Some random thoughts on White Lotus in no particular order:
It is a fine thing for a show to be obvious about its targets and to go about its business obviously. I guess.
“Relatability” is a curse all 21st century art must face — I don’t know who’s to blame for that (Tumblr?) — but other than Jennifer Coolidge’s delightfully weird turn as Tanya, I just couldn’t find a way into a show in which everyone seemed not simply awful but deliberately meant to be a collection of awful traits? There is something satisfying about watching Harper in Industry screw people over to protect herself, something entertaining about Tyrion Lannister’s amoral carousing. But the humour in White Lotus , such as it was, felt incredibly bleak.
The music in the first season was my favourite thing about the show.
The curse of television is that it’s a visual medium. The curse of visual representations of wealth is that you can’t help but want it. “Rich people are bad” is what these shows say they are telling us, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the currency they run on is closer to “ok you, you would do ‘being’ rich’ way better than these losers.”
I’m still glad I watched the show.
Art doesn’t have to do anything. It doesn’t have to leave you feeling good about the world or optimistic or even tell a good story, not if it doesn’t want to. It just has to do what it wants to do. What did White Lotus want to do?