(SPOILERS from The White Lotus will be found below.)
Daphne and Ethan had a moment during The White Lotus season finale. How far did that moment go? Was the “walk with me” a plain-language suggestion, or was Daphne indoctrinating Ethan on her method of marriage survival?
Clearly, the answer to that question isn’t clear at all. In fact, Mike White seems to delight in making us wonder. My initial thoughts (and I wasn’t mad at this) were that Daphne (who previously referred to her husband’s colleagues as “psychopaths”) could be setting out to murder Ethan, but both parties emerged from the conversation (physically) unscathed, so speculation abounds whether they actually had some revenge sex.
The above scene began with Ethan letting Daphne know about his suspicions of Harper and Cameron having a secret tryst that he interrupted. And hoo boy, Meghann Fahy really took people on a journey as her face processed (and then dismissed) what Ethan was communicating, and Will Sharpe convincingly played along into the wild, dreamlike turn of events that was beautifully shot. We do know that Daphne has been having her own fun, probably to cope with what she deals with at home. Her perspective, as expressed to Ethan, was that a little mystery in a relationship can be hot, and and you don’t have to be 100% with your partner’s actions to stay in love.
That kind of willful blindness says a lot, and Ethan didn’t seem like a dude (he did reject the sex workers) who would cheat on Harper. But maybe he did? As Decider’s Meghan O’Keefe points out, this remains an intentionally suggested possibility from Mike White, who declared in the Unpacking aftershow, “Whatever happened, it allows him to let go of the jealousy that has been brewing with him.” He added, “[I]t kind of brings back that first kind of sexual charge that happens in the beginning of relationships and sometimes fades away over time. By the end, you’re maybe like ‘Well, maybe what Ethan and Harper need was just a small dash of what Cameron and Daphne have.’”
Oh. Well, that changes everything. At first, I thought, “No way,” and now, I’m like, “Tell me more.” Is it time for Season 3 yet?
The White Lotus season finale is streaming on HBO Max.