Stream It or Leave It? The White Lotus
Ah, long walks on stolen, sandy beaches — and one of us doesn’t make it out alive.
This show we pack our bags for Hawaii and check into our 5-star suite where a pu pu platter of privilege awaits our consumption at The White Lotus, now streaming on HBO Max.
Basking in the moonglow of excess and entitlement, we stroll along pearlescent, stolen, sandy beaches — but one of us doesn’t make it home alive.
Pre-Spoiler Highlights:
Mat: Fantasy Island meets The Shining in America, 2021. Or … terrible people in a beautiful place in a spiral of anxiety.
Shindy: I loved the upstairs and downstairs element because I wasn't expecting that with this show,” surmised Shindy.
Jeff: A lot of outstanding players here and a lot going on under the surface of the story.
The origin of The White Lotus (2:35)
Mat dug up some interesting info on the origin of the show, and Jeff on the origin of the “lotus eaters” reference by Armond in Episode 5.
Mat: The interesting thing is the creator and director of the series, Mike White, also wrote School of Rock. You might recognize him as the wimpy Ned Scnheebly whose job Jack Black takes in School of Rock. But what's interesting about the show is that not only was it shot during the pandemic at a Four Seasons in Hawaii, it was actually written in a matter of weeks, which makes it even more remarkable that it's so polished.
Jeff: Yeah, the “lotus eaters” comes from Greek mythology and describes this group of island people who feed on something called the Lotus Tree. I don't think it's the actual lotus that we're all familiar with (the flower that sort of grows on top of water) but figuratively speaking, a “lotus eater” is a person who spends their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns, according to the Wikipedia entry.
And now, time for our rowdy closed-door office Spoiler Alert party (05:50)
The star-studded White Lotus cast (05:53)
We recognized lots of famous faces in this series. Which were our favorite characters and cast members?
Mat: It's an incredible cast. Murray Bartlett is the obvious one, playing Armond, the resort manager. He kind of steals the show from the first scene that he's in. I had never seen him before; I'll be looking out for him in the future. His character just spirals out of control as he has this running argument with the character Shane Patton (Jake Lacy), which is also very amusing. Jennifer Coolidge is great in everything she’s in. Alexandra Daddario, who’s been accused previously of just being a pretty face, has been given a pretty good role here to develop a little more.
Jeff: Murray Bartlett is at the top but there are a lot of outstanding players here. On the other end of likeability, Sydney Sweeney as Olivia Mossbacher plays her role really effectively. You have this intense dislike for that personality in some ways; I'm looking forward to the end to see if there's any sort of eye-opener for her, or penance. The other character I'm really enjoying is Molly Shannon's brief appearance as Shane’s mom Kitty. And Uncle Rico is not bad either—I mean, John Gries.
Shindy: Steve Zahn is perfect in his role. He just plays that anxious father character so well — that balance of being a “bro” but also you feel empathy toward him. I agree, Sydney Sweeney does that deadpan, millennial-xennial, bitchy character so well when she and Paula are ganging up on Rachel at the pool. Brilliant.
What ‘tropical anxiety’ looks and feels like and how it inspired The White Lotus’ theme music ... and why Shindy skips opening credits (09:55), (13:36)
During our show warm-up we parodied the intro theme, monkey sounds and all (outtakes on our social channels) but it definitely looked and sounded very different to other shows. Anybody else a fan of “discordant flutes and steadily accelerating percussion, layered with animalistic shrieks and heavy moaning?”
Mat: The music is fantastic. You’re hooked straight away by the look of the show before even the first death arrives in Episode 1, which I don't even think you need to hook you in. You're quickly taken by the look, by the sound. The production design is perfect. The cinematography is really interesting. There’s this dark tone and anxiety that's set up by the look and the sound. The creator requested music to give a feeling of “tropical anxiety” that makes you feel like there's going to be some human sacrifice at some point, and they could not have nailed it more.
Jeff: The camera work plays intentionally to this voyeuristic and claustrophobic contrast to what we're used to seeing in shows or movies about Hawaii, where there's this romantic vibe or a sexy thing going on. It's like almost every “white person” has their counterpoint in another character and it's interesting how, how the camera work amplifies those conflicts.
Shindy: Unless opening credits have continuity, like Game of Thrones, where season upon season they build and change as the story gets richer and deeper, a lot of times I find myself skipping through them. But because Mat mentioned it, I went back and watched him really quickly. It’s an interesting reference because the opening credits are clearly the wallpaper of the resort. And there's that scene when Shane's mom, played by Molly Shannonh, goes up to the suite and makes a comment criticizing the wallpaper.
Subversive themes and metaphors (17:48), (20:18)
What themes, including white privilege, did we unearth as metaphors for our society today?
Jeff: This all has less to do with Greek mythology than it does with the Tennyson poem quoted by Armond. There’s a chapter in Ulysses by James Joyce titled “The Lotus Eaters,” having to do with the dulling effect of imperialism and unemployment on the Dubliners of that day. There’s a theme around between isolation and becoming a member of the community. In this case, the maintenance of privilege, which you could see in Armond looking around at all of these people eating dinner, like, “Ugh. I can't stand to watch them stuff, their faces.” To me, it's all about the maintenance of the privilege of people who inherited “the spoils” versus responsible correspondence with the rest of humanity.
Mat: Imperialism. Modern anxiety. Toxic masculinity. White privilege. Clickbait journalism. It goes quite specifically into reparations, which was quite interesting. Like excusing the theft of the family jewels as basically reparations for the damage done.
Shindy: That divide is clearly there. Paula's character goes from being an ally of the Mossbachers to turning against them as the episodes move on. Because of her relationship with Kai, but then also because of her relationship with Olivia and it's clear they've had a rift because Olivia has stolen affections of somebody Paula had liked before. She says, “Everything I have, she wants” which directly speaks as a metaphor to what you were saying, you know, what has been stolen from them?
On a lighter note, the Nicole Mossbacher character is a total commentary on the all powerful. SHE-E-Os that we're seeing nowadays. I don't like that term, but it describes these ultra-strong women who are like leading the family. It's definitely, a parody of like a Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop type of business, or like a Jessica Alba and Honest business, where they are running the ship and all their family members are just all around them.
And here we have this very successful white lady in Nicole Mossbacher’s character, but then you have Belinda who's desperately trying to get funding for her own business and trying to get a leg up in life, and the only person who's able to give it to her is Tanya McQuoid, another rich white lady.
Which White Lotus character are you and why? (35:18)
Mat: Shane Patterson. I might be accused, perhaps, of being a little bit stubborn about not letting go of little things. Something I’m working on. But I also liked his terry cloth shirt.
Shindy: A little Nicloe Mossbacher. I hate to be accused of being an authoritative businessy woman but more as an organized workaholic that people look to, to solve problems. And a little bit of Rachel Patton, in having humility, yet being afraid to speak up at first.
Jeff: Belinda and Tanya. Belinda for her spiritual interest and her desire to see others succeed. And Tanya, blurting things out on occasion and letting the chips fall where they may, letting the universe have it.
More in this episode:
White Lotus and the Buddhist ‘false nirvana’ (34:00)
Our White Lotus predictions (we taped this show before the ep. 6 finale) (29:23)
Who dies?
Does Armand keep his job?
Do Rachel and Shane stay together?
What happens to Quinn?
Does Belinda get what she wants?
Stream it or Leave it? (38:21)
Unanimously, Stream it!
Bonus: What else we’re watching (41:40)
Mat: The Suicide Squad, in theaters
Jeff: Rachel Dratch’s Late Night Snacks, TRUtv on HBO Max
Shindy: Woodstock 99, on Hulu