The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: Abductions

On The White Lotus season 2 episode 6, it’s Valentina’s turn to get tangled in an unexpected mess, while the Italian American DiGrassos are going to the Sicilian countryside to possibly reconnect with their long-lost relatives. Harper wakes up to a restless husband.

He doubts that Harper believes him about not participating in the orgy between the two whores and Cameron. It’s driving him crazy.

The argument escalates into whether they’re still attracted to each other. “We’re too young to be this old,” says Harper, leaving Ethan stupefied at this declaration.

Later on though, Harper’s suspicions are fanned again when she sees Ethan talking to Lucia and Mia. Apparently, Cameron still hadn’t paid them.

This makes Harper cross throughout breakfast and at their day chilling on the beach. After Daphne goes out on her own for a massage, Cameron goes to the bar to get a drink with Harper, leaving Ethan alone at the beach.

He takes a nap and wakes to find that Cam and Harper are talking animatedly to each other at the nearby bar. He’s suspicious, especially since Cam is being touchy feely with his wife.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: Guest of honor

At Quentin’s palazzo, Tanya warns Portia to slow down with Jack. She suspects he’s not really his uncle but doesn’t tell Portia about what she saw the night previous—which was Jack servicing his “Uncle” Quentin.

Still, Jack takes Portia down to the town’s port and they make a day of it hanging out and discussing their different philosophies in life. That night though, at the party, Tanya is taken around the shindig and introduced to a great number of local cool folks.

She’s certainly the guest of honor. Primary among them is Nicollo, a handsome young local who also happens to be Quentin’s drug dealer and member of the Palermo mafia.

Tanya is prevailed upon to partake of some cocaine, and she dances the night away with the high-end gays and Quentin’s neighbors. Later, before they get intimate, Tanya spots a photo of what looks to be a younger Quentin with a guy who uncannily resembles a young Greg, her husband.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: A bad homecoming

The DiGrasso’s have geared up to go to the village where they might find their extended family. Albie claims that he’s found them a translator.

Both his grandfather and father are glad at this, but after breakfast, when they’re all ready to go, Albie reveals that the translator is Lucia. Neither Dom nor Bert is happy about this, but they do their best to keep their surprise bottled in.

But Lucia proves her worth when they get to the village of Testa D’Acqua, discovering that yeah, there are still DiGrassos living in the area. As they’re heading there though, Lucia spots her alleged pimp Alessio.

He’s been following them. There’s a bit of a non-car chase over a few miles but then Lucia asks Dom to stop.

She’ll talk to the guy. Lucia and Alessio argue, and it looks like it’s going to get physical.

Dom and Albie step out to possibly intervene, but Lucia de-escalates the situation by saying she’ll just go with the pimp. This leaves the DiGrassos alone, sans translator.

To add salt to the wound, when the DiGrassos finally find the house of their relatives, they try to connect with the grand matron of the house still living there. However, they are turned away by a madwoman who doesn’t want anything to do with them.

They tuck tail back to the hotel as the old woman hurls curses on their American heads.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: Ethan goes bonkers

After his swim, Ethan sees that Harper had left him a text saying she’d gone to their room to get her hat. Curiously, Cam is also nowhere on the beach.

Fearing the worst, Ethan stalks back to the hotel but finds that their room is secured with the door swing latch. Clearly, someone is inside.

Ethan calls out but Harper replies that she needs a second. There’s nobody in there with Harper but the door to the adjoining room to the Sullivans is open.

Harper fesses up that Cameron also had to get something from his room, so they came up from the beach together. Ethan is furious inside, but he can’t prove anything.

His suspicions are inflamed by Harper actually being in a good mood and having full sentence exchanges with Cam. At dinner, Ethan confronts Cam about Harper but when their wives arrive, he just stares daggers at the big jock.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: Buon compleanno, Valentina!

Valentina reveals to her crush Isabella that it’s her birthday. She asks Isabella out to dinner and, encouragingly, the young receptionist agrees.

That night though, before they can go on their “date,” Isabella reveals that she and Rocco are a couple and that they’re engaged. Valentina’s face and world sink and makes a lame excuse so she can cancel their night out.

In lieu of a birthday celebration, Valentina gets a drink at the bar. With Giuseppe still out, Mia is at the piano and singing torch songs.

Mia encourages Valentina to have a night alone with her in one of the vacant hotel rooms, after finding out that Valentina’s a virgin. Reluctantly, Valentina agrees.

That night Mia does her best to give Valentina an enjoyable first lesbian experience. This secures her the spot of lounge singer at The White Lotus, with Valentina wrapped around her finger.

Too drunk to drive back to Quentin’s palazzo, Portia and Jack instead check into a hotel. Before he falls asleep, a super sloshed Jack reveals to Portia that his Uncle Quentin and his upscale friends regularly spend their money on inane luxuries.

It’s a bad habit especially since they have no income to replenish their resources. Jack also let’s slip that he was in plenty of trouble, a very deep hole when Uncle Quentin bailed him out.

So, Jack owes him a lot and helps him with whatever he needs is the least he can do. This leaves Portia uneasy, with a lot to chew on.

The White Lotus season 2 episode 6 recap: Review

One of two most compelling arcs for me here, in the penultimate episode, is how Harper turned the tables on Ethan. Seeing the clueless, lukewarm, bro dude go crazy about Cam and his wife possibly doing it in their own room, is the kind of signature black comedy that’s pure Mike White.

Another standout twist in the storyline here is Tanya getting in way too deep with Quentin’s gang. I mean, if getting introduced to the town’s prime drug dealer, snorting as much coke as you can, and ending up in bed with said Mafioso isn’t a great way to get over your dud of a husband, then I don’t know how you can get better therapy.

For the next to last episode though, even with all the stray threads coming to fruition, it still moves way too slow for me. It’s great that we saw the DiGrassos get nowhere with the homecoming they craved.

It’s cool that Valentina finally got out of the closet. And it’s excellent that Portia finally got a clue why the obviously hunky Jack is trying so hard to please and distract her.

Yet none of the beats have a sense of urgency. The clash between the DiGrassos and Lucia’s pimp Alessio, barely ticks the adrenaline watch meter.

It’s presented so blandly. Despite those minor gripes, there’s still plenty of black comedy that I enjoyed on this episode.

The uber passive-aggressive confrontation between Cam and Ethan alone is well worth the watch. I am ready for the season finale!

You can stream The White Lotus on HBO Go.