A few more thoughts on "The White Lotus":
*Mike White speaks with Terri Gross this week, and he acknowledges that "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is an influence. You see this in the two young married couples. White was raised on "psychodramas." Cameron and Daphne seem to attract and to repel each other: they call each other nasty names even as they're hopping into bed. There is some speculation that one of Daphne's children is actually the spawn of Daphne's trainer; he is blonde and blue-eyed, like the trainer, and Daphne shows his photo when she (wrongly) believes she is showing the trainer's photo.
*The season looks at the gap between fantasy and reality. F. Murray Abraham thinks he will have a fabulous homecoming in Catania; in fact, he is dismissed from the property. Valentina has a long gay affair, in her head, with her employee; in fact, the employee is not only uninterested, but also fully heterosexual. Tanya believes that she is signing up for a glamorous and breezy weekend in Palermo; it's clear that, really, she is signing up for something sinister. But, also, a fantasy can be negative, damaging. Ethan is nearly certain that his wife has cheated on him; we're left to wonder if he is right, or if his wife is merely engineering a power play.
*I'm also obsessed with Tanya's wonderful speech to Portia: "When I see you, I see a younger version of me. You know, when I was a little girl, my mother used to dress me up like a little doll. And I was always a little doll, waiting for someone to play with me. When you're empty inside, and you have no direction, you'll end up in some crazy places, right? But you'll still be lost. Get your shit together, Portia." This is amazing because Tanya is still a little doll; she isn't much further along than Portia. But she is really trying to help--in a clumsy and abrasive way. Maybe these two people can save each other in the finale.
Emily Nussbaum says she isn't wild about this season. I like Emily Nussbaum, but I think she should look more closely!
I've finally watched this season so this is months late - I interpreted Daphne showing the picture of her child, rather than the trainer, as indicating that there wasn't actually any trainer and that she'd been describing her relationship with her son, and thus she was tolerating Cameron's behavior for the sake of her children and they were what gave her meaning. When she says to Plaza she should get a "trainer" too, she meant something like "have a kid" if you want connection in your life. But who knows really! Great show. Still have to watch season 1.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense to me. The role of the kids is left mysterious. Mike White is able to include ambiguity while also writing a satisfying script. Sometimes when other writers try ambiguity the result is just annoying. But it's so great to see Mike White accomplish what he accomplishes -- because our actual real lives are ambiguous and based on guess work, so much of the time.
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