Arrivederci

I loved the finale episode. For weeks I had been predicting who would die, but my predictions were wrong (to be honest, the scene in which one of the main characters died was nonsense). I really loved the last scene; I wanted it to happen, and I'm glad it did. Surprisingly, this season is way better than the first, with better characters and a better story. Maybe the resort and the resort manager were better in the first season, but other than that, this season is way better, and it is one of the best seasons of any show that I have watched. I am definitely waiting for the next season, but before that, I want to request HBO to please make a Lucia and Mia spinoff. I think it will be a big hit.

This season's tight interwoven narrative sticks the landing in a satisfying if tragically operatic finale. I love the evolution of Mike White's career - I admit nothing in his writer's resume (Pitch Perfect 3? The Emoji Movie?!) prepared me for his startling talent that's been on display since White Lotus' first season, and which has become even more layered and sophisticated in this second season. The complexity, vulnerability and manipulations found in pursuits of love and/or sex are embedded masterfully in White's story-telling and direction. The messiness of emotions, of desire, of yearning, of wishful thinking, and the potential for bad faith, predation, and lust to subvert and devastate those human motivations is beautifully conveyed all season. Here in the finale we get the gamut of conclusions, all inevitable in their own ways, ranging from heartbreaking to joyous, but none neat and tidy, and none with all our questions answered. It's a perfect balance of resolution and ambiguity, happy and sad, surprising and obvious.

White's ability to tackle all these themes, throwing them all up in the air in a precarious juggling act, and catch them all in the finale - just a masterclass and joy to experience.

A beautiful job. I hope I can sustain this level of excellence with a third season. I think he's so smart to make each season about a theme. First season was about money, entitlement and privilege. This one about sex and love. Pretty ambitious. I can't wait to see where Mike White goes from here.

I was nervous that this episode wasn't going to tie up everything I needed answers for due to the slightly disappointing end of season 1, but I finished this episode feeling very satisfied. All the performances are incredible and add to the tension that consistently builds all throughout the episode. I really appreciate the fact that this episode was a bit longer, since there was a lot that needed to happen. I think the ending was equally shocking and anxiety inducing, as it should be. I had no idea what to expect but I love the direction it took. I don't want to say too much because the episode does a great job of wrapping things up here.

Overall I think this was a great season, and I prefer over season 1. I am very excited to see what happens in season 3.

IMO, Mike White, the creator, writer and director of The White Lotus, is a genius. There, I said it. (Keep the stream going after the end of S2E7 to experience his thoughts on the characters.) From his time at the end of the '90s writing for Judd Apatow on Freaks & Geeks, through that perfect vehicle for Mr. Jack Black, 2003's School of Rock, and now the plethora of awards for this series, well this man hasn't been involved in anything that wasn't exceptional. I was wondering how he would wrap up all the story threads unwound in the previous six episodes, and he sure did that. And all the actors seem committed to his vision. Of course, the glue holding things together this season is the same as last: Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya. It's not possible to adequately describe her, as both the character and her embodiment of it are uniquely hers. And this year's additions include Aubrey Plaza as an outspoken wife becoming increasingly frustrated by her uptight husband (who seems to feel guilty even over the things he *didn't* do). There are 3 generations of Italian-American men seeking their Sicilian roots, and indeed anything to help ground their overindulgent desires. There's a local, high-end call girl and her best friend, a wanna-be singer; a couple of hotel staff members of note; and the one and only Tom Hollander, as Quentin, whose cadre of middle aged gay men anoint Tanya as their Diva Queen. Hollander has his own unique ability to be the most polite and respectful man you've ever seen, yet still project a little menace. Anyway, the "murder plot" all comes out in this 7th and final episode, and I dare anyone to see it coming in all its complexity and nuance. This episode, in particular, is the best of both seasons and so I rate it a 9/10 stars, which I rarely do.

To be truthful, I knew about the events that happened in this episode. I mean, if you had any social media around the time of the episode's release, you'd know. So I was excited to see if the episode would still be able to surprise and get to me, because Mike White has done a great job of expanding so many things this season, crafting a more interesting mystery, although some of the storylines have felt a little overblown. So did he bring it home? Yes, yes, yes, and a lot more yeses, because this episode was still shocking and was still a great time.

This season has been a true rollercoaster, and a lot of tension has risen between the characters over the last six episodes. However, instead of going completely crazy with the finale like he did for the first season, White takes a more subdued approach to it, still including his recognizable craziness, but actually giving the characters an opportunity to sit back and have a final gathering with each other and have it just being a nice and easy affair. It's a nice way to give closure to some of these arcs that have culminated in high tension, but also just to give the audience a breather after that crazy penultimate episode. With that said, there's plenty of craziness to appreciate here, and a lot of it has to do with the revelations of the people from Palermo and what is actually going on. Even though I knew where that was going, they did it in such a delicate and honorable way that it still came as a huge surprise. There was an ease to the whole affair, but it also felt very respectless, but in the best possible Mike White way, that's it difficult not to appreciate it. The acting has been stellar and may have even upped the performances of everyone in the first season, with Coolidge just nailing the character once again. She gets the chance to do something different here with Tanya, and it's incredible and heartbreaking, and it brings the episode and show to some dark and very shocking territories.

"Arrivederci" is the perfect sendoff for this batch of "The White Lotus," and leaves everyone clambering for more, building a strong anticipation for season three. It was a shocking finale that felt very laid back for, but also appropriately structured in such a way that the ease came with plenty of shocks and memorable moments.