White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: We glimpse Valentina’s life outside of White Lotus in the third episode of Season 2 of “The White Lotus.” It’s part of her morning ritual to grab an espresso before heading to the hotel for the day. She tells the men to leave her alone so she can enjoy her coffee peacefully because she is tired of their small talk.
While Valentina does her best to accommodate her guests’ outlandish requests, she occasionally cannot suppress her amusement and must let it show. She does not worry about projecting the perfect image and is forthright in her speech. The strange dynamic between the two couples is explored in this episode as well (Harper, Ethan, Daphne, and Cameron).
Since Daphne has decided to spend the night with Harper, Cameron has the freedom to let loose. Unlike Cameron, Ethan was never much of a social butterfly. After spending the night with Lucia and Mia, Dom scolds himself for his reckless behavior. Albie has high hopes for his relationship with Portia, but she has her sights set on someone else.
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In Review: White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3 Recap
Each new episode of the second season, written and directed by Mike White, follows the characters at the titular hotel for a full day. Each new entry feels self-contained; time is not compressed or expanded beyond its natural flow. Consequently, this implies that we are constantly starting over.
After all, it’s morning now, a time for new beginnings and a chance to reflect on what has already happened. Harper (Aubrey Plaza, the show’s most valuable player this season) wants to start over, so she tries to be good. The best. When she suddenly becomes all sunny, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) and Cameron (Theo James) won’t know what hit them.
In addition, it confuses them. Mostly though, it’s because Ethan’s wife is too opinionated and snobbish for idle small talk. The attempt is funny, especially after she tricks herself into spending the afternoon (and the night!) at Noto with Daphne. This artificial barrier she constructed allows the two female characters on the show to connect while the two male characters are left to their own devices.
This episode focused on the “battle of the sexes” rhetoric that has permeated the season thus far. We’ll get to Daphne’s “I feel sorry for men” monologue (which: oof!) and Harper’s “I think I was tripping out on being a woman” memory of being high, both of which acknowledged how they each have troubled relationships with their gender.
In this case, it’s because of the intergenerational discussion about “modern masculinity” that takes place during Bert’s (F. Murray Abraham), Dominic (Michael Imperioli), and Albie’s (Adam DiMarco) day trip to Godfather-related landmarks.
The White Lotus recap: Season 2, Episode 3, “Bull Elephants” @TheAVClub https://t.co/v9gBoIIIJ6
— Larry O. Dean (@larryodean) November 14, 2022
Did it make me uncomfortable when Albie blatantly told his grandfather that he enjoyed that Francis Ford Coppola film because it made him feel “nostalgic for the solid days of the patriarchy”? Maybe. But on the other hand, both he and Portia have this way of talking in “discourse-speak,” so I eventually allowed myself to be amazed by the difficult discussion the three men have.
Or, more accurately, Bert and Albie partake in it while Dominic, both shy and ashamed, keeps to himself. They condense an issue that The White Lotus intends to delve into further: are the “male fantasies” portrayed in films like The Godfather “natural” (all men want this!), or are they meant to socialize men into wanting such things?
Albie seems to be on his own against his traditionalist grandfather and his cheating father (who, as we’ve seen, has had all the fun with Lucia and Mia while on this trip by himself), presenting the rift as a generational divide. Then, White allows us to observe how this dynamic develops between Ethan and Cameron.
While Cameron permits himself to indulge in the fantasy of spending a lovely evening with Lucia, as Dominic had done before him, the two college friends don’t directly discuss these concerns. Still, the subtext of their wild, raucous night without their wives similarly leaves us wondering whether all men want to live out the fantasy Cameron permits himself to indulge in.
Daphne’s explanation of how she knows Cameron has cheated on her but refuses to see herself as a victim suggests they both believe men, perhaps, can’t help themselves (“Cameron’s naughty like a little boy,” as she puts it, infantilizing and excusing him in equal measure).
Or, as in Cameron’s most ludicrous attempt to justify his desires, they realize that monogamy was created to control the middle class, which would be a stronger argument if Daphne knew how her monogamous marriage was being broken apart in the name of some fanciful radical politics against bourgeois life.
Harper would never utter such a proclamation. And especially not when Ethan is as transparent as he is. (He is incredibly trustworthy, she claims.) At least, until Cameron’s hedonistic ways start to threaten the secure, if rather unexciting, bond the two have built over the years, and she finally gives up trying to reach him by phone.
Will Harper’s doubts and concerns over her suspicions prevail? How successfully do you think Albie’s nice boy act will be with Portia? Is Tanya prepared to deal with the possibility that her marriage will soon dissolve? Perhaps more importantly, will Valentina play a more prominent role in future episodes? We won’t know until the morning.
White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3 Ending Explained
From the beginning, Harper had a hunch that Cameron was hiding something. Cameron was indeed let down that Ethan never mentioned selling his business. Cameron’s pride as a financier was hurt by Ethan’s refusal to share this information.
And so, he set his sights on the future, hoping that Ethan would put money into their business and allow Cameron to be a crucial part of his success and financial gain. Ethan was never sure whether Cameron had a purpose behind planning the trip. Perhaps he wanted to give credence to the possibility that his college friend was interested in hanging out with him.
He had risen to the elite ranks and now enjoyed widespread acclaim. Relationship infidelity appears to have reached epidemic proportions in the White Lotus universe. Cameron initiated the conversation by making a sly allusion to the fact that all wealthy men had cheated on their wives to achieve success.
Taking advantage of the situation was easy when financially motivated to do so. He found sex workers to be more accommodating and ultimately more satisfying. Ethan could barely keep up with Cameron’s rapid pace. In high school and college, he was typecast as a dork. Now that he was financially stable, he aspired to adopt Cameron’s laid-back way of life, but the more he learned about it, the less he liked the idea.
He had decided he would never lie to Harper and always be faithful to her, but Cameron was starting to make him question that decision. After Dom declined to participate in their arrangement, Lucia desperately needed a replacement client. There were plenty of wealthy people from all over the world hanging out at White Lotus, so she was confident she could find a paying guest.
When she saw Cameron waving for her to join him at his table, she felt a sense of relief. She brought Mia with her, and the four of them were set for a wild evening out. However, Ethan maintained his distance from the group. He was torn: Cameron would surely poke fun at his impeccable morals, but he didn’t want to cheat on Harper because it wasn’t in character.
Even though Ethan kissed Mia back when she asked after him, he quickly pulled back and made it clear that he was not interested, despite Cameron’s pleas to the contrary. From afar, he saw Cameron passionately kissing Lucia, and he realized that he had no desire to join in. Harper tried to call Ethan, but he was oblivious.
Harper was concerned that Cameron and Daphne-like changes would occur if they became wealthy. Since Harper and Ethan have only recently joined the ranks of the rich and powerful, they worry that they will lose sight of who they are and what they believe in. The couples’ dynamics are likely to change due to the events of the night.
If Daphne is as broken as she seems, she has no business responding. Valentina’s feelings for Isabella, the receptionist, are hinted at in the third episode of Season 2 of “The White Lotus.” Isabella looked up to Valentina for her self-assurance and leadership. For company, Valentina, a middle-aged woman, preferred cats over people.
She disliked men and was discreet about her sexual orientation. She was taken aback by Isabella’s expression of admiration for her. Season 3 ends on a note with several potential outcomes. While Portia may have located the man she sought, many questions remain: who were the men who ogled Tanya? What is Greg hiding? What impact did that night have on Cameron’s life? Will Dom change?
