or look like a NYC couple, especially elite NYC. They’re very southern wealth.

The ugly and Jess talented version

Imperioli needs to take his cock out, as does Rocco, and the Brit nephew whore. Who cares about anything else in this tedious show?

[quote]The ugly and Jess talented version

Oh, are ju from Puerto Rico too?

Haley Lu is the worst

Cameron never got his suitcase back from the airline so he's had to dress in resort clothes from the hotel boutique chosen by his wife.

And how many of us have bought clothes on a vacation only to return to the reality of home to ask yourself: "WTF was I thinking?" Very astute observation of vacation mode behavior.

Is Rocco the hotel concierge?

Yes, R350. The one cock I want to see.

It's not just how they dress, it's also how they are written and their mannerisms r349. It doesn't bother me that much but I agree they don't feel like the rich NY types. I was even trying to do a game of what neighborhood they lived in and none of them felt right but I landed on Tribeca/Soho.

The two couples that people are so caught up in the minutaie of are the four least interesting people in a series of full of uninteresting characters.

[quote]When he touches Ethan, it makes me feel creeped out instead of turned on. He seems to be grooming Ethan. So the actor is playing the role effectively.

He also invades his space, puts his arm around him, calls him "baby," makes sexually suggestive remarks ... he reminds of an old friend of mine who was straight and ultra-macho but liked to kiss his friends on the cheek rather than go in for the bro-hug.

I wish I knew straight guys like that.

Straight guys can be some of the gayest guys on the planet, they love homoerotic humor. Particularly the fratty types like Cameron is supposed to be.

When all the gay guys were clamoring for Tanya to come to the party, it kind of reminded me of the movie Freaks. I next expect to see her roasting on a spit while they gather awaiting to eat their feast.

Jennifer’s fat stomach always pulls me out of the story.

I don’t remember - was there any hag-like interaction between Tonya and Armond?

Valentina seems interested in the shop girl.

Cameron was trying to get Ethan to fool around.

[quote] Would anyone be upset if Porsha was killed?

Would anybody be upset if you were killed, since you don't even know how to spell "Portia"?

The answer: NO.

I actually like Portia.

Porsha Williams, not so much.

Random stuff from this episode:

The men Tanya are with, are the same men from Tanya's sex vision when she was sleeping with Greg. She said she didn't know if they were hit men trying to kill her in her vision. My guess is that they're trying to scam money from her and they're not nice people. They're already drawing her in to set her up.

The psychic was probably not talking about Tanya (if you can translate what she was telling her) she was talking about Portia who mentioned that she thought she was going to get a reading while Tanya was rushing her out. The guy Portia is hooking up with is dangerous and Portia could be in trouble. I could see her biting it at the end now.

There are clues about all the characters in the opening credits. Looking at the painting that appears next to nipples/nephew's name, my guess is that he's a prostitute and sleeping with/being paid by one of those men. Portia is going to find out the problem with going after a bad boy.

He also has Roman numerals tattooed on his body that equal: 666.

The paintings in the rooms of the characters also relate to each character's predicament.

[quote]Harper saying nothing … why didn’t she just hold it up and say what is this?

Because she mentioned that Ethan was "honest to a fault" in one of the earlier episodes. Now he's lying to her. She gave him multiple outs. It's more about her learning that her perception of her husband isn't accurate when most of her feelings have been on the money so far. More than that, I think she'll have to admit to herself that Ethan is changing which she disagreed with earlier in the series.

[quote]Cameron was trying to get Ethan to fool around.

Agreed, he's making himself available to Ethan in that way to finish reeling him in. I'd wager that Cameron isn't above using gay sex to get what he wants. Plus, he knows that Ethan isn't having sex now. He also knows that Ethan always had issues with women. I wouldn't be shocked if he thought there was a chance he was closeted and was open to using that to lock him down.

Albie has a nice butt

This series is only 7 episodes and it's just now starting to get good. inexcusable.

Lots of great eye candy this episode. Jack, the hunky nephew from Essex (if that's what he really is), is one of those guys who looks a hundred times better with his clothes off than on. i really like the actor, who has the type of the hot dumb British fuckboy down cold.

I agree with everyone else that it's no accident Tom Hollander and his group have targeted Tanya and seem as if they're trying to woo her, with some scheme in mind. As funny as Jennifer Coolidge is (her line readings always surprise me), I would not be sad if her character is killed off this season--I would not like to see her every season.

Aubrey Plaza did some great slow burns this episode. Does Harper think Ethan cheated on her with a woman, or with Cameron? I can't tell yet (she herself may not has settled on a likely suspect). It is surprising to me that Ethan can't tell her the truth.

It is maddening to me but also seems real that Bert and Dominic will never let Alby be by himself and insist on having every meal with him when he would so clearly like to spend some time alone so he can pursue Portia (and now Lucia). They don;t see him as an adult but rather as a dependent kid who offers them some free companionship. (So much of this season is about people forcing other people to do things with them so they're not lonely: Bert and Dominic with Alby, Tania with Portia, Lucia with Mia, Daphne with Harper).

The ominous shots of the sea at nighttime interposed with everything else is certainly building up to the big deaths at sea.

Cameron clearly wants to fuck Ethan, so I'm very curious to see what Ethan wants--so far he's been pretty much a sweet and sexy blank. Does he want to get together with Cameron? Does he want to be happier with Harper?

Portia is very sarcastic and insecure.

I’m not sure about Cameron’s motivation for propositioning Ethan, but Ethan’s reaction, and his overwrought, but unexpressed, feelings of guilt over what happened the night before were very interesting. I think either something happened off camera between the two of the them, or else Ethan is secretly gay or bisexual and coming to reckoning.

Whatever is going on with that story, we haven’t seen the full story.

"I want to be inside you." "I want to make you feel good." - Cameron to Ethan

Am I the only one who heard this? No one is commenting on it.

Clearly Cam is gay for pay; the hooker didn't compromise Ethan so Cam is pulling out another weapon in his arsenal.

Also - for those who need a streaming venue to watch this, this one is the only one I found. Be warned, the ads are horrendous.

If the gay men have a scheme, Jack is probably in on it and working Portia so that she can be controlled/distracted.

Harper has probably left the condom out to see if Ethan finally addresses it. Did Cameron leave it in their room on purpose too?

What type of low-rent puttanas are Mia and Lucia -- they're not even preparing their johns a plate of seafood pasta.

Whore's pasta is for them and not the johns, silly.

The condom was left from when Cameron was with the girl on the couch.

They cut away after Ethan puked, but I assume nothing happened between him and Cameron. I am thinking they fooled around in college and Ethan may be a closet case and Cameron wants to blackmail him. I also have a feeling Cameron's wife is not so dumb as she is playing.

Portia is kind of a jerk. Yes her boss sucks but she is staying in a great resort and has some free time to herself. Her clothes suck, what was the weird crocheted shrug over a bikini top.

I like the grandfather, I was hoping one of the girls would throw him a bone. ;) Christophuh is coming off like an ass. He was nicer to the girls than he is to his son and father (and wife).

Tanya recognised the toyboy hooker in Hawaii, but seems oblivious to the obvious gay predators in Sicily.

Portia seems to be a moron. She's at WORK. She and Tanya are not two gals on the go.

People like r360 concern me.

No. Cameron wasn’t trying to get Ethan to fool around with him.

r376 "I want to be inside you." "I want to make you feel good." - Cameron said to Ethan

Cameron's dick has no morals, he would fuck Ethan for blackmail material

[quote]They cut away after Ethan puked, but I assume nothing happened between him and Cameron.

I meant earlier in the evening. He had a guilty reaction. It was like he was remembering something and it made him feel sick with guilt.

R376, it seems more likely than not that Cameron is coming onto Ethan. Not sure why that is so hard for you to believe.

I think that R369 is on the money. Cameron was resorting to that to try to get Ethan to invest his money with Cameron - people commonly lose their minds if sex/romance is involved.

Too bad that it does seem that Ethan is genuinely straight (he was jerking off to a woman when watching porn) and is just really boring, won't cheat with either men or women.

It's the straights so less interesting (I'm hoping for the manager and worker to have a hot lesbionic affair but doubt it) but why is the Italian prostitute blowing Albie for seemingly free? Is she playing the long game? Seems unlikely given how different they are?

[quote] Harper saying nothing … why didn’t she just hold it up and say what is this?

[quote] She wants him to be honest with her and confess. She kept giving him multiple opportunities but he keeps digging himself further into the sand. In Harper's mind I'm sure the fact he is lying to her face is a bigger deal than the possible cheating.

It's that, but she is also doing a forensic study. She asked Ethan what they did. He said nothing. She asked who they were with. She said only one another. She found a condom. While sitting at the table, she got up and walked to the cliff while Cameron was telling Ethan he had a hot body and asking how he works out.

Harper has been fixated on disliking the couple and comparing them. Then the other wife told her Cameron cheats on her.

I felt like I could hear Harper's thoghts sorting through the evidence in one of the scenes when her eyes were darting...He cheats. They were alone. Condom on the sofa. No one else there. They've known each other a long time. Ethan sees something in him even though he's horrible. He keeps telling Ethan how hot he is. Ethan won't fuck me. He isn't affectionate. My husband is a HOMO. How in the FUCK did I miss that!

She's processing.

I'm going to speculate wildly about the writing and the character, but I think Harper would probably have a wilder reaction at the end of the day if she thought Ethan had had sex with a woman. Instead, I think she's feeling deceived and self-deluded and has a hell of a lot to think through because the only explanation that is possible given what she believes is that Ethan and Cameron fucked on her hotel room sofa while she was being 'held hostage, literally' by Cameron's wife.

^^^^^ Case closed!

Well, even though Cam and Ethan didn't fuck (that time), and despite Ethan watching straight porn, that really might be the correct conclusion, R383.

R382 Prostitutes are capable of having sex for personal pleasure and intimacy, you know. This whole episode showed that she wants something more than being a hooker, and while Portia is attracted to bad boy dick and turned off by the good guy, the hooker normally is just treated like a carnival ride and she wants nothing more than a stable life and a nice guy to live that life with. Obviously, people are at odds with their personal situations.

And yes, Cameron and his wife obviously are in cahoots. They run scams together. Harper is analytical and intelligent but she is being manipulated. The other couple did a divide-and-conquer on them. Harper was fixated on her own suffering throughout the overnight trip, and on comparing herself to the other couple even though she said she was done doing that. While she was judging them harshly, the other wife was planting seeds of doubt in her head and she didn't even recognize it.

Cameron, yes, attempted to blackmail Ethan. And unlike Harper, Ethan was onto Cameron and he found himself in a situation he can't so easily explain away.

This is great writing. So many things are obvious and yet there is a lot of subtext that makes your mind ask questions. It is obvious that Cameron is preying on Ethan. And now Ethan has acknowledged it. It has been newrly obvious that Cameron has been trying to seduce (at the very least flatter) Ethan, and last night, that went from being an interesting implication to explicit: I want to be inside of you. Ethan was sick, but he had been made physically ill and at the same time, he realized all day that Cameron was doing all he could to compromise him. While Cameron was fucking the hooker, Ethan looked like "oh, fuck...I'm fucked." He knew he had been successfully compromised.

Why would Ethan not just tell Harper about this?

That is the big subtext for me and it seems pretty clear, although there's some possibility I am wrong.

Ethan and Cameron are not really suited to be friends. Yet they share a history. I think their relationship could be the kind of relationship that was mainly forged through sex. Many of us have known people we are attracted to physically while having nothing in common and not really liking one another's personalities, yet wanting to be around one another. There's no great reason for Ethan to have agreed to go with Cameron and his wife.

Ethan's inmediate reaction when Cameron said "I want to be inside of you" was not surprise or shock or to get upset. 'Bros' very well might say 'I want to be inside of you" / "no thanks" as a joke, but Cameron sounded like he was being seductive and a little desperate, not sarcastic, and Ethan's response showed no surprise at all—as if he had been expecting it. He didn't get upset aside from throwing up.

I think all this adds up to a history of Cameron having fucked Ethan. Does it necessarily make either gay? Not necessarily. There's also the juxtaposition of Portia feeling put off by nonbinary guys. She just wants a man's man to hold her down and fuck her. (Ironically, her aggressive man's man is likely a prostitute for a whole group of gay guys.) Ethan and Harper are more progressive and, lo and behold, Harper is with a guy as docile and gentle as Albie and unlike Portia, Harper actually is turned on by him, but in her case she assumed he's heterosexual and he may be sexually fluid/bi or potentially gay.

Everyone's expectations are being confounded.

Portia went to Stanford and she wants an Archie Bunker world where goils is goils and men is men. She's now found the most aggressive, obnoxious fuckboy and she ushered him inside herself immediately, and she is most likely getting herself fucked by a male prostitute. (This makes me think of Ryan Phillippe's character in Gosford Park.)

Albie has a crush (as we always do, regardless of changing sexual norms!) on someone who isn't turned on by him, and he is always respectful and kind and decent, and his fatal flaw is that he holds others to the same standard—he judges his father and grandfather harshly for being womanizers. And now he's unwittingly landed himself a legitimately nice girl who is a 'manizer' and who already fucked his father for money. This is going to be soul crushing. And unfair to the hooker, who does seem like a good person who is forced by her status in life to be an opportunist but who is not a predator, the exact opposite of Cameron.

Ethan—is conflicted. It's clear that he is not turned on by his wife, so he may well be gay-gay. It's not clear that he is turned on by Cameron, though. He hasn't given off any real signs that he is, and he did turn Cameron down. He does seem more like a borderline asexual incel type. If he were a repressed gay man and he had fucked Cameron in the past, and he agreed to do this vacation, his deep motivation would really be to sit on Cam's dick, and Cam seems to have expected that and likely his wife did, too.

Ironically, I just went out this weekend with an acquaintance and his wife. The guy has always given off unsubtle (oftentimes very unsubtle) gay vibes as well as overtly sexual vibes and it has been confounding that he is married to a woman. It even made me wonder if one of them could be transgender. I met her this weekend and she's definitely more lesbian than straight woman in presentation and mannerisms. And after a few drinks, she told me she took a friend home who she got drunk with recently and 'had a lesbian experience.' She told me this in front of the guy. He shrugged and grinned sheepishly. She said 'I felt bad for him! I tried to get...someone for him, too!' And he looked away bashfully. I said 'You could have just brought him into the shower with the two of you' and they both laughed. I felt *a little* backed into a corner myself, and was a little confounded about what they might have had in mind but I'm not into women's bodies, period.

A lot of people are a lot more creative and open ended with their sexuality and relationships than we binary people are.

I think Cameron and his wife have an open marriage and they're both opportunists/predators, and I think Harper is progressive and naive while being smart, and I don't get Ethan yet. We saw him *trying* to masturbate to straight porn but it was not clear to me that he was actually very into it. He just needed to get off.

The episode teased us quite a bit with several possible drownings—Harper in a daze at the edge of the water questioning her relationship, Albie being taken into the water with the Italian hooker. It does look at this point as if Tanya is being lured out onto a boat, and her husband did leave what could become the crime scene if she were to die tragically on her vacation. And the show is set in Sicily, so there's got to be a mafia or at least mafia-adjecent murder for hire plot, doesn't there?

I can imagine Harper gathering with the other three and standing up and accusing Ethan and Cameron of being gay and fucking, and Ethan being like, "What? No. Sit down. You're being crazy." and the other couple just lightheartedly dismissing the accusation and telling her—correctly—that she's paranoid and insecure and wrong. And her going from this big explosive outing she had planned in her head to not knowing whether or not she was right, Ethan not being able to deny he did have sex with Cameron at some point but also being honest in saying he didn't cheat on Harper with him or anyone else, and Harper not being able to reconcile her intuition with the evidence.

Haley Lu R’s “breakout” role was in COLUMBUS. It’s a quiet, lovely film and she was great in it. So was John Cho…

I assumed Portia’s bit of rough was a gay for pay (“nephew”), but don’t his hosts object to his open wooing of Portia? Shouldn’t he be paying more attention to his hosts?

R387, Portia was no Stanford girl, she went to the very undistinguished Chico State College.

R390, Gay for pay Jack looks like part of the plan to rope Tanya in. Without him, Portia might logically try to dissuade Tanya from going off with a bunch of strange men.

Let's say he is an escort. He has been hanging with them for months already at their place in Palermo r390. I doubt they would care about him taking some time for himself and sleeping with someone he wants to. You want to keep your escorts happy, and if they picked a gay for pay type they knew what they were getting into.

To me that angle makes sense since so much of this season has been about sex, and gay for pay is an interesting exploration of a new angle. And it gives symmetry to both Albie and Portia hooking up with prostitutes.

But I still wouldn't be surprised if we are wrong and it is just as simple as what was presented.

Definitely, Jack is there to help conquer and divide Portia and Tanya, they have no problem with him being with her, he’s doing his part. But did Greg set up this whole situation and are they working with him? I’m leaning into Portia and Tanya being the dead drown bodies, and Albie looking like a suspect, innocent be questioned.

[quote]But did Greg set up this whole situation and are they working with him

That seems preposterous, way too soapy a twist that isn't Mike White' style IMO r393.

So, in retrospect we can now view Ethan's moment of looking at straight porn was about him trying to "convince" himself that he's straight but he's really gay?

Well.....duh!

Ethan is straight, just get over it and move on.

I took the scene of Lucia giving Albie a blow job as Mike White giving Lucia a sympathetic moment, that she's not all mercenary. I don't think she was expecting any payment from Albie.

I’m going soft, but I think I’d rather watch a tragicomic romance movie about bluntly officious but secretly tender-hearted Valentina falling in love with adorable hooker with a heart of gold Lucia and saving her from a life of putting on the red light.

You may resume your regular discussion about if and when Theo James and Will Sharpe will fuck.

I don't think Ethan is gay. But it is becoming noticeable that he and Harper have no sexual contact or chemistry.

Yes r399, I think that is the commentary Mike White is going for. Harper and Ethan are happy in a lot of ways, but they don't have any real sexual chemistry anymore and neither one is feeling sexually fulfilled. Which is something that happens to a good amount of long term couples.

[quote]Portia went to Stanford

I love you start your long analysis with this obvious dumb mistake.

I am find myself rooting for Portia to be one of the first corpses so the outfits stop.

[quote] I assumed Portia’s bit of rough was a gay for pay (“nephew”), but don’t his hosts object to his open wooing of Portia? Shouldn’t he be paying more attention to his hosts?

Not if it's part of their scam. Keep Portia busy so they can isolate and bamboozle Tanya.

The cadre of gays will hold Portia down as the "nephew" tweezes her eyebrows.

Portions should get the chop.

I think Harper is wasting time not being direct with Ethan.

[quote] The cadre of gays will hold Portia down as the "nephew" tweezes her eyebrows.

And Tom Hollander burns her crocheted halter-tops.

R366 Cameron doesn’t wanna fuck Ethan. Cameron is doing what he does best to manipulate Ethan, corner Ethan and take advantage of Ethan.

Jesus. You’re so slow. It’s seriously sad. You really should get off of this site and go take some classes on critical thinking. I’m not joking.

R380 he’s working Ethan to get what he wants out of Ethan. Jesus. It’s not that hard to understand.

Tanya will not be killed off. She needs to be alive for WL3.

[quote] I think Harper is wasting time not being direct with Ethan.

But then it would have been all over by Episode 1. Once Ethan was told about Cameron's strip tease for Harper he should have told him to fuck off and vacationed away from them.

Gotta turn supposedly smart people into idiots to draaaaaag out the drama. Hey, we got 7 episodes to fill here. Back off.

R386 their friendship was formed in college. Clearly they were once close and remained in touch, but people change with time (and money). They once had a genuine friendship. Now not so much. I’m sure everyone has had friends that they’re no longer close to. We change with time.

To everyone who’s breathlessly anticipating a gay scene between Cameron and Ethan: have you never taken Molly?

R387 not being sexually aroused by your wife any longer doesn’t mean you’re gay…. Jesus.

R389 no. It wasn’t. It was Split.

[quote]This series is only 7 episodes and it's just now starting to get good. inexcusable.

It's structured the same as Season 1 which was only 6 episodes. First three episodes were largely introducing the characters and their relationships, and then letting things fall apart in the back half of the season.

I swear the ADHD of some viewers to deal with week to week storytelling where you have to let things play out. Bingeing culture has ruined some people.

“He is not non-binary “ “that man has the weirdest voice”” “ Like father to father to son “”dinner for 4” ( after watching the piano guy go down) and the joke about the piano guy being so bad “hopefully they find a better one” were some of my fave lines this episode.

I suspect that Lucia’s statement that “all whores are punished in the end” will have some import. Besides the girls, it definitely seems like Cameron, Greg and Tanya’s gay fan club plus “nephew” are whoring and much more nefariously than poor Lucia, who I suspect is going to be heartbroken by either Albie or an increasingly ruthless Mia, or quite possibly both.

I think Mia and Lucia are goners. They are the connecting thread between all the storylines. If they die, every character would have contributed in some way.

From the trailer, it seems like they are going to stretch out the Harper doesn’t tell Ethan she found the condom wrapper for at least a couple of more episodes.

Will Sharpe, while hot as fuck, is sadly quite a bad actor.

But that’s actually common r419. Many people aren’t forward and remain quiet about certain things and just observe.

Will hasn’t been bad in a single scene.

The most important shot of the entire series

Nothing good will come from Tanya's palling around with a bunch of Eurotrash homosexuals.

R325 I don't think Lucia was fucking Albie cause she wants his money. I think she genuinely likes him. She said she doesn't want to be a millionaire and doesn't want to be a prostitute anymore.

Those gays dress so tacky

"That's the weirdest voice I ever heard" was a funny line. I wonder if it was written or improvised.

Lucia is a sex worker who is feeling shame and guilt. This is common in sex workers. With time they start to feel guilt and shame and start questioning things. She very clearly is longing for a normal life with a good guy. She likes Albie because he’s a kind person and treats her with respect.

R426 Fashion throughout Europe is very different than America. A lot of things the men there wear you wouldn’t see or find here.

R414 Yes, that movie came first. No, she didn’t make her mark there—she was part of an ensemble. She was a lead in Columbus and the critics viewed her work worthy. Which film led to current role, do you think?

Will Sharpe isn't bad per se, but he is weak r422. A different actor in that role could be doing so much more with it.

Meghann who plays Daphne has impressed me, wasn't familiar with her before this show but she is really bringing her character to life.

[...]

Have none of you ever hung around straight dudes before? I actually thought the "sex" talk between Theo James and Will Sharpe was kind of sweet in that male friends camaraderie sort of way - that was clearly a "bit" between friends, Will Sharpe wasn't shocked at all, they had it down to a routine. Straight boys will out-gay gays with their goofing around, I don't think there was any more to it than that -- except that Mike White knows that the audience is trying to figure out their relationship and he's playfully messing with us. I don't think there's any gay between them, but that said I haven't figured out what's up with Will Sharpe's character at all either.

R429 I'm from Europe and those gays were tacky

Yes, so far everything that Theo James has done is realistic from a broey straight dude. So far I don't have any indication that he actually wants to fuck him, just likes messing around.

And it is a nice commentary on how even straight guys use their sexuality with each other. Go hang around a frat house and his behavior doesn't seem that weird.

Haley Lu Richardson is Florence Pugh but fatter and more dykeish.

Maybe Mike White doesn't know straight guys as much as he thinks he does or he's trying to turn its reality on its head for his own amusement. I'm even wondering if guys here know straight men all that well.

I think some posters here are far too quick to see everything through a gay lens.

Ethan being bored of sex with his wife doesn't mean he must be gay. Cameron doing homoerotic jokes with his old college roommate does not mean he is gay.

R436 She's engaged to a guy.

R439 they announced a split recently

i aspire to be like leo woodall's and theo james's characters

Haley Lu has been wonderful in everything I've ever seen her in before - somebody mentioned Columbus and I agree with that, but also After Yang earlier this year and especially the movie Support the Girls. Support the Girls is really underrated

Introducing the Haley Lu Loon

I think Greg is waiting for Tanya to be lost at sea so he can, at long last, be with the love of his life, Quintin (Tom Hollander).

The look on Harper's face when Daphne spoke about her "really close friend, who has an autistic child" was priceless.

I don’t think they are giving us enough to conclude Ethan is gay. He’s struggling somehow with sexuality but it could be any number of things, including the gay, but I’m guessing this will be answered at some point.

Speaking of gay….did anyone watch the after episode interview between the actors playing Albie and Jack? It seemed over the top flirty, which made me think it was more of a skit than an interview. If it was a legit interaction, they need to just get it over with and fuck already.

Maybe they already have

R229 Toni is very so so doing American accents. She can be very generic and non regional. Also Cate does US regional accents. However unlike other Aussies she had an American father. She had an advantage that others didn't. Cate's accent in The Elizabeth accent was bizarre. That was a weird take on an English accent.

So you want to be a sexy fuckboi r441? Post a pic and we will tell you if you are.

Portia is a little slut. That Limey Lad looks like an Osbourne family member! Albie got a fabulous blowjob from a pro. Good for him. II like how Portia was jealous of him. He should have double teamed those two hookers!

The reason I think R383 might to totally correct is because Harper really has no idea about the hookers. As far as she knows, it was just Ethan and Cameron hanging out that night. So those would be the natural conclusions for a wife to draw in the absence of any additional information.

Nice work, R383.

And then R386 comes along and goes completely overboard and off the rails with the whole damn thing.

Rein it in, R386. Rein it in.

It's the truth in the world that people are more turned on by the Nephew types than the Albie types.

Albie is the type girls marry, but when they are looking for fun those fuckboi types tend to be the winner.

Gays are a different beast because we often will marry the fuckboi. Albies in the gay world tend to have to find their other Albies.

I have a feeling that Daphne is going to be an Iago.

[quote][R380] he’s working Ethan to get what he wants out of Ethan. Jesus. It’s not that hard to understand.

Tell me that you don't have any friends without telling me you don't have any friends, guy.

Look, even if you are correct, which you are not, you don't get a prize for having the correct interpretation of a storyline that is clearly intended to be subject to interpretation.

It's just a TV show. Get over yourself and get a life.

I predict Tom Hollander's character will become Fan Favorite by the end of this series and will appear in S3 as the one holdover.

This episode revealed Will Sharpe as the weakest actor in this ensemble. He's hungover, is supposed to feel guilty over the previous night, and is concerned about his wife, yet he delivers his lines in the same self-amused way as in the first episode. I don't even believe in method acting, but the bitch needs some method acting. The Essex "geezah" (eugh) was all mumbling and vocal fry, that one could do with some voice lessons as well.

Cinematography is simply spectacular. That one quick transition with the seagull and the waves and the clouds took my breath away. Had no idea Mike White could be so visually artsy and tasteful, I thought he was mainly a writing kind of guy.

R365...It has 9 episodes.

r456 I don't think Mike White would suffer a star gay like that, but am open to be proven wrong.

Why are the Italian street hookers so expensive? Cam pays them 1,800 euros but still not enough. So they are over 1,000 euros apiece? They're not even Instahoes or high-end call girls. I thought you could easily find a hooker in a small Sicilian town for under 200 euros.

And is it accurate that Valentina as the hotel manager would kick people out of the lobby just because they look like cheap whores? What if she mistakes a real guest with a trash taste in fashion for a cheap whore? She can't even tell Monica Vitti from Peppa Pig.

I suspect Tom Hollander’s character is going to be too rooted in the Sicilian locale to transition to another series - I think whatever his angle ends up being, it’s going to be motivated by an obsession with a beautiful house that he can’t afford to run.

As maddening as Tanya is exactly what the White Lotus universe is about.

I agree with R438. Cam is just horsing around, but Ethan is conflicted. However, all Harper knows is -

Ethan has no sexual interest in her, even on holiday

Ethan is 'honest to a fault' and says he and Cam were alone

She found a new condom wrapper in her sofa.

Conclusion - Ethan is gay.

[...]

No, this season has seven episodes r458. There are three episodes left. Which is an increase of season 1 when they only did 6.

And I agree r457, Mike White's directing has been fantastic this season. He has grown a lot as a visual storyteller. And it is crazy that he writes and directs every episode.

When I googled how many episodes of season 2, it came up with 9. Then, I scrolled down...it did say 7 episodes. So...you're right, but why did it come up with 9. I thought that seemed long for an HBO series.

Married men who may be conflicted about their sexuality might do so, R463.

Ethan was quick to show Harper the porn on his laptop when she caught him masterbating.

Maybe he welcomed to opportunity to bolster his straight bona fides?

r463 -- r462 isnt saying they think Ethan is gay, quite the opposite; they're saying that Harper is probably thinking that though

I thought Cameron’s “overture” to Ethan was part male domination and part baiting. If Ethan had said yes, Cameron would have teased him endlessly about being a fag.

R456 I hate his voice.

Aubrey Plaza is giving a terrible, one-note performances Harper. For that, she deserves to drown.

Ethan isn’t Conflicted about his sexuality though. Some of you are way too gay focused. You’re the worlds minority. Time to wake up and see the world is full of different people with different ways of thinking and different issues and different ways of handling those issues.

Ethan’s conflict isn’t he’s attracted to Cam. His conflict is that he isn’t sexually attracted to his wife but doesn’t wanna do the wrong thing and fuck around. His conflict is also that he is slowly realizing Cam has ulterior motives

I have a sneaking suspicion that Tanya’s assistant ends up dead

I got the impression Ethan has always known Cam was a dbag and he was a “friend” by proximity. So why would Ethan be sad to “lose” him as a friend?

I could see that if Ethan didn’t have Harper. Maybe they are in a sexual lull, but they seem well-matched and they seem to be friends. That’s not easy to find in this world.

Portia is annoying. I’m not really sure why, though.

I’m not a fan of plucked eye brows but hers could use a light makeover.

At 2:00 in the official trailer you can see Ethan violently pushing Cameron's head down in the sea so I'm guessing they have a bust up at some point.

Yea, R476, that scene was in the season preview trailer.

R460 a business associate of mine went on vacation to Brazil about a decade ago. They wouldn't let his girlfriend through the lobby because they thought she was a hooker (she idolizes Kris Jenner).

He told this story with pride.

Portia is incredibly annoying and just so dumpy. There is no better word to describe her. Her presence bothers me every time; more than any of the other characters. Is Haley Lu a great actress to have this effect or is she just incredibly annoying and dumpy herself?

Dumpy is IT, r479. My sister calls her "the husky girl", but dumpy covers it better.

She is short and dumpy, for sure.

The trailer also shows Ethan looking very stressed out. I think they're trying to hint that it's Ethan who kills Cameron. But I bet that's a red herring to try to throw us off.

Haley Lu Richardson has been crocheting since the age of eight, and she has an Etsy shop where she sells accessories and crocheted clothing made from her own designs. She is single.

She is also a dancer

Dumpy girls deserve representation too

It’s funny that she is so disliked.

[...]

She reminds me of a young Brie Larson. All the charm of raw broccoli.

It’s not unrealistic. Tons of dumpy frumpy chicks get hot men.

Happens all the time, R487. Get out of the house and experience the real world sometime.

Haha, everyone comments on why my dad (who is good looking) is with my mother (who is definitely not). It gets annoying after a while..

Did Cameron plant that empty condom wrapper in the sofa?

Of course dumpy chicks get sex with hot guys all the time, but this is still implausible. There is no way they would be showering this much attention on her to get it or that no one around them would comment that Albie and Jack are slumming big time. So glad Albie has moved on to la puttana. Get it!

Is it just me, or was the moral flip-flop between Lucia and Mia just a little too pat?

I'm glad Albie is with the whore as well. She is way more attractive and gives good bjs. Maybe they can have a sweet, redemptive love affair and balance each other out.

Actually, I'm missing a little back story on Lucia and Mia here. I don't mean we have to see flashbacks of their earlier lives, just a little exposition maybe in their chats about who they are and where they've come from.

This show is character driven and very in the moment. It doesn’t do flashbacks etc. the focus is what’s happening during this particular week and nothing more.

r497, I said very clearly I wasn't expecting flashbacks. Just some conversation between Lucia and Mia that might reveal a bit of what they're background is. Lucia appears rather inept as a hooker at times and then, at other times, this doesn't seem like her first time around paying customers. It's just not clear to me who she is.

But maybe the mystery is part of their allure.

I'd bet they're friends from school.

I guess we're supposed to see how young and inexperienced Lucia and Mia are by their Doc Martens, which they seem to wear whenever they're out of their hooker heels. A sweet and funny detail, I think.

R487 Except she's not fat nor fugly. Most straight guys would find her attractive

What kind of whores costs more than $1800 a night?

Obviously I don't know the pricing but I do know that overnights and female escorts cost more. These guys are very rich too so maybe she's taking advantage.

R501 Bullshit. Portia has all the sexual charisma of a pet rock! Most straight guys would be pumping Lucia or Mia instead of the barely cute frumpster..She would end up with a nerd or lezzing out with an equally desperate friend.

[quote] What kind of whores costs more than $1800 a night?

Cameron would have had to pay for both of them, and Cameron had them both for the entire night (even though he passed out).

I don't know of any high-end resort where you would be able to find young, attractive whores for less than $1000 for an entire night.

[quote] Did Cameron plant that empty condom wrapper in the sofa?

Maybe. But it would seem unlikely given how trashed he was.

R504 Well, obviously you are a gay guy so you wouldn't know a first thing about it.

In America the average female escort costs around 400/hr, and probably around 2k for an overnight visit. In demand ones who go after a wealthier clientele will charge way more.

She is working a 5 star resort, the price felt true to me. But I don't know how Sicily affects things.

Tom Hollander and co. are definitely going to try and swindle Jennifer C of her money. The fact that they only bring fancy women over 60 to the villa tells me they want lonely women with money. Bad shit is going to go down there.

I think Tom will be one of the dead bodies. Probably the nephew as well.

They might even be cheap. I just looked up a random Italian escort - she markets as high class and charges 3000 euros a night. Lucia and Mia seem scrappy though.

R507 Wrong. I'm bi leaning more towards men. Most guys would perceive Portia as a nice girl. Most guys would look at Lucia and see sex on a stick! BTW I didn't see nice guy Albie tell Lucia to stop blowing him.....Lucia unleashed a stud.

The show is too politically correct to kill of any of the women or the gays unless it's revealed that they're evil which is unlikely. I say Greg.

off*

R511 No ine said that Portia is sex on a stick, but she's far from fat and ugly.

[quote] The show is too politically correct to kill of any of the women or the gays unless it's revealed that they're evil which is unlikely.

Armond, the one gay character from last season, was killed and he was not portrayed as evil.

She looks like the type who would end up fat though.

That boytoy/whore with the long hair in Ep4 was lovely. He didn’t speak, but he was just the type that you want to have in your mouth in Italy.

Also, I’ll slide another appreciation into the slot for DiMarco’s spectacular ass shot in Ep 1.

[quote]Except she's not fat nor fugly. Most straight guys would find her attractive

Yeah, gay guys are notoriously bad at guessing what straight guys find attractive.

When Alvie is heading down to the beach to look for Portia, he walks past at least two beautiful women with perfect bodies. He doesn’t even glance at them.

R512 obviously didn’t watch season 1.

they are all swimming in aubrey plaza's wake, so far

R519 I noticed that too. Portia’s eyebrows are distracting me. He can do better.

Interesting interview with Will Sharpe about the show today on "Variety." Unless he's purposefully being misleading, he makes it sound like Ethan is not gay (or at least he says nothing about in the interview). he also says Cameron kissing Ethan was not in the script but was Theo James's improvisation to make clear Cameron is trying to be the alpha.

I noticed the bouncing boobs of the one lady in the red bikini I think it was. And I noticed Albie didn’t acknowledge her at all. Thought it was strange.

R523 idk anyone who thinks he’s gay off of this site, including gay men. Some of you can’t seem to see outside of your gay bubble.

The interesting thing about that interview has nothing to do with Ethan's sexuality which yeah most people aren't debating r523, but Will Sharpe is giving away that there is a dark turn for Ethan and that he is morally gray and becomes a very exciting part to play.

I was not expecting the character to go a route like that. Now I am trying to run through possibilities.

Cameron doesn’t really seem the type to use a condom.

Cameron def would use a condom. He’s not that stupid to possibly knock up a whore.

R527 With whores, absolutely yea.

I think they are alluding to Ethan killing Cameron.. in the first episode, Daphne is sitting alone and then goes into the ocean where she bumps into a body.

I could see Ethan killing someone after that interview r530, but to me Daphne's reaction in the premiere didn't seem like that was Cameron's body. It seemed more freaked out about a body and not "HOLY SHIT MY HUSBAND"

Would straight men really be into Porsha’s Graucho Marx eyebrows?

R532 most straight men don’t notice eyebrows like that

Would they notice her dumpy body and annoying personality?

Oh Please, R538 Straight men will fuck a tailpipe. There is actually a video of one doing it.

Her name isn't "Porsha."

It's spelled "p'Orschaa."

Portia definitely recalls Florence Pugh; short, dumpy, inoffensive face but you need to see them in full makeup confidently call them pretty.

Cameron & Daphne are playing games with Harper & Ethan; they want him to invest money and he might be more willing to do so if his personal life was destabilized. I don't think Ethan is having any sexual crisis; he's just realizing Cameron is a lot worse than he was in college but he's too polite to do anything but grin and bare it for the vacation. He's also too proud to admit to Harper how far he allowed himself to be lead by Cameron while the ladies were away (it wasn't even THAT far, but he's so uptight he probably feels it was too far).

This is Haley Lu in Support the Girls, and y'all talking about straight guys not wanting to fuck this lol - gay dudes are clueless

R472. What's with straight people coming onto this gay board?

Seriously, aren't there enough boards for you people?

R538 She plays a total frumpette on White Lotus. She is not that cute on the show. As the Italians say she looks like she's a cacasot,she looks like she has shit in her pants! I also find her to be doing crochet very weird.

Haley Lu Richardson really does look like she’s shitting in every scene. Dumpy indeed!

Ethan not finding his wife sexually attractive is common for most straight men. Just ask the ones you know. Yes, straight men would fuck Portia — not because they found her attractive, but because she was available.

Season 1 had a lot of the cast nominated for an Emmy. Who on this season might be?

Aubrey plaza

Maybe Michael Imperioli will get some meaty scenes coming up. Enough for an Emmy nom.

Compilation so far of Cameron (Theo James) sexually harassing Ethan (Will Sharpe). I know there will be more in the upcoming eps.

There was a Belinda shout out by Tanya in this ep. Tanya said something like she’s cursed for not helping the spa girl from Maui. Ha.

What was the line exactly?

I was happy to see she acknowledges her Hawaii trip (and that she fucked over that poor woman).

0 nominations for acting.

[quote] Some of you are way too gay focused. You’re the worlds minority.

R472 Bitch, STFU. Who died and made you the moderator of this thread? And what is this "you people" business? Take your heteronormativity and shove it up your ass.

[quote] Ethan not finding his wife sexually attractive is common for most straight men. Just ask the ones you know.

Why do some of you post such inane comments?

Count me as one of those who doesn't think either Cameron or Ethan are gay or bi, or that one or both of them want to fuck, or that they fucked in college, and that the "I want to be inside of you, I want to make you feel good" talk from Cameron was just typical fratboy horsing around. Also yet another way for the self-described "pushy asshole" Cameron to assert dominance over the passive Ethan. Notice Cameron didn't say "I want to feel you inside me" or "I want to suck your cock". It was about Cameron telling him "Even though you've made a shit ton of money and are now richer than me, I'm still the man, and you're still the bitch in this friendship".

I do think the person who mentioned upthread that perhaps Ethan's wife might be thinking that they fucked, though, came up with an interesting idea that hadn't occurred to me. She sees that Ethan isn't interested in fucking her. And she sees that Cameron has some kind of weird hold over Ethan that she can't quite figure out. It seems plausible to me that, in her hysteria over finding the condom wrapper, that's a conclusion she could jump to very easily.

(It's amusing to me how much has changed in society in the past few decades, from practically zero gay representation in the media, to gay male audiences expecting there to be explicit gay sex between hot guys in every show on TV.)

I'm disappointed in Valentina's character development. It's fine that she's developed a crush on somebody, but turning her into a silly, lovestruck schoolgirl takes away most of what was appealing about her in the first place.

F. Murray Abraham is a delight to watch. He's not been given that much to do, yet his presence in the show seems important. I love how he sort of glides above all of the drama that's happening with the others, a wise observer of everything going on around him.

Yes Gramps wasn't even mad about those girls in his room, he loved seeing some boobage flashed.

There are going to be some great awkward scenes next week when Albie's Dad has to deal with his son fucking/dating la puttanesca.

I think next Cameron is going to make a move on Ethan's wife Harper and then Ethan is going to lose it

Why does Ethan Sharpe wear his hair that way?

I meant Will Sharpe (Ethan)

I wish Cameron/Theo would sexually harass me!!

Belinda didn't get her angel investor true, but Tanya did give her a fat wad of cash that the IRS has no idea of. She's better off having met the crazy loon

R554, that's what's depicted in the trailer for Episode 5. And he does it in full view of Ethan.

[quote] Count me as one of those who doesn't think either Cameron or Ethan are gay or bi, or that one or both of them want to fuck, or that they fucked in college, and that the "I want to be inside of you, I want to make you feel good" talk from Cameron was just typical fratboy horsing around.

I'm sorry but straight men don't talk like that, let alone while lying on their sides facing each other with the speaker acting all moony eyed. Cameron reaches out to gently touch Ethan when he says it. He's not joking around like a frat boy. He's not rough housing. "I want to be inside you." (he says something else I can't make out) then he says "I want to make you feel good." That is not a power play. It may be a let me fuck your head up but it is not an alpha male power move.

Maybe it really is Cameron who's gay. He's so superficial and glib with his wife and he has no loyalty or love for her. He's happy to fuck her because he probably will fuck anyone. Cameron is the type of amoral user who would marry a woman to get ahead and fit into society more smoothly. Maybe that's why he has lawsuits against him - trying too hard to prove he's a straight horndog.

He's such a repulsive character. The looks disappear with that kind of ugly interior.

I don’t want Valentina to turn into a creep around Isabella like Armand did with Dylan. Let the pin be the end of it.

The main things that seems clear to me are that Cameron needs money and invited Ethan on the holiday to get him to invest. He felt Ethan owed him, because Ethan had failed to tell him about the imminent sale of his company.

It's not clear if Daphne rented the villa as a surprise for the whole group, or just her and Cameron, but it seems likely the rental would have had to be organised in advance. She had no way of knowing Harper would agree to go to Noto with her or that Cameron would resist. Cameron seemed genuinely surprised that Daphne and Harper were staying overnight. The prostitutes approaching them was unexpected and Cameron spontaneously formed a plan to compromise Ethan to further his goal of getting Ethan to invest.

Both women chose to marry men with certain character weaknesses that are part and parcel of what made them desirable. Cam is a risk taker, a player, he's great looking and sexually very hot. He's exciting but the other side of that is that he is unfaithful and can't be controlled.

Ethan is introverted, passive, dependable, truthful, faithful, and stable. The other side of that is that he is closed, and has little sexual or emotional energy.

r559 he reminds me of James Franco is also is good looking but is problematic which makes him unattractive

r559: "I'm sorry but straight men don't talk like that"

Yes, they do. The first time I saw this was in high school when we were changing after gym. One of the guys on the basketball team put a towel on his head and danced around the locker room singing

"I love you

You love me

Homosexuality"

The jocks were all cracking up while the few closeted gay kids knew well enough to get the hell out.

They can do it because they're confident in their sexuality. There was a study that found that homophobic people were more likely to have sexual response to homosexual imagery.

Death map from Reddit

r565 wow, some1 actually is invested enough 2 make such pretty map

also wrong, though, on a lot, like i def see tanya as hi chance of snap and hi chance of death just bc the psychic was acting weird and tanya is crazy

Jeez that death map loaded super slow for me. Anyway, the only ones they had as chances of death: high were Lucia and Bert. Not sure I buy that.

R528

And keep the used condom or just put hot sauce in it.

[quote]I'm sorry but straight men don't talk like that

Tell us you don't know any straight men under 40 without telling us.

They do it because to them homo stuff is a joke and it’s gross humor. The way some white people think it’s funny to imitate stereotypes of black people or Asian people.

The way Cameron says the lines is in a playful way. Not even serious. Anyone taking that as serious… idk what to tell you.

Jack is such a hot chav

Ugh. Jack is all doughy, tatted, baby teeth.

[quote]I'm sorry but straight men don't talk like that

They talk like that all the time, what the fuck? Most are so confident in their sexual orientation, they see nothing deeper in jokes about fucking each other. It's all just banter anyway. You just might be in a gay bubble.

[quote] One of the guys on the basketball team put a towel on his head and danced around the locker room singing "I love you You love me Homosexuality"

You just proved my point. As did all the others talking about joking around. They will joke about it but that's not the scene between Cameron and Ethan. Cameron wasn't joking. Watch that scene again. This was between two men - nothing to show off in front of - in the quiet of a bedroom.

It's possible that Cameron is so desperate to get Ethan's money that he thinks he reads Ethan as gay (or maybe he has knowledge from Ethan's history) and this was a last ditch effort to seduce him or compromise him.

After Ethan gets up and goes to the bathroom, Cameron rolls over on his back and looks frustrated or hurt.

Mike White and some here may fantasize that straight men would approach another man like this but that is pure gay fantasy. It actually came across as some late night soft porn soap opera.

I'm not the one fantasizing about straight men secretly lusting after gay men so I'm hardly the one in a gay delusional bubble.

Nonno moaned that he’d never see a naked woman again. That’s silly. He knows there are hookers in the hotel. He could pay them to parade around his room naked for half an hour and not have to pay very much.

I find it hard to believe that a hotel manager wouldn’t be able to come up with at least one nice jewelry store in a tourist town. Don’t they get nice little kickbacks for referrals?

Sorry for poking holes in the plot. I love the show.

[quote]I find it hard to believe that a hotel manager wouldn’t be able to come up with at least one nice jewelry store in a tourist town. Don’t they get nice little kickbacks for referrals?

I think Valentina's pretending not to know any nice jewelry stores was her way of saying, "I know what you're doing. You wanna buy your wife some 'make up' jewelry because you feel guilty for hiring those two prostitutes, but I'm not gonna help you do that."

Agree, r577! Of course, Valentina could have been more helpful if she wanted to be. She's actually the exact opposite of Murray B's character in that unlike him, she's unwilling to put on a happy face for the guests.

Was there a missed opportunity about the brooch bought by Dom for his wife and then by Valentina for her crush not being the same brooch? Could have been funny if they each thought they were buying something special and rare.....but seems Mike White didn't go there.

r575 straight men really, really, really do behave like that to one another. How many of us have to say you're wrong? I've seen straight men behave like that all my life. They were being playful. It reminded me of the scenes in Superbad where Jonah Hill and Michael Cera laid next to each other in bed being all lovey-dovey. Only this time with actually hot guys that we'd like to project our fantasies upon.

Valentina is barely a character.

Cameron is way more overtly gay than most straight men. He’s clearly attracted to Ethan.

[quote]I'm not the one fantasizing about straight men secretly lusting after gay men so I'm hardly the one in a gay delusional bubble.

No, you're the one denying that straight men joke about gay stuff with each other.

[quote] I think Valentina's pretending not to know any nice jewelry stores was her way of saying, "I know what you're doing. You wanna buy your wife some 'make up' jewelry because you feel guilty for hiring those two prostitutes, but I'm not gonna help you do that."

She has no idea that Dominic is currently married--for all she knows he's divorced or widowed.

But an even bigger hole in your theory is that she thanked Isabella for knowing where to buy the brooch, suggesting she genuinely did not know.

Cam and Ethan had a great time racing around on the jet skis together. I've never seen Ethan so happy and engaged.

The testosterone was flowing . Both guys were in their element being jocks challenging each other for sport.

Probably just like when they were in college together.

And Ethan did say that he gets really horny after a run, so he likes that kind of physical activity to get him aroused. Something that Harper seems to be clueless about.

R580 they have a close relationship. They’re joking. It is called banter. You really need to get off of this site, stop watching shows that are far too advanced for your brain and go to school. You’re constantly embarrassing yourself on here, with everyone constantly telling you and still you don’t get it.

[quote] Ugh. Jack is all doughy, tatted, baby teeth.

Doughy? He's all hard ripped muscle.

And it's not his teeth I'm after.

[quote]She has no idea that Dominic is currently married--for all she knows he's divorced or widowed.

You might be right that Valentina didn't know or suspect that Dominic is married, but she might have also thought he wanted to buy something nice for one of the prostitutes, and there was no way she was going to help him do that.

[quote]But an even bigger hole in your theory is that she thanked Isabella for knowing where to buy the brooch, suggesting she genuinely did not know.

I think Valentina thanked Isabella because she wanted to ingratiate herself with Isabella.

If you watch the scene again of Dominic asking Valentina for help, she has an annoyed look on her face, and I took that to mean that she wasn't going to help him even if she knew that information, and as a hotel manager she would have known that information. Just my interpretation of that scene.

[quote] Cameron is way more overtly gay than most straight men. He’s clearly attracted to Ethan.

Yes. I'd say all the signs are there unless Mike White is just playing with our heads to distract from the denouement.

Where do the girls live (when they’re not spending the night with clients)? Are they homeless?

I thnk the reason those two hookers are so expensiveis because they're more attractive than 99% of high class escorts for some reason.

About the show: I like that it's realistic andnot rushed/trying too hard, but there's a tad too much filler for a 7 episode series. There's something missingin the writing to take this to the next level (without pulling a Ryan Murphy).

[quote]Was there a missed opportunity about the brooch bought by Dom for his wife and then by Valentina for her crush not being the same brooch? Could have been funny if they each thought they were buying something special and rare.....but seems Mike White didn't go there.

^^This would have been great!

Too sitcom, darlin’

[quote]but there's a tad too much filler for a 7 episode series

But the filler is a bit of the point. A large part of this series is just Mike White's commentary on people. Those conversations sitting around a table talking are largely what he wants to do with this show. The he throws in someone getting killed to make it a marketable product.

[quote] Mike White and some here may fantasize that straight men would approach another man like this but that is pure gay fantasy. It actually came across as some late night soft porn soap opera. I'm not the one fantasizing about straight men secretly lusting after gay men so I'm hardly the one in a gay delusional bubble.

Actually, WIll Sharpe said that many of the intimacies between Cam and Ethan, such as those kisses, were not in the script and were improvised by Theo James. So it's more like Theo's understanding of his character's power play, not MIke White's "pure gay fantasy."

Who the fuck even wears brooches anymore except ladies in their eighties?

---.

****

%%%%

(((((

^^^^^

!!!!!!!!

The last episode of WL Season two is titled "BYG" which according to Urban Dictionary can mean "because you're gay" or "beautiful young girl"

Make of that what you will.