The latest episode of HBO’s The White Lotus titled “The Lotus Eaters” can be aptly called the final step towards the collapse of Shane and Rachel’s marriage.
It has been made clear since the first episode that Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband Shane (Jake Lacy) are definitely not having a great honeymoon. She is upset because Shane remains fixated on a booking issue instead of spending quality time with her. So there is always a will they-won’t they situation, and the tension is built up from episode 1 itself.
Moreover, he ends up discouraging her from pursuing her career goals of becoming a journalist and says that she does not need to work anymore. All of this culminates into the question of whether their marriage really is heading anywhere.
At one point, you seem to think they’re about to work things out and the next moment it seems like things are falling apart. If you ask me, I would say the couple does not seem to be in a good place at all and Rachel herself is skeptical about the relationship as we see in the series as of now.
Will Rachel Leave Her Husband?
There is a fair chance that Rachel Patton will leave Shane to pursue her career independently. Shane and Rachel’s relationship is clearly not working, as he continuously discourages and hardly gives her any time, even on their honeymoon.
In the beginning of the series, Shane is seen to be waiting for his departure in the beginning of the series, Shane is seen to be waiting for his departure in the airport all alone, shortly after we see a glimpse of a deadbody being taken into the aeroplane. In short, Rachel Patton is not seen anywhere.
This can mean two things: either Rachel and Shane are not together anymore or worse, the deadbody that we saw is actually Rachel’s. Both cases are probable.
Whatever the case is, we will get to know it in the next episode. As of writing this article, Rachel seems quite annoyed with the unwanted presence of her mother-in-law, but she is yet to make the bold decision of leaving Shane. I really don’t know what she is waiting for.
In my guess, if Rachel is not the murder victim, then she must have left Shane for good because we do not see her accompanying Shane in the airport in the first episode.
Rachel is seen to be thinking about working on her career goals of becoming a journalist since Day 1.
She even gets offered the job of a social media influencer in Episode 2, but Shane insists that she does not need to work anymore. When Rachel asks Nicole for advice, she encourages her but later her comments make Rachel rethink her decision of going forward with the job.
Finally, she ends up abandoning the job altogether as Shane keeps pestering her. Clearly, this relationship is doomed so I would not be surprised if it is revealed that Rachel actually left Shane for these reasons.
As of now, Kitty aka Shane’s mom is also happily contributing towards ruining Rachel and Shane’s already troubled marriage. I think Kitty’s words as of Episode 5 actually made it easier for Rachel to make the decision because any sane woman with self-respect would walk out of such a toxic marriage.
Why Will Rachel Leave Her Husband?
It is not confirmed whether Rachel will leave her husband or not, but if she does, she will have good reason to do so.
Shane is highly self-centered and is hardly worried about Rachel’s happiness even on their honeymoon. He is busy trying to screw up Armond, the hotel manager for making a booking error with his romantic cruise.
BTW, he finally got his Pineapple Cruise as of Episode 5. But we all know the secret: Shane caught Armond in quite a private moment with Dillon. This is just Armond’s bribe to keep Shane from opening his mouth.
To add to Rachel’s woes, Kitty, Shane’s weird mom gate-crashes her son’s honeymoon only to complain about how Rachel’s wedding made things difficult for her. You get the kind of person we are talking about here.
Kitty is definitely one of the primary reasons why Rachel will most likely get rid of her excuse of a husband. If the golden mama’s boy was not enough trouble already, Kitty is here to give her pretentious expressions and pass comments about Rachel’s problems.
In Episode 5, she straight out asks Rachel to be thankful for being pretty enough to win Shane’s heart beating other “contenders”. As though her golden boy is doing Rachel some favor by being with her. Rachel says that Kitty is making her look like a “trophy wife” and Kitty says, “What’s so wrong in that?”
If this is not enough reason to run as fast as possible from this marriage, I don’t know what is. Kitty is a pain in the ass and Shane does not even bother to defend Rachel or have a problem with his mother’s behavior towards his wife.
Besides, there’s always Shane’s constant nagging whenever Rachel tries to take up a job and constant discouragement to go forward with her career. So, all in all, any sane person would give up on this horrendous excuse of a marriage!
Is Rachel The Dead Victim?
The opening scene of The White Lotus’s first episode left many wondering if Rachel Putton is actually the victim whose body was seen to be taken on the airplane while Shane watches quietly. But it is too early to say for sure that it was Rachel.
As of Episode 5, Rachel is still very much alive and there’s a fair chance that the victim might be someone else. Rachel’s absence in the opening scene maybe due to several reasons as well. (I vote for Rachel leaving Shane, like NOW!)
In fact, fans are beginning to think (and I agree) that no one actually died in the series. The glimpse of the body could be a red herring or maybe it belonged to someone else altogether.
Besides, I think there’s a high chance for many others to turn out as the victim in the series. For instance, Belinda! She is the only woman of color in the otherwise white cast. The show is a satirical take on white privilege and capitalism, so Belinda being the victim would actually make sense.
Maybe Tanya giving Belinda a business offers actually gave Belinda some hope and as a privileged upper class woman, Tanya may simply fail to deliver and crush Belinda’s hopes for a better life. This in turn could lead to a horrific accident which makes Belinda the eventual victim.
But how does that explain Rachel’s absence at the beginning of the series? Maybe she stayed back to cover the incident of the death of the spa manager. Rachel might have finally taken up the job or decided to focus on her career and hence leave Shane for good to pursue a story on the death that took place in White Lotus.
We will find out soon in Episode 5 and hopefully the twist will not Whatever the case is, I am sure we will know it soon enough considering the show is nearing its end for Season 1.
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.
No Comments on Will Rachel Leave Her Husband in The White Lotus?