Arrivederci

I'm surprised at how great this finale was. Season 2 was a perfectly thought out story. Season 1 started funnier, and ended in a bit of a dud (still worth a watch). Season 2 started as a slower burn, but it build up to a perfect episode of everything coming together.

So dark.

There's been many hints throughout the season for multiple twists in this final episode. Watching season 2 again knowing what is going down, must be very interesting.

I could go into detail about what was so perfect about this episode, but I don't want to spoil anything. Watch this series!

So glad it got renewed for season 3!

I loved the finale episode. For weeks I had been predicting who would die, but my predictions were wrong (to be honest, the scene in which one of the main characters died was nonsense). I really loved the last scene; I wanted it to happen, and I'm glad it did. Surprisingly, this season is way better than the first, with better characters and a better story. Maybe the resort and the resort manager were better in the first season, but other than that, this season is way better, and it is one of the best seasons of any show that I have watched. I am definitely waiting for the next season, but before that, I want to request HBO to please make a Lucia and Mia spinoff. I think it will be a big hit.

HBO prestige tv is back, baaabyyyy. Don't think I've ever seen such a leap in improvement between two seasons of the same show, albeit an anthology series. While the first season grated on me because it was so aggressively about The Discourse and was so insufferably au courant about a certain kind of American cultural set this is just much better scripted and genuinely funny at at time with some great casting, good actors and memorable performances, just much much better than the first season in all departments. The setting, ancient but lively Italy is also more enjoyable than insipid colonized Hawaii.

The White Lotus Sicily as a hotel resort is spectacular to behold. After all, these luxurious accommodations and scenic vistas are what you get for a pretty price tag. The intention of any tourist coming here is obviously to fully enjoy such a place, and yet here the character Daphne is the only one who truly fulfills that intention. Initially presented as a vapid trophy wife, she evolves quite deeply as we get to peek through the layers of her nuances. Seemingly both carefree and in denial, deep down she is aware of her pain, embraces it, and makes the choice to take life by the balls despite of it. Daphne is by far one of the most unique characters to grace the TV screen. She is a modern-day female Stoic, a great example of the concept promoted predominantly so far by males in mainstream media, that is until now. Great job, Mike White for creating the character and outstanding performance, Meghann Fahy! Bravo!

This season's tight interwoven narrative sticks the landing in a satisfying if tragically operatic finale. I love the evolution of Mike White's career - I admit nothing in his writer's resume (Pitch Perfect 3? The Emoji Movie?!) prepared me for his startling talent that's been on display since White Lotus' first season, and which has become even more layered and sophisticated in this second season. The complexity, vulnerability and manipulations found in pursuits of love and/or sex are embedded masterfully in White's story-telling and direction. The messiness of emotions, of desire, of yearning, of wishful thinking, and the potential for bad faith, predation, and lust to subvert and devastate those human motivations is beautifully conveyed all season. Here in the finale we get the gamut of conclusions, all inevitable in their own ways, ranging from heartbreaking to joyous, but none neat and tidy, and none with all our questions answered. It's a perfect balance of resolution and ambiguity, happy and sad, surprising and obvious.

White's ability to tackle all these themes, throwing them all up in the air in a precarious juggling act, and catch them all in the finale - just a masterclass and joy to experience.

A beautiful job. I hope I can sustain this level of excellence with a third season. I think he's so smart to make each season about a theme. First season was about money, entitlement and privilege. This one about sex and love. Pretty ambitious. I can't wait to see where Mike White goes from here.