We gathered Vulture staff writer Rebecca Alter, Cut senior writer E.J. Dickson, New York newsletters director Kaitlin Jessing-Butz, Curbed writer Adriane Quinlan, New York senior newsletter editor Jasmine Vojdani, and Strategist newsletter editor Ashley Wolfgang for a morning-after discussion.
Kaitlin Jessing-Butz: That was definitely the most divisive White Lotus finale so far ... How did we all feel about it? I put myself in the camp of mildly frustrated by some plot holes (you can’t wire $5 million overnight?!) but overall enjoyed it.
Rebecca Alter: Maybe because this was the first episode I watched live with people instead of ahead of time on screeners, but I had a blast. It was so stupid, but I sort of don’t think this season deserved a better ending.
Kaitlin: It did feel like an event.
E.J. Dickson: I would say I liked but didn’t love.
Rebecca: It was also really fun to yell at every single thing that happened this episode in a “Piper, no!” voice.
Adriane Quinlan: I love his genius for writing the friendship of the three women. Laurie’s final speech felt like high theater. There were moments I wanted to look at my phone (my test).
Rebecca: I loved Carrie Coon’s speech so much. Time does give life meaning!
Adriane: And the idea that being with people you’ve always known just does seem more meaningful — even though we always have high expectations for it and then get depressed ... I was thinking about every girls’ trip, every family trip. It felt classic, and I tweeted impulsively that it was Chekhovian.
Ashley Wolfgang: It was very relatable!
Adriane: But I got no resolution on the Ratliffs.
Rebecca: Parker Posey’s reaction to Piper giving up the monastery thing … comedic high watermark of the season.
Kaitlin: Her thumbs-up made me YELL.
Rebecca: Piper, yes!
E.J.: I thought it was pretty funny that the guy came close to family-annihilating, like, seven times, and in the end they found out about it on their phones in the most anticlimactic-possible way. That story line didn’t bother me nearly as much as Rick-Chelsea’s.
Rebecca: I found his family–murder-suicide plot soooo unnerving even though I knew it wouldn’t have consequences in the end.
Ashley: I kind of wish Lochlan would have died? That felt too easy.
Kaitlin: Even though he did give his brother a hand job, I think Lochlan was still tied with Chelsea for purest person this season. So I guess we just can’t lose both.
Ashley: I didn’t have a problem with him using the dirty blender, though — I thought of that as him trying to sneak a bit of alcohol on his last morning.
Rebecca: He’s no innocent. He’s a freak! I think he had to have a near-death experience so God could teach him a lesson about not being a pervert.
Jasmine Vojdani: Apparently there’s enough poison in a single pong-pong seed to kill you … so I guess Lochy got extremely lucky.
E.J.: I preferred the theory that Lochlan was some kind of master manipulator who used brother HJ to control him rather than what he ultimately was, which was a blank slate.
Jasmine: I think the most disappointing thing about the ending was the fact that a mass shooting occurred and we didn’t have to see anyone deal with that? Saxon’s spiritual guide, Chelsea, is dead and he doesn’t seem to know. Ditto for Chloe.
E.J.: Patrick Schwarzenegger’s face-acting this episode was phenomenal, I’m sorry. I went from despising Saxon to adoring him in, like, three episodes.
Jasmine: Same. Which is why he is my pick for a return character. What can I say? I want to see the bro grow.
Rebecca: When his dad knocked the piña colada out of his hand, the face he made was so funny.
Adriane: He’s definitely the breakout Ratliff for me.
Rebecca: I think he’ll be an early out on White Lotus all-stars, but he’ll still make it there in the first place.
Ashley: Back to the shooting: How did EVERYONE just get to leave on a boat right after??
Adriane: Wouldn’t they be interviewed by the police? But I like that The White Lotus isn’t actually a realist show.
Kaitlin: You’d think the resort would be locked down for at least a day. But also ... What rules are there for the rich?
Adriane: The magical-realism elements def included leaving instantly and getting the money instantly.
E.J.: I feel like every season finale ends like that, though. You never really see the emotional fallout from the deaths.
Jasmine: Even beyond realism, I felt robbed of characters’ reactions to things! But I suppose the rich don’t even have to taste grief or whatever.
Kaitlin: Yeah, like season one ended with a minor running away to row boats, and no one cared.
Rebecca: I remember people theorizing that the ending of season one was a dream sequence or something ... it’s not supposed to be megarealist or literal ever, I feel.
Jasmine: But in season one, the various groups weren’t as entangled as this season, so it still feels unsatisfying.
Adriane: Can we talk about fashion? Parker Posey in the end is wearing a dress she would totally wear in her regular New York kinda-indie roles. Piper is finally shown in something that isn’t what the redditors are now referring to as her Victorian-ghost dresses. Laurie’s gray sheath and dangly earrings ... not what I’d bring to Thailand. It feels like the clothes were doing a lot in the finale, but I’m not a Cut writer, so I need guidance here.
Jasmine: Mook’s uniform potentially had a monkey clutching a pong-pong fruit.
Adriane: So distracting?! I was like, That button ... isn’t a button ... Is that a poop?
E.J.: Piper’s clothes in particular seemed significant — the evolution from the drab, muted beiges to the more vibrant colors once she stops feigning self-abnegation.
Kaitlin: Her cosplay was over. She is her mother’s daughter.
Adriane: Chelsea’s necklace — was that the two stars of their signs?
Rebecca: Star-crossed, amor fati.
Kaitlin: Did everyone at HBO just learn about amor fati this year? It’s also Dr. Robby’s tattoo on The Pitt.
Jasmine: I suspected Gaitok would end up firing his gun in the finale — but NOT to kill Rick and not to ultimately become a driver ... our man deserved better.
Kaitlin: Gaitok really sold out Buddha for a date and a promotion.
Adriane: You’re reminding me that Mike White is Buddhist, and that was really at the heart of this entire season, which he thought of during a fever dream ... similar to Lochlan’s!
