This season's tight interwoven narrative sticks the landing in a satisfying if tragically operatic finale. I love the evolution of Mike White's career - I admit nothing in his writer's resume (Pitch Perfect 3? The Emoji Movie?!) prepared me for his startling talent that's been on display since White Lotus' first season, and which has become even more layered and sophisticated in this second season. The complexity, vulnerability and manipulations found in pursuits of love and/or sex are embedded masterfully in White's story-telling and direction. The messiness of emotions, of desire, of yearning, of wishful thinking, and the potential for bad faith, predation, and lust to subvert and devastate those human motivations is beautifully conveyed all season. Here in the finale we get the gamut of conclusions, all inevitable in their own ways, ranging from heartbreaking to joyous, but none neat and tidy, and none with all our questions answered. It's a perfect balance of resolution and ambiguity, happy and sad, surprising and obvious.
White's ability to tackle all these themes, throwing them all up in the air in a precarious juggling act, and catch them all in the finale - just a masterclass and joy to experience.
A beautiful job. I hope I can sustain this level of excellence with a third season. I think he's so smart to make each season about a theme. First season was about money, entitlement and privilege. This one about sex and love. Pretty ambitious. I can't wait to see where Mike White goes from here.