The White Lotus season 2 episode 4 recap: In the Sandbox

In season 2 episode 4 of the multi-awarded HBO series The White Lotus, the American guests staying at the five-star resort are in for an escalation of unexpected friendship and passions. It’s a beautiful day at the five-star resort hotel and Cameron Sullivan wakes up entwined with Lucia and Mia.

He desperately tries to find the money to pay them but comes up very short. Cam promises to pay the rest later after he goes to the bank.

Disappointed but with nothing else to be done, Lucia and Mia let themselves be ushered out of the room. They encounter Valentina doing her morning rounds and take some snarky jibes from her.

Other than a bruising of their ego, they take no damage. They let it go and find somewhere to sleep off the hangover.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 4 recap: Meet the Euro gay gang

At the front desk, Valentina confronts Isabella about Rocco, who she spies talking animatedly again. Valentina tells her that she should tell her immediately if Rocco makes her uncomfortable.

Dominic DiGrasso interrupts them and asks if they have recommendations for a nearby jewelry store. He was hoping to buy a present for his wife who couldn’t make it to the vacation.

Isabella sends him to a shop called Pancrazi along the commercial corso. At the breakfast buffet, Portia tells Albie that she regrets not hanging out with him the previous night.

She tries to get permission from Tanya to give her some free time that day. But Tanya just ignores this and turns the conversation back to her suspicions about Greg.

As they’re heading in from the restaurant, Tanya and Portia encounter the British Quentin and his very gay Italian friend Matteo. They praise Tanya for her chic fashion and invite them over to the beach club and their boat.

Lucia and Mia are regretting their life choices as they nurse their hangover beside the pool when they spot Bert and Albie on the deck. They sneak past them and go to the grandfather’s room to shower.

When Bert comes back, he finds the two girls still dressing up. They make some lame excuse about being confused about their rooms and simply run off.

Bert is shocked but then intrigued. Portia and Tanya arrive at the beach club and are at once befriended and welcomed by Quentin and his cadre of European gay friends.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 4 recap: The tale of Isola Bella

Quentin tells Tanya the story of the nearby island of Isola Bella, that has a villa on it owned by a rich Swedish family. The only one remaining was the matriarch.

She refused to sell to the local mafia. Then one day, her body was found in the ocean.

Quentin opines that perhaps it was all for the best since the island is now open to the public, even though it took a suspected mafia murder for it to happen. Portia also meets Jack, Quentin’s nephew, who is a strapping young man close to her age.

Jack and Portia hit it off right away, talking about how Sicily should be an adventure and how they yearn for something more visceral from the experience. This is especially true for Jack, who’s already spent two months in Palermo.

Albie sees them from the poolside lounge chairs and feels a pang of jealousy at the obvious chemistry and flirtation between the two. Portia seems to have forgotten about their plan to hang out, as she’s so engrossed talking to Jack.

But when he finally goes up to the beach club to confront Portia she just waves him off as politely as she can, citing that she needs to stay with Tanya a little longer. Albie can clearly see she’d rather hang with Jack, though.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 4 recap: Harper’s pretty spooked

At the palazzo in Noto, Daphne asks Harper not to tell anyone what she said the previous night. Especially since she was drunk and on gummies.

Harper agrees. When they arrive back at the hotel, Harper tells Ethan everything about her night with Daphne.

Since the staff haven’t cleaned, their room is still quite a mess. When Ethan goes to take a piss, Harper finds an open condom wrapper in a crevice of the sofa.

Harper is shocked but keeps it to herself. She however brings this unsettled vibe to lunch with the Sullivans and spooks everyone at the table.

Mia and Lucia try to take the lounge chair that Albie has reserved for Portia but they’re kicked out. As the two girls continue to bemoan their bad luck, Mia has an epiphany that if she wants to advance her singing career, she should just go ahead and have sex with Giuseppe, the lecherous lounge singer and pianist of The White Lotus.

She leaves Lucia to go execute her plan. Giuseppe takes her to the hotel’s chapel but he can’t get it up.

Mia remembers that Lucia has Viagra in her purse and tells him to wait while she gets him pharmaceutical assistance.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 4 recap: Too many pills!

Meanwhile, Lucia goes back poolside to take the lounge chair beside Albie. They start talking and hit it off.

Albie is completely unaware that Lucia is a prostitute, much less someone who’s already slept with his father. They decide to go for a swim, much to Albie’s delight, and of course as an added bonus to make Portia jealous.

Mia rifles through Lucia’s purse and finds the small containers where she keeps each of the pills. There are no labels though, so she doesn’t know what’s what.

Mia tries to get some clarity from Lucia, but she’s swimming with Albie and can’t hear her friend over the waves. Frustrated, Mia just takes two of some random pills, returns to the chapel, and bids Giuseppe drink.

That night, Valentina stops Isabella and gives her a starfish broach she bought from the jewelry store. Of course, Mia gave the guy the wrong pills and he can’t go through with it.

That same evening, he collapses during his set. An ambulance is called and he’s taken away.

During dinner, Portia and Tanya are hanging out with their new gay cadre of friends. Quentin invites her to the party at his villa, Tanya agrees.

Meantime, Albie skips dinner with his family and has drinks with Mia and Lucia at the bar. Coincidentally, Portia and Jack end up drinking beside them.

Super awkward, only further abetted by Jack and Portia making out. Then Lucia kisses Albie to escalate the tongue arms race.

Both couples go back to their rooms and consummate the evening with some intimacy. Before going to sleep, Harper gives one last chance to Ethan to come clean.

She asks him if he has anything to tell her. The only thing he fesses up to is that Cam asked him to invest money in his firm.

Harper is disappointed but turns in for the night without saying a word.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 3 recap: Review

Uh oh. I am pretty worried about Harper and Ethan.

What with Harper finding that used condom wrapper stuck between the couch cushions that Cam left behind post-Lucia debauchery, plus the fact that she gave Ethan every chance throughout the day to come clean.

I mean all thing considered, its pretty suspect behavior from your hubs. Quentin’s tale of how Isola Bella ended up being public access after the murder of its former owner by the mafia, casts a shade of gloom.

Even if it’s just casually thrown in. This is where the stray threads of the long a&* setups in the writing from previous episodes come to fruition.

Even Valentina is showing her cards, getting comfy with Isabella. Now it becomes exciting!

We got Quentin’s Euro gay troupe finally reeling in Tanya and Portia into a false sense of security. Then Cam and Ethan bonding over a night with the local prostitutes.

Of course, that wedge of doubt unexpectedly driven between Harper and Ethan, yet Daphne and Cam are left untouched and carrying on with their default comfort in lies. The juiciest thing here is how Albie ended up with Lucia, completely unaware that she is a working girl.

Also completely unaware that she is the same one who’s serviced his father under the same hotel roof. Even when Mia suddenly decides to have sex with Giuseppe and how her attempts to medically assist him with pills backfires is less funny that the Albie x Lucia.

Come to think of it, Albie ending up with the Sicilian local feels way luckier than Portia choosing to fall for the hunky British dude, who seems to take an inordinate amount of interest in her. I’m still rooting for Harper and Ethan.

Hopefully they can surmount this glitch in their marriage. Can’t wait to see how this all turns out in the next episode.

You can stream The White Lotus on HBO Go.