House of the Dragon may be over, but HBO is still serving up drama, sex, and intrigue every Sunday night with The White Lotus Season 2. The dark comedy’s second season premiered on October 30 and quickly established another murder mystery that will drive the narrative as these rich (mostly) white Americans enjoy a Sicilian vacation.
Of course, the question on everyone’s mind is obvious: Who dies in White Lotus Season 2? While we likely won’t learn the truth until the season finale, we can make a few educated guesses right now.
Who died in White Lotus Season 1?
Before we go any further, let’s quickly recap what happened in Season 1. Set at a resort in Hawaii, White Lotus introduced an assortment of rich vacationers along with hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett). Ultimately, it was Armond who wound up dead after his feud with a guest spiraled into total chaos.
It’s also worth noting that the only actors to make the jump from White Lotus Season 1 to Season 2 are Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya and Jon Gries as her now-husband Greg. Everyone else is brand new. So with that in mind, let’s run through some options.
5. The “happy” couples
The clear tension between these four characters feels like obvious fodder for a murder. Aubrey Plaza’s Harper feels particularly ready to either kill someone or get killed. However, there’s one big problem.
It’s the other woman of this quartet, Daphne (Meghann Fahy), who finds the body in the first place. And while she’s clearly traumatized, her reaction in Episode 1’s opening scene suggests she’s simply shocked by finding a dead body in the ocean, rather than seeing a friend’s dead body. So unless Daphne is the murderer and also a very good actor, it’s unlikely any of these characters are going to die.
4. Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge)
As one of the only returning characters, Tanya feels like an easy target — especially considering the way she mistreats her poor assistant Portia. However, we’re going to rule this one out if only because we hope Coolidge will return again in the inevitable White Lotus Season 3.
That said, Portia seems like the kind of nice person who could wind up dead on a show like White Lotus.
3. The local girls
Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Grannò) are a pair of local Sicilians who sneak into the White Lotus. Lucia is a call girl, while Mia is her friend who’s resisting pressure to do the same. Given White Lotus Season 2’s focus on power dynamics and sex, it seems plausible one or both of these women could wind up dead. Then again, that might be too obvious (and tacky) for a show trying to subvert those types of tropes.
2. The Di Grasso boys
Three generations of Italian Americans arrive together to dig into Bert's (F. Murray Abraham) Italian heritage. Between Bert’s casual sexism and the darkness surrounding his middle-aged son Dominic (Michael Imperioli), who appears to be going through an ugly divorce, things could get messy.
But don’t overlook the grandson Albie (Adam DiMarco) either. This nice young man with good intentions could wind up putting him in danger.
1. Greg
Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but after watching White Lotus Season 2 Episode 1, I really want Greg (Jon Gries) to die. Hopefully, the show’s writers are subtly telegraphing the season’s satisfying ending.
The White Lotus is streaming now on HBO and HBO Max.
