White Lotus Returns

[CuriousByNature]

10 hours ago, TonyDown said:

I hesitate to be critical, as if I could do better.  But S3 may have suffered from piling too many characters into too few episodes.  It was exhausting, waiting for enough glue to hold the story together.

I'm sure anything I produced would be worse.  But I think there were a lot of missed opportunities.  Nothing came of the manager guy who tried singing, the weird sibling stuff never really developed, the girl realizing she could not give up materialism after only one night at the monastery did not seem very plausible to me, the staff allowing fruit with poisonous seeds to be growing at a 5-star resort resort seemed contrived, and the whole Valentin/criminal friends angle seemed sort of weird and unnecessary.  But maybe I'm too critical.

[jeezifonly]

A lot of us have been expecting a whodunnit series this lush to be plot-driven. I think I’ve come to see each season as an expansive set of character studies and when I surrendered to that for the last 4 eps, it became less frustrating. More of a whydunnit. The consistently great casting and writing allows for us to linger over moments, tensions, glances, reactions, asides, and speeches all about shifting human relationships inside a beautiful pressure cooker. 
Mike knows exactly what he’s doing. 
 

[d.anders]

5 hours ago, jeezifonly said:

Mike knows exactly what he’s doing.

I think it's called scrambling.

[+ SirBillybob]

Meanwhile, Fabian’s eventual Eurovision breakthrough.

Edited April 13, 2025 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

And Friedel’s chilling Auschwitz Commandant Höss portrayal in The Zone of Interest.

Edited April 13, 2025 by SirBillybob

[Ali Gator]

I just watched the finale last night. It was indeed a let-down. As the credits rolled at the end, I asked myself, 'That's it ?'  The story could have been told in half the episodes over two nights - the way ABC, CBS, and NBC used to air stories like this and call it a 'mini series' or 'two part movie of the week'. 

Thankfully, Patrick S. and Arnas Fedaravičius gave us  eye candy each episode, but not enough. I think when the first episode showed PS's dick, most viewers were hoping it would get better from there. We instead got a glimpse of ass on Arnas Fedaravičius, and a prosthetic from Jason Isaacs (but what a nice one it was).

Overall rating : 5/10

[+ Snbrd]

14 hours ago, CuriousByNature said:

I'm sure anything I produced would be worse.  But I think there were a lot of missed opportunities.  Nothing came of the manager guy who tried singing, the weird sibling stuff never really developed, the girl realizing she could not give up materialism after only one night at the monastery did not seem very plausible to me, the staff allowing fruit with poisonous seeds to be growing at a 5-star resort resort seemed contrived, and the whole Valentin/criminal friends angle seemed sort of weird and unnecessary.  But maybe I'm too critical.

Good summary of the unresolved. One could also add the three backstabbing girlfriends.

[Wings246]

On 4/6/2025 at 10:27 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

Mike White needs to take a long holiday.

The long holiday will be his participation in Season 50 of "Survivor"?  😅  What the hell is he thinking?

[Wings246]

I agree with most people that S3 is a disappointment.  That said, Laurie's finale monologue hits me really hard.  I am 10 billion light years away from being that filthy rich, but I can identify with her self-reflection in the speech.  In particular, I share this sentiment in ways that I cannot describe: “I’m glad you have a beautiful face.  And I’m glad that you have a beautiful life.  And I’m just happy to be at the table.”

Do you think:

1.     She has accepted her fate & life and is truly happy and at peace to be at the table?

2.     She has honestly accepted that is all that she can ever achieve in her life and that she has begrudgingly conceded that she can never reach the “beautiful face” and “beautiful life” status of her friends?

3.     She still harbors some sort of animosity and resentment towards her fate & life and some degree of jealousy towards her friends?

4.     A combination of any or all of the above?

[MikeBiDude]

Season 1 fun fact: I visit Honolulu often for some (non-profit) work/meetings. The place I stay has a great view of the Ala Wai Marina. Most mornings I see the “Via Mia” head out and return for an early morning coffee cruise tour.  Took this pic this morning.

She’s the boat used in White Lotus Season 1.

If I’d taken a picture with more background, you may have recognized the Ala Wai Marina entrance is also the scene of Gilligan’s Island the “Minnow” headed out for her 3 hour tour.

 

The White Lotus

WWW.THEVIDAMIA.COM

 

[francisssgorg]

Let me just say this very shallow comment since I just finished season 1 and started season 3 on a plane ride back from vacation: as a gay man, instead of getting pumped up by the incestous  sex scene of Patrick S. and his brother in the story, I got more hot and bothered by the cougars and the russians. I knew that the slutty one was the actress and I knew she would totally fuck the hot main russian guy/butler instead of laurie. Gosh the butler’s body is too hot!!! Haha I’m not yet done, but is there any frontal with him? Although now to the comment: I hate the partying cougars and sneaking the butler in for sex scene. I hated it. It was hot but you know why I hate it? It’s because it screams the fact that cougars are the number one enemies of gay guys. Gay guys love converting and experimenting with straight guys as long as there are alcohols involved, dr*gs sometimes (which I don’t agree with) and in some cases money. We all have holes, and the fact is, that cougars have p*ssies. Never tried them but whenever a bi guy or a straight curious guys comes up to me and they explain why p*ssies are fun to fck with, it’s like better than an *ssh*le. And it’s also true that cougars have better stamina to fck younger hot guys and not get worried about pregnancy. 
 

I hate cougars 🙄 lol

[CuriousByNature]

3 hours ago, francisssgorg said:

I hate cougars 🙄 lol

[CuriousByNature]

Season 4 will apparently be set in France.  I hear there are several places being considered, including the French Riviera, the Alps, and Paris.  And best news of all, Jennifer Coolidge will be returning - somehow.

[Wings246]

8 hours ago, CuriousByNature said:

Jennifer Coolidge will be returning - somehow

The timeline of S4 can precede those of S1 to S3.  Then all deceased characters can be resurrected.  And oh, please do not use the ghost/spirit trope.   😱

[TonyDown]

If S4 timeline precedes S1, Tanya's mother would likely still be alive.  Think of the hijinks.

 

 

[Guest MikeThomas]

Hard to imagine they would be able to film at the George V in Paris. There’s no off-season for that property.

[marylander1940]

 

[marylander1940]

 

MEN.com: Seth Peterson and Ryan Orion Flip-Fuck in 'The Tight Lotus' - WAYBIG

[+ purplekow]

1 hour ago, marylander1940 said:

 

MEN.com: Seth Peterson and Ryan Orion Flip-Fuck in 'The Tight Lotus' - WAYBIG

Found dead in a Chicago Restaurant Bathroom.  28 years old

[d.anders]

Just four days into shooting Season 4, Helena Bonham Carter quits. Not a great start for Mike White. I'm a bit disappointed. I really like Helena's talent, and I was thrilled to hear she was cast. Oh well.

[+ ApexNomad]

5 minutes ago, d.anders said:

Just four days into shooting Season 4, Helena Bonham Carter quits. Not a great start for Mike White. I'm a bit disappointed. I really like Helena's talent, and I was thrilled to hear she was cast. Oh well.

Perhaps, though not entirely clear.  According to the trades, the role is being rethought and recast. Read between the lines, one could say she either quit or was fired. Or it was really amicable. Who knows. 
 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/helena-bonham-carter-exits-white-lotus-season-4-1236575513/

[d.anders]

14 hours ago, ApexNomad said:

one could say she either quit or was fired.

Every headline I've seen says she "left." Impossible to know the exact truth unless you're on the inside. Even then the truth can be murky. I'm sure everyone on the production has to sign an NDA. Carter is usually quite open and honest in interviews, but it may take awhile before she speaks of what happened. Still, I think Carter is an amazing actress, and a formidable woman in the industry. Her leaving the show, no matter the verb, is not good news for the show. 

[+ ApexNomad]

1 hour ago, d.anders said:

Every headline I've seen says she "left." Impossible to know the exact truth unless you're on the inside. Even then the truth can be murky. I'm sure everyone on the production has to sign an NDA. Carter is usually quite open and honest in interviews, but it may take awhile before she speaks of what happened. Still, I think Carter is an amazing actress, and a formidable woman in the industry. Her leaving the show, no matter the verb, is not good news for the show. 

The White Lotus is a darling of the critics, a powerful IP for HBO, and a Mike White show. It’s one of those rare projects every actor in Hollywood wants to be part of, so I don’t see this affecting the show long-term.

[d.anders]

2 hours ago, ApexNomad said:

I don’t see this affecting the show long-term.

I don't either. As bad as Season 3 was, across the internet, the show still managed to get nominated for an Emmy. Ordinary people seem to love these rich people fantasies, especially when some of them get killed.

[jeezifonly]

Mike White is a unique storyteller, who tends to place overall plotline credibility second to the character studies. That's why casting is so important to him. If she wasn't a fit for the project, she wasn't a fit. And, it's possible external issues were at play - maybe the shooting location simply kept her too far away from something that arose in her personal/family life. I trust the finished season will be as entertaining and provocative as the earlier ones.