The White Lotus Recap, Season 2 Episode 3: ‘Bull Elephants’

Because the third day of our Sicilian trip begins, we see a stark change in one in every of our most cussed visitors, Harper. Whereas it was established final week that she’s not a morning-sex individual, we now see her primping and mendacity on the mattress to greet Ethan post-run after being confronted by their asynchronous intercourse life final week. However that’s nothing in comparison with the actual shift within the Harper we’ve come to know and love. “I’m gonna be so good as we speak. And pleasant,” she tells Ethan, not simply to show him mistaken however as a result of she is aware of it’s necessary to him. Whereas he appears doubtful of her means to make an entire 180, she insists that she’ll be nothing in need of pleasant to Cameron and Daphne all day. “You don’t suppose I might be pretty? Simply watch.”

It’s not simply Harper, both. We see a shift for a number of of our characters this episode, by which they’re confronted with who they’re and are challenged to vary, both by themselves or by others. However are these efforts sustainable? Can they actually change?

Good Harper is unsettling to behold, each for us and her breakfast companions. After a quick pause by which she considers what a pleasing individual may say, she lands on “Did you guys see the sky this morning? It was so attractive,” instantly catching Cameron and Daphne off guard together with her change in angle. However good Harper struggles to not break character when Cameron and Daphne begin bickering over whether or not to go to a palazzo in Noto. (In order that they do battle!) And that is the place good Harper is actually put to the check: Daphne proposes that simply the 2 of them go to the palazzo, leaving the boys behind to Jet-Ski. Having fun with seeing her battle by way of her self-imposed kindness project, Ethan eggs them on and, refusing to concede, Harper agrees.

Throughout the buffet, Albie and Portia reunite after their awkward parting the earlier night time. “I did need to are available in and maintain hanging out, simply so ,” he tells her, saying that he simply didn’t need to make her really feel uncomfortable — one thing Portia thinks Albie is incapable of doing. Actually, she thinks if something he might be extra aggressive. He wastes no time making this variation, and when she tries to say no Bert’s invitation to tour the Godfather filming places with them, Albie insists she has to return. “I’m being extra aggressive,” he whispers. It’s like a new child pet in a lion costume.

Whereas visiting a home the place the movie was shot, they’ve a dialog about males’s curiosity in The Godfather, a non secular successor to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s similar dialog in You’ve Bought Mail. It doesn’t take lengthy for good man Albie to return again out, pushing again towards the movie’s romanticization of the patriarchy, resulting in a dialog about whether or not the film encourages a male fantasy or just displays it. Sadly, Portia isn’t in a position to stick round for what I’m certain would have been a productive dialog about gender identification with an 80-year-old man as a result of she will get a name from Tanya summoning her again to the resort following her weepy goodbye to Greg.

We’ve identified Tanya the longest of our visitors, and it looks as if she’s the least able to change. She’s precisely who she was after we first met her. However in her desperation to maintain Greg from leaving, she provides to eliminate the prenup if it means he gained’t go. However their marital issues go deeper than that. We discover out that Greg goes to stay due to the medical doctors Tanya obtained him, however she thinks that with that longer life expectancy, he realized he didn’t need to spend it together with her. Regardless of her efforts, Greg leaves, which implies Tanya wants backup. Enter her emotional-support assistant Portia and a fortune teller she requests from Valentina: “Do you suppose they may make a home name as a result of it’s form of an emergency?”

“I simply wanna know if our marriage is gonna final,” Tanya says to the tarot-card reader, who promptly tells her that her husband is in love with another person and that there’s somebody stunning in his life. “Couldn’t that be me?” Tanya asks, however alas, no. This isn’t the outcome Tanya wished, so she throws the “unfavourable” tarot reader out. Clearly, Tanya doesn’t change, discarding individuals the identical as all the time. Even her try to cancel the prenup isn’t new; it’s her utilizing her cash to try to purchase her manner out of her issues, similar to when she left Belinda an enormous tip to resolve her guilt final season.

In the meantime, Harper’s change of angle is being examined even additional, when Daphne informs her that the 2 of them will really be spending the night time on the palazzo. When Harper asks why Daphne didn’t inform her this plan, she says that she wished Cam to suppose it was spur of the second so he would have FOMO and remorse skipping it. “So that you’re, like, taking part in video games with him?” Harper asks, and Daphne cops to it, saying it retains issues attention-grabbing.

Again on the resort, Cameron congratulates Ethan on his newfound monetary success however needs he had gotten a heads-up. Ethan is thrown by his blatant request for insider-trading ideas, and earlier than he can actually wrap his head round it, Cameron is insisting that Ethan make investments with him — proving Harper proper about his intentions for this journey.

Harper and Ethan are basically realizing concurrently, Oh, these persons are loopy. Sadly for them, this shared realization occurs once they’re separated, that means they must undergo and course of it with out their accomplice there to convey them again to actuality.

After their disagreement on the Godfather home, Dominic pulls his son apart, fearful that he has the mistaken notion of him. “I’ve all the time supported ladies, I’m a feminist. I didn’t marry some subservient spouse, your mom’s a superb, superb girl.” Ah, so this isn’t actually about what Albie thinks of Dominic, it’s about what Abby thinks of Dominic. He encourages his son to go alongside his apologies to his mom, however Albie tells him that the one factor that may repair that is his father altering. Dominic insists that he has, or fairly will, change, however Albie doesn’t appear satisfied.

Dominic has already been instructed to get his act collectively by his father and failed to take action after yet one more night time with Lucia and Mia. However now it’s Albie asking him to vary; will he be capable of do it for his son? He’s caught between these two generations, and whereas recommendation from his sleazy father may look like the pot calling the kettle black, his son’s perspective is probably going value extra to him. So we see Dominic attempt but once more to make that change, telling the ladies that he gained’t be capable of meet up for the remainder of the week and honorably discharging them from their duties. However for Lucia and Mia, it’s merely on to the following, and Lucia has her eyes on Cameron and Ethan throughout the restaurant.

Fortunately for the ladies, insider buying and selling isn’t the one dishonest Cameron is occupied with, and he’s shocked that Ethan isn’t reaping the sexual advantages of his new success. After making an attempt to introduce a resistant Ethan to the perks of dishonest, simply as he tried to introduce him to the perks of insider buying and selling, Cameron spots Lucia and Mia and ushers them over to their desk.

Outdoors, Albie and Portia meet for a beer by the pool, the place she’s caught off guard when Albie boldly kisses her out of the blue — clearly nonetheless decided to be this new aggressive man. However it’s not touchdown with Portia, who turns down his invitation to return to his room. In Albie’s case, his try to vary into somebody he’s not falls flat as a result of this very act of fixing is simply one other instance of being the identical candy pushover we all know him to be. He’s solely being “aggressive” as a result of a lady instructed him to be, taking all the weight out of it for Portia. I’m anxious to see how Albie processes this. Will it make him lean additional into his whiny “good guys end final” angle, or (hopefully) will he redirect this frustration towards his father and at last cease making an attempt to be his household’s peacemaker?

Again on the palazzo, Harper is excessive off an edible Daphne gave her earlier, and the pair have a dialog about their husbands. “Has Ethan modified in any respect?” Daphne asks. He hasn’t, Harper says, virtually with disdain in her voice, however Daphne assures her that that’s a very good factor. She’s seen individuals like Ethan hit it large, then abruptly turn out to be dishonest monsters. Daphne’s blissful that her husband has a pal like Ethan, who she thinks is an efficient affect, particularly in comparison with the Bernie Maddoff–like psychopaths Cameron works with.

That’s nice for Daphne and all, however what sort of affect would Cameron then be on Ethan? We are able to see this dialog begin to infiltrate Harper’s thoughts, like, Oh no, whom have I left babysitting my husband whereas I’m gone? “Do you suppose Cameron ever cheats on you?” she asks Daphne, who says she’s discovered methods to deal with it, with out elaborating a lot.

However Ethan wouldn’t cheat, as Harper mentioned earlier, calling him sincere to a fault. And to this point she’s proper. Again on the resort, Cameron and Ethan are partying with Lucia and Mia, on a drug journey of their very own, however on one thing stronger than Harper’s edible. On a regular basis, it appears like Ethan’s physique is just being dragged by way of this montage whereas the unruly partying occurs round him. Cameron begins having intercourse with Lucia, however when Mia kisses Ethan, he shakes his head, current sufficient to cease it.

Harper calls Ethan, nevertheless it goes unanswered. She’s fully assured within the form of man Ethan is, however as a result of she is aware of him so properly, she additionally is aware of that he isn’t a dominant power. When she’s round, he follows her lead. However what occurs when Cameron, one other alpha, is the one one round? Will Ethan observe his lead? The day began with Harper intentionally altering who she was to show a degree to Ethan, however may or not it’s ending together with her husband prone to altering who he’s?