The White Lotus

[Reel]

The less melodic, more percussive scoring is reminiscent of Punch-Drunk Love, fittingly.

Ep. 4 had a sequence that brought PDL to mind ( no spoilers )

[wilberfan]

If you meant Ep. 5 (which aired 2 days ago), I had the same thought.  Even described it in those exact terms to a friend of mine.

[Reel]

No, it's in the 2nd half of Ep. 4

[wilberfan]

I'm referring to the scene briefly quoted beginning at 1:38 (Spoiler, obviously):

https://www.hbo.com/video/the-white-lotus/seasons/season-1/episodes/5-the-lotus-eaters/videos/ep-5-inside-the-episode

[Jeremy Blackman]

I'm caught up now.

Spoiler: ShowHide

That very bad decision somehow made Paula more sympathetic, right? Especially with the final shot. Like, at least she's feeling something. Olivia still comes off like a complete psychopath. I bet she's going to relish tormenting Paula with suspicion, just as Shane has started tormenting Armond. They're kindred spirits for sure.

Meanwhile, Belinda was misreading the room so badly all episode, pushing her business proposal while Tanya was clearly not in a place to process all of that. (Yes I have imdb open to remember these names.) In fact it seems a bit unrealistic that someone with Belinda's customer service experience was suddenly so misperceptive. She seems excited more than opportunistic, but still, not great.

So Rachel continues to hold a strong lead for most sympathetic. It's heartbreaking to watch someone in the middle of a full-blown existential crisis. I think she'll come out of it with a stronger sense of identiy though.

All the Molly Shannon stuff, especially in ep 5, is deliciously chilling. The way she says "be happy, Rachel" as a stone cold threat.

This Jennifer Coolidge performance is really something. There's just nothing else like it. Usually she's cast as some sort of grotesque oddity. But she and Mike White put so much humanity in this role.

Any predictions for who dies? I actually haven't thought about it since episode one. Surely not Rachel. Could be Roger Linus with his persistent cough, but that's probably a red herring. My prediction: Olivia drowns Paula in the ocean. I know, dark. But I wouldn't be surprised.

My real prediction: Mark's redemption arc concludes with him dying in a scuba accident. His story has all the right ingredients.

[Reel]

Spoiler: ShowHide

My real prediction: Mark's redemption arc concludes with him dying in a scuba accident. His story has all the right ingredients.

Spoiler: ShowHide

 Good catch! Watching the last ep, I did find it unusual that he went canoeing with those guys on a whim, without really having any prep. You'd assume they'd at least have a life preserver for him but he hasn't learned how to steer a boat at any point in the show, has he?

Tanya seems to be the most on the brink of death in her demeanor but I think that'd be too predictable.

[wilberfan]

Spoiler: ShowHide

 Any predictions for who dies? I actually haven't thought about it since episode one.

Spoiler: ShowHide

 Wasn't it established in the first few minutes of Episode 1 that it was Rachel??  Shane is sitting in the airport with a thousand yard stare, and the old lady across from him is politely asking about his trip.  Doesn't he say "My wife died"?

[WorldForgot]

Spoiler: ShowHide

He doesn't outright say so. He asks the couple to stfu when they ask how his Honeymoon went - which creates the ominous red herring of, The Body Is Being Loaded Onto His Flight + his Honeymoon went sour.

And at first my prediction was Mark, for the irony of him escaping cancer only to drown, or something like that, but I like how Paula would fit thematically with Olivia's "wokeness" revealed as performative as well as the themes of colonization.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Spoiler: ShowHide

My post didn't get saved with the transfer, but I'll re-state that Paula is also my current prediction. We're getting heavy investment in that character in the back end, so her death would be the maximum tragedy I think. Mark is probably a red herring, despite how common scuba accidents are.

[PinkTeeth]

Spoiler: ShowHide

 Any predictions for who dies? I actually haven't thought about it since episode one.

Spoiler: ShowHide

 Wasn't it established in the first few minutes of Episode 1 that it was Rachel??  Shane is sitting in the airport with a thousand yard stare, and the old lady across from him is politely asking about his trip.  Doesn't he say "My wife died"?

Feels like that's just a setup though... my money's on next week's ep starting with this scene...
And I think the murder will take place in Armond's office, as the baby was born in there...
And maybe it'll be Nicole, cuz how could you not want to write about the death of a CEO right now...

My only dislikes have been everything about the bong... Who's forgets they brought a bong, and who puts a bong in a purse in the first place... and "water-bong"? C'mon... Pipe would have worked fine... maybe the bong will be the murder weapon? ...Stupid.

[WorldForgot]

And it like had water in it when it was stowed?? They hit it right away. It's technically a bubbler and their characters would know that + to stow it without the bowl in.

Attachment Theory : The Series

Spoiler: ShowHide

And in the poster we see the characters wearing their outfits from the opening scene; doesn't Nicole's costume resemble a cartoonish prison uniform? Could just be in jest, that decision, and not foreshadowing. Makes me laugh though. Doing a rewatch now.

Mike White's profile from his stint on Survivor:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Age: 47
Hometown: San Diego
Current residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: Filmmaker
Hobbies: Travel, wine enthusiast, and water sports.
Pet peeves: I'm impatient with bigots.
Three words to describe you:
Curious/funny, dynamic, and imaginative.
What's your personal claim to fame?
I've accomplished a lot in my career and was able to make a lot of movies.
Who or what is your inspiration in life?
I think of George Plimpton, a great writer who also wanted to experience the things he was writing about. He was fearless, inquisitive and enlightened.
If you could have three things on the island what would they be and why?
An eye mask to sleep. A good book; something fat. A SeaBob for the ocean!
Which Survivor contestant are you most like?
Jonathan Penner was a good storyteller and Rob from Amazon had a good read on people.
What's your reason for being on Survivor?
My primary motivation is playing the game. I've always, always wanted to play and see how I would do. Secondary is the absurd challenge of it all.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor?
I have the desire. I know the game. I am a student of human psychology, like what people say and how they behave.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Mike White is just the best.

That chart is pretty good, probably as close as you can get. The issue is you need more Chaotic Neutral spots.

Side note, anyone else getting strong Solondz vibes from most of these characters?

Spoiler: ShowHide

I think Paula "pulling out the pharmacy" as WorldForgot put it was mostly played for the absurdity – and the further they leaned into that, the more effective it was. I mean it's immediately followed by fully surreal ASMR scene.

[Reel]

Side note, anyone else getting strong Solondz vibes from most of these characters?

Yeah, I do from a lot of his characters in the way they always sidestep your assumptions of the kind of person they are and never conveniently fit into the mold of a good or bad person. Solondz is a Mike White fan.

[wilberfan]

Is it just me, or is this title card for Zahn a bit of a wink at us?

[WorldForgot]

Definitely.

My 2nd favorite part of this show was whinging about how White its complaints were. First was how good its script iz.