The White Lotus (Season 2), Episode 6: Last week, we discussed the different approaches The White Lotus has taken this season compared to the first season. In this week’s episode, we traded in the same fashion but with a lot more urgency and some much necessary directness. The result of that is a fascinating hour of character study with enough twists and turns and, of course, a lot of subtle hints about what to expect in the season finale.
Theo James and Aubrey Plaza are the standouts of this episode and the season as well.
The White Lotus (Season 2) Episode 6 Recap
Let us start the day with Ethan and Harper again
Day 6 at the White Lotus, Sicily. Harper and Ethan wake up and find themselves away from each other but in the same room. A visibly distressed Ethan on the chair, and Harper on the bed. Ethan finds it hard to accept that Harper doesn’t believe him because he has never lied about anything. Harper addresses the more pressing issue which we have seen since the first episode; there is no attraction between the couple, and it bothers her so much. She laments over Ethan not desiring her anymore now that he is rich and popular, which only justifies his desire to sleep with beautiful Italian hookers.
But Ethan does not agree with anything as he is eager to work on the marriage and wants Harper to believe her. Unfortunately, though, Harper soon catches Ethan talking to Lucia and Mia in the hotel lobby, intensifying her doubt further.
Little does she know that the girls were only telling Ethan how the douchebag Cameron still has not paid them, and Ethan promised to sort out the situation.
A visibly angry Ethan confronts Cameron by the beach and blames him for all his trouble, but also asks Cameron to vouch for him. Harper sees them from afar and scoffs. Meanwhile, Daphne decides to leave and enjoy a massage in her room. Cameron asks Ethan if he would like to drink something. Still pissed and irritated, Ethan declines the offer, but (surprise, surprise) Harper comes on board and decides to go with Cameron.
Ethan is madder now, so he takes a long swim to cool off. But after returning to the beach, he does not see Harper or Cameron at the beach bar, although upon checking his phone, he finds out that she has gone to their room to take the hat. Suspecting the worst possible thing happening, he rushes to their room, the room where he finds out that Harper has latched the door, which she usually doesn’t do. Ethan keeps pounding at the door, but Harper seems to be pretty casual after opening it. Ethan sees that one of the doors between their adjacent rooms is open. He directly asks Harper if Cameron is there, which she declines. But the signs are too much to ignore for Ethan and, frankly, for us as well. And the sexual tension between Harper and Cameron was very much visible from the get-go, despite the two mostly despising each other.
Ethan’s suspicion only increases further when he finds Harper in a good mood at the beach. When he asks her about that, she vaguely responds it is because they are in beautiful Sicily. We feel for you, Harper, but come on!
The De Grasso family goes to find their roots
Things have been really weird for the De Grasso family in Sicily. But on the sixth day of vacation, the three men put aside everything and decide to go to the town nearby from where Bert originally belongs. The only hitch; Albie is taking Lucia as the translator. But Bert soon gets on board with that, and even Dom doesn’t seem to bother much.
Things turn out pretty sketchy for Lucia, though, as the obnoxious guy from the last episode follows and interrupts the group, and Lucia decides to go with him, despite the three De Grassos’ asking her not to. She promises Albie that she will meet him during the night, though.
Meanwhile in Palermo
Tanya tries to warn Portia about Jack and also tells her suspicion about Quentin not being Jack’s actual uncle. We know the reason, but Portia doesn’t, and she is very much smitten by Jack. So Portia leaves with Jack for the day to roam around and have some ice cream while Tanya prepares for Quentin’s party in the evening while still keeping “what she saw last night” inside her.
Happy Birthday, Valentina
It is our manager’s birthday, and she is extra irritated with everyone. Well, except Isabella is now harassed by the new man who has replaced Rocco. Valentina tells Isabella it’s her birthday and then awkwardly asks her for a drink after work. Isabella gleefully agrees, and Valentina could not be happier.
The White Lotus (Season 2) Episode 6 Ending, Explained
Guess Portia’s fling is over
Portia’s day with Jack goes great until she tries to have a proper conversation with Jack, asking if he has any “goal” in life. As expected, Jack believes in living one day at a time, and he feels blessed to live in what he considers the greatest time period on this planet, which is now. While Jack’s approach to life is admirable, it is not exactly pragmatic enough. Not that we are taking a side, but we can totally understand why that would turn Portia a bit off.
However, the day soon becomes worse for Portia as Jack becomes a loose cannon and gets too drunk to even get back to his uncle’s party by the evening.
Bert has a moment of sadness
The De Grasso family does manage to find a native “De Grasso” family in the town, presumably related to them, but without Lucia translating, they fail to convey their message to them. The other De Grasso family members are all women, as a matter of fact, at least the ones we get to see. Instead of receiving anything that is close to a warm welcome, all they end up receiving is chaotic screaming which translates to “get out,” as we can see from the subtitles.
An obviously sad and dejected Bert decides to leave the dinner table early in the evening. But he does some solace in Mia’s singing and praises her to the moon, which seems genuine and honest.
Ethan’s day doesn’t get any better
At the dinner table, Ethan finds Cameron for a moment and warns him not to flirt with Harper. Cameron obviously declines every allegation and blames Ethan for losing “it.” The conversation is cut short when their wives come.
Before going to bed at night, Ethan imagines Harper cheating on him with Cameron in their room. His imagination looks surprisingly real and very “logical.”
Valentina has a heartbreak before finding some solace.
Coming back to Valentina, easily one of the most likable characters in the show, her birthday evening turns into the opposite of what she planned when Isabella reveals to her that she is actually engaged to Rocco. Valentina quickly composes herself and cancels the plan, which we can understand.
A heartbroken, lonely Valentina finds herself drinking Martini at the bar on the evening of her birthday. But as a sweet turn of events, Mia sees her and starts to comfort her, which soon reaches an empty suit. We are glad that Valentine’s birthday ends well for her after all.
Things get dicey in Palermo
In the evening, Quentin introduces Tanya to a man named Nicolo as her personal arm candy for the party. Well, Nicolo is not just a handsome young man; he happens to carry a gun and may or may not have to tie up to the “mafia.” And, of course, he has access to cocaine. Tanya, Quentin, and Nicolo do the drugs together and indulge in an evening full of madness; in the end, Tanya finds herself in the room with a naked Nicolo. But right before that, she notices an old picture of Quentin and a man who looks a lot like Greg (remember him, right?).
(Not so) Small things, but they might matter eventually
The obnoxious guy, Alessio, with whom Lucia leaves, is certainly a pimp, but we explored the internet a bit and found many theories that claim he is her brother. And we believe that is very possible, especially considering Lucia is coming back evening to meet Albie, just like she promised.
Daphne mentions to Cameron how Harper is convinced that the guys did something bad on the night when the wives were away, but that doesn’t seem to bother Cameron much. Later, we see Cameron joking about Daphne having sex with the masseur. We believe these two are pretty much aware of what they do outside their marriage, which is good for Daphne and maybe makes Cameron a little less of a douche.
Okay, the most important thing now. When we see Nicolo and Tanya in the room, we spot a little red light for a split second, which looks a lot like some sort of camera used for filming whatever happens. That and the photos we have mentioned earlier and another earlier scene where Jack mentions that his “uncle” is not exactly as rich as he pretends to be; all point together to a big conspiracy being run against Tanya by none other than Greg.
Well, all we have to do is wait for another week.
And like every week, here we are at it again for one last time.
Victim(s): We already know it is not Daphne, Valentina, and Rocco. Along with that, we are also ruling out Isabella, Bert, Albie, Portia, and, last but not least, Tanya because we don’t think The White Lotus is done with Jennifer Coolidge yet.
So our final choice is Cameron or Alessio. Oh, wait, maybe both because there is more than one. And it might just be Greg as well.
Killer: If the victim is Cameron, then it is probably Ethan finally snapping. We are putting our money on any De Grasso or all three of them together for Alessio. And while we can’t possibly imagine Tanya as a killer, she might just surprise us; you never know.
