'The White Lotus' Season 2: A powerful tale of greed and exploitation

The first season of The White Lotus quickly turned into a critical success, becoming the most-awarded series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards with ten different honours, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing. Set in the White Lotus resort in Hawaii, the series explored the privilege of elite and how rich people can usually get away with anything. After a bombastic first installment, the show now travelled all the way to Sicily to explore a whole new set of characters and dilemmas. The White Lotus premiered its second season on October 30, streaming a total of seven episodes on HBO.

The resort in Italy welcomes three generations of men from the same family: womanizer grandfather Bert (F. Murray Abraham), recently-divorced father Dominic (Michael Imperioli) and gentle son Albie (Adam DiMarco). Newcomers also include two couples traveling together: Cameron (Theo James) and Daphne (Meghan Fahy), who have an exciting but emotionally avoidant relationship; and Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza), whose spark seems to have faded. Returning to the scene is the iconic Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), who is meeting her now-husband Greg (John Gries) and has secretly brought her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson). The hotel is run by manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), whose mission seems to be getting rid of local sex workers Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Grannò).

It's no surprise that The White Lotus is an absolute game changer when it comes to cinematography and soundtrack. Sicily provides a stunning backdrop for all the drama and is beautifully captured at every corner of every episode. The song choices are equally superb, namely when Mia sings The Best Things in Life Are Free on a piano, which is a surprisingly ironic selection for a room full of privileged, wealthy guests. Even the opening of the show itself, titled Renaissance and composed by Cristobal Tapia de Veer, has become an absolute smash that's been played in clubs and festivals around the world.

Even though The White Lotus sets a murder mystery right from the start, similarly to the first season, the focus of the series relies much more on the psychosocial disparities of these characters and how their own intentions intersect. If the first installment was more about how rich people have their very specific set of problems and think they can do whatever they want about them, this one explores how they can get themselves into new problems by being greedy, inconsequential and dishonest.

Let's explore this.

Chaos at first sight

Complicated dynamics quickly arise in the new White Lotus. Portia and Albie find themselves navigating an awkward situation, where the first one just wants to have fun and experience Sicily, while the latter is trying to prove he's a nice guy that can treat women right. This comes from his obvious desire to step away from generational trauma and show that he can be different from his father and grandfather.

Speaking of, Dominic quickly becomes Lucia's first client, proving that his impulse to solve his marriage doesn't really match his flirtatious nature. Lucia, on the other hand, is fully comfortable in her own skin: she goes after half the men on the show, starting with Dominic, then Theo and later Albie. You can imagine the potential for disaster of having both father and son involved with the same prostitute.

Theo himself is a further example of toxic masculinity, placing his own desires ahead of everything. Though he clearly loves his wife, he is moved by his reckless passion for fun, money and women. His relationship with Daphne quickly sparks attention from Ethan and Harper, who do not understand how they can be so disconnected from reality. Soon enough, Ethan and Harper's own insecurities and fragile marriage are put to the test when they find themselves mirroring some of Daphne and Theo's dynamics.

Tanya is on a league of her own, having the same unsure but hilarious personality and trying to find the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow after Greg leaves her. Last but not least, Valentina is dealing with her own sexual awakening and enrolls in a physical exchange with Mia, who simply wants a position as a pianist at the hotel.

Everyone has their eye on the goal

The White Lotus is what I consider a character study series. Instead of focusing on big mysteries and showdowns, it instead takes time to explore defining traits of each of these characters and how those traits can shift or augment when faced with unforeseen situations. Every single one of these people came to Sicily to have a good time but their own definition of a good time is what ends up causing most of the trouble.

This one-week vacation is marked by rivalry and manipulation, where everyone is trying to gain something from someone else. Additionally, Mike White, the absolute genius behind the show, goes as far as giving us numerous "read between the lines" moments. Some key happenings take place off screen and we as viewers are left to wonder about what really went down. But that's the whole point of the show: not to focus necessarily on what happens but instead on how characters react to it.

By the time the curtain closes, there is a satisfying conclusion to every one of these storylines. It's surprising, it's captivating and it's all around exceptionally well written. It might not exactly be the closure you would desire or expect, but it's definitely what makes sense according to each character's core personality and the challenges they faced along the way. It's a tale of greed and exploitation, and how everyone can be a winner or a loser in their own way.

With a third season confirmed to be on the way and taking place somewhere in Asia, I'm excited to have a new Sunday delight for at least another year. If I'm being completely honest, there's nothing better than seeing privileged white people dabble in their own misery and become a pawn in someone else's game.