White Lotus S1 Review
Social Comedy Drama with a lot of satire and call-outs on privilege, race, and class divisions. Beautifully written characters that are real and offer discussions on topics that are current and important in the current landscape. A leisure holiday can make people on any side of any debate think about their positions and how taking anything to the extreme can be harmful.
Cast — Murray Bartlett is the star of the show as Manager Armond. He brings a certain charm and unpredictability to the show as his character unravels through the show leading to the finale. Jennifer Coolidge plays her brooding character Tanya with the right attitude that does not make it a bore. Alexandra Daddario surprises in her portrayal of Rachel as the confused and distressed newly wife wed. The Mossbacher family characters offer the most insights into the topics of privilege and wokeness. The kids played by Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O’Grady as well as Fred Hechinger play the roles to perfection. Brittany’s character Paula is the most interesting of the lot as the over-eager woke mixed-race person who takes things too far in her attempt to do something about white privilege.
Spoiler Discussion — So many nuanced topics are covered in the 1st season of White Lotus. The dilemma for Rachel on her career not mattering anymore for her Husbands’ ultra-rich family. Tanya takes her newly found Black friend on a roller coaster of emotions as her emotional journey goes for a high-low tide. The fascinating aspect of all this is how in the end, while the white privileged residents go back after the stay with no damage or changes to their lives, the locals endure far more damaging life turns. One person gets jailed due to the over-eagerness of Paula who wants to get back at the white privilege but ends up using and sacrificing a native in the process. Belinda gets shown wonderful promises only to have all her hopes crashed which eventually kills her spirits. Armond ends up dead due to a combination of his own decisions as well the insecurities of a white guy. What happens to the guests? They all go back as they came. Happy, cheerful, and with no damages.
