Season 2 of The White Lotus has introduced many new characters — and most of them are either murder suspects or potential victims.
The anthology series, which returned to HBO in October, follows the guests and employees at a White Lotus resort. The sophomore season immediately revealed to viewers that multiple people won’t leave Italy alive.
Ahead of the finale, Sabrina Impacciatore hinted at the high stakes plaguing all the characters. “I can only say that what is going to happen in the final episode is shocking and people are really going to freak out,” the actress, who plays Valentina, told Entertainment Weekly in December. “I remember what I read in the script but there are parts that are still mysterious to me.”
According to Impacciatore, the final episode will wrap up every question fans may have. “I knew all the scripts but every time I watch the show, it’s so surprising to me that I need to watch it twice, three times,” she added at the time.
Meanwhile, creator Mike White discussed why he wanted to show the mysterious deaths right at the beginning of the season.
“You realize these kinds of hooks do actually get viewers,” he told NPR in October. “It clearly is something that drives interest in the show. People will decide at the conclusion whether it’s satisfying or it feels just device-y, but at this point, I’m excited about the finale. As somebody who’s been working in the margins, it is kind of nice to have viewers.”
For the writer, it was also important to highlight the beautiful locations against the harsh realities that each person was facing.
“I think the show tries to get at this a little bit, too, in a macro [way] that when you’re wealthy and you don’t have situational problems that have to do with money, then your problems become existential,” he continued. “You have all of the tools to figure out your life, and you can’t figure out your life. If you’re in some gloomy, urban, dystopic spot, you can always say, ‘Oh, it’s my surroundings that are making me depressed.’”
White concluded: “But if you’re in paradise and you feel like something’s missing or you’re melancholy or you’re tortured, you know it’s not the ambient nature of what’s going on – it’s something in you.”
Keep scrolling to read fan theories about The White Lotus season 2: