Meanwhile, Ethan and Cameron were college friends, and the latter often clashed with the former’s wife, Harper, who seemed confused by his devious alpha dog behavior . Then, in a sequence where Cameron and Harper return to their room for sunscreen and swimming trunks, he crosses the line with her in a way that some may find shocking and others find completely innocuous. When Harper later proposed with Ethan, he shrugged. Her awareness of her husband’s changing personality is as much a part of the story as her contempt for his narcissistic drinking partner. There are cracks in her armor when Ethan points out instances of her insecurities or hypocrisy, and Cameron in turn is hostile and strangely playful towards her. Still, if anyone is better than her, it’s Jennifer Coolidge. The first season of White Lotus saw her character, a distraught Tanya, land in Hawaii to sprinkle her mother’s ashes. After Natasha Roswell’s Belinda gets a life-affirming spa treatment, she vows to fund her wellness career, but when a guest, Greg (Jon Gris), asks When she goes out, she gets distracted. In the second part – Tanya and Greg are the only two characters that reappear – she comes to the hotel to meet him, now her husband, only to find him in a bad mood. She wonders if he’s cheating on her, and if it’s all too good to be true, you’ll find yourself sympathizing with her, even though you support her yourself. Tanya is cartoonishly hysterical, crazy, and self-deprecating, but in her angst and near-childlike innocence, she also feels real, and at times resonant.
Haley Lu Richardson as Portia and Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya in Season 2 of The White Lotus .
Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO
