The White Lotus
elephant bulls
Season 2 Episode 3
Editor’s Rating 4 Stars ****
Photo: HBO
As the third day of our Sicilian vacation begins, we see a definite change in one of our most stubborn guests, Harper. While last week it was revealed that she’s not a morning sex person, now we see her getting ready and lying on the bed to greet Ethan after the run after being confronted with her asynchronous sex life last week. But that’s nothing compared to the real change in the Harper we’ve come to know and love. “I’m going to be so good today. And friendly,” she tells Ethan, not just to prove him wrong, but because she knows he cares. While he seems to have doubts about her ability to do a full 180, she insists she’ll be adorable to Cameron and Daphne all day. “You don’t think I can be beautiful? just look.”
It’s not just Harper either. We see a shift for several of our characters in this episode where they are confronted with who they are and challenged to change, either by themselves or by others. But are these efforts sustainable? Can they really change?
Nice Harper is an unsettling sight, both for us and for her breakfast companions. After a moment’s pause to think about what a nice person might say, she ends up with, “Did you see the sky this morning? It was so beautiful,” Cameron and Daphne immediately surprised with her change of attitude. But the kind Harper tries not to break her character when Cameron and Daphne start arguing about visiting a palazzo in Noto. (So they argue!) And this is where nice Harper really gets put to the test: Daphne suggests it’s just the two of them going to the palazzo, leaving the boys to jet ski. Ethan enjoys watching her struggle through her self-imposed order of kindness and encourages her, and Harper refuses to back down and agrees.
On the other side of the buffet, Albie and Portia reunite after their awkward goodbye the night before. “I wanted to come in and keep hanging out, just so you know,” he tells her, saying he just didn’t want to make her uncomfortable — something Portia thinks Albie isn’t capable of. In fact, she thinks he could be more aggressive. He wastes no time making this change, and when she tries to turn down Bert’s invitation to tour The Godfather’s filming locations with them, Albie insists that she must come. “I’m more aggressive,” he whispers. It’s like a newborn puppy in a lion costume.
While visiting a home where the film was filmed, they chat about the men’s interest in The Godfather, a spiritual follow-up to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s same conversation in You’ve Got Mail. It’s not long before nice Albie comes back and takes a stand against the film’s romanticization of patriarchy, prompting a debate about whether the film encourages a male fantasy or simply reflects it. Unfortunately, Portia is unable to stay for a productive conversation about gender identity with an 80-year-old man when she receives a call from Tanya, who calls her back to the hotel after her tearful good-bye Greg.
We’ve known Tanya the longest of our guests, and it seems she’s the least capable of changing. She is exactly who she was when we first met her. But in desperation to stop Greg from going, she offers to get rid of the prenup if it means he won’t go. But their marital problems run deeper. We find out that Greg will survive thanks to the doctors Tanya got him, but she thinks with that longer life expectancy he realized he didn’t want to spend it with her. Despite her best efforts, Greg leaves, which means Tanya needs support. Her emotional support assistant Portia and a fortune teller she requests from Valentina step in: “Do you think they could do a house call because it’s some kind of an emergency?”
“I just want to know if our marriage will last,” Tanya says to the tarot card reader, who promptly tells her that her husband is in love with someone else and that there is someone beautiful in his life. “Couldn’t that be me?” Tanya asks, but unfortunately no. That’s not the result Tanya wanted, so she throws away the “negative” tarot reader. Obviously, Tanya doesn’t change and discards people as always. Even her attempt to dissolve the marriage contract is not new; She’s using her money to try to buy her way out of her troubles, just like she did when she left Belinda a big tip last season to clear her guilt.
Meanwhile, Harper’s change of attitude is tested even further when Daphne tells her that they will indeed be spending the night at the palazzo. When Harper asks why Daphne didn’t tell her this plan, she says that she wanted Cam to think it was spontaneous so he would have FOMO and regret skipping it. “So you’re playing with him?” Harper asks and Daphne responds, saying it keeps things interesting.
Back at the hotel, Cameron congratulates Ethan on his newfound financial success but wishes he’d had a warning. Ethan is overwhelmed by his blatant request for insider trading tips, and before he can really think about it, Cameron insists that Ethan invest with him – which agrees with Harper about his intentions for the trip.
Harper and Ethan essentially realize at the same time: Oh, these people are crazy. Unfortunately for them, this shared realization happens when they’re apart, which means they have to go through it and process it without their partner being there to bring them back to reality.
After their disagreement at the godfather’s house, Dominic pulls his son aside, concerned he is misperceiving him. “I’ve always been supportive of women, I’m a feminist. I didn’t marry a submissive woman, your mother is a brilliant amazing woman.” Ah, so this isn’t really about what Albie thinks about Dominic, it’s about what Abby thinks about Dominic. He encourages his son to apologize to his mother, but Albie tells him that the only thing that can fix it is for his father to change. Dominic insists he needs to change, or rather is said to be, but Albie doesn’t seem convinced.
Dominic has already been told by his father to pull himself together and after another night with Lucia and Mia has not done so. But now Albie is asking him to change; Will he be able to do it for his son? He’s caught between those two generations, and while his seedy father’s advice may seem like the pot that calls the cauldron black, his son’s perspective is probably worth more to him. So we see Dominic try to make that change once again, telling the women he can’t meet for the rest of the week and honorably dismissing them from their duties. But for Lucia and Mia, things just keep going and Lucia keeps an eye on Cameron and Ethan on the other side of the restaurant.
Luckily for women, insider trading isn’t the only scam Cameron is interested in, and he’s shocked that Ethan isn’t reaping the sexual benefits of his newfound success. After Cameron attempts to introduce a recalcitrant Ethan to the benefits of cheating, Cameron spots Lucia and Mia and leads them to their table.
Outside, Albie and Portia meet up for a beer by the pool, where she is surprised when Albie out of the blue boldly kisses her – clearly still determined to be this aggressive new guy. But it doesn’t end up with Portia, who declines his invitation to return to his room. In Albie’s case, his attempt to transform into someone he isn’t fails, because that very transformation is just another example of him being the same cute wimp we know him to be. He’s only “aggressive” because a girl told him so, and takes all the weight off him for Portia. I’m curious to see how Albie handles this. Will it cause him to lean even more into his whiny “nice boys last” attitude, or will he (hopefully) channel that frustration onto his father and finally stop trying to be his family’s peacemaker?
Back at the palazzo, Harper is high on an edible Daphne given to her earlier and the two chat about their husbands. “Has Ethan changed at all?” asks Daphne. He didn’t, Harper says, almost contempt in her voice, but Daphne assures her that’s a good thing. She’s seen people like Ethan make it big and then suddenly become cheating monsters. Daphne is glad her husband has a friend like Ethan, who she believes is a good influence, especially compared to the Bernie Maddoff-like psychopaths Cameron works with.
This is great for Daphne and everyone, but what impact would Cameron have on Ethan then? We can see this conversation starting to infiltrate Harper’s mind, like, oh no, who did I leave to babysit my husband while I’m gone? “Do you think Cameron ever cheats on you?” she asks Daphne, who says she’s learned to deal with it without much ado.
But Ethan wouldn’t cheat, as Harper previously said, and honestly called him a mistake. And so far she’s right. Back at the hotel, Cameron and Ethan party with Lucia and Mia on a drug trip of their own but with something stronger than Harper’s Edibles. The whole time it feels like Ethan’s body is just being dragged through this montage as the unruly party goes on around him. Cameron begins having sex with Lucia, but when Mia kisses Ethan, he shakes his head, present enough to stop it.
Harper calls Ethan but there is no answer. She’s perfectly sure what type Ethan is, but because she knows him so well, she also knows he’s not a dominant force. When she’s around, he follows her lead. But what happens when Cameron, another alpha, is the only one around? Will Ethan follow suit? The day started with Harper intentionally changing who she was to prove something to Ethan, but could it end with her husband in danger of changing?
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