I experience the characters on this show as real people much much more than in most other shows I watch, not sure how much of this is down to good acting and how much to writing (and I except the characters played for laffs like coolidge's and to some extent the hotel manager)
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 26 July 2021 18:46 (two years ago) link
Murray Bartlett is really fantastic, was not familiar with him
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 26 July 2021 18:54 (two years ago) link
I feel like somebody told him "Basil Fawlty but sympathetic, go"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:00 (two years ago) link
the dialogue is really bothering me sometimes, characters just churn out huge chunks of exposition for reasonthe whole exchange with britton & the daughter about zahn’s dad while he’s sitting there was like weird cliffs notes or something, like “for the viewers at home who arent following along THIS IS WHAT IS GOING ON WITH STEVE ZAHN”but i also love the hotel manager & the masseuse & literally every shot of the ocean so i am still going to keep watching
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:06 (two years ago) link
but also i think the Britton Zahn family isnt believable as a family because theyre so quippy & blank with each otherso maybe its just a me thing with them specifically
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:08 (two years ago) link
xpost to ums Murray was in Looking! he’s great, that was a v good show imo
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:09 (two years ago) link
the whole exchange with britton & the daughter about zahn’s dad while he’s sitting there was like weird cliffs notes or something, like “for the viewers at home who arent following along THIS IS WHAT IS GOING ON WITH STEVE ZAHN”
See I totally bought this, the mom disclosing that information clearly not having discussed with the dad whether he wanted it disclosed, the daughter experimenting with how it feels being pretty mean to her dad but in a "come on just having fun" kind of way, set up as a companion piece to her interaction with the hedge-fund husband splashing her at the pool, which interaction said husband later explains to peeved wife as "just giving them shit"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:18 (two years ago) link
Looking is secretly one of the great tv shows
― Yours in Sorrow, A Schoolboy: (forksclovetofu), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:29 (two years ago) link
otm!
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:35 (two years ago) link
I wonder if one reason I experience the characters as real people is that (again excepting Coolidge) I don't think I've seen any of these actors in anything before
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 26 July 2021 19:57 (two years ago) link
i've seen basically every actor in this show in a different hbo show lol
― bezos did the dub (voodoo chili), Monday, 26 July 2021 20:22 (two years ago) link
Looking was a great show, I forgot that he was in that. Great actor.
I love this show, partly because the last time we went to maui we stayed next door to this resort (this is the Four Seasons); we did eat over there a few times and walked through it enough for it all to be familiar.
I agree that Britton is underwritten so far but figure it might focus on her a bit more in the second half. It is hard too say what the overriding 'story' of the show is, but I kind of don't care because I enjoy the writing so much and Mike White really does write great characters.
― akm, Monday, 26 July 2021 21:10 (two years ago) link
it always takes me a moment to register when connie britton is meant to be playing an unsympathetic character because i know and love her from her role as saint on earth tami taylor in friday night lights
― bezos did the dub (voodoo chili), Monday, 26 July 2021 21:15 (two years ago) link
yeah I'm kind of willing to give her character all kinds of credit because I am in love with her
― akm, Monday, 26 July 2021 21:46 (two years ago) link
I wouldn't describe her character in this show as wholly unsympathetic
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 26 July 2021 21:48 (two years ago) link
nb, i haven't seen episode 3 yet
― bezos did the dub (voodoo chili), Monday, 26 July 2021 21:48 (two years ago) link
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/mike-white-on-money-status-and-appearing-on-survivor
― just sayin, Monday, 26 July 2021 23:22 (two years ago) link
yet to arrive as a cast member: molly shannon
― Yours in Sorrow, A Schoolboy: (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 04:43 (two years ago) link
:D
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 04:45 (two years ago) link
Oh yeah, my wife clocked her voice on the phone, loving her late career Renaissance.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 15:28 (two years ago) link
that nyer interview was great
ep3 was really good & hilarious imo
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 28 July 2021 01:28 (two years ago) link
Agree the interview was really good. Fascinating that the college girls are in some ways the characters he identifies with (which makes sense, since he is, in some ways, the hardest on them.)
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 28 July 2021 02:24 (two years ago) link
"we have a stylist pick them out" was a great line
― Yours in Sorrow, A Schoolboy: (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 July 2021 03:42 (two years ago) link
The sound in this show is really intense
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 3 August 2021 03:47 (two years ago) link
this made me lol
MELFI: and this tv program makes you anxiousTONY: jennifer cooler's crying, this one's fuckin mother in law showed up, and then you got the musicMELFI: what about the musicTONY: THEYRE JUST SITTING ON THE FUCKIN BEACH, WHY'S THE MUSIC SCARY?— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) August 9, 2021
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 9 August 2021 20:41 (two years ago) link
Really no more discussion? Loved this show
― Evan, Monday, 16 August 2021 10:48 (two years ago) link
Yeah, it didn't hit the heights of Enlightened but I enjoyed it very much.Has been renewed for a second season, btw. Apparently as a season-long anthology of sorts, as the second season will take place at another White Lotus property with an all-new cast. It's more Mike White so I'll take it.
― Marty J. Bilge (Old Lunch), Monday, 16 August 2021 11:13 (two years ago) link
Loved Uncle Rico as Tanya's terminally ill boyfriend.
― TO BE A JAZZ SINGER YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SCAT (Jazzbo), Monday, 16 August 2021 12:57 (two years ago) link
still remember him best from Real Genius.
― dan selzer, Monday, 16 August 2021 13:02 (two years ago) link
was great, but Rachel's change of heart seemed pretty out of the blue, I felt like it needed an additional scene in there. also a bit surprised they let Shane leave so quickly.
― akm, Monday, 16 August 2021 15:07 (two years ago) link
Good interview with Mike White: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html
― jaymc, Monday, 16 August 2021 15:14 (two years ago) link
This was really good. Not as good as Enlightened but what is? I like the way no one in it was let off the hook.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:16 (two years ago) link
was great, but Rachel's change of heart seemed pretty out of the blue,
From the White interview:
Some people read it as cynical; to me, the thing that I feel about Shane is that even though he is a privileged asshole, he does really love her. Even if it’s just an idea of her.
This is how I feel about it too -- remember, Rachel dated this guy for months and married him -- it's the "this guy's an asshole and I can't spend my life with him" that was an out-of-the-blue change of heart! I think the genius of Lacy's portrayal is that he makes Shane a huge asshole and SIMULTANEOUSLY a person you might actually fall in love with and want to make a life with.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:24 (two years ago) link
That's kind of the strength of White's work all over. His characters are often deeeeeply flawed but drawn with enough nuance that they maintain their humanity/relatability. Shane is an enormous asshole but he's not just like a straight-up villain. Like no one is really blameless or wholly to blame for the circumstances they find themselves in.
― Marty J. Bilge (Old Lunch), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:43 (two years ago) link
ha ha vg
had never seen Bartlett in anything before, skimming his resume I guessed this might be the first time he's used his own accent in two decades?
― bobo honkin' slobo babe (sic), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:52 (two years ago) link
Coolidge kinda took the Amy Jellicoe role this time around where she initially seemed like a comic relief caricature but got some more nuanced and sympathetic development. And then she got to end on a pretty assholish note of her own (which I called from the moment poor Belinda perked up at the idea of getting her own business).
― Marty J. Bilge (Old Lunch), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
Bartlett was great. I've never seen him in anything before, either. I hope his career gets a deserved boost from this.
― Marty J. Bilge (Old Lunch), Monday, 16 August 2021 15:59 (two years ago) link
Quick thoughts...
-I didn't read Rachel as having a change of heart, I thought it was her being too confused/unsure/scared to go through with it especially after Belinda walked out the door on her, where one might then think "wow I must have sounded totally insane?". -I agree Shane wasn't a "straight-up villain" UNTIL they had his character start brazenly hitting on the girls that he hadn't previously talked to before, right in front of Rachel. That seemed like a cheap "let's make sure the audience knows this guy is a piece of shit" move. My wife brought up that it could potentially be him acting out due to their conversation that morning, but it still felt a bit out of nowhere vs. his other spoiled acting out up to that point and after.
― Evan, Monday, 16 August 2021 17:49 (two years ago) link
yeah I think in if Rachel had been able to talk to someone sympathetic or someone close to her who knew her, she probably would have left but with Belinda already (understandably) having had a gutfull of white ppl problems, her dismissal made Rachel question herselfalso aside from Shane she’s alone in this place, isolated with no friends or anyone to talk to - that will for sure undermine your confidence when you are in need of valudation & in a fragile frame of mind. left to your own devices, one could very easily talk themselves into a change of heart.
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 August 2021 18:03 (two years ago) link
and besides, in a very doomed way she’s the kind of character for whom both things can be true: she’s unhappy in her marriage & she loves him
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 August 2021 18:06 (two years ago) link
yeah I think in if Rachel had been able to talk to someone sympathetic or someone close to her who knew her
I think there's a hint in that phone conversation with her mom that her mom is not actually as different from Shane's mom as she (and no doubt also Shane's mom) would like to think
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 16 August 2021 18:09 (two years ago) link
the mother inlaw was like, everything i would be terrified ofif i was rachel i probably just would have walked into the ocean & ended my life, not even botheted trying to tackle divorce like just feeding on that poor girl’s defenseless psyche like a succubus. and the mother inlaw WITH shane, talking to rachel about her life? i would wish no less than a swift & painless deathalso my other thought abt rachel was just seeing so starkly how hard it is to say what you want confidently, & demand it, when you havent ever lived your life that way
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:09 (two years ago) link
*bothered
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:10 (two years ago) link
i wanted paula to get dragged more for her actions like i get hating that family for their privilege (fairly) but the way she flexed her own on that dude as a tool for her own weird vengeance. like “hmmm no i cant stay with you i have to go to college but i’m going to wave my wand for you & you steal this jewelry from this shitty family because it’ll make your life better i promise” like i think she kind of despised him a little bit too being corny & wanting her to stay w him idk
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:16 (two years ago) link
i think at least paula knows she did a terrible, stupid thing that destroyed kai's life. she's not as different from the family she was with as she would like to think. she really liked kai but she has college and a "real life" likely in some big city (i don't remember if they mentioned where they went to college) and staying in some peripheral place like hawaii was just not an option for her.
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:24 (two years ago) link
and her plan to "help" him was her being naive, quite patronizing and frankly dangerous/stupid
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:25 (two years ago) link
Yeah, almost glaringly so.And that's one aspect of what I mentioned upthread about no one on this show being completely to blame or completely blameless. Like Kai was definitely done dirty by Paula but at the same time he must've had many similar opportunities previously (given his level of access to rich peoples' private space) that he never took advantage of.
― Marty J. Bilge (Old Lunch), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:33 (two years ago) link
yes, he for sure is to blame also but it's something he never would've done without her suggestion. and there was an imbalance of power there, both because she's a guest and he's a service worker, and because he clearly was falling in love with her.
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:36 (two years ago) link
the one thing about this show that always annoyed me: that family was too rich that they would've just had a one bedroom suite for 5 people!!!!!
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 16 August 2021 19:37 (two years ago) link
YES
― dan selzer, Monday, 16 August 2021 20:12 (two years ago) link