‘The White Lotus’ Season 2 Is Better Than the First

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The White Lotus Is as Good as You Hoped

The last time I saw my best friend, he was licking someone’s butt, took a poop in a suitcase, and then was murdered.

There was something about Murray Bartlett’s energy as Armond, the person trying—so desperately—to remain grounded, but who never stopped his relatable judgment of everyone’s demands. In the end, he had all the groundedness and stability of a toddler shaking an Etch-a-Sketch. It never worked. Armond, may not be with us anymore. (If you haven’t watched the first season of The White Lotus yet…why not? I guess that’s a spoiler.) But his memory lives on in how we watch The White Lotus now.

And now, blessedly, there is a Season 2.

A second season of The White Lotus shouldn’t work, mostly because I don’t think a lot of people still understand what the first White Lotus was. Was it a drama? A comedy? A satire? A Jennifer Coolidge star vehicle? The answer is yes. All of those things, and more: Why is The White Lotus the surprise best show on TV. The many Emmys can attest to that..

Privilege is a big deal in The White Lotus universe. That is the thing that I think marries the two seasons. (The new one starts on Sunday, with a brand-new cast, except for Jennifer Coolidge.)

That cast, which features Theo James, Haley Lu Richardson, and Michael Imperioli, is fantastic. What their privilege means, and how it is used, is endlessly fascinating. “Used” is the wrong word. Maybe “manipulated” is best.

This is the big show of the year. Fans are clamoring for Jennifer Coolidge content. Armond would have loved it (rest in power), and been stressed about this big moment. That’s the weird thing about what’s happening now. The White Lotus Season 2 feels big.

The new season, in a sort of rich and fabulous way, shrugs at being a sequel. It’s almost cute that we were so concerned about what a second season would be. Wealthy assholes go on vacation. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hawaii or Italy. It’s evergreen, to the point it could be lazy. But nothing about this second season phones it in.

There were a few approaches I considered as the frame to make sure you all watch The White Lotus Season 2.

Do I talk about Theo James’ nude scene in the first episode, his *member* swinging between his taint as he changed into a bathing suit? (Do I delight, alone, in the usage of the word “taint” for the very first time in this newsletter?)

Do I talk about how, still, amazingly good Jennifer Coolidge is as a broken person who, because of her insecurity, doesn’t recognize how lucky she is?

Or do I focus on the generational family, grandad-father-son, in Italy and realizing how absurdly different his view on the world is in comparison to his loved ones? (And, maybe, his views are the silliest, despite what he thinks?

The first season of The White Lotus began with a dead body, and the episodes revolved around finding out who “did it.” Except for the fact that these characters were so dynamic (or, let’s say, oblivious), that when the death happened it was one of the least consequential things that occurred that season. That’s the same for Season 2. .

So what is there to look forward to? The scenes between Aubrey Plaza and Meghan Fahy are fantastic. The White Women rose to the occasion. They play the two worst people to ever have been put on screen, yet they are also the most captivating. I don’t want to spoil how their relationship evolves over the course of the season, but it is a hoot. (A “hoot!” That’s the extent of my criticism now.)

We’re drowning—a very White Lotus thing—trying to explain why this second season merits just that, a second season. In the ways that it knows it has a point, The White Lotus Season 2 might make you roll your eyes. But the cast warrants it.

If you watched the first season of The White Lotus, you know how dark and uncomfortable it became, excavating the deepest, most unsettling realities of the things we thought might have been otherwise casual. You think you know your spouse? Your child? Your job? There’s someone else who can fuck that up, out of your control. But, because of the nature of how we live, something that seismic is extremely casual.

And we’re meant to accept that.

I feel like The White Lotus Season 2 is about that. What does anyone accept? A reservation, a meet-up, a sexual encounter…who is in charge, and what do I accept? More than that, though, is this new season’s big question: “Want to have fun?”

Let’s Talk About Meghan Trainor

Here we are, talking endlessly about Taylor Swift’s new album. We’re watching Adele float down a lazy river, pretending like it hasn’t been 11 months since she released that music video’s song. Rihanna releases a new song, and we suddenly forgive her for musically abandoning us. And then there’s Carly Rae Jepsen! (Sorry, no narrative structure is worth maligning my bop queen.)

Still, we are fawning over all these pop divas’ music moments. We’re going to do all that, but we’re not gonna act like Meghan Trainor is out here slaying them all?

This is, perhaps, the most geriatric millennial stance I will ever take: Meghan Trainor doesn’t get the praise she deserves. Especially now that she just dropped her new single, “Made You Look.”

It is the pop song of the season. Taylor Swift was found shaking.

Hahaha, I’m just kidding, Swifties. (Don’t send me death threats.) Taylor Swift is our one true queen. (I can’t handle being doxxed.) She is the High Priestess of music, to whom I have devoted my heart and my life. (OK, I am putting my family into witness protection.) As the story goes, when Taylor first started writing folklore, those little piano tinkles made it up to heaven, and Mozart shed a single tear. (Please, have mercy on me.) As soon as Angel Shakespeare heard the line, “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby/ And I'm a monster on the hill,” he made a direct appeal to God herself, asking for all of his plays to be eradicated from Earth’s existence out of shame. (I beg of you, spare me.) Wendy Williams has resurfaced, just to hold up a photo of Taylor and say, “She is the moment.” (Help.)

It shouldn’t be a pop-diva battle royale whenever they release new music at the same time. All I’m saying is we should be paying more attention to what my girl, Meghan, is doing. This is a major moment for us Megatronz! Our Grammy-winning icon is keeping us fed! So fed, we may have to take a break and poop next to our spouse in our adjoining toilets!

The great thing about “Made You Look” is how perfectly it cements Trainor’s vibe. Drawing influence from Motown isn’t exactly a new thing. But from 2014’s “All About That Bass” onward, Trainor has figured out a way to bottle that inspiration, pour in a dash of current pop effervescence, and shake it up until it fizzes into something very modern. Is it the greatest song of the century? No! (Then again, neither is anything off Midnights. Again, forgive me, Swifties.) But it does capture something that feels more centrally located in the music zeitgeist, for better or for worse, than what the other efforts that have been getting more attention are doing.

Regardless of any of that music-business conversation, it’s a fun song! “Made You Look!” Go listen! Meghan Trainor did not pay me to write this, I swear!

Avatar 2 Is Still a Thing

This week, I was once again reminded that the Avatar sequel exists. This news landed as if it was revealed for the first time. (Avatar 2 comes out Dec. 12, a full 13 years after the first movie.)

Avatar is fun to think about. Before Avengers: Endgame came out, it was the highest-grossest movie of all time. It has its own area at Disney World. Not one person could tell you what happened in the film, beyond the fact that they were blue and had sex with their hair.

The thing is, I think the movie will be a hit—especially after reading the recent New York Times interview with director James Cameron and the cast. In the interview, we learned that there will be a six-year time jump, Sigourney Weaver will return (but as a different character entirely), and Kate Winslet trained herself to hold her breath for seven minutes underwater. (Remember that photo?)

In any case, I look forward to being utterly shocked once again when this film is in theaters. But Cameron is doing a good job of making us feel like it could be good!

Kelly Clarkson Outslays Herself

If you only understood the willpower it takes for me not to make this entire newsletter about Kelly Clarkson’s “Kellyoke” selections week after week. (Last week, The Rock joined her for a cover of a Loretta Lynn song, the most ridiculous pop-culture Mad Libs there has ever been, and I didn’t make a peep! Where is my Nobel Peace Prize?)

But I can stay silent no longer. This week, Clarkson covered Ghost Town DJ’s ’90s R&B classic (and Kevin Fallon dance party staple) “My Boo.”

I am so proud of scientists and Kelly Clarkson for figuring out a way to transform serotonin and endorphins into musical form. Each time (of the 449 times) I have pressed play on this video, my mood has risen to a state akin to if I mixed caffeine and happy pills into the world’s biggest mimosa and then drank it while orgasming. May it work the same wonders for you.

Dream Casting

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson will play brothers who wrestle, in my most recent wet dream a new movie from A24 that will be written and directed by Sean Durkin. I already have notes:

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