This article contains spoilers for the season finale of The White Lotus
The White Lotus season two has just wrapped up with a truly barnstorming finale. The episode provided answers viewers have been demanding throughout the show’s run, delivering a pile of bodies to leave fans astounded at where the third run can go from here.
Creator Mike White has now gone into detail with Deadline on what he describes as an “operatic conclusion” for Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya, one of the show’s best characters (with Coolidge scoring a well-deserved Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress for the role), and what the future might hold for the show’s not-so-happy couples.
“The question of whether Harper and Cameron did more than the kiss, I think probably that’s just all that happened. At the same time, there’s some time that isn’t really accounted for and I think that’s why it’s eating at Ethan,” White said. “Did Ethan and Daphne have some kind of a dalliance on the island or whatever happened? That allows [Ethan] to let go of the jealousy that has been brewing with him. It kind of brings back that first kind of sexual charge that happens in the beginning of relationships and sometimes fades away over time.”
He went to tease “dark clouds” coming in the third season:
“By the end you’re like, well, maybe what Ethan and Harper needed just a small dash of what Cameron and Daphne have. It feels like Cameron to me is one of those guys that’s not really going to change. Some of the unspoken things between them, you wonder if that’s going to ultimately catch up with them. It is somewhat of a happy ending although there’s dark clouds on the horizon too.”
Fans now face an excruciating wait for the third season, though HBO seems to recognize The White Lotus‘ popularity, and may push it through as quickly as possible. As the first season aired in July 2021 and the second began in November 2022, we suspect the show will return in late 2023 or – more likely – early 2024.
As an anthology, we expect a new cast of characters to be unveiled and a fresh location (possibly somewhere in Asia), though by now White has cemented his reputation for providing a cocktail of very dark laughs and intrigue, so whatever he serves up we doubt fans will be disappointed.
The White Lotus seasons one and two are available to stream on HBO Max.