Skip to main content

The White Lotus: Abductions

 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!
Labels:

Comments

  1. JohnFebruary 16, 2023 at 6:50 AM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ReaderFebruary 16, 2023 at 8:06 AM

    That 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.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

The Death of Bergoglio

  It's frustrating for me to hear Bergoglio described as "the less awful pope"--because awful is still awful. I think I get fixated on ideas of purity, which can be juvenile, but putting that aside, here are some things that Bergoglio could have done and did not. (I'm quoting from a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of the Church.) He could levy the harshest penalty, excommunication, against a dozen or more of the most egregious abuse enabling church officials. (He's done this to no enablers, or predators for that matter.) He could insist that every diocese and religious order turn over every record they have about suspected and known abusers to law enforcement. Francis could order every prelate on the planet to post on his diocesan website the names of every proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting cleric. (Imagine how much safer children would be if police, prosecutors, parents and the public knew the identities of these potentially dangerous me...
1 comment
Read more

Raymond Carver: "What's in Alaska?"

Outside, Mary held Jack's arm and walked with her head down. They moved slowly on the sidewalk. He listened to the scuffing sounds her shoes made. He heard the sharp and separate sound of a dog barking and above that a murmuring of very distant traffic.  She raised her head. "When we get home, Jack, I want to be fucked, talked to, diverted. Divert me, Jack. I need to be diverted tonight." She tightened her hold on his arm. He could feel the dampness in that shoe. He unlocked the door and flipped the light. "Come to bed," she said. "I'm coming," he said. He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water. He turned off the living-room light and felt his way along the wall into the bedroom. "Jack!" she yelled. "Jack!" "Jesus Christ, it's me!" he said. "I'm trying to get the light on." He found the lamp, and she sat up in bed. Her eyes were bright. He pulled the stem on the alarm and b...
1 comment
Read more