White Lotus, my thoughts so far – a vacuum of vacuousness.

Since their creation, HBO have set many records over their history as a network and suffice to say, they have made another – making a show where almost every character is utterly intolerable.

White Lotus, whilst amusing in its satire, simultaneously provides agonising moments of cringe which can only be watched through the medium of splayed fingers. Set in a luxury Hawaiian resort, we as the viewer see a coalescence of rich, out of touch people mingle amongst each other, and of course, with the hotel manager. I have found myself to be amused by a lot of these interactions, but this is often coupled with either a degree of angst caused by their behaviour, or a desire to reach for the fast forward button on the remote to relieve myself from wincing.

We follow three distinct groups for their stay at the White Lotus: a young couple on their honeymoon – with a husband who’s blinded by his family’s wealth, a family whose mother runs a successful tech firm with a husband who subsequently seems lost with himself, and a woman who appears to be rather away with the fairies.

A common theme exhibited by the characters seems to be their inherent trait of superficiality. Nicole’s daughter and friend are prime examples of the millennial stereotype held by older generations. Jennifer, though unintentionally good at hiding it, is superficial regarding her ability to talk a great game of starting a massage business, though this is just a red herring to toe Belinda along as a ‘friend’. Finally, we have Rachel, played by the most notorious actor in the cast – Alexandra Daddario. Here, I think it is more the nature of their relationship which presents as artificial. These newlyweds are not guilty of flittering between attitudes but seem to think their relationship will last for vastly different reasons.

Having watched four episodes so far, I will try and see out the end, in part since it is an HBO production, but also to discover which body is loaded onto the plane that we see at the start of the show. As of the current time, however, I would struggle to say whether the amusing moments are worth the agonising ones that make you recoil. Considering this, I think it prudent to give this show a rough six out of ten for the time being.