Arrivals

I know nothing of Michael White but I'd guess he's British. The filming and scenes have that high quality that one just doesn't get from Americans except on HBO or premium channels. Each episode also isn't filled with stupid, improbable thrills and spills. Chases. I love that there's no trendy awful pop soundtrack. You know the music people blare while washing their car. Some say it's boring because it doesn't work like Marvel Cinematic Universe. Me I think Marvel hero movies are boring.

I finally gave this series a proper go now that Season 3 has arrived, despite never considering it quite my sort of programme. Rather glad I did, actually.

That opening sequence absolutely grabbed me instantly - Mike White establishes his darkly comic masterpiece with breathtaking efficiency in mere minutes. The manner in which he presents the entire season as a delicious mystery whilst depicting perfectly ordinary resort pleasantries is nothing short of genius, ensuring one watches every subsequent scene with delectable anticipation.

What starts as seemingly mundane holiday drama hints at much sharper social commentary beneath. The resort setting provides the perfect backdrop for exploring class dynamics and cultural tensions, though I suspect we've barely scratched the surface.

The genius lies in White's ability to make every character feel both relatable and slightly unsettling. One finds oneself already anticipating where these uncomfortable social dynamics might lead.

Murray Bartlett's as the luxury resort manager is particularly compelling... he manages to be both obsequiously professional and subtly unhinged. The ensemble cast, including Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, and Sydney Sweeney, creates a convincing microcosm of privileged holiday-makers, each bringing their own neuroses to paradise.

Based on that promising first episode, I'm rather optimistic about continuing. If it maintains this trajectory, it could well prove to be quite exceptional television indeed.

The White Lotus is a luxury resort in Hawaii. A new group of guests has just arrived: there's the newlyweds, the family - husband, wife, teenaged daughter and friend, teenaged son - and the solo middle-aged holidayer. One of them will be dead within a week.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this series. On face value it seems intriguing enough and the high IMDB rating made me think it's worth a watch. Having now watched the first episode I'm wondering how on Earth it got such a high rating.

The most striking thing about the first episode is that it is almost entire devoid of likeable characters: Almost everyone is incredibly irritating: the spoiled-brat daughter and friend, the vacuous, always-staring-at-phone son, the overcontrolling celebrity mother, the paranoid father, the hyper-anxious, high-maintenance, talkative-yet-dull solo woman, the newlywed guy who is always looking for faults.

The only likeable character among the guests is Rachel Patton (Alexandra Daddario) but indications are she's not going to live more than a week, making any engagement with her quite limited.

The resort manager, Armond (Murray Bartlett), is easily the most colourful character and pretty much the only thing preventing this from being an incredibly drab affair. The plot is pretty basic and dull at this point but this being the first episode it's currently more about scene-setting and character-introduction than plot development so is to be expected, to an extent. Would be nice to have some engaging characters though...

Also, apparently this is a comedy. You wouldn't know that from this episode.

The atmosphere of this show is very prevalent. You feel as a viewer like you are there on the beach with these characters. I love the slightly eerie feeling, the tension between characters, and the cinematography.

I'm looking forward to the whole series!

I know this is the first episode of a series I know nothing about but at the moment I am bored. The characters are unlikeable but that isn't the only problem. This series at the moment doesn't have a plot I am engaging with. The manager is my favourite character. You have the cringy youth, creepy and lonely stalker lady. Newly wed couple and the classic upper class parents. The series focuses on the exploits of guests but none of them are relatble or likeable or at the very least interesting.