I don't have a neat and tidy essay on "White Lotus," but here are a few thoughts (with spoilers); we watched the finale last night. *I was nowhere near to predicting the ending. A model I kept using was "Beatriz at Dinner"; the obtuse, powerful man remains obtuse, and the oppressed person ends up dead. This is *also* what happens in "Lotus" (but not even in the same universe as the events I half-imagined). One thing Mike White does really well is: building and building on the antagonism between two characters, so that a violent rupture begins to seem inevitable. This is how "Beatriz" worked--and it turns out to be how "Lotus" works, as well. *Jake Lacy talks about how the show centers on transactions; the show repeatedly highlights how money can taint a relationship. It's fascinating to see Belinda change as she begins to envision the business in her future; you see a hint of calculation behind her eyes, and she offers a busi...