This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by senior editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.
The last time I saw my best friend, he was licking someone’s butt, took a poop in a suitcase, and then was murdered.
There was something about Murray Bartlett’s energy as Armond, the person trying—so desperately—to remain grounded, but who never stopped his judgment of everyone’s demands. In the end, he had all the groundedness and stability of a toddler shaking an Etch-a-Sketch. It never worked. Armond may not be with us anymore. (If you haven’t watched the first season of The White Lotus yet… why not? I guess that’s a spoiler.) But his memory lives on in how we watch The White Lotus now.
And, blessedly, there is a Season 2.
A second season of The White Lotus shouldn’t work, mostly because I don’t think a lot of people still understand what the first White Lotus was. Was it a drama? A comedy? A satire? A Jennifer Coolidge star vehicle? The answer is yes. All of those things, and more. Why is The White Lotus the surprise best show on TV? The many Emmys can attest to that..
Privilege is a big deal in The White Lotus universe. That is the thing that I think marries the two seasons. (The new one starts on Sunday, with a brand-new cast, save Coolidge.)
That cast, which features Theo James, Haley Lu Richardson, and Michael Imperioli, is fantastic. What their privilege means, and how it is used, is endlessly fascinating. “Used” is the wrong word. Maybe “manipulated” is best.
This is the big show of the year. Fans are clamoring for Jennifer Coolidge content. Armond would have loved (rest in power) and been stressed about this big moment. That’s the weird thing about what’s happening now. The White Lotus Season 2 feels big.
The new season, in a sort of rich and fabulous way, shrugs at being a sequel. It’s almost cute that we were so concerned about what a second season would be. Wealthy assholes go on vacation. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hawaii or Italy. It’s evergreen, to the point that it could be lazy. But nothing about this second season phones it in.
There were a few approaches I considered to make sure you all watch The White Lotus Season 2.
Do I talk about Theo James’ nude scene in the first episode, his *member* swinging between his taint as he changes into a bathing suit? (Do I delight, alone, in the usage of the word “taint” for the very first time in this newsletter?)
Do I talk about how, still, amazingly good Jennifer Coolidge is as a broken person who, because of her insecurity, doesn’t recognize how lucky she is?
Or do I focus on the generational family, grandad-father-son, in Italy and realizing how absurdly different the youngest’s view on the world is in comparison to his loved ones? (And, maybe, his views are the silliest, despite what he thinks?)
The first season of The White Lotus began with a dead body and the episodes revolved around finding out who “did it.” Except for the fact that these characters were so dynamic (or, let’s say, oblivious) that when the death happened it was one of the least consequential things that occurred that season. That’s the same for Season 2.
So what is there to look forward to? The scenes between Aubrey Plaza and Meghann Fahy are fantastic. The White Women rose to the occasion. They play two of the worst people to have ever been put on screen, yet they are also two of the most captivating. I don’t want to spoil how their relationship evolves over the course of the season, but it is a hoot. (A “hoot!” That’s the extent of my criticism now.)
We’re drowning—a very White Lotus thing—trying to explain why this second season merits just that, a second season. In the ways that it knows it has a point, The White Lotus Season 2 might make you roll your eyes. But the cast warrants it.
If you watched the first season of The White Lotus, you know how dark and uncomfortable it became, excavating the deepest, most unsettling realities of the things we thought were mundane. You think you know your spouse? Your child? Your job? There’s someone else who can fuck that up, out of your control. But, because of the nature of how we live, something that seismic is extremely casual.
And we’re meant to accept that.
I feel like The White Lotus Season 2 is about that. What does anyone accept? A reservation, a meet-up, a sexual encounter? More than that, though, is this new season’s big question: “Want to have fun?”
