The White Lotus Season 2 began much like Season 1, with the stark juxtaposition of an idyllic holiday destination and a dead body. In Season 1, this fate hangs over every episode, the tension building until Armond ends up on the wrong side of a knife.
In Season 2, the location has changed to Sicily, but the tension remains. This fan theory suggests two characters from Season 1 may be responsible for the drama.
Redditor GoesOff_On_Tangent suggests that Greg Hunt and Tanya McQuoid-Hunt will be the focus of Season 2’s murderous element. In Episode 2, we learn about Tanya’s true past, and how she became the eccentric rich woman that charmed audiences in Season 1. Why would we need to know this if it wasn’t important to the larger plot?
In conversation with Albie, Tanya’s assistant, Portia, says Tanya’s father was a real estate magnate who owned half of San Francisco, acted weird towards Tanya, and took his own life, leaving her with half a billion dollars. Portia tells Albie she had to sign an NDA, proving that information is definitely sensitive.
Then there’s Greg, who works for the Bureau of Land Management and is seen on the phone having some mysterious conversation where he says, “she’s clueless as usual.” Greg claimed he had to fly back to Denver for urgent business, but this clearly implies there’s something afoot.
Here’s where the theory comes in: What if Greg’s entire marriage to Tanya is a sham arranged by the Bureau of Land Management to win back the assets that Tanya’s father stole? It seems a little far-fetched at first, but “far-fetched” is this show’s whole vibe. Maybe Greg is trying to collect evidence and arrest his wife, but when Tanya learns about his scheme she lashes out and murders him.
This casts Greg’s discussion about Tanya bringing Portia along in a new light. If this theory is correct, Greg didn’t want Portia to leave because she’s a third wheel; he wanted her out of the way to keep his plan running smoothly.
Granted, there are some elements this theory doesn’t account for, like Greg saying “I love you” during one of his phone calls, and Valentina saying multiple bodies were found in Episode 1. But The White Lotus is a twisty show, and this would certainly be a pivot worthy of the series.
In Season 1, Greg’s position in the Bureau of Land Management was just a joke, but now it could be the plot that Season 2 hinges on.
The White Lotus is now streaming on HBO Max.
