The White Lotus season 1 became an immediate success, and the series became the big winner during the Emmy Awards in 2022 (where it won five prizes in total). HBO recently released the second season of the series, which is very risky seeing the success of the first. The same network has earlier “destroyed” success, such as True Detective by adding a second season. Did the same happen with The White Lotus?
Like in True Detective, the White Lotus came up with a brand new cast for the second season. The only exceptions were Jennifer Coolidge in her role as Tanya (that miserable old lady with a lot of money) and Jon Gries in his role as Greg (with whom Tanya got together in season 1). Everyone else is gone, and all left from the first season are a couple of references from Tanya as she speaks about the masseur from season 1 in a conversation.
The first season takes place in Hawaii, while the second one is at a different White Lotus resort in Taormina in Sicily. Just a wild guess, Taormina will receive a boost in tourism due to the fantastic footage from the city and the area in the second season of White Lotus.
White Lotus season 2: The characters.
There are lots of interesting characters in the second season of White Lotus. We meet the DiGrasso family who has traveled to Sicily to (hopefully) meet relatives. There are three DiGrasso’s on the trip, the grandfather, the father, and the son. The three of them are different in many ways, but they all love women.
We meet a local hooker in Sicily who has an appointment with the father in the DiGrasso family. We follow her and her girlfriend throughout the season to see what they do and what they are willing to do to reach their goals. But, are they just exploiting everyone, or are there true feelings we see as well?
Tanya has brought her assistant Portia to Sicily, since she couldn’t know for sure whether or not Greg would arrive. As Greg arrives, Portia isn’t someone Greg wants to see, so he tells Tanya to send her away.
Then we have two married couples traveling together. The boys are old friends from college and now they travel together with their wives. One of the couples seems to be a vibrant couple with lots of feelings and emotions, while the other seems cold and distant. Which is the best? Is everything as it looks from the outside?
Just like in season one, we also follow the employees at White Lotus, especially the manager Valentina. If I have to say one thing, then it is that I miss Murray Bartlett in his role as Armond from the first movie. But it would be hard to bring him along to season two, knowing that he died at the end of season one.
In episode three, we are also introduced to the character of Quentin, played by the fantastic Tom Hollander. He is a gay who takes special interest in Tanya and takes incredibly good care of her.
Is the second season worth streaming?
Let me just let the rabbit out of the hat at once… YES! I was so surprised in a positive way by the second season. Honestly, I enjoyed it way more than I enjoyed the first season. The characters, the plot, the challenges, the difficulties… it all made an even better and more exciting season.
There are so many topics covered and questions asked that make this a true philosophy class. For example, is it better to find a wild and crazy man, or is a calm man whom you can trust better? Should you be able to trust your wife if she says that she is innocent? Is it better to be happy in a marriage and sometimes step aside than to live a life in monogamy without excitement? Of course, these are all extremes, but you will meet these questions and problems in the program’s second season.
Toward the end, Tanya gets a lot of attention, and that is understandable. What is going on with her? Who are those gays she spends so much time with? What’s up with her assistant Portia? This side of the story actually brings along some tensity to the story, but always with a giant smile on your face as the character of Tanya is so extremely brilliant! She is stupid and brilliant at the same time.
What does all of this mean? The second season of White Lotus is definitely worth watching. It is a delight from the first second and lasts until the end. Do not forget the second season has seven episodes instead of six. As I watched it, I thought there would only be six episodes, so I didn’t understand anything as I watched the sixth episode. How is this gonna end? There are only five minutes left of the episode, and things are just heating up! That is when I looked closer and realized that a final episode still waited for me.
Where to watch White Lotus?
This is an HBO original production. As a result, you should buy an HBO Max subscription and watch the White Lotus on HBO Max. In that way, you support HBO and show your appreciation for the series. We hope a third season will come around quickly as millions of people do that.
The White Lotus season 3?
It was officially announced in November 2022 that the third season of White Lotus should be produced. There are many open questions after the tragic and exciting end of the season, so hopefully, the third season will follow up on those while also taking us to a new and delightful White Lotus location somewhere in the world.
