The White Lotus (Season 2)

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⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

The first season of this show was one of my favourites in that year, and this season has capped off what has been an incredible year of TV. Even better than the first season, we are now in Italy. We start of with 2 dead bodies, not just one, then flash back to a week before and watch the madness unfold.

I think what made this season perfect is the characters. Again we have rich entitled folks at a high end resort, but these character felt a bit less cookie cutter. I usually save my MVP for the end, but Aubrey Plaza, an eye-rolling actress I often can't stand, killed it for me. Her and her humble but recently rich husband are vacationing with a rich toxic couple, since the guys were roommates in college. The dynamics here are so rich and made me squirm so many times, and the tension gets ramped up episode by episode. In just 7 episodes the characters go through so much transformation, and you feel empathy for all of them even despite how much they suck.

My other favourite grouping was the 3 generations of Italian-Americans coming to find a bond with their homeland. Toxic masculinity only scrapes the surface of what is going on here, and I loved seeing Michael Imperioli in such a perfect role. I also don't love Jennifer Coolidge, but her arc through this season was fantastic and I completely turned a corner with her.

So what's not to love? Perfect characters and character dynamics, a beautiful location? I will say this season has much more sex than the first, if that's something that bothers you. I laughed every episode at the absurdity and the splendor and the hijinks, and in a year of perfect TV shows this is firmly in the conversation.

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