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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Season 2 of Mike White’s hit HBO multiple Emmy Award-winning satire comedy-drama series, The White Lotus, brings in a larger amount of narrative beats to the overall story. After this, the plot takes on a much harsher tone, so watch out for what developments it pushes to the foreground.
The second season’s third episode is titled, “Bull Elephants”. As always, it is written and directed by Mike White.
In this review, I will be discussing The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3. There will be no major spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion.
Please note that I have seen the season’s first five out of seven episodes before their airing to properly understand the small details and the larger picture of the narrative.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia, here is the logline for The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3—“Bull Elephants”.
After promising to have a more positive attitude, Harper (Aubrey Plaza) gets looped into a side excursion with Daphne (Meghann Fahy) – leaving Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Cameron (Theo James) behind for some bro time. On her own for two days, Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) seeks advice from a local tarot reader and summons Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) back from sightseeing with the Di Grassos. Later, Albie (Adam DiMarco) questions whether his father truly respects women.
WarnerMedia
Discussion
This past weekend’s episode of The White Lotus is a liminal set-up for the fourth and fifth episodes of the season. While I cannot spoil any huge revelations just yet, beware of the characters’ actions and word choices. “Bull Elephants” is a rather creative title with what is conveyed here. It deals with something that Daphne Babcock (Fahy) says at the end of the second act about the competitiveness of men in comparison to a pod of boy elephants.
Bovaird, Sprouse, and their team of costumers continue to do this Sicily-centric season justice with more outfits. A lot of my favorite looks are in the first act around breakfast. Harper Spiller (Plaza) has a sexy yellow morning gown for her husband, Ethan Spiller (Sharpe), and it’s such a riveting way to start off the episode. I also like how she sports a headband paired with a cyan onesie. This aesthetic combination for the character juxtaposes well with Daphne’s top, which has multi-colored flower patterns. I also adore Daphne’s spaghetti strap Prada dress, which is a fine appearance for the occasion, especially with where they are in this episode. Cameron (James) and Ethan have interesting tops for breakfast, but more importantly, Lucía’s (Simona Tabasco) necklace and earring jewelry in the third act gives her an enthralling look.
The music team’s scoring continues to be everything and definitely ups Season 1 with its use of artists. Episode 5 will be a good episode in this respect, and you might find yourself tearing up with what the team has to offer.
Grobet and Larson have remarkable framing throughout the episode. Paired with Valerio and Bower’s editing, we get some intriguing shots, including a scene featuring Harper and a scene at the end of the final act involving Ethan Spiller and Cameron Babcock. I appreciate how much effort is put into that aspect of the episode.
Point Already Made
Coming from last week’s episode, Portia extrapolates a point of hers that drags on a bit. It is actually a point that Mike White already addressed last season through the male character, Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger), in its third episode. In this past weekend’s episode, Portia says:
I just feel like there must have been a time when the world had more. You know? Like mystery or something. And now you come somewhere like [Sicily], and it’s beautiful, and you take a picture, and then you realize that everyone has taken that exact same picture from that exact same spot, and you’ve just made some redundant content for stupid Instagram, and you can’t even get lost anymore because you can just find yourself on Google Maps.
Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) in Mike White’s ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2 Episode 3 (9:20-9:45)
This is quite a mouthful within 25 seconds. Out of all the beats of the episode, this may come off as expository. Although, I like her point at the end of this monologue about “finding [her]self”. Social media and digital technology, especially in this day and age, are frightening entities that exist with the supposed purpose of the security of all people.
In actuality, the opposite is true — the world is in a constant Panoptic state of being watched through our computer camera-recording, personal information data-collecting, devices of maintenance and control. You can, for sure, find your own or someone else’s whereabouts on Google Maps or other applications and programs of tracking due to microchips. Let’s not even bring up the current Elon Musk situation on Twitter…
The Crew Behind The White Lotus Season 2
The White Lotus is created by Mike White.
Mark Kamine, David Bernad, and Mike White are the executive producers. John M. Valerio, Heather Persons, and Todd Brown are the producers. Marco Valerio Pugini and Ute Leonhardt serve as the co-executive producers.
Xavier Grobet is the director of photography, with Frank Larson on additional cinematography. Valerio serves as the editor. Zoe Bower serves as the assistant editor.
Cristobal Tapia de Veer and Kim Neundorf score the music of the series. Gabe Hilfer serves as the music supervisor. Mikael Sandgren is the music editor. Henry van Roden is the music coordinator, while Evan M. Greenspan works on the music clearances.
Meredith Tucker is the casting director for the series. Francesco Vedovati and Barbara Giordani serve as the Italian casting directors. Joe Gery serves as the US casting associate.
Aesthetics
Alex Bovaird is the costume designer. Brian Sprouse serves as the assistant costume designer. Erminia Melato, Lisa Crescioli, and Paola Stefanelli are the costumers of the series.
Rebecca Hickey is the head of the make-up department. Federica Emidi is the key make-up artist. Francesca Antonetti and Rosa Saba are the make-up artists. Ilenia Fanciulli, Claudia Pompili, Federico Meniconi, Cecilia Proiette, Ambra Samrau, and Annalisa Parisi serve as the additional make-up artists.
Miia Kovero is the head of the hair department. Elena Gregorini is the key hairstylist, while Italo Di Pinto is the hairstylist. Armandina Bernandini is the additional hairstylist.
Cristina Onori serves as the production designer, while Federica Salatino is the assistant production designer. Gianpaolo Rifino serves as the supervising art director, while Silvia Colafranceschi is the art director. David Orlandelli is the storyboard artist. Letizia Santucci is the set decorator, while Luisa Iemma is the senior assistant set decorator. Fabiana Rizzi and Giorgio Pizzuti are the assistant set decorators.
Fabio Lovino is the stills photographer, with Francesca D’Angelo as the stills photographer assistant.
The Cast of The White Lotus Season 2
F. Murray Abraham portrays Bert Di Grasso. Adam DiMarco plays Albie Di Grasso. Michael Imperioli portrays Dominic Di Grasso.
Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries portray Tanya McQuoid-Hunt and Greg. Haley Lu Richardson portrays Portia.
Meghann Fahy and Theo James portray Daphne and Cameron, respectively. Aubrey Plaza and Will Sharpe portray Harper and Ethan Spiller, respectively.
Beatrice Grannò and Simona Tabasco portray Mia and Lucía, respectively. Sabrina Impacciatore plays Valentina.
Tom Hollander and Leo Woodall are credited as Quentin and Jack, respectively.
Federico Ferrante and Eleonora Romandini guest star as Rocco and Isabella, respectively. Federico Scribani portrays Giuseppe. Paolo Camilli, Bruno Gouery, Francesco Zecca also guest star.
Salvatore Bianca, Salvatore Catanese, Giuseppe la Ganga Ciciritto, Ermanno Costantino, Count Giuseppe Tasca D’Almerita, Vincenzo Denaro, Katia Gargano, Evelin Hubbard, Alba Iacono, Angelo Osman Spartà, and Giuseppe Torrisi co-star.
Performances and Character Developments
We don’t know much about Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) in these first two episodes. This current one does develop her character a bit. “Bull Elephants” hints at why she rejects men and why she favors her employee, Isabella (Eleonora Romandini). Although, you will need to stick around a little longer for you to learn about that exact reason.
Other than that, there are several other beats that this episode of The White Lotus exhibits. However, they are only teasers for the juicier parts of the season. Without spoilers, I will talk about how they overlap with each other in the future.
Stay on the Lookout
Bert Di Grasso (F. Murray Abraham) and his suspicions of Lucía and Mia (Beatrice Grannò) take a turn for the worse. This instigates a change in his dynamic with his son, Dominic (Michael Imperioli), as well as in Dominic’s relationship with his own son. Dominic and Bert’s masculine views of eroticism — such as the latter’s statement, “Now we’re just reminders…of an offensive past everybody wants to forget” — only add another layer to this conflict of generational trauma.
Similarly, there is something about Cameron’s mindset and perspective on “whores” that affect his wife, Daphne, along with Harper and Ethan. Daphne’s passive-aggressiveness is noteworthy, and Fahy puts on a great performance. Furthermore, this only places a strain on Harper’s relationship with her husband, with Plaza set up to deliver a strong performance that is unlike anything we’ve seen in her previous projects, such as Scott Pilgrim and The To Do List.
The departure of Greg (Jon Gries) leads to McQuoid-Hunt desiring the presence of company. This further fulfilling a block higher up in her hierarchy of needs. This is where Portia plays a crucial role, and it is one that affects her relationship with Albie later in the season. The introduction of Quentin (Tom Hollander) during dinner as well as Jack (Leo Woodall) in the pool scene, both towards the end of the third act, foreshadows a rather shocking change in the narrative.
So What?
Dominic’s transition during the dinner scene from the Sicilian girls to joining his family at the restaurant is only the start of the overlapping subplots. The multiple beats of Lucía and Mia interacting with the several men in the room, including the pianist Giuseppe (Federico Scribani), are only part of the connection between the different storylines.
Greg’s sudden two-day “leave of absence” and Dominic’s decision with the two girls are ultimately the two crucial beats that change the course of the story. With Quentin and Jack finally making their first appearances in the season, it only gets better from here. We will be seeing some characters with others that initially would have been unlikely. Choices will be made by characters — such as Portia and Albie, the two couples, and Mia — that will make the following narratives of at least the next two episodes more intense.
Final Thoughts on The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 3
With the overall plot of The White Lotus Season 2 pacing slowly thus far, we do not see many big things coming. However, with this third episode, White moves us to the “middle act” of the story, and it only gets better from here. The guests were mostly relaxing in the hotel for most of the first two episodes. Now, we are given some lovely views outside of the premises, and we have Harper and Daphne to thank for that. The next two episodes will take us to the opera and through different halls, indicative of the drama and distinct paths that the series takes.
My only thoughts about this episode, notably in its final act, are: spicy. If that is the case with “Bull Elephants”, you will not believe what the entire pepper will be later.
Mike White’s The White Lotus Season 2 is now airing on HBO and streaming via HBO Max!
Have you seen White’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more comedy and drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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