The White Lotus dropped what might be its most disturbing reveal so far last night. While waiting for Italian boy toy Niccoló (Stefano Gianino) to drop trow, Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) discovers a clue that Quentin (Tom Hollander) might know her husband Greg (Jon Gries). Our girl finds a photograph of a young Quentin with the American cowboy he fell in love with once upon a time and the cowboy looks an awful lot like Greg! So much so that the prevailing White Lotus fan theories are now all focused on the idea that Greg and Quentin are working together to ruin Tanya. Is the plan to catch her cheating so Greg can take her money? Or is it more nefarious? Is Quentin preparing to kill Tanya in the The White Lotus Season 2 finale on HBO?
The cold open of The White Lotus Season 2 reveals that multiple characters will die in the final episode. Daphne (Meghann Fahy) discovers a corpse in the sea and we’re also told that guests, plural, have died on the resort grounds. The White Lotus writer and director Mike White has cleverly set up multiple storylines careening towards disaster, but the one that fans are the most anxious over is Tanya’s. Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge was the breakout star of Season 1 and one of the only returning characters for Season 2. Does the photograph of Quentin and Greg mean that Jennifer Coolidge won’t be checking in for The White Lotus Season 3? Or is the photo a red herring designed to throw us off?
Let’s break down the major fan theory that is sweeping White Lotus-dom this morning. Why is Greg the cowboy in Quentin’s photography
The White Lotus Fan Theory: Are Quentin and Greg Working Together to Ruin Tanya? To Kill Tanya??
Since the start of The White Lotus Season 2, Greg has been oddly distant, if not cruel to wife Tanya. In Episode 1, he is furious that Tanya’s assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) has tagged along on a romantic vacation, but he is hardly in a passionate headspace. Tanya catches Greg making not one, but two clandestine phone calls. The second and more damning one has him telling someone that “she’s clueless” and that he’ll be home the next day and he loves them, too. Tanya assumes Greg is cheating on her and immediately gloms on to the glamorous Quentin in her husband’s absence.
However, it’s obvious that Quentin is also playing a game. In The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 5, Quentin reveals he’s only been in love once. With a heterosexual American cowboy. At the end of the monologue, he hauntingly asks Tanya if she would die for beauty.
“I felt it was all about what he couldn’t deal with,” Tom Hollander told Decider of the scene. “He had substituted an alabaster statue for flesh and blood, which also means that at some level he’s a sociopath because he prefers that. But it was also about pain and regret and youth.”
In Episode 6, when Tanya finds herself separated from Portia, coked up, and in the process of being seduced by a Sicilian mobster, she spots a photo of Quentin and his cowboy…who looks an awful lot like a young Greg. So what’s going on? And why does Jack (Leo Woodall) tell Portia that Quentin is about to come into a lot of money?
The obvious answer is that Greg married Tanya as part of a long con. Because of their prenup, he may need proof of Tanya’s infidelity to get Tanya’s money in the divorce. It could be that Quentin — whom Greg knew lived in Sicily — was asked to orchestrate a situation where Tanya would be caught on tape with another man. Hence Greg abandoning Tanya to Quentin’s charms. It’s a trap to ensnare Tanya. Fans of this theory also point out that Greg might have been upset to see Portia because she could prevent this…but now Jack has conveniently whisked her away from Tanya.
But there is a more insidious theory. Since we know that people are going to die this season, it’s possible that Quentin is actually planning to murder Tanya. Hence his “would you die for beauty” line. Not to mention, it would be a cleaner way for Greg to get Tanya’s riches, which he would share with his old pal struggling to keep his Italian villa.
Of course, this is The White Lotus and the The White Lotus loves its fake outs. There is a vague possibility that Greg has no idea what’s going on. His odd behavior could be chocked up to the fact that last season he had a serious illness. He could be literally dying, returning to the states for medical care and to see family. Quentin might be orchestrating his own game to blackmail Tanya for her riches in revenge for losing Greg’s love to her.
No matter what, Tanya is in danger.
Other The White Lotus Fan Theories: Ethan is a Killer, F. Murray Abraham’s Burt Will Die
While there are far too many White Lotus fan theories out there to mention them all, the other big theory gaining traction is that Ethan (Will Sharpe) is going to commit murder. The last episode saw him quickly lose his cool when he suspected that his unhappy wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza) had sex with his frenemy Cameron (Theo James). The trailer for The White Lotus Season 2 finale actually shows Ethan’s increasing fury with Harper and Cameron, culminating in him actually choking Cameron under the water. Did Daphne discover her own husband’s corpse in the water?
Of course, the Di Grassos are also on a collision course with danger. Albie (Adam DiMarco) wants to help gal pal Lucia (Simona Tabasco) break free from her pimp and his father Dominic (Michael Imperioli) is getting pulled into the situation. Could one or more of the Di Grassos die because of Lucia? Moreover, the show keeps pointing out that Bert (F. Murray Abraham) is old and falling a lot. Could Bert just die of natural causes??
All we know is people are going to die on The White Lotus next week. And it could be anyone except Daphne or hotel manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore)…
