The makers of The White Lotus made it clear from Day 1 that someone is going to die in this Hawaiian vacation. The long awaited finale, titled “The Departure” finally revealed who and so much more.
If I had to describe the finale in one word, it would be predictable. It was predictable and obvious to an extent that the audience always knew that it was Armond who was going to die eventually. For a satire like The White Lotus, the finale felt hurried and rushed.
And some of what went down just made me go what?! Here’s everything that was revealed in the White Lotus finale and whether it actually managed to live up to the expectations.
1. How Was The Finale?
The finale definitely did not go as I had expected. Above all, I expected Rachel to have some self-respect and dump her obnoxious excuse of a husband. I mean you got to watch the finale to understand why I am so annoyed.
Apart from that, the death was pretty predictable. Considering the theme of the show, I am not surprised that they chose to kill one of the “non rich” people. But it was kind of supremely obvious and also bit of lazy writing.
The finale felt a little hurried. For a satire of this stature, one would expect a better thought out ending. But that is not what I got. The season finale was annoyingly predictable, extremely rushed and quite underwhelming to be precise.
One reason could have been the limited number of episodes. But that cannot be the reason for giving such a rushed ending after all that build up. In short, the finale felt predictable and too hurried for my taste.
Though I must say, even though it was a little underwhelming for me, I was not expecting something out of the world either. TBH, I would have preferred it better if the death was of someone unexpected and the reason something a bit more shocking.
But I must say that the show is supposed to be satirical take on rich privileged society and their various nuances and they do that right. At least as a whole it is worth a watch because of its satirical take on the delusional lives of upper class Whites.
2. Who Dies in The Finale?
It is Armond who is finally revealed to be dead in the season finale. I actually feel bad for him sometimes, because none of his privileged, unaware, delusional rich guests can actually qualify as nice people and he is the one having to deal with them on a daily basis.
Imagine that stress. Though Armond appeared outwardly cheerful, he had his own worries and the brand ambassador of contributing to everyone’s troubles is the annoying and obnoxious Shane. From Day 1, he is seen to be after Armond because he and his wife Rachel was not provided the Pineapple Suite which Shane’s even more obnoxious mother booked.
And it does not finally come as a surprise that Shane is the one who stabs Armond to death. And guess what? Mama’s boy does not even have to face consequences and gets to go home with Alexandria Daddario.
Ross Geller once said, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I say, why on earth do good things happen to annoying horrible people? Same energy.
3. Does Rachel and Shane Divorce?
Mike White, the creator of the show gave us all another opportunity to hate on Shane by giving us this ending. The answer is, no, they don’t divorce.
Rachel does eventually say that she will divorce Shane, but then at the end changes her mind and decides to work on the marriage. As if, she is supposed to work on the marriage in the first place instead of her sexist mother in law and pathetic husband.
My bad to actually expect Rachel to take a stand. She is at the end from the very community that this brilliant satire is targeting. So how else can her self-respect be any more important that being a rich man’s wife?
Anyways, it’s her choice. I know separate the actor from the character and so on, but boys? What’s with her ocean blue eyes? If there’s any Rachel you should simp for, it should be Rachel Green. She is Jennifer freaking Aniston, and she knows how to be on a break!!
4. Does Shane Kill Armond on purpose?
It is an accident on face value, considering Shane just ended up stabbing Armond accidentally. He was actually guarding himself against the jewellery thief on the loose and having been startled seeing Armond, he stabs him.
Shane leaves Armond to bleed to death in a luxury bathtub and at the end we see him continuing towards a normal life as he takes his flight back home.
But even if he did not mean to stab him, did he have any regrets that he did it? People like Armond are just casualties for people like Shane, for whom human lives are of no value. Armond’s death is a symbolic representation of how it is always the less privileged that suffers and the rich just always find a way out.
Though it does seem like lazy writing, the climax does make its point. It just bothers me to see Shane having no regrets and facing absolutely no consequences for literally ending a human life. I am going all philosophical here, but I guess that is how life is.
5. Will There Be a Season 2?
The White Lotus was renewed for a second season in August 2021. So yes, we are definitely getting a new season.
But Season 2 is going to have a new cast. Mike White has previously said that he wants to make it more like an anthology series with each season focusing on a different set of people exploring similar themes.
So yes, let us hope to meet some more delusional people and watch them get away with their deeds!
6. About The White Lotus
The White Lotus is an American satire comedy television miniseries created, written, and directed by Mike White that premiered on HBO on July 11, 2021. Season 1 was set in Hawaii, and season 2 in Sicily.
The White Lotus follows the vacations of various hotel guests over a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.
Jennifer Coolidge and John Gries star in both seasons with a rotating cast in the two seasons. The series was renewed for a third season.
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