Because you always have to measure the second season of a series against the first, as a quick reminder: It was in the middle of summer last year when Dive appeared The White Lotus as one of the greatest comedies in television history on HBO and Sky. In just six episodes, Mike White dismantled the world of the top one percent along with their lifelong lies, hypocrisy and entitlement in the intimate theater ambience of the hyper-exclusive “White Lotus” beach hotel in Hawaii. But because he also filleted their insecurities, fears and remnants of empathy, it became a masterpiece of a critique of capitalism without the bitter substances of ideology.
A little more than a year and many awards later, the second season is coming. It takes place in the “White Lotus” branch in Sicily. Only Jennifer Coolidge as the neurotic heiress to millions Tanya McQouid and Jon Gries as her newlywed Greg are left of the first ensemble. But a few other greats have come along: F. Murray Abraham, who goes from his Oscar-winning Salieri in “Amadeus” to CIA schemer Dar Adal in the series homeland perfected the elegance of the diabolical. Aubrey Plaza, who after her breakthrough in Parks and Recreation became an indie star with her bone dry humor in black comedies like “Ingrid Goes West” and “Black Bear”. And Michael Imperioli, previously in films like “Goodfellas” and the milestone series The Sopranos saved his mafiosi figures from macho clichés.
F. Murray Abraham’s patriarch hits on any woman who might be his granddaughter
So the very best conditions. But lost with Karacho. The characters are flat, the dialogues insipid, the topic is missed. In principle, it is about the balance of power in anachronistic gender roles. The series gets bogged down in smuts that are past their sell-by date at least as long as the patriarchal conditions are. What is particularly unfortunate is that Mike White precisely dispensed with the stylistic devices that make it so brilliant. First, there is the pace. In the series Enlightened and the first season The White Lotus he developed a kind of backbeat of filming. He delayed the sequence of cuts, settings and reactions and thus deepened the comedy. This time, however, he pushes the action forward in a conventional mid-tempo. His figures, which he otherwise draws with such virtuosity, also suffer from this.
F. Murray Abraham’s patriarch suffers from chronic gas and just as chronically hits on any woman who could be his granddaughter, that’s all. Aubrey Plaza’s woke millionaire girlfriend is a caricature of bad woman moods. And Michael Imperioli’s adulterer stumbles like a clockwork doll through the bipolarity of remorse and misconduct. Not even Jennifer Coolidge survives the weak production. She puffs out her cheeks, snorts, and rolls her eyes as if parodying herself. This is how one of the best comedies in television history degenerates into a bunch of farts and master jokes. Let’s hope that Mike White, driven by success, just sloppy. Anyway, we’re really looking forward to the third season.
the white lotus, second season, on Sky.
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