White Lotus Season 2, Thread #3

Link to thread #2.

This is apparently the only high-end resort in the entire world that does not have a gift shop with jewelry in it.

I love Dom's outraged looks, eg when he sees Albie with Lucia...hilarious.

Albie makes me feel old the way he talks about his father's generation, because I assume Dom is Gen X. I do think many Gen X men are more progressive than Albie thinks.

[quote] 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."

I thought Will said one scene, not all of them. And I thought we were talking about that one very intimate scene between them on the beds, not one of the kissing scenes.

But maybe this is Theo James coming out. James is a bit weird. I think he's misread other characters as well and I think some directors are too taken with his looks to correct him or give him notes.

Theo James has an underbite that ruins his perfect looks. Maybe that makes him more attractive in a way, to some.

Daphne is a monster. She’s similar to Tonya, making unilateral decisions that affect other people, without a thought. She’s manipulative and uses her money to do it, most of the time.

[quote]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.

He said ONE thing was improvised, which was the kiss on the cheek in like episode two. Stop exaggerating what he said to fit your narrative. Everything has been in the script except for the kiss on the cheek earlier in the season.

I'd like to see Cam fuck Albie while high on molly.

It's funny that when Dominic asked if there's some jewelry store in town, that staff lady told him there is one and said what it is called, but never told him where is it. And he thanked her and left. How was that of any help? He knew as much as he did before asking.

In the previous season, Armand had a way of dealing very passive aggressively with the guests (the Steve Zahn character was looking for stuff to do with the son & Armand gave him a bunch of bullshit before finally coming up with a reasonable suggestion). I kind of took all that as her general disgust at the guests rather than a personal fuck you to Dom.

For a series so many here don't seem to like, these WL threads get an awful lot of traction.

R9 One of them did mention a street or something. It's probably a small town so you just walk along that street until you see it.

Yeah, R12. She didn’t just say the store’s name, point at the door, and wish him good luck.

R9 was playing Candy Crush or something while she was watching this week.

I think Harper and Cameron will fuck which will cause Ethan to lose his mind.

It is a great show. The characters are fantastic. Haley Lu looks so much like Florence Pugh that I find it distracting though...

Portia is so insufferably Gen Z.

R15 As is Albie... both quintessential reps of their generation and so ill-suited to one another - which, in itself, is a brilliant critique.

Albie's nipples are freakishly small. Miniscule. I venture not as sensitive as Jack's.

Albie and Portia as perfectly woke people, purportedly seeking enlightened partners and ending up with whores is a brilliant (and fucking ballsy) turn of events.

Will Sharpe's hair, I assumed he was intended to resemble some carvaggian bacchus, but that's his real like look.

From the other thread, the BYG title from the last episode could be Bury Your Gays. Maybe all the Tom Hollander gay guys die at that villa or the boat and one of them is the body daphne found. And Tanya and Portia are the cause.

However, I’m sure it will be justified.

Valentina already told him to look on the Corso, the assistant then gave him a particular shop name as a recommendation of a good place to find what he was looking for.

Thankfully most young men (the actor is 32) sound as insufferable as Albie.

^ don’t sound

Most small towns and villages in Europe have one main street, or sometimes two that cross each other, with all of the shops located on them. Valentina was clearly snubbing Dom by not giving him any more info and he clearly was offended. I'm not understanding the controversy here over that moment.

Is the lone straight man who finds Haley Loose attractive still posting?

I don't think Albie is meant to be Gen Z, the actor doesn't pass for early 20s to me. Haley does pass for early 20s Gen Z and is written very young.

I’m also not into Albie’s excessively tiny, excessively pointy nipples either.

Didn’t Albie just graduate from Stanford?

Why would Albie necessarily be the exact same age as the actor who plays him?

Dataloungers are always trying to nitpick with this show to a ridiculous degree.

Didn't Theo James tell Will Sharpe this past episode that he wanted his ass?

Who do you think was found floating in the water in the first episode? I think it could be Jennifer Coolidge's husband. Any guesses???

I guess the gays in the beach house. They are already telegraphing the police will be involved.

The whole party scene with the whores and Cameron was heavily improvised. The kissing on Ethan was not in the script. Will Sharpe made that clear in the interview.

Is theo james gay himself?

he is not gay hisself

It was nearly impossible to tell if the “I want to be inside you” was fakely-bromosexual joking on Cameron’s part, or if it was an actual ask said humorously to provide plausible deniability.

Given Daphne’s remark about how all of Cam’s coworkers are “dark triad” psychopathic personalities but he’s supposedly just a “naughty boy,” I think Cam may want to have some sex play, maybe rekindled from their college days, and use that as leverage to get Ethan to invest.

Perhaps the whole thing is a Ponzi scheme. The sex would just be a fun thing along the way.

DEAR. GOD.

IT WAS OBVIOUSLY BRO JOKING. GET OVER IT B

[quote] Didn't Theo James tell Will Sharpe this past episode that he wanted his ass?

Not in those words.

I want Lucia and Mia to pound on Cam's door demanding the rest of their money. He's such a weasel.

It doesn’t make sense that it’s just “bro joking.” Don’t be simple. It’s the third or fourth pass that Cameron has made at Ethan since the season started. If this was just character development, and nothing more, then we would have seen one interaction like this and that would be enough.

Why do you think Ethan became nauseous at that exact moment? Just for shits and giggles?

You’re an idiot.

[quote] Didn’t Albie just graduate from Stanford?

Stanford certainly gets an awful lot of mention in just the first 4 episodes. Albie mentions it once, Portia twice, and Grandpa also once. I may have missed one.

R25 dk, but Haley Lu does have that "twad", thick thigh, thick ass, squat female physique which shows up in lots of fertility figurines from antiquity. Also the angle of her pelvis is strangely suggestive - like please hump me from behind.

I'm guessing it must trigger a kind of basic urge in some straight guys.

R37, straight bro's don't joke around like that.

I don't find Gen Z any more or less annoying than other generations. I have a certain amount of respect for Gen Z, because if US democracy survivors, it will be largely due to them.

Albie talked about 'Furd at least twice. The first was cute humble-brag.... "oh, I went to a college in the bay are [pause] ... uh, Stanford." The humble-brag making sure you hit the final point is very Stanford.

Chico State. for those not familiar with CA academia, is perfect for the lass...

Portia would have seen a lot meatheads like “Jack” @ CHICO STATE. It is chock full of the Central Valley version: hot bod, dumb talk, baseball caps…looking to play around. Oh, and a wad of chew in their cheek or lower lip—that’s essential in Chico.

Doesn't Chico hold some kind of record for most STD cases?

The scene between Ethan and Cameron in bed reads like a bo-joke on paper, but James plays it like he's almost serious. I'm sure that was Mike White working in some subtext.

Albie is what many would call a “Stanford weenie.” It’s a common type seen in various parts of NorCal. Amirite R45?

[quote] Why do you think Ethan became nauseous at that exact moment? Just for shits and giggles?

I don't follow. Ethan is made nauseous by the thought of being penetrated? Or Ethan is faking the need to projectile vomit to avoid the conversation?

*bro

[quote] Who do you think was found floating in the water in the first episode?

Based on the reaction, wouldn't it be someone who Daphne recognizes?

Rocco mentions the other bodies, couldn't be sure if they were also in the water.

Theo James does give it an interesting line reading, but Will Sharpe's complete lack of surprise and the way he has fun volleying back "no thank you" and "no mam" shows it is normal behavior between them r48.

R49 Yes, you are quite correct. I do think Albie is showing us a pretty perfect weenieness.

Ethan vomited because of all the alcohol he had drunk the night before.

And exactly how would that move the story forward, dummy?

I spot the Gen Z with an overly-inflated opinion of thyself at R44!

I love when Albee told Lucia he went to Stanford and she was like “Uh huh.”

Watch the scene again. That is a plaintive declaration of love by Cameron. He never sounds that sincere when he's talking to his wife.

I don't know how anyone can watch it and think Cameron is joking. If he's supposed to be joking, those aren't the things you say and James didn't play it as a joke.

Wait, there really is a college in California called Chico State?

[quote] Ethan vomited because of all the alcohol he had drunk the night before.

Exactly. And yet we are meant to believe the character has the ability to forcefully summon up vomit in order to "move the story forward".

Yes.

[quote] Wait, there really is a college in California called Chico State?

I visited once, the campus & the town are pretty nice. Lots of trees. I was there about a week before the nearby Paradise wildfire.

R7 Without the intimacies in the party scene, it only makes it clearer that the bantering the next morning is nothing but bantering. It also shows in the trailer that Ethan tries to drown Cam because Cam flirts with Harper. Furthermore, it doesn't make much sense considering Mike White's scriptwriting ability if there'd be two more major characters revealed to be gay, when there're already a gaggle of gays around Tanya and, in the first season, a gay protagonist as the hotel manager. The shock value of the reveal, if any, would also be undermined by the comparable device of outing Steve Zahn's father in the first season. No matter how much you want them all to be gay, Mike White prolly has a more balanced approach.

I guess we will see.

Episode 1: Cameron tells Ethan: "Look, you could have gotten laid. Jesus Christ, look at you. You're a handsome guy. I'd do ya." That's during dinner on Day 1.

Episode 2: Tanya tells Portia: “Don’t spend your life chasing after emotionally unavailable men, otherwise you’ll be banging your head against the wall”. Then, later in the episode, Ethan is shown to be banging his head against the wall.

Episode 3: Cameron asks Ethan how his sex life with Harper is going. Ethan responds that it is hard. But before Ethan can explain, Cameron says he understands that. Understands what? How does he understand something that Ethan has not explained. And why?

Episodes 1 through 4: Cam is very touchy-feely with Ethan. Every chance he gets.

Episode 4: When Cameron kisses Lucia in the pool, Ethan gives them a pensive/heartbroken look. In the end, when Cameron enters Ethan's room with prostitutes, he kisses Ethan on lips. Ethan gets more stressed and smokes when Cameron is having sex with Lucia/Mia. He keeps glancing at them. Later, Cam tells Ethan he wants to be inside him. This brings up feelings in the hungover Ethan that are intense enough that he vomits.

Oh yeah. The opening sequence has two men hooking up in secret next to a river.

Is this a Italy brings out the Gay in guys kinda thing? If so I needed a scene where Ethan takes back the swimsuit after Cameron wore it and puts it on his head like Elio did to Oliver’s trunks in CMBYN.

R67 Of course, don't you see? He'd literally be sucking the skidmarks out of them. He's madly in love.

R66

I think Ethan gets sick not just from the alcohol but because he feels like he's cheating on Harper.

Anyway, I think that Daphne & Cameron and Harper & Ethan are mirror images of each other. Daphne and Ethan are passive aggressive and "manage up" in their relationship, while Harper and Cameron are more assertive and "manage down". And yes, they can be passive aggressive too. Both couples lack good communication skills.

R66 Gosh! Didn't see that in the opening sequence. Great eye.

The image of Theo James fingering Will Sharpe makes me blush.

Aw, OP, I love F. Murray Abraham. Really tearing it up in this role. I think the question of what to do with yourself when you still feel sexually vital but society says your not is a worthy subject to explore.

^ you're.

I think the group of guys was hired by Greg to lure Tanya to the craggy island where she can "slip" to her death. Jack said the group looks for old hags. I believe I saw a few frames in a prior trailer where Tanya or someone blonde finds a duffle bag containing duck tape, blindfold, etc. And, remember, Tanya had the premonition of men with "effeminate hair styles" and Greg with "shark eyes" then he was "dead." Then, of course, there is the tarot card reader's prediction. Maybe the "crazy" one is Greg, or one of the fellas, and there will be a tussle where Tanya is the target to be shoved off the cliff, but Greg or Portia gets it instead.

Wow r43. You really need to get off this site and go outside and meet people.

I think Valentina's unwillingness to recommend to Don a specific shop is rooted in not wanting to be a part of his trinket-for-his-wife buying when she knows he's a whoremonger. She's over this type of fella she probably encounters all too often in her line of work. I wouldn't be surprised if she started out in life with a story that parallels Lucia's.

There is some very subversive stuff in the opening imagery. Slow it down to see it.

Valentina detests Dom because he forced her to give the local prostitutes the run of her hotel, after she had already ejected them, and Lucia insulted her in front of her staff. She should have been more like Armond and sent him to the worst place in town.

R77 Subverting what, in your opinion?

I've watched the breakdown of imagery in the opening sequence. I get these images are symbolic and foreshadowing, but I don't know what they would be subverting.

This latest episode's scenes with Mia and the piano player seemed just a bit too farcical overall, but I guess they allowed other plot lines to develop.

I mean they are not your usual frescoes featuring bucolic milkmaids and chubby cherubs. They are there, but are interspersed with murder, illicit sex, pigs fucking, humanised evil-looking monkeys.

R77

Almost every comment on here is from one person. All coming from the same location

Season 1 fans may be glad to hear that Murray Bartlett has resurfaced in the Hulu docudrama Welcome to the Chippendales.

R82 More like the same 4 or 5 people.

R84 that would be believable if it weren’t 5 am. No way the same 4 or 5 people have been online all day yesterday and are still online at the same time at 5am.

R82 I just got here and made a few separate posts for separate ideas. Didn't know that was a problem or had a designated monitor.

Which poster is the one who posts most of the posts? It can be checked by using Ignoredar. I have posted two posts in this thread and a few in the first one. It seems more like a group of people.

R85 Hate to break it to you but it's not 5am here. And it's not 5am except for a very narrow band of the globe where you happen to be.

r84 Babe, the whole of DL is just 4 or 5 people.

R88 so those same accounts all live in the same time zone? What are the odds???? Lmaoooooo.

R88 Wha? You need to go back to sleep.

There are so many people who the body could be.

When Albie finds out Lucia is a prostitute who his dad paid $$$ to he's going to be VERY angry.

I did wonder of Buff Essex Nephew was going to rape Portia but she seemed happy with a casual fun fuck, as most people are.

The joy of the series is you think it's going to be one thing and it isn't.

Are all DL thread series for ongoing TV shows this weird and intense, or does this show just have a cadre of DL obsessives? It's a genuine question as I usually watch TV shows some time after they've first aired, and thus don't bother reading DL viewing threads.

R82:

Of the 600 posts on the previous thread, you posted 62. You are hardly qualified to level the accusation you are making.

Chico State (Cal State Chico): part of the CSU system —a tier below the UC system..

R94 I checked and you're right. Too funny. He is also the poster who posted this:

"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."

Uh yeah, if we're going to play that card Native Americans would like a word with you about who is a 'true' generational American...

[quote]Are all DL thread series for ongoing TV shows this weird and intense

Yes R93. There are a lot of...interesting personalities who post here.

All those who fell in love with Murray Bartlett in S1 may be disabused of that adoration in seeing him as a sleazy choreographer in the Hulu series about Chippendales. I had trouble recognizing him at first with that peculiar wig. It's not that his performance is bad, it's just that the character is so off-putting. And is part of his charm that Aussie accent, which is naturally missing here?

And Downton fans, wait until you see what's become of Dan "Matthew Crawley" Stevens. The series is very badly written but surely it deserves its own thread.

[quote] Is this a Italy brings out the Gay in guys kinda thing?

No. It's a Moke White thing. People criticize Tarantino for using his films to satisfy his foot fetish. This is Mike White hiring hot guys to satisfy his desires. You think he hired James for his acting?

I think Cameron is more bi than Ethan….Cameron seemed to be into initiating intimacy that fell flat with Ethan during the hooker montage, and the odd delivery of the “jokes” in bed the morning after they made it seem as if he also might be fishing. Perhaps they did screw around during college, and the recall of that memory when Cameron “joked”made an already ill-feeling and otherwise sexually dissatisfied Ethan completely lose his cookies. Maybe Cameron assaulted/was inappropriate with Ethan and he has never actually processed it yet? That seems somewhat plausible to me. He might be using it to try and hook Ethan into a financial arrangement, but he could also just be bi. There was the casual line about how guys like them are just more sexual….which sort of felt like an “a mouth is a mouth” comment.

You’re still pretending all those posts aren’t you? Lmaooooo

But r98, I ALWAYS find Murray Bartlett sleazy and off-putting...

R101 Who fucking cares?

Bartlett was great season one, but I am glad he's gone. I've become fond of the Italian manager this series, comic/tragic.

Lucia turning good and Mia turning bad over night is too silly. It is something that would happen gradually, not in a day or two.

Since there are multiple dead bodies found in the water, it's probably the gays.

I liked Murray as Dom, very much. But he did a great job as Armond; it showed he has a real flair for comedy.

With all the mention of Stanfurd, was it ever explained where Ethan and Cam were roomies?

I was wondering that too. They gave us Portia and Albie's alma mater, but not our roommate characters.

Since Theo James character is supposed to come from a wealthy and established family, I'm guessing he was legacy at Harvard or Princeton and that's where they went to college. It feels right to me.

That feels wrong—Ethan is a CS/Engineering “nerd.”…a brilliant coder as Cam describes him. Harvard is not highly rated in those fields. Princeton or Columbia or Cornell make srr we nose if you’re stuck in that Ivy box….which is a base assumption. TLDR: not relevant to these characters.

*make more sense

Harvard's computer science program is very highly rated r109. And it has produced many rich tech people, notably Mark Zuckerberg.

And there is no way in hell the Ethan character went to Cornell. He would never.

Or rather than Cameron* character I suppose, referring to Theo James

I am rooting for the puttanas.

[quote]Lucia turning good and Mia turning bad over night is too silly. It is something that would happen gradually, not in a day or two.

Lucia didn't turn good, she became disillusioned and then hooked up with the son of her best client. She didn't suck Albie's cock as an altruistic act.

Will Tanya help pay off Portia's male prostitution bill?

R114 It's was implied that she likes him. Also, Mia went from being repulsed by Lucia's fucking men for money to fucking that piano creep in a chapel, taking showers in strangers' hotel room etc. It just doesn't fit the character of the first few episodes.

One of the whores will definitely drown, a call back to The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Why is everyone ignoring the fact that the puttanas and the boys did molly? (And the piano player, apparently.) Molly + booze creates an epic hangover that can take a day or two to dissipate. It certainly explains why Will barfed.

Zuckerberg he he!

Harvard’s program is not even in the top 10. Next…

R118 you are correct!

[quote] Molly + booze creates an epic hangover

I wonder why they drank? Molly, by itself, is quite enough of an experience.

[quote]It certainly explains why Will barfed.

It explains why Will would have barfed in the real world. This a scripted television show. They would not have gone to effort of creating that whole sequence if it was not intended to move either the character or the plot forward.

We did not need any further confirmation that Will was drunk and high the night before. He vomited at that particular moment for a reason.

I read it as that he vomited because the idea of having sex with Cameron was gross.

Cam and Ethan clearly went to UPenn and were frat brothers.

Cameron is an Ivy League grad?

He seems more like he went to Chico State.

I am guessing a good state school for the bros. Maybe U Dub or Michigan.

The press release for this season described him as

[Quote]Theo James as CAMERON SULLIVAN – A wildly successful businessman from a wealthy family, Cameron is vacationing with his wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy), his college roommate, Ethan (Will Sharpe), and Ethan’s wife, Harper (Aubrey Plaza).

I suspect the character grew up in a wealthy NY area family, and he probably would be legacy at some elite school. He does need to be a genius for a legacy admit.

^ I'm thinking Cornell

r75 I am not r43 but I keep seeing somebody telling somebody else they should not be posting because they don't agree with them that Cameron wasn't just having bro talk. If it is you maybe you need to take a step back because it is obsessive.

^^^ not just in this thread but in threads 1 and 2 also

It strikes me that what Cameron is doing with Ethan is a kind of emotional regression. Witness the jet ski "just us boys having fun" chicken game. Add to that the constant reminders of their previous relationship, and Cameron's trying to regress Ethan to the impressionable, vulnerable nerd he was when their friendship began. This would restore the former power dynamic, and make Ethan more susceptible to thefinancial scam that seems to be in the back of Cameron's mind. It's all about the money, and the foreplay-adjacent joking in the bed is really just to keep Ethan off balance. Although....it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that Cameron would do the frat-boy reach around if it put a few shekels in his pockets. And though Cameron's "I want to be inside you" surely 'flooded Mama's basement,' it's more keeping Ethan off balance than "we two boys together clinging."

Some of the comments here are shady towards Cornell. My mother went there and she turned out fine.

Btw I went to Yale and one of my best buds majored in CS. He's not really appreciative of the CS program. A lot of the practical stuff he had to learn in his internship. So I don't think Ethan went to Yale.

I guess it could be Cornell because the CS program there is really good.

maybe Cam was too dumb to get into Princeton or Harvard even as a legacy in 2008.

And though I would have thought Ethan was more of a California school (Cal Tech?) Cornell could have been the common meeting place.

I agree that R75 seems quite unbalanced on this topic. It seems very important to this person that absolutely NO sexual inferences are drawn from the variety of encounters that we have seen take place between these characters.

R60 I live in Chico. I live in the downtown area where the college is. It is a nice campus and town. But my ex and I used to own apt buildings that were student housing. Chico State is known as a party town and boy is it true. It was constant partying.

The fun thing about fictional characters is you can make up whatever shit sounds good to you, until it is proven otherwise by the storyline. The fucked up thing is to call those who disagree with you dummies.

R135, Chico is lovely. Albeit not near the level of a Stanford or Ivy League. But there is something to be said about a campus that isn't just filled with academic overachieving automatons.

Tonya is a really trashy name. It’s up there with Amber and Crystal and McKayla.

My favorite exchange of the latest episode was between Quentin and Tanya when Quentin asked what happened with her husband.

Quentin: “Tell me everything, from the beginning.”

Tanya: “Well, I was born in San Francisco…,”

Quentin: “Oh, from the very beginning! Okay!”

Tom Hollander’s “okay!” made me laugh.

I did want to pull up a chair and sit with them at that scene, r139. This show gives what feels like an accurate portrayal of the daily ebb and flow of luxury resort life. No kids too!

I really hope we get a lot more of Tom Hollander in the remaining episodes. This second series is in dire need of.......something else.

I was envisioning Cam and Ethan as having attended a little Ivy together in New England. Perhaps Middlebury.

Middlebury IS NOT a Ivy League!

I said “little Ivy” which is an unofficial designation and recognized by, well, people who know. Please read posts more carefully.

Wesleyan is trash

Impossible for me to imagine Cam and Ethan at a school without a big football team and fraternities. Hardly a "little Ivy" thing.

R139, I loved that, too!

The way he said it and the eyeroll. I laughed at that. Especially since, true to Tanya's personality, she didn't even notice and just rattled on.

Imagine having to listen to her nasal whining and sit thru her life story. But if he does have an ulterior motive other than friendship, she's cluelessly giving him all the info and vulnerabilities he needs take advantage of her. The predator and the prey.

Does Jennifer’s fat stomach receive a separate credit?

R43 When a girl dresses like a frumpy crazy old cat lady that is a turn off. Someone claimed that the actress looks like Florence Pugh. Pugh seems like a wild animal in bed whereas Ms H Lu likes doing crochet!

The little brat is complaining that people are calling her cute! Wow so you look like you're a teenager and are not ugly....stop complaining! What a little princess bitch she is....

I’ll guess Ethan and Cam went to Dartmouth.

Cam went as a legacy kid. Ethan probably got a full scholarship to go.

Or Brown, possibly.

The people obsessing about what school Ethan and Cameron went to - have you heard yourself? Really?

Hall Monitor^^^

Just speculation r152 no big deal.

R153 no, I actually have an undergraduate degree from Oxford. It just makes me cringe, that's all.

R155 Undergraduate! Well smell you!

Miami Oxford in Ohio, maybe.

Clearly, Cam is a Bay Ridge Norwegian Catholic.

I've been surprised when I learned that Haley Lu Richardson isn't a lesbian.

Me too!

R159 Her obsession with a stripper hints that's she's at least bi. Read the article at R150.

Can and Ethan clearly went to Duke.

Tanya will probably survive, she is the self centered type who just coasts over people and keeps on trucking.

R161 what do you mean by at least?

R163 I liked her wondering out loud whether she might have been better off going into business with Belinda from season 1, and her "spa for poor people".

Tanya does not seem like Pasadena old money. More like Valley new money.

Haley Lu seems kooky for sure. Dragging her cat around on planes? Etsy shop with cutesy bracelets and sexy knits?

H. Lu is an annoying homunculus, who needs to be grateful for every crumb thrown to her.

Can we talk about cutie Leo Woodall instead?

Re: the opening credits:

"Crawford and Bashore [the people behind the opening credits] have even layered in meaning when an actor's name appears in the opening credits. In an interview, they revealed that the coinciding image when an actor's name appears reflects the traits and journey of their character. "

Can I just revisit, again, the highlight of the season:

“Who do I look like?”

“I don’t know…Peppa Pig?”

Do they even have Peppa Pig in Italy? And if they did, wouldn’t she have an Italian name? Sienna Scrofa?

R172 Yeah, they have it in Italy and it's called Peppa Pig there too.

How are we supposed to believe Peppa can suddenly speak Italian, that seems ridiculous?

R174 check the links provided above and below. It's in Italian. Dubbing.

Love the concept of an animation being "dubbed". Wonder if there's a lip-sync issue.

[quote] Can we talk about cutie Leo Woodall instead?

Based on the episode 4 extras, he doesn't need to act much to achieve that Essex parlance.

Valentina had the species right, but was mistaken about the example - Tanya looks very much like Miss Piggy, no matter what outfit she's wearing.

[quote]Re: the opening credits:

"Crawford and Bashore [the people behind the opening credits] have even layered in meaning when an actor's name appears in the opening credits. In an interview, they revealed that the coinciding image when an actor's name appears reflects the traits and journey of their character. "

I noticed immediately in the opening credits that when Theo James's name is shown, the image is of the pelvis of a nude stature.....not so subtle

Steve Zahn’s name appeared next to a swollen double fruit (can’t remember which one) that called to mind his swollen balls in the first episode.

Fair to call Leo Woodall's character a chav? He's cute with a slamming body, but he'd be cuter without the garbagey tats and if he took the marbles out of his mouth. Sensitive nipples a plus, though.

He's 'from Essex' so yeah, he's supposed to be a chav. Not subtle at all.

R181 My first thought exactly. He screams chav all the way! He also looks like a lost Osbourne family member which is a negative though. His tats are tacky and looks like a hoodlum when he's with cat lady,Portia.

Yeah but you also said Tom Jones is a chav, when he isn’t r183. So clearly you don’t know what a chav is.

R184 I never said that Tom Jones was a chav....EVER! You are confusing me with someone else. Bad form on your part.

[quote]I said “little Ivy” which is an unofficial designation and recognized by, well, people who know

Not by people who went to actual Ivy league schools.

R186 I’m sure Ivy League people know of the smaller Ivy League schools.

We know of them but we never refer to them as such.

The scene where Albie got a blowjob was hot. Was that his real ass?

Wtf.

R189 His standing up with her on her knees.... very whore like. Not very Albie-like? Albie being a little bit honestly selfish for a change?

Cameron may be trying to get Ethan's fortune by way of blackmail. Cam could be the one floating in the ocean. Either way, Ethan's phony marriage will be over.

It’s not about blackmail…

My sense of the BJ scene with Albie and Lucia was that she was totally in charge there from the invitation to the explosion and he was completely and happily submissive. And he was fine with that.

Very unlikely to be Cam floating in the ocean as his wife would surely have recognized his body.

If Harper is out for revenge at Ethan cheating on her, does she fuck Cam or encourage Ethan to invest his money with Cam knowing he's a wrong'un?

Harper isn’t seeking revenge. She’s seeking the truth.

I saw the actual dialogue between Cameron and Ethan and it's much more explicit and clearer than I thought. Cameron is pleading with Ethan.

Dear God. You just don’t stop. It’s so sad.

[quote] The scene where Albie got a blowjob was hot. Was that his real ass?

Looked like his ass - in that scene it did not appear to be an Albi double. But as far as the hands reaching around to caress and shake his butt, they may well have belonged to a Lucia double. This show's intimacy coordinator was a fulltime job.

Yes, it’s his ass.

They should have killed off Portia and made these two fuck each other instead.

[quote] maybe Cam was too dumb to get into Princeton or Harvard even as a legacy in 2008.

It is possible to get into those schools if you are a legacy student from a rich enough family.

[quote] Very unlikely to be Cam floating in the ocean as his wife would surely have recognized his body.

We don't know that she didn't. She just started screaming and calling for help, and then we cut to Valentina watching the beach.

"Littler Ivies" are the nickname for the highly prestigious East Coast schools (mostly liberal arts colleges) that are not actual Ivy League colleges: Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colby, Colgate, Bates, Bowdoin, Tufts, Connecticut, Bucknell, etc.

Saying they are called that "by those who know" is ridiculous pretentious bullshit meant to intimidate.

Those two at r202 should really get a room. Adam's attraction to Leo is off-the-charts obvi.

R205. Hello, R132 here. " Agree. We know the existence of these schools. BUT, we don't refer to them as "Little Ivies." Haven't heard the term used in conversation, only in a textbook context.

OMG. Give the Ivy shit a rest.

[quote]Saying they are called that "by those who know" is ridiculous pretentious bullshit meant to intimidate.

Especially because actual Ivy league alumni/students don't care.

R206 Seems mutual, Leo to Adam, "oh babe", and "that's what I love about you".

The thought of Adam bottoming for the younger Leo makes me blush.

R204 Initially thought that Daphne wouldn't react repelled by the sight of her husband's body, but maybe she would. Especially if it was not intact.

So because I'm sad and lonely I decided to watch the first part of the first episode.

The opening sequence art work is:

F Murray Abraham: A dandy man talking to a woman while a woman spies on them

Jennifer Coolidge: A woman looks forlornly out of a tower while a monkey on a chain looks back from a rooftop

Adam diMarco: A man holding something talks to a woman who is lying down gazing up at him

Meghann Fahy: 2 cherubs

Beatrice Granno (Mia): a woman with big tits, wings and a tail looks down from a tower....

Jon Gries (Greg, JCool's coughing husband) ...at a man and woman riding a donkey. The donkey doesn't look very happy

Tom Hollander: A half naked man sat on a tree trunk surrounded by people which scrolls on to...

Sabrina Impacciatore (Valentina): A woman with her tits out laying on a bed gossiping to a woman

Michael Imperioli: a man is on his knees as a woman is throwing a necklace into a river. There is a huge crack through the picture

Theo James: a close up of a cock that pans out to a typical Roman statue, on which a small dog is cocking its leg...

Aubrey Plaza: and from the statue it pans up to the sky where a bird is pecking at another bird mid air

Haley Lu Richardson: A bored looking woman is slumped by the side of a building looking bored, and then it pans out to see a very tired looking old goat

Will Sharpe: A man with his arse out holding a bowl of something which a woman is walking towards

Simona Tabasco (Lucia): A small leopard type cat

Leo Woodall: A chunky man sat down with a youngish boy standing over the person, with the boy's crotch in the chunky man's eyeline.

Later on there's a panting of a monkey riding a goat...

And the conversation goes:

When Valentina turns up at the beach and asks Rocco what has happened he says "One of the guests has drowned" and then "other bodies have been found" and then "Other guests have been killed" and when asked how many dead bodies there are Rocco answers "a few".

The body Daphne comes across in the sea looks like young skin

Thanks for that breakdown R213.

I didn't catch all of that. I love how the opening credits teases and creates even more mystery.

I will revisit your post once the show is over and we see how it ends for each character.

R213 you need a job.

They have one, blogging about TV show’s opening credits.

I would probably ejoy Jennifer Coolidge more if I scored higher than a 2 on the Kinsey scale.

So sorry you're sad and lonely, r213. Sometimes Sundays are the worst.

Nice job on the sequence though.

Streaming, re-streaming, pausing, rewatching, binging, browsing the internet, searching, reading and posting to DL. On your phone, on your laptop, on your flatscreen. I'm wondering if true boredom can exist for long.

I'm sure that sadness and loneliness still exist, but I'm grateful to live in a time when there are such readily available distractions.

R219 Portia is not so sanguine.

Thank god we will have a new episode tonight so we can move on from the banal conversation of the past 200 posts.

^ Don’t count your chickens…if there’s no gaysex tonight this thread will go further downhill for the week. Be prepared!

Jack’s Essex accent immediately made me think of Cecily Strong’s chav character Gemma:

Ethan is so fucking hot, I can’t stand it

Poor dumb Albie (who doesn’t even seem to have an ATM card).

Tonight's episode, I laughed when Tanya was skeptical that Portia had any cute things to wear.

R226 the episode is still going…

R225 he’s a trust fund kid. Many don’t.

So Harper is basically this season’s Rachel.

Okay it’s hilarious that we were supposed to be shocked by tonight’s denouement. I thought it went without saying.

She is this seasons Harper r228. These are new characters. Not the same as last season, outside of Greg and Tanya.

Sicily is so beautiful and here I am in cold rain. At least I'm not with that unsavory group.

Well Sicily doesn’t allow just anyone to move there. It’s also very hot.

Most of the people on this show don’t look like a lot of the Sicilians, who have darker skin.

[...]

[...]

It’s either that or an incestuous situation.

Jack seems more gay for pay. He’s on the payroll.

I think to gay men we could call that the "nephew" was likely a rent boy, but I doubt most straight people would have thought that r229.

Definitely payroll r235. I said that after last week's ep. Didn't make sense that the Uncle was all rich, posh and cosmopolitan and his nephew would be this working class chav that has never left Essex before.

This episode was great. Very sexy. Agree most gay men could see from the beginning that Jack was also an escort.

I love Harper’s rage. And I still think Theo James is great in this role.

Well some rich people whose siblings aren’t rich don’t really treat their siblings to expensive things, nor their kids.

[...]

Did anyone tell you that you shouldn’t feel Theo is good in the role? I’ve seen everyone say he’s great in the part, hence Mike White casting him r238

Ugh. Gay for pay isn’t bi. It’s having sex for money.

[...]

Plenty of rent boys and porn stars have sex with men and call themselves straight. Now whether you agree with that is your own thing, but it's now they label themselves.

[...]

So how exactly is this group going to shake down Tanya? Quentin saying he wouldn’t want to live in a world without beauty was ominous.

[...]

DARKMINGELORD

You need to pull yourself together bitch

It seemed like he wanted to kill Tanya and her fat stomach.

What happened to Greg? He would at least text her.

[quote]Jack could just easily escort for females if he was really straight

In spite of Hollywood fantasies about the gigolo, there are very few women who are really interested in paying someone for sex. There is very little demand for a male escort that sleeps with women. It's men who throw their money into the sex industry

Also was not expecting Daphne to have pulled a Cersei. Her kids she passes off as Cameron's are actually her trainers is not something I would have called.

Though really not smart, she is financially dependent on Cameron. You would want to make sure you had his kid I would think.

[...]

*SPOILER*

Did anyone think that was actually his nephew?

Were we supposed to understand that Daphne's kids were with her trainer and not Theo? I actually missed that though I thought the moment with the phone photo was odd. Duh! Did Harper get the message?

Why does gay sex scenes always have to be shocking and somewhat scandalous

[...]

Finally an episode I really enjoyed. And I'm finally getting into Albie. Even his nipples looked more enticing.

I think Daphne made up the story about her trainer.

What's a Cersei? I've never heard that term.

R259 Cersei's a Game of Thrones character

Yes, the entire point of the scene was Daphne telling Harper that the kids were actually her trainers and Audrey Plaza's reaction showed she got it r254.

Unless things are stated obviously some of the audience will not pick up in subtle writing lol.

[...]

There is no "they", this show is all Mike White. And he is gay himself.

[...]

Not that I don't believe that Daphne's kids are with her trainer but it seems like an odd script detail for the character as she seemed to be encouraging Harper to have a casual fuck buddy just for the fun of it. Not to have his children.

[...]

In Notto Daphne told Harper that she isn't a victim and she has her own way she got back at Cam that she wouldn't elaborate to Harper. She was finally showing her cards r265. That sure Cam might sleep around, but so does she and she has even one uped Cameron because she has him raising kids that aren't even his.

The "nephew" is obviously not related to Tom Hollander's character. I'm still trying to figure out what they're trying to do with Tanya, it's obvious they have nefarious motives, but what?

[...]

r268, it may be nothing more "nefarious" than getting Tanya to give them some millions to keep up the maintenance of the palazzo in exchange for a week or two time share.

Do my eyes deceive me or does Coolidge gain a little weight with each new episode? Of course, with all those eating scenes, who wouldn't gain weight?

Actually, I'll answer myself. Theo James. He looks thinner and yellower with each new episode.

[...]

Please please PLEASE let Cam’s under-the-table groping of Harper put an end to the ridiculous speculation about homosex between him and Ethan.

She never said the kids were from her trainer. You are just assuming that with no facts.

Can't wait until next Sunday, I'm a wreck.

I still think bis are really gay who just won't commit. Or they are just benign sociopaths (not in an evil way) who don't really care who they fuck. That makes me think their level of passion or love for the person is superficial. The sex is more important than the person.

I'll duck now and hide.

The new front desk guy's voice made me laugh. So did Tanya's excited wave at the "Queen of Sicily."

And I agree that Coolidge gets bigger with every episode.

r277, I agree with you...we're going to catch hell.

r273 that was more about power than attraction. Still doesn't mean he didn't have sexual relations with Ethan.

So much man nudity this week. Yes. Yum.

And that ending “shocker” was as shocking as the sunrise every morning.

Is Valentina’s crush at the front desk or the concierge desk? I thought it was concierge, but then her sending that other guy to the beach station and replacing him with that dweeb seemed more like a front desk change. She’s not going to send a concierge level trained employee away just out of spite.

Valentina is no Armond. And her crush is a little pathetic.

Portia not catching on that they were dining and ditching was a little idiotic. You’re fleeing from restaurant staff. What could it be?

I think Albie and/or Dom are goners. Albie is going to do something stupid to “save” Lucia.

How many times do we think Jennifer Coolidge has walked in on gay sex in real life?

Her fat stomach walks in first.

r243 1 must ponder the intelligence of some1 who does not even vote & the validity of her statement

Twitter seems to agree with the trainer/Cersei theory.

I can understand the impulse, but pretty stupid on her part

I knew immediately the “nephew” wasn’t really the rich guy Quentin’s nephew. The differences in their backgrounds was so obvious, the nephew is a chav, that accent immediately gave him away. Quentin is wealthy and sophisticated.

Theo James is perfect in this role as an extremely slimy manipulator.

How incredibly stupid is Tanya? Is she supposed to be rich through a massive inheritance or does she actually own a successful business.

Tanya seems too dumb to live, incapable of putting one foot in front of the other, yet, we’re supposed to believe she’s ultra-rich? I won’t even get into the grifter Greg who married her. And now she’s hanging with another group of grifters, Quentin & Company. Hilarious. No wonder this series is listed as a comedy!

While at Madame Butterfly, she asked her British host Quentin about some woman in the audience, “Is she the Queen of Sicily?” WTF? Is Tanya really this stupid?

Too much dialogue for Jennifer, she's in over her head, she's mentally slow, IQ of 80 or so.

[quote]So how exactly is this group going to shake down Tanya? Quentin saying he wouldn’t want to live in a world without beauty was ominous.

I thought Quentin put poison in both their drinks. Double suicide, but how would that help to get at her money?

Tanya is so stupid, it seems she'll believe anything anyone tells her, as long as they flatter her, feed her ego and her deep insecurity.

For about 20 years I’ve had this nagging feeling that JCool reminded me of someone.,

It finally occurred to me it’s this girl I went to high school with. She was a total nut and looks exactly like Jennifer Coolidge.

Lucia’s caterpillar eyebrows are extremely distracting.

[quote] Theo James. He looks thinner and yellower with each new episode.

He doesn’t look thinner to me. Yellow I don’t get. He just looks brown.

At the end of the day, Tanya seems to have an innate instinct to hold on to her money.

In the end, Belinda got a mere pittance from her, and it doesn't look like Greg's gonna get anything substantial either.

Although she does come off as a total idiot, based on what we've seen thus far, she will somehow figure her way out of getting conned (if that's indeed what they're planning for her). Her discovery of Jack banging Quentin means that she already knows that all is not what it seems in this supposed "paradise", and that these people are not to be trusted.

Neither Portia nor Albie come off as very smart.

I put Cameron as the killer — either the hooker, Ethan or Harper. Can’t tell if Harper wants to sleep with Cameron. Harper made a stink about Ethan lying to her. But she’s been lying to him about her interactions with Cameron. She’s no different than him.

Why does everyone engaging in salacious/taboo/scandalous sex seemingly forget to lock doors or even close them?

R297 got it. I'll add that I don't think Tanya is dumb. She's just incredibly mentally lazy. If she were actually dumb, she wouldn't have any money. She just acts that way so that everyone around her has to do all of the physical and mental work for her. In exchange, they get to enjoy whatever crumbs she feels like tossing their way. This goes on until she gets bored or the other person gets frustrated and leaves.

R297 got it. I'll add that I don't think Tanya is dumb. She's just incredibly mentally lazy. If she were actually dumb, she wouldn't have any money. She just acts that way so that everyone around her has to do all of the physical and mental work for her. In exchange, they get to enjoy whatever crumbs she feels like tossing their way. This goes on until she gets bored or the other person gets frustrated and leaves.

Jennifer was so pretty on Seinfeld, focused and clear. Fun to see her play the opposite before her Tanya persona kicked in.

Among DarkGeminiLord's many, many eloquent contributions to this thread tonight:

[quote]R248 you need to get a fucking brain you dumb cunt, and stop pretending that gay men fuck females and that straight men fuck males, even as escorts. It's BISEXUALITY YOU DUMB CUNT, regardless of how the fucked up retards "identify".

[quote]Stop promoting gay conversion therapy and erasure of sexual orientation you dumb retarded cunt face.

[quote]R250 I'm making the point that Jack isn't straight like the fucking drugged up sexual orientation erasers that we have on this fucking website love to engage in. If anyone is fucking both females and males whether for escorting or not, they aren't fucking straight or gay. They are BISEXUAL. Anyone with fucking brain cells who isn't a deluded cunt knows this.

[quote]R263 then Mike is a self-loathing cunt who places straight sex above gay sex, otherwise why does he keep making the man to man/gay sex scenes scandalous, taboo, dirty, and sinful in literally both seasons!???? Wake up idiot.

[quote]And when I say "they", I'm referring to society and the entertainment industry which is still very much homophobic and treats man to man/gay sex as a taboo even in 2022. I don't know how fucking clueless and unaware you are to have not noticed this.

[quote]R263 Mike White is BISEXUAL you dumb cunt. NOT GAY. That actually explains why he makes the man to man/gay sex scenes so taboo, scandalous, sinful, and homophobic, because most bisexual men are self loathers and elevate straight sex above gay sex.

[quote]To all of the retarded cunts on this website who do no fucking research and are actually bisexual trying to pass off as "gay" on this website, Mike White is BISEXUAL, NOT GAY

Wow, that guy seems like he'd be a blast at parties!

I'm loving all the positive energy!

We should do brunch some time! He seems so nice and pleasant to be around!

[quote] then Mike is a self-loathing cunt who places straight sex above gay sex, otherwise why does he keep making the man to man/gay sex scenes scandalous, taboo, dirty, and sinful in literally both seasons!????

I hate that you're right about this.

Mike White in Variety:

[quote] Mike White: “There’s a pleasure to me as a guy who is gay-ish to make gay sex transgressive again,” White said. “It’s dirty… men are having sex and you have this ‘Psycho’ music underneath. It just amuses me.”

[quote] White continued: “I just think transgressive sex is sexier. I guess I’m old school. There’s this Gothic vibe of walking through a haunted hotel or haunted house and people are having sex behind closed doors.”

[quote] As far as whether Quentin and Jack are actually related, White teased, “Well, you’ll have to see.”

I think I've finally decided that I'm liking Season 2 over Season 1.

[...]

It used to be that script writers rarely wrote about their own experiences, they actually used their imaginations. That's where the talent comes in.

So, is it that Mike White is putting too much of his own life and feelings into his scripts? We don't need to know that, who cares. Just write the fucking scripts.

Anyone can read an article post about it and then post the article claiming they "were right". "Truth" is so easy to do.

I wrote that with my heart.

[...]

I believe you. Totally.

[quote] (Gay sex) "It’s dirty… men are having sex and you have this ‘Psycho’ music underneath. It just amuses me."

Psycho music underneath the gay sex scene because gays are basically serial killers or psychopaths? Mike, congratulations on being rich now, but I hope you never have "gay-ish" sex again.

[...]

We've had sufficient.

Who cares if Mike White is self loathing or bisexual, wtf does that have to do with the actors in his series doing sex scenes?

[bold]Aren't all these performers supposed to be acting? [/bold] Rock Hudson was gay, yet he always portrayed straight characters.

Actress Leisha Hailey is a lesbian in real life, but on the current L Word series she gets fucked by a man.

[quote]And because I'm right is why I'm hated on here!

Certainly it's not because of your classy way of expressing yourself.

It's such a fun series. Season 1 inspired me to travel for the first time since covid started. Husband and I did the whole full service resort thing and are due to return in a couple of months. Season 2 has me itchy to book tickets to Palermo now. I've been to Italy and did not like it, but I did not visit Sicily and now I want to go there. A short 5 day shopping trip before the upcoming resort vacation feels in order.

[...]

Mike likes to portray gay sex as transgressive, dirty, and Psycho-scary. It "amuses" him.

Mike what else makes you smile? Have you ruled out gay incest yet?

[quote] As far as whether Quentin and Jack are actually related, White teased, “Well, you’ll have to see.”

So, no.

I don't know why everyone is drooling over Will Sharpe when Asians are the least chosen on hook-up sites. His dorky hairdo does not conceal his comical ears. He and Russell Tovey should ave a kid.

Theo James on the other hand is sex on a stick.

If Albie was a bit more street wise he would be hawt.

This show looks fantastic and has excellent music, but largely consists of people sitting around/walking and having not especially exciting conversations. There will be an occasional great line or saucy scene.

Look, these characters are potentially interesting, but Mike White is either too afraid or doesn't know how to take them to the next level. So, you basically end up with a glorified vacation for the cast and crew.

Will Sharpe isn't 100% Asian, his mother is Japanese, his father is English. He was born in London. He attended Cambridge. Will suffers from type two bipolar disorder.

Will is in a relationship with actress Sophia Di Martino, with whom he has two children, born in 2019 and 2021.

I think another problem is the fact that most of the actors/actresses in S1 and S2 have a certain lack of screen presence. Charisma is becoming a lost art in the industry.

The Italian pop music is annoying and distracting.

One of the gay gang looks so much like Mike White (the guy with the curly white or blonde hair), I thought for a moment it was him.

Surely Daphne wouldn't be so dumb as to bear children that weren't her husband's. If discovered, that would get her a swift kick to the curb. But she is blonde, so her children could be blonde too.

Is Valentina attracted to the idea of sleeping with Mia, or by giving in to her request, does she just want to avoid drama at her workplace? Southern Italy is not exactly gay-friendly.

I think Quentin just wants to sell Tanya a time share in the villa to get some needed funds. What could be gained by killing her?

I do hope Jack was wearing a condom when he fucked Portia and Quentin. Disease spreads so easily.

[quote]Also was not expecting Daphne to have pulled a Cersei. Her kids she passes off as Cameron's are actually her trainers is not something I would have called.

I didn’t pick up on this but now yes it’s fairly clearly signposted.

What was also fairly clearly signposted was Rent Boy Nephew struggling with JCool’s huge suitcase on arrival at ‘Uncle’s’ villa and joking about there being a body in inside.

Its a hint y’all, there’s gonna be a body in that suitcase at some point you mark my words!

[R322] I still think Albie’s hot. He’s kinda my type. A sweet nerdy rich boy. I love the way he screams when he cums. I wouldn’t kick him outta bed.

Am I the only one theorizing that Quentin’s straight cowboy love from decades ago is actually Greg and they are working together to fleece Tanya? The nephew is a rent boy and has been paid by Quentin to keep Portia distracted so she doesn’t figure out the con. (As well as service him as needed).

This show is really good at certain points and other times bores me to tears.

I thought Harper sleeping with Cameron would be A. Too hacky, predictable and B. Ruin her character. Mike White decided to go there because predictable is the new unexpected? Harper is now like a 10x worse version of Rachel from S1. I mean, she sold out to a sleazy scumbag like Cameron?

I’ve permablocked DARKMINGELORD and I encourage all to do the same.

[quote]Am I the only one theorizing that Quentin’s straight cowboy love from decades ago is actually Greg and they are working together to fleece Tanya?

I did wonder that but surely it's too obvious?

R321 PLEASE kill yourself. You're wasting space, oxygen, time, electricity, vital organs, etc.

Will Sharpe is very attractive. And what a body.

R333 = total four posts, all nasty.

R335= WRONG. Only one "Nasty" post. Try again.

[quote]Look, these characters are potentially interesting, but Mike White is either too afraid or doesn't know how to take them to the next level. So, you basically end up with a glorified vacation for the cast and crew.

And a whole bunch of Emmys, SAGS, Critics Choice and other awards.

It's difficult to like any of these characters although Grandpa seems ok.

Well, the trainer/kids thing seems to explain Fahy's name appearing next to two cherubs in the opening credits...

Albie so cute in his white sports socks. He even has sex with them on. So Lucia has a violent pimp and was going to cheat Albie out of money.. there might be more coming from that.

I actually formed a strong dislike to Grandpa after this episode - I just can't stand blithely delusional people.

It's possible r329 but Greg being the old gay lover of this character and arranging this absurdly elaborate con just seems too soapy. More of a Ryan Murphy or Shonda Rhimes type of writing style than what I would come to expect from Mike White.

However when the character was telling the story of his old cowboy lover it did make me suspect that unfortunately we might be going there.

So he said that he would do 'anything' for his old cowboy lover. Who gets the money if Tanya dies? Greg is her husband right? So maybe he's going to bump off Tanya for Greg who has made sure to remove himself completely.

Sorry, not cowboy lover since they weren't involved.

Now I think it's the Portia that will end up dead (she inadvertently takes one for the oblivious Tanya), the other is the italian hooker knocked off by her pimp. In the classic tradition of the rich, Albie & Dom will be quickly hustled away to escape any connections with her the local police might make

R330 Harper hasn’t slept with Cameron yet

I’m not sure that guy is actually Lucia’s pimp, I think she is working Albie for sympathy/money.

I want to see the cock of Federico Ferrante, the sex on a stick playing Rocco.

Yeah, I didn't get if Valentina relented to Mia's singing because she was attracted to her or because she felt Mia was threatening to blackmail her.

So, are we to believe Lucia might be falling in love with Albie and see him as a savior to her compromised life?

Sure didn't seem that way to me, R349.

Lucia is clearly taken by Albie being so sweet and innocent. Very different than the guys she normally comes in contact with.

Yeah, well her heart wasn't warmed enough to give him a freebie.

I think we will get to see Federico Ferrante in a bathing suit soon, since Valentina commented Rocco would look great in a beach house outfit.

It seems like Lucia plans to make Albie fall in love with her so he will take her back to LA, her dream destination. But I'm not sure he would.

How did Mia figure out Valentina is a lesbian? Just good ol' gay-dar?

One thing that struck me last night is what a sexual dynamo Jack is. He had sex with Portia the night before, then on the yacht, and then Quentin, and he still plans that night to go back to fuck Portia again in her room! Young and dumb and full of cum indeed. Leo is perfectly cast in this role.

I think it is likely that Greg will be Quentin's cowboy and that this is the only way Greg can get her millions is by having her murdered, since he signed an iron-tight pre-nup. But it would be funny that Quentin gave away to Tanya his past with a Wyoming cowboy--if this theory is true, wouldn't by now Tanya know by this time where Greg grew up, since they've been together for several months? I guess Greg must have been playing the long con and hid aspects about his past--Tanya just knows he works in Denver.

And speaking of pre-nups, I would doubt Harper and Ethan signed one when they married, since they were not rich then. So if they divorce, Harper would probably get a lot of Ethan's dough.

"The Queen of Sicily" last night was really funny, although there actually was in the 18th and 19th century a Queen of Two Sicilies.

Are we to believe that Lucia really is controlled by a pimp or is it just something she says to her clients for sympathy? Was the tough young guy menacing her in the ice cream scene supposed to be that pimp? Or an ex-bf? I only ask because in the first episode she and Mia seemed to just be starting out as escorts, not hooked into any kind of formal arrangement.

Here's where a little background info on Lucia and Mia might have been helpful.

According to someone online this is what Lucia and Alessio were saying in Italian

[Quote]Alessio asks why Lucia hasn't written to him. She says because she went out to take a walk. Alessio asks why Lucia hasn't responded to him and he grabs her. She says, "What the hell are you doing?" Then she walks away.

Are there any old photos out there of actor Jon Gries (who plays Greg) so that we can see if he truly was Quentin's "cowboy" material? I'm finding that hard to picture.

^^That was my supposition of the encounter -- probably an old boyfriend and Lucia decided to use it to further manipulate Albie.

Someone can have a vastly different accent from a relative that isn't a parent. Such as him being from Essex and his "uncle" being a posh person. However they are most likely not related. Everything points to Quintin being sugar daddy. The crazier twist would be if they are actually related but that might be too far to take it.

Again with the stunning cinematography. Who the hell is Mike White's DP, this is some movie-level shit.

Will Sharpe has an insane body and is a decent actor, but he doesn't really do confrontation scenes that well. Not nearly sharp enough for prestige shows like this one.

I would gladly let Alessio pimp me out, and for free as well. Just let him do to me anything he wants, actually.

Valentina has such an amazing face, I adore each and every closeup of her. So much character on it even without her opening her mouth.

[quote] Here's where a little background info on Lucia and Mia might have been helpful.

I think that's intentional. There are so many con games being played that we can't tell what anyone's motives are. So far we think (but are not sure of) the following:

*Cameron is almost certainly trying to con Ethan for money/inside information

*Greg is trying to con Tanya for her money

*Quentin is trying to con Tanya for her money (and may be Greg's secret partner)

*Lucia is trying to con Albie for money and/or a trip to LA

*Jack is (successfully so far) conning Portia into thinking he's straight and not Quentin's lover

*Daphne is (successfully?) conning Cameron into thinking her biological children with her trainer are his

[quote]Again with the stunning cinematography. Who the hell is Mike White's DP, this is some movie-level shit.

Yes, just some gorgeous shots and transitions in this episode.

I want to find out where that beautiful villa in Palermo is. That just blew me away.

R361 Yeah, last night it seemed like the long list of possible, and parallel ?, cons were coming to denouements. The many possible hustles seem both silly and are the show's attraction. It's like a modern resort version of an Agatha Christie plot... so many possible suspects. I'd add the Piano player being so pissed at Mia he kills her... but that's not a con, it's revenge. Sicilian revenge.

I do think that Greg is Quentin's cowboy...but the body floating in the ocean is not Tanya. If that's the sub-plot then the body is likely Portia. But I would put money on the body being Lucia - too many people with possible motive, even Albie who might freak out at some revelation; to me there always seemed something unbalanced about his assertive sweetness.

Even if Tanya, you in danger, girl - staying in that villa while having Tom Hollander pretend to be my new best friend is now my dream death scenario.

Unless the actual cast members are themselves playing a con game, I would doubt Albie has secret motives or a hidden violent side. I think I've read them say in interviews Albie is the sweetest character on the show, and the equivalent of the Alexandra Daddario character last season.

That top Portia was wearing looked like… a binder.

Valentina and Mia having sex is a horrible image. Mia looks like a child! Anyway, I think Valentina only did it to shut her up.

A child r368? Beatrice Grannò who plays Mia is 29 years old.

Wow, Haley Lu's the type of girl I would have dated in high school or college.

R369 So? She still looks like a child and is almost certainly playing someone a lot younger than that.

Funny, R366, I thought Daddario’s character was a gutless ninny and I had no sympathy for her by the end of the series - the only characters I hated more were Olivia and Paula.

I'm assuming the "pimp" is an ex-boyfriend or something and Albie is going to manfully try to defend Lucia from him and get accidentally killed for his trouble.

Agree r372 -- I hated Daddario's character and I hate Albie, both for similar reasons. Their sweetness is all performative

Here's the trailer for episode 6.

Some of the beautiful vistas from last night's episode

Didn’t Quentin very clearly state that he would still do anything for his cowboy? That’s not there just as an side

[quote] Funny, [R366], I thought Daddario’s character was a gutless ninny and I had no sympathy for her by the end of the series

So? Dataloungers rarely like "nice" characters because we're a bunch of sour old queens who think people have to be aggressive in order to be sympathetic.

R242 - Agreed.

R240 - Hey, I can get it up if there's money involved. Don't need to be bi to fuck a rich older lady.

I never once said you had to find the nice characters sympathetic. I just said that they were meant to be nice/sweet.

DARKMINGELORD = DARKGEMINILORD =

The actor who plays Greg was Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite, he had a bad wig then

I think Tanya inherited her money. Her only accomplishment is her beach ball sized stomach.

Anybody else not buying the whole "dangerous pimp" thing?

I'm thinking it's a ruse by the whore to get money from Albie.

There have been tons of scenes of the two whores up till now, with no mention of a pimp.

Now, all of a sudden, she's in danger, gurl?

Not buying it. She sees a rich American boy she can use to get some of his family's cash.

R383 Tanya has been very rich for a very long time. Her comment about "is that the Queen of Sicily" was broadly funny, but completely out of keeping with the character. She's shallow and slow but her money has, perforce, left her sophisticated in her way.

And as was said above, no one touching her money. The prenup, a case in point. The "rich gays" aren't getting near her money.

Portia stated quite clearly in the second episode of this season that Tanya inherited her money--that her father owned a shipping company in San Francisco and committed suicide.

These are r383's comments about Tanya's stomach in this thread so far, each on a separate post:

[quote]Does Jennifer’s fat stomach receive a separate credit?

[quote]It seemed like he wanted to kill Tanya and her fat stomach.

[quote] Her fat stomach walks in first.

[quote]I think Tanya inherited her money. Her only accomplishment is her beach ball sized stomach.

[bold]ENOUGH.[/bold]

R330 when did Cameron and Harper sleep together? I don't recall falling asleep at any point last night while watching.

Or are you basing this on him rubbing her leg at dinner?

Even from Season 1 Coolidge talked about her mother being rich and using money to control people.

It's always been made clear she inherited her wealth and not that she built it herself. Look at her "assistant" , its literally just paying someone to be her friend.

Mommy withheld food from him as punishment, R387, he can't help himself.

R251 you’re that fucking stupid, huh? You never cease to amaze me by how absolutely STUPID you are, where if things aren’t blatantly told to you, you just don’t understand.

It was very very obvious that her kids were the trainers kids to those of us with working brains. Very sad that you struggled to understand something laid out so perfectly for the viewer without Daphne straight out saying it. Im so thankful im an educated and intelligent man.

R254 my post at r391 was for r254.

I can’t get over how stupid you are.

[quote] [R330] when did Cameron and Harper sleep together?

He never said they had yet. But Cameron has been flirting with Harper since he took his clothes off in front of her in the first episode--then he grabbed her leg underwater in episode 2 and she she flirted back. Now last episode Cameron was stroking her leg at dinner, and the preview for next episode shows Ethan suspecting Harper and Cameron of getting together, and Ethan furiously pounding on a door he's been locked out of.

R262 has nothing to do with homophobia. The majority of the world is straight. That’s reality. The audience, even if made by a gay man, is for straight audiences. Or all audiences. If you make something strictly gay you alienate most straight people. And that’s just reality. Which is why most gay things don’t have massive numbers.

Mike White really loves the ass shot. Thanks, Mike!

R274 and there you are again, NOT UNDERSTANDING SUBTLE WRITING AND NEEDING THINGS SAID STRAIGHT OUT TO UNDERSTAND IT.

You are the perfect example of why most shows and movies are dumbed down now, needing to explain everything to the viewer.

The way Harper was kinda letting him stroke her leg without saying anything to Ethan or Daphne shows she hasn't ruled out having sex with Cameron.

As much as Cameron annoys her she has always been sexually attracted to him in spite of herself. And now especially she wants to act out after what Ethan did. Not to mention this entire vacation Ethan still hasn't had sex with her.

R277 You don't think bi people exist and that they are all gay? Even women?

R330 it bores you because it’s too advanced for you. This show isn’t for people who need everything explained to them.

R397 she was drunk and her guard was down, which is why he felt comfortable doing it.

In the preview for ep 6 Harper flat out says that she and Ethan aren't honest about how they aren't attracted to each other.

R348 Mia wasn't blackmailing her.

There was something mysterious about the early morning run Ethan took earlier in the series. He ran and stop and disappeared... later came back and jerked off to porn, in such a habitually organized way. Something we don't know about Ethan will be part of the final plot resolution. All this shifting dynamic with his wife is related to or stoking something dark. Like murder.

How are there only 2 episodes left?! That is not normal HBO protocol.

In the preview Harper said to Ethan that they weren't sexually attracted to one another, and I can understand Ethan not being attracted to Harper because he seems to have am porn addiction (based on her comments), which often can over time prevent men from being able to have sex with actual people. (Dan Savage warns about this a lot in his sex column.) My guess is that Harper isn't attracted to Ethan now because of his closed-down personality and his desire to distance himself from her.

My guess is that Harper would be better off with someone more aggressive and engaged, and it may be that Ethan is asexual and just wants to watch porn and immerse himself in work.

[quote] How are there only 2 episodes left?! That is not normal HBO protocol.

That will be seven episodes. The first season only had six episodes.

R370 Are you a girl or a guy?

So I take it DarkGeminiLord is Matt Anscher? That explains why he seems to have gone insane last night--he's off his meds again.

R404, there were 6 episodes last season, so there's 1 more this season for a grand total of 7. The first 4 this season were so dull I can't imagine White could sustain the story line beyond 7.

How did Mia knew Valentina is gay? That was kinda stupid.

The guy with a weird voice that was bumped to the reception is funny.

All those old gay guys look like some cartoon characters.

I thought it was pretty obvious that Daphne was implying that her children's father was her trainer.

[quote]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).

R444 from "thread due".

I have that same shirt Albie was wearing at the table before he went over to the pool to hang out with Lucia. It's from Zara. Would a rich American guy like Albie wear something from Zara? Don't rich people wear rich people's clothes?

[quote] Would a rich American guy like Albie wear something from Zara? Don't rich people wear rich people's clothes?

Usually not when they're recent grads from colleges like Stanford if they wanted to fit in with the other kids from all class levels who go there (schools like Stanford now have tons of kids from the middle classes, and even tons of poor kids).

Alby is sensitive and woke, and wants to be seen as such--he would not have wanted to wear clothes in college that would make other kids feel intimidated by his wealth. He probably still hangs out with his friends from college.

Why would Daphne have children by a different man? I read it as that she is a ditz and instead of showing a picture of her trainer showed a picture of her kids.

So the wardrobe person shops at Zara to dress actors who are playing rich characters? I guess that's one way to keep the budget down.

as 'revenge'.

R417 Daphne, to me, is very far from a ditz. She seems very "wise" strategic about her own needs and goals. Pretty darkly (and successfully) manipulative.

"I don't cut off your balls.................... but I could if I wanted to"

Okay, I’ll believe it when Mike White says it’s true. Women don’t deceive men in that way unless they are psychotic.

[quote]So the wardrobe person shops at Zara to dress actors who are playing rich characters? I guess that's one way to keep the budget down.

You didn't read the entirety of my comment, obviously. You paid only the most shallow and superficial partial attention to it.

I said nothing whatsoever about [/italic]all[/italic] rich people shopping at Zara.

I said that a rich college kid like Alby who wanted to hang out with the other woke kids at Stanford would shop at a store like Zara in college, and then for a while after leaving college, as a way to fit in.

That's clearly what the scene was implying r413. I am surprised by how many people didn't get that.

The scene goes from her talking about her trainers blonde hair and bright blues eyes to showing a picture of her son that is zoomed in to his blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

Mike White wasn't being that subtle.

This season is stronger than the last. The plotting is a little more dense. It still has occasional stretches of boring scenes, though.

The scene with Daphne revealing she cheated was well done. Just the right amount of subtlety.

Harper will cheat with Cameron. Possibly in the next episode.

Lucia seems likely to die.

The Italian pop songs are getting obnoxious. The ominous music with ocean waves B roll is much more effective.

Count me as a fan of cheezoid Italian pop music. I could listen to it all day.

Italian pop songs are never obnoxious.

I liked the season one opening a lot better. Both the animations and the song.

Why wouldn't Jack, the nephew, have enough money to pay for the dinner? Isn't he a prostitute for a rich guy? He would be loaded. And it was stupid how thy got out behind the trash cans and walked in the same direction as the guy that was chasing them, only a few second after he ran by.

Michael Imperioli is a great actor.

[quote]Michael Imperioli is a great actor.

I imagine he'll be one of the show's Emmy nominees this year. He had a great moment confronting his father last night.

Why would an escort be loaded r428? He only has what money they give him for his services. He has none of his own money. He probably has some cash tucked away but he worked hard for that money and I doubt he would want to spend if it he doesn't have to. He is on this trip to make money not to spend money.

R431 Because if those gays are really loaded, you know they are paying him a lot of money. How much do two rice balls and two drinks cost?

I read that Jack scene as illustrating that Jack has no morals. If he was escorting, he 100% has enough money to pay for a meal like that but he still chose to skip out on it. So if he doesn't give a shit about screwing over small business owners, what bigger things doesn't he give a shit about?

Albie and Portia are both stupid beyond words.

Also, Portia said that she would have paid for it. If he had genuinely forgotten his wallet (I doubt it) it would have been normal to apologize, ask if she could pay and that he would pay her back later.

With the dine and dash scene, I think Mike White is treating Jack a bit like the Jeff Daniels character in Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild," who also liked the thrill of a "dine and dash."

It's to show he's a thrill-seeker and a naughty boy rather than that he's poor.

Mia must have the best gaydar on the planet.

Did my eyes see correctly? Was Portia's fuckboy fucking a boy and that's who Tanya saw? Also, the vibes at the table with Ethan and Cameron with the spouses was charged. I'm seeing an orgy type thing or Harper and Cam fucking but maybe it could be Ethan and Cam or Ethan and the blonde.

The 5 other people who bought that hideous shirt are thinking the same thing R415

R357 you think you’re watching a documentary? This is a fictional series. They’re actors. He doesn’t need a huge dick to play someone with a huge dick. Seriously.

oooh, bitchy claws out about DLer tastes in clothes.

That scene was the "nephew" fucking the "Uncle" r438.

R374 you certainly aren’t watching the same series if you think their sweetness was performative.

Yes he does r395.

I loved that we opened this episode with a nice, generous look at Leo Woodall's ass. And he was arching on that bed too, making sure he looked good for the camera.

R421 yes, all women are saints and don’t have their own secrets and dirty laundry.

R423 most people are stupid and don’t even realize it. The comments on this show have exposed just how stupid many DLers truly are (only it’s mostly one person)

R432 proof you’ve never dealt with a smart rich person. They’re the cheapest people on the planet. They don’t throw money around easily.

R439 Fuck you. It's a great looking shirt. My favorite one.

R447 That's ridiculous. A smart rich person would not think it worth it to walk out of paying for two rice balls and drinks. A chav would, however..

When I saw the Chav's ass at the beginning of the episode,I thought what an eminently plowable ass he has. Someone has to top that. I wasn't thinking about Portia pegging him but rather his uncle fucking him up the ass. It would have been deliciously fabulous to have seen that. However it was fun to see such a scene in a mainstream show. Though I must say Ms White is such a self loathing princess to make gay sex seem so shocking and sinister. He might as well make them uncle and nephew and go all the way with a Game of Thrones plotline.

R449 I’m saying the “uncle” wouldn’t be paying the chav a lot. Not that the chav is rich. Re-read your original comment.

A few thoughts:

-Rachel from S1 was nice, but had shallow convictions and eventually sold out and accepted her place by the end of the trip

-I think Albie is either this season's Rachel or Quinn.

-Mike White seems obsessed with much older-younger relationships and hookups

I read an interview with the actress who plays Daphne and she said that scene with Harper about her kids is meant to be ambiguous. Even she doesn’t know if it’s true or not.

In one scene it looked like Albie was wearing a NorCal prep school T-shirt, did anyone catch that?

R451 Also ridiculous that an escort for rich people would not be paid enough that he cannot afford two rice balls and drinks.

Harper is like Rachel, but edgier more self-aware.

If Cam and Harper were secretly fucking, there would have been some subtext in the scene where he gets nude in front of her. As it was played, she was rather uncomfortable.

[quote]wasn't thinking about Portia pegging him but rather his uncle fucking him up the ass. It would have been deliciously fabulous to have seen that.

They way it played out was more realistic. Let's be real that group of bottoms hired him to top them.

R357 here he is in one of my favorite childhood movies- The Monster Squad. He played the wolfman (He’s got nards!). It’s from 1987.

I think it was more about the American Cowboy persona than looks that made Quentin fall in love. The rough, masculine, tough guy cowboy swagger did it for him. And the fact he couldn’t have him made him still want him 30+ years later.

It’ll be interesting if the cowboy is Greg and he’s in cahoots with Quentin. The timing would make sense- Greg leaves and Quentin immediately shows up and takes an interest in Tanya.

Why are those gay men so fucking goofy looking?

None of the season 2 characters are like the season 1 characters. That’s what I like about this show. Sometimes writers create new characters and they feel like rehashes of the previous characters. This is more realistic.

What’s weird is DLs obsession with saying “so and so is the season 2 version of so and so from season 1”

They aren’t.

Enough of Michael Imperioli standing around -or rather, sitting at breakfast- looking broody. Any schmuck can order a hooker, how does the “sex addict” have the driest dick in the whole show? Not even one good jerk off scene?

It's amusing that some posters here are angry with Mike White for portraying gay sex as something sordid and shocking when he's done no such thing. There was nothing sordid or shocking about Jack fucking Quentin EXCEPT that we viewed it through Tanya's eyes and so it came off that way because SHE was shocked.

I agree, R462. WTF. They could at least show his ass. And yeah, with all the maturbation fodder and his own son dipping his wick into the whore he himself fucked, you'd think that would give Imperioli something to fantasize about. I don't care about his story line AT ALL.

I watch this stupid show for the occasional nudity. The rest is shit and hardly worth analyzing. This thread is deeply amusing. I haven't bothered with the other threads.

Michael Imperioli's character seems to be trying to get back with his wife and I just keep thinking: why? Obviously the relationship is broken and the trust is gone. They don't need to stay together for money or 'the children' (if Albie is grown up). Imperioli's character obviously cannot resist sleeping with other women either. Can anyone shed light on why he keeps trying to get back with her?

R465 Cause he still obviously loves her?

Is it love if he keeps breaking her trust and sleeping with other women?

Why r465? He wants to keep his family together. That's a pretty normal human thing. Not have a family that broke apart on you.

R454 Calabasas High School. "Calabasas Running" Out where the Kardashians live. Not NorCal.

R465 1) He loves her. Sex addiction doesn't mean you can't also actually fall in love. And 2) he's trying to repeat his parents' marriage. Fuck around, get away with it, stay together. Getting dumped by his wife means he's LESS than his dad.

[quote]Can anyone shed light on why he keeps trying to get back with her?

He, like his father, "loves" his wife in the limited way they are able to -- and if the wife stays with them, it means there must be something good about them.

No, no one can shed light on that because there has been no significant back story for Imperioli's character other than the basic plot.

R462 thinks he’s watching a hardcore porn.

Dominic had sex with the Hooker more than once. She’s still in the hotel because of him. He’s clearly trying to come to terms with why he can’t be faithful to his wife and clearly wants to change.

You certainly don't care whether Imperioli repairs things with his wife. You haven't been given any reason to care.

Michael Imperioli should never be photographed in direct profile.

Seriously r467? Just because someone has sex with someone else doesn't mean they don't love their partner. Humanity, and the world, is not that black and white.

Well his wife is not a character on this show r473. It just exists as background for the character.

There he is again, at r471, needing it all broken down and explained to him for him to understand.

R475 I mean in terms of that the wife obviously wants a monogamous relationship while Dominic doesn't. So why does he still keep trying to make a doomed thing work? They see things differently.

R467 Cause he's a sex addict. For fucks sake, are you even watching the right show?

R478 that poster is a fucking idiot. It’s embarrassing

Miss Know-It-All R476, I'm not even the person you were addressing earlier. I guess you're not as as smart as you think you are, Cunty. And believe me, you're not.

R463, Finally! Someone with some sense about what the scene was about.

You girls really shouldn't be patting yourselves on the backs for what you consider to be your "insights" and awareness of the characters, their interactions, their observations, or any of the rest of it, and that includes what R463 says, which got a great big "DUH" from me. This show is neither complex nor insightful.

Does Mike White’s contract with HBO require shocking butt sex with minor characters in every season, episode 5? Why not just have a gay couple?

Because the story with Ethan/Harper and Cameron/Daphne wouldn’t work if one were a gay couple.

The scene was meant to be shocking. These characters have only been referred to as Uncle and Nephew and they were having sex, its incest based on what the show has said.

I'm sure next episode we will find out of course they aren't, but seeing them having sex was obviously meant to be "omg what?" for the audience.

Mike White did freely admit he prefers to portray gay sex as transgressive rather than normalized, it's no accident how it went down.

This is officially my favorite TV show ever!

[quote] Tanya is so stupid, it seems she'll believe anything anyone tells her, as long as they flatter her, feed her ego and her deep insecurity.

She sounds like she has a real future in the GQP.

"Mike White did freely admit he prefers to portray gay sex as transgressive rather than normalized"

R485, considering Mike White's fucked-up gay father and White's weird relation to his own bisexuality or whatever the fuck he is or says he is, this is not surprising.

I'm assuming the cowboy that Quentin fell in love with and "still would do anything for" is Tanya's husband and they are working together to rip her off.

r384 The fact she didn't threaten Cameron with this alleged pimp should tell us all we need to know.

r485 I think it was meant to be shocking for most of the audience, but gay men at least should've known what was about to happen.

Why did Tanya even open the door? Even an idiot like her could hear what was going on, what kind of rude bitch opens the door anyway if they aren't planning on joining in? Also, I wonder if this means Portia is about to get into ass to mouth without even realising it.

I just assume Quentin is Mike White.

On IMDb the actress playing the dark haired hooker Lucia is listed as being in five episodes. She’ll definitely be in Episode 6, though.

I think the point of the closing sex scene was to put Tanya on notice that these guys are lying to her. She's prepared to dump Greg; remember she said she called someone about an annulment. In Whjte Lotus, wealthy, powerful people are not victims. Agree that we're meant to think Greg is the cowboy and arrived early to set something up.

Also agree that Albie is the Rachel of this season. Lucia should not pin her hopes on him. The point of White Lotus is that wealthy people play with the locals and then leave and resume their lives.

Are we supposed to think that Mia is a talented musician?

Very odd that Cameron hasn't paid off Lucia. Don't high rollers carry a huge wad of bills at all time?

I'd say that all the little people trying to work an angle are disposible. Cameron is trying to work an angle but he's not a little person.

Why can't Cameron pay off the hooker? Don't high rollers have a huge wad of bills? This isn't adding up.

We know that several people die. I read that as more than two. There's also a theme of people imbibing substances and getting sick, which suggests the murders may be from poisoning.

Pretty sure that Jack and Portia are two of the disposible characters. Probably Quentin as well.

Wh

Sorry for the repetition and incoherence. This was sent prior to editing.

Cameron is broke, that’s why he didn’t pay Lucia in full.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Tanya does nothing to warn Portia. She reminded us this episode about what she did last season to the "witchy" healer, pretending she wish she'd done that, but I don't think she's changed. i also don't think she'll die. I feel like the entire point of her character is how the rich float through things unaffected, leaving a trail of devastation behind them that they're mostly if not totally oblivious to. She is impressed with Tom Hollander's character's wealth, I could see her taking his side in not ratting him out. Unless she feels threatened by all of this, which might happen, in which case she'll make it all about her.

Cameron already gave her 1800, which is a lot of cash to have sitting around.

It's 2022, most people don't carry a ton of cash regardless of how rich they are. You have cards, applepay, Venmo etc.

I guess we know now that young males have to put out to get cast in MW productions. Sad.

Maybe something will happen in the villa and Tanya and Portia will bring a body back to the hotel in the suitcase WHICH COULD HOLD A DEAD BODY and make it looks like they drowned.

And maybe the deaths in the hotel will be linked to Lucia's "pimp" and the deaths will be the "pimp" and Albie's dad or grandfather, but not Albie.

Adam DiMarco must be protected at all costs!

One point re the rich left WL unscathed in Season 1. That’s because the entire subtext was class “war.”

The subtext of Season 2 is sexual politics or the “war” among the sexes. I think that difference is being overlooked in terms of speculating on who dies and who “survives.”

Wonder if we're meant to read anything into the apple on Tanya's nightstand. She doesn't seem the type to leave something after a single bite

[quote]I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Tanya does nothing to warn Portia.

In the preview for next week, she seems to be warning Portia, only without going into specifics.

this show is really boring there's no guns or crimes

And where’s the stabbing? Stabbing is very in right now!

R501 I don't think the subtext is as simplistic as "war between the sexes". I like that series looks at relationships and class dynamics. Last season it looked at the family, know-it-all liberal college students, powerful women, and trophy wives. This season it's about couples - appearances vs. reality, the nature of prostitution, "good boys" vs. "bad boys". It's such fun but also meaningful.

There is nothing meaningful, or even fun, in this season or last, R506. I watch because I get HBO, period.

Yeah the show is still very much about class this season - I actually think this season is much richer in terms of the way its threading all of its ideas into these knots and I have no idea where it's all headed

This show appears to be some heavyweight intellectual material for a lot of you Marys, who find meaning and depth from it when it's really fairly shallow.

Just read an interview where the actors playing Quentin and Jack said they arent sure whether it is made official if their characters are related or not. What the fuck? Why did White say "we'll see". I assume that its left up to the audience then cause them actually being related would be too fucking weird and he clearly seems like a call boy. I also read a theory that thinks either Tanya will kill them or they will kill her. Not sure which is more likely. I like the concept of Coolidge being in every season.

That would be much hotter, frankly, and more iteresting if they actually were related.

Will Sharpe is cute/hot, but Lordy, that boy can’t act for shit!

I think the best actor this season is the actress playing Valentina, Sabrina Impacciatore. I love her.

R511 interesting? Sure. But hotter? You must love GOT and House of the Dragon.

Jack's backside is so beautiful. I love that the camera went back to his ass not once, not twice but three times.

What’s his ass tattoo? Wendy?

Hey! It’s Jennifer Coolidge AND stomach. We’re a team.

R509 Or you're missing some of the subtle points made. I didn't say it was super deep, but it's more thought provoking than Succession, for example, which I also like.

"Or you're missing some of the subtle points made."

LMFAO. Sure, R517. All those subtle points you made. The subtle points made about a shallow show. This show and you are meant for each other.

Serious question, R516: how fat is Coolidge? She used to be curvy and big-titted but didn't appear fat. Now she's fat and even bigger titted, right? With botox lips? But she's fat, yes? On the way to Shelley Winters-type fat?

She seems bloated with 50 pounds of fat in her gut.

Bloated from what, I wonder.

Quentin and his crew all smile with a glint in their eye at Tanya like she's a hog to the slaughter.

If Quentin and his weird band of fags end up being psychopathic, that would really say a lot more about White than the characters.

R518 I didn't make any points. That would take too much time and space and you're obviously not interested. I like to keep it concise on DL.

R482, all we're doing is having a discussion about a show that many of us are enjoying.

That's part of the fun of a show like this where everything isn't spelled out for the audience from the start.

It's just opinions and speculations. No one is taking it seriously. It's entertainment and it's wonderful to find a group that feels the same.

This show for some reason really brings out the trolls on DL.

The "You're so fucking stupid because you can't understand the brilliance and subtlety of this show the way I do!" Troll is also clearly off his meds.

Seems doubtful Tanya will be murdered. Why? Because she's a main recurring character and if there's going to be a Season 3, she'll likely be there in all her dizzy kooky glory.

The producers are probably now realizing what a mistake it was having Murray Bartlett's character die on the first series. Just in case they want to revisit the same resort in a future White Lotus series, he would have been needed. Murray's Armond was a great character.

I noticed in last night's episode, that Valentina's makeup looked clown-like. Especially when she was outed by Mia.

Almost like the stage makeup that the actors wore in the tragic opera, Madame Butterfly, that Quintin took Tanya to see.

The singing in the opening credits is Mike White while he is staring at Jack’s ass.

No, R524, you certainly didn't make any points. And you continue not to. Thanks for the clarification.

[quote] I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Tanya does nothing to warn Portia.

You missed the preview for the next episode, where she explicitly warns Portia about Jack.

[quote] No one is taking it seriously. It's entertainment and it's wonderful to find a group that feels the same.

As a silly, dumb, lazy, self-loathing, retarded CUNT, I fully agree.

[quote] The producers are probably now realizing what a mistake it was having Murray Bartlett's character die on the first series. Just in case they want to revisit the same resort in a future White Lotus series, he would have been needed. Murray's Armond was a great character.

He was, but I think they want to keep changing the locale, and his character would not have worked in other locations given his violent breakdown last season. He would not have been re-hired by the corpotation, and he was not rich enough to stay in one of the other hotels as a guest.

The show seems determined to show us other settings for each season--I am curious where they will go next (I know only that it will be very scenically beautiful since that seems part of the whole idea of the show).

The show seems to paint Palermo as a wild bacchanalian party town. Is that the case? I've never been, always assumed it was like a Sicilian Naples.

In the season finale, the gays will be revealed to be a Druid cult and every 12 years they have to sacrifice a blowsy, fat American to the Harvest Wheat Gods.

Murray Bartlett set up the theme of being obsequious to keep your job. That would be Portia i n this series,although unlike the manager, she doesn't try to sabotage her boss. Also Lucia and Daphne, who are both whores in that they play-act affection for their partners but Daphne's line of work is far more profitable. Harper, like Albie, doesn't want to play sexual power games, which means both of them will probably succumb in the end since the alternative of being broke and alone is not very attractive. Harper is still under the illusion she has some power in her marriage while her now fabulously rich husband can dump her and trade up, like most men in his situation.

In series one, the son who was consistently ignored found his tribe and joined up. I wonder whether anyone in series two will go that route.

Since we are prepared for F. Murray Abraham to die, he probably won't. However, White provided many clues in the beginning about Tanya feeling weak and disoriented so maybe she will kick it.

I think the twist about the gays is that they're just basically hedonists but ultimately harmless. Tanya is definitely coming back in S3. She's part of the common denominator of WL world - death + Tanya. If ever, she might eventually die in the series finale, whenever that wll be. I'm also guessing that the deaths are accidents and not criminal in nature. Maybe a boat sunk and it's ocupant drowned.

[quote] her now fabulously rich husband can dump her and trade up, like most men in his situation.

She most likely is entitled to 50% of their wealth.

[quote]There is nothing meaningful, or even fun, in this season or last, [R506]. I watch because I get HBO, period.

How empty must your life be that you can find nothing better to do with your time than watch a show you so deride?

In the opening credits there is a painting of two guys, one is sitting, and the other guy has positioned his crotch on the sitting guy's eye level. That is the dynamic between Dominic (standing) and Ethan (sitting). Dominic is a toxic male who needs to dominate everyone. All that homo talk is about making Ethan his bitch, telling Ethan he did him wrong by not making him part of the company sale. Everything Dominic does is to assert his dominance. It's the same with the money for the prostitutes. His ego doesn't allow him to get, as he sees it, hustled by whores. And that is why he's blind to Daphne and her own schemes to get back at him (like the kid, or kids, being from her trainer).

If Quentin really had a nephew, he'd have at least one sibling with whom he'd share the financial responsibility to maintain the big villa. It doesn't seem plausible that this is where the story is going.

I have not seen it mentioned yet, the French guy from Quentin's circle of friends is also in Netflix's Emily In Paris.

In one earlier episode Valentina was rude to Dominic, because he pussy blocked her. She was hitting on the female receptionist when Dominic inquired about the jewelry store. She also reassigned Rocco to get him out of the way.

Lucia is so trying to trap Albie with a baby (don't know how that would work in a timely fashion for the show to unfold, though) or at least bleed the poor sucker dry.

I enjoy listening to Mia singing but her English phrasing sounds way too sophisticated for the character.

R540, Dominic is Albie’s dad. I think you meant Cameron. But your assessment is good.

I love this series…it’s not the BEST thing that’s ever been in television, but it’s unlike anything else out there right now, and I appreciate that.

I think they should go to Rio next season.

Or Australia.

[quote]Carry on about Portia's awful resort wear choices

The funny thing is since the "Nephew" arrived Portia now dresses stylish and sexy. The transformative power of getting good dick.

R502 The apple on the bedstand was there as a reason for Tanya to get up in the middle of the night. We know from previous snacking (macaroons, asking for pie etc.) that she likes her snack food to be sugary. Waking up and finding an apple beside her bed was enough to drive her in search of something else.

Did anyone think the lighting in Portia’s room made Jack’s ass look slightly shit-stained? I found it novel that his ass wasn’t made up to perfect alabaster.

Lucia gets all the best cock. I want Albie's innocent seed deep inside my bussy! Mary!

The finale should just be an hour long Cam/Ethan/Albie/Jack orgy.

It’s such a hetero plot point for the masculine muscle twink to be revealed to be a whore.

The masculine muscle twink is always a whore in real life.

Albie is the sweetest and cutest. I always think of the Dom character as 'Christophuh' on The Sopranos, so it's funny to me seeing him getting upset. Wait until he sees everything those girls charged to his room.

RE Jack/Quentin: Good God folks. Quentin is land rich but cash poor basically. He likely isn't getting enough money from trusts to finance his lifestyle. The trusts are paying for the properties. He probably has credit extensions around town town and is thriving from his name alone which is why he needs someone like Tanya who has access to cash.

Jack is probably not get the money but the opportunity to enjoy a lavish lifestyle. Hence the dine and dash. Although, I don't understand how Portia could eat across someone who never asked for a check or pulled out cash/credit card.

I thought for sure that was a peach on Tanya's night table, foreshadowing of what she was about to witness.....

Jack reminds me of that porn guy Matthew Camp.

I think it was mentioned in passing, but even if Tanya realizes that Quentin and Jack aren't actually related (or worse, they are) she would be substantially triggered given that Portia has already mentioned she believes Tanya was sexually abused by her father.

Also, Tanya mentiones the "wonderful healer" she met in Hawaii and how maybe she should have started that business with her but in the same breath says the healer might have put a curse on her.

Tanya for all her helpless idiot act is very destructive.

You would think they would have heard Tanya open that door.

I don't know, they seemed happily preoccupied

I’m fantasising about opening that door to the orgy described by r550. To being one of a select few invited to be seated on beautiful chairs around the room to enjoy the live show.

Portia is mentally challenged

Fuck -- I'm craving arancini, and nobody does it better than Sicily!

I must be the only one who doesn’t think Quentin’s cowboy is Greg - I thought he was describing the plot of Brokeback Mountain and seeing if Tanya was too dumb to realize it - seeing how far he could push. Much like the story about the trainer / baby photos - both Cameron and his wife like messing with Harper. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in a threesome in which they intentionally humiliate her as a game.

Zara is believable for an upper middle class college student, it’s the fashion equivalent of junk food.

Next season is Thailand. that's what I've heard.

I live for DARK MINGE LORD'S comments.

Also I think fat gyal is in trouble.

I read all of DARKMINGELORD’s rants with the voice of Letterkenny’s Shoresy in my head.

[quote]Portia is mentally challenged

And so is the moron, Tanya, who hired her!

R349No, I think Lucia's running a long con on Albie to at least get to California. We know Lucia can be very explicit about it costing money for "fun." The free beej was to get him confused and beholden to her.

What is a "free beej"?

I believe R568 is referring to the blowjob Lucia gave Albie.

[quote] In the opening credits there is a painting of two guys, one is sitting, and the other guy has positioned his crotch on the sitting guy's eye level. That is the dynamic between Dominic (standing) and Ethan (sitting). Dominic is a toxic male who needs to dominate everyone. All that homo talk is about making Ethan his bitch, telling Ethan he did him wrong by not making him part of the company sale. Everything Dominic does is to assert his dominance. It's the same with the money for the prostitutes. His ego doesn't allow him to get, as he sees it, hustled by whores. And that is why he's blind to Daphne and her own schemes to get back at him (like the kid, or kids, being from her trainer).

That picture accompanies Leo Woodall’s name. The rent boy nephew.

Rentboy Jack is fish food. Porita and Lucia, too. I think the threesome or foursome between the married two couples is inevitable because it's gratuitous and cringey, and Mike White will consider it edgy. Albie will not lose his future to Lucia.

White has to do something that is comparable to Murray Bartlett shitting. Perhaps F Murray Abraham will have a threesome with the escorts. That's vomit inducint.

One thing i loved last night was watching Michael Imperioli's facial reactions to his father's ridiculous claims about his marriage and to Lucia flirting with Albie. I actually kept being distanced from my memories of him as Christopher because his performance as Dominic was so solid and well-done. He's a very intelligent actor.

R563 that's interesting because I wondered whether he was referencing Brokeback as well; not so much to trick her but more just thinking of the film on the spot and thought it would make an interesting and poignant love story Tanya would like. That with the Queen embarrassment makes it seem they're definitely making fun of her ignorance.

After careful consideration watching, examining, dissecting, reconstructing and rewatching every episode, I have concluded that:

Some of the characters are gay

Some of the characters are whores

Some of the characters are gay whores

Michael Imperioli was on a talk show recently, he talked about doing a scene in White Lotus where he has a threesome in a pool, guess he was with the two hookers? I missed two episodes, not sure if this scene happened yet.

Imperioli said the scene was very uncomfortable because his real life wife Victoria was with him during the filming, she was watching from a window in the real resort.

His wife Victoria looks like Renee Taylor.

[quote] Next season is Thailand. that's what I've heard.

Oh good gawd. White has a rather dark amoral imagination. You can just imagine the stories he's concoct for Thailand.

Jennifer Coolidge said that she sneaked into closed sets to watch the sex scenes. It did make me laugh.

R351, yes, if Lucia has only dealt with Sicilian men, the wide-eyed innocence of an Albie-type would certainly come across as a novelty..

Thailand? Will we see some Thai Lady Boys?

Any news on the Season Three cast? White should just hire some actual porn performers.

Jennifer Coolidge AND her stomach said they sneaked into …

It's about confidence. The good fuck gives her a confidence boost. It's the same with Tanya and the Gays. Tanya's neediness for attention gets a steady supply from the Gays, and she blossoms.

[quote] Michael Imperioli was on a talk show recently, he talked about doing a scene in White Lotus where he has a threesome in a pool, guess he was with the two hookers? I missed two episodes, not sure if this scene happened yet.

It happened in the first two episodes and it was a whirlpool from his suite.

[quote] We know Lucia can be very explicit about it costing money for "fun." The free beej was to get him confused and beholden to her.

The bj wasn't free, she charged him for the whole night and when Albie got all flustered (realizing she is a prostitute) she did the whole passive-aggressive move where she generously forgets about the money (even though her pimp is going to be angry with her, according to her), but goes along with him paying after all.

r542, you are right, I mixed up the name in r540, but I couldn't post a follow-up correction, because of primetime kicked in.

In real life the guys would've noticed her, because of the noice and the sudden draft coming from the door being opened.

Sorry, noise.

[quote]Someone has to top that. I wasn't thinking about Portia pegging him but rather his uncle fucking him up the ass. It would have been deliciously fabulous to have seen that.

I was thinking more along the lines of Jack and Albie 69-ing and flip-fucking each other's baby-smooth bubble butts. (Cam and Ethan in a fourgy would merely be gilding the lily.)

[quote]The bj wasn't free, she charged him for the whole night and when Albie got all flustered (realizing she is a prostitute) she did the whole passive-aggressive move where she generously forgets about the money (even though her pimp is going to be angry with her, according to her), but goes along with him paying after all.

Albie is the type of modern feminist who believes trans women are women (even though he'd never suck a woman's dick) and that sex work is work (provided it's someone else's money he's spending on pussy)

[...]

[quote]Absolutely everyone at this hotel wants to fuck each other. And there are a lot of people! I can’t imagine a better gift to the Sicilian tourism board than creating a wonderfully horny show where beautiful people want nothing more than to tear each other’s clothes off. As if the picturesque beauty and delicious food weren’t enough, the promise of a wild sexual adventure all but confirm that Sicily is going to be the biggest travel destination of 2023.

Btw has anyone expressed outrage that heterosexual actor Tom Hollander was cast as a practicing homosexual?

#queeractorsforqueerroles

R591, well... I see one beautiful person in that photo.

R407 I'm a guy. I liked the easily frazzled girls (like Portia) or the very put-together types (Daphne) when I was dating them. I was going over Haley Lu's Insta and her sense of humor is very attractive also.

In guys, I prefer the Leo Woodall chav-ish types who are very spontaneous and fun.

[...]

Ethan's obviously long suppressed resentment, and status compensating theory for Cam's behavior sounded really self-deluded. Harper should be careful about poking that wound, could become dangerous.

Tom Hollander is straight? Thought he came out years ago, I might be confusing him with another English actor.

I am starting to wonder why Ethan agreed to go on vacation with his college roommate, who apparently stole every girl Ethan showed any interest in (Harper told Ethan how Cameron undressed in front of her)? Ethan has not made any attempt to rub his new enormous wealth in Cameron's face. He doesn't seem attached to anyone emotionally, including Harper. He doesn't seem to be interested into either playing petty mind games or get dragged in to them, and yet he agrees to go on a vacation with someone he knows loves to play these games. Everything Harper figured out about Cameron, Ethan could've replied "Duh!", because he already knew what type of person Cameron is.

What is Ethan's game? Does he want to get rid of Hunter, thinking she would fall for Cameron and give him an easy way out?

R598 all good points. Ethan seems weak. Maybe he doesn't have many friends as a nerdy guy but wants them and thinks that Cameron is one. Going from the preview for ep 6 I doubt Ethan wanted Harper and Cameron to get together all along since he's begging her to stay with him so I think he has just been naive and the pattern is repeating itself.

I think we saw Ethan's game last episode, where he let Cameron know he's the rich one now. I think he wanted to show himself as an alpha, but they just immediately fell into old habits instead.