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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Not the happy ending most would have wanted. Mike White’s The White Lotus Season 1 finale (titled “Departures”) guides us to a certain type of truth. This review will include spoilers, as the title of the article suggests. Please read ahead at your own discretion.
Plot Summary
As per HBO, here is the synopsis of this finale.
Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) shares some harsh truths with Shane (Jake Lacy) and confides in Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), who’s reeling from bad news of her own. As the Mossbachers turn the page on their harrowing scare, Quinn (Fred Hechinger) reveals major life plans. With nothing left to lose, Armond (Murray Bartlett) goes on an all-out bender — and exacts the ultimate revenge on his nemesis.
Connie Britton and Steve Zahn play the Mossbacher parents, while Sydney Sweeney appears as their daughter, Olivia. Brittany O’Grady portrays her friend, Paula.
Jennifer Coolidge plays Tanya McQuoid, while Jon Gries plays her hotel fling, Greg. Meanwhile, Lukas Gage plays Dillon, a staffer at The White Lotus, and Alec Merlino plays Hutch, a waiter.
Austin Stowell, Christie Leigh Volkmer, Michael Trisler, Jesse James Steele, Brad Kalilimoku, Shea Lokahi Timothy Fabiana, Nathan Feitos, Imani McNorton, Denton Kukahiko, Phillip Wu, Angela Kay-Uherek, Loretta Ables Sayre, Daniel Peaster, and Faamoemoega Alaiafune also star in guest roles.
Discussion
The mystery from the series pilot is finally solved, which aligns well with the episode title, “Departures”. This finale episode of Mike White’s comedy satire series takes a dark and dramatic turn. (Or perhaps we can say it’s been this way over the past few episodes, hasn’t it?) Some characters cross paths with Death — or some concluding chapter in their lives.
Gries’s character, Greg, is most obvious as he is having troubles with aspiration due to his past smoking habits. This is why we see him swimming in the pool area — to get some cardio. Bartlett’s Armond dives back into the routines of booger sugars and booze after being told he would be terminated from his position at the hotel. However, these substances are not what kills him. Instead, Shane uses a knife used to cut pineapples (in response via self-defense to the previous day’s theft incident) and stabs Armond straight in the chest.
John M. Valerio and Brent McReynolds return as the editor/assistant editor duo for this episode. Again, with Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s musical composition and Ben Kutchins’s cinematography, the season ends on a sharp note. It’s chilling and a little scary, but that’s just the reality of how things are and could be. I love some of the scene transitions we get, such as the sun going down and the cut to Armond doing drugs with Dillon and Hutch in his office.
Themes of Concluding a Life Chapter
Aside from death, we have our characters close a chapter in their lives. With Tanya, she has come to terms that she can accept that her parents are gone and she can finally find love for herself. She learns that Greg has health issues and can die at any moment on any day, but also learns to accept this fact. He tells her, “Death doesn’t have to spoil everything, right? Enjoy your life until they drop the curtain!”
The woman also seems to turn down Belinda’s business opportunity, which for Belinda prolongs her own plans in life. Although, she does have her reasons for this. She says, “I realize I’m getting back into this pattern again, where I latch onto somebody and then I use my money to control them. See, the last thing I need in my life is another transactional relationship. It’s just not healthy for me.”
Shane learns that his wife, Rachel, made a mistake in marrying him. She says, “I’m not okay with being a trophy wife, an appendage. … I just need to respect myself”. Initially, Shane responds with conceit, and they spend the entire episode debating why or why not separating would be a great choice. Eventually, he stops being “an insecure, naive baby” and changes who he is as a person after killing Armond.
These are just some of the departures that are made at the end of the guests’ stay at the hotel. In doing so, they move beyond that “lotus-eaters” state of being.
Performances and Character Developments in The White Lotus Season 1 Finale
For a while, we have Sweeney and Lacy play the antagonist figures of the show more than the other characters. I can believe that Olivia can change, but I don’t think this can just happen overnight for Shane. Lacy is great with Daddario, but here, she just kills it as Rachel. The way she tears up and tells her husband she is alone when with him is just superb. Daddario performs better than I have ever seen her before, showing her breaking point.
O’Grady and Rothwell deliver terrific performances as the only main non-white characters to be affected by the white ones. What happened with Rothwell’s Belinda has been discussed. O’Grady’s Paula realizes how sloppy her plan to rob the Mossbachers was. Olivia is able to suspect what is going on and says she would not tell on her because they are friends. However, Paula argues that she (Olivia) will never understand and only pretends to be an ally like her parents. Belinda also reaches her breaking point, as she no longer has any advice to give. At least, that is, until the new guests arrive in the final scenes of the episode.
Coolidge performs just spectacularly in her dual comedy-drama role. In one example, her character, Tanya, truthfully tells Belinda that she may not be able to support her business endeavors, then leaves, but returns for a moment to pick up sunglasses she left behind…just as Belinda is sobbing at this loss.
Bartlett delivers just an outstanding performance as Armond. He’s been fed up with Shane since the second day and goes so far as to shit into his suitcase. It’s just a shame that there is no character development after that…since it is revealed that he is the person to die.
Final Thoughts
Mike White crafts such a laudable television series as a lone screenwriter and director. What shocks me is the story he is able to tell in just this many episodes. The resolution itself is bittersweet. Sydney Sweeney’s character claims to be an ally, but I would need to see proof of this. I can say the same with Lacy’s Shane Patton. Also, I don’t believe that a 16-year-old such as Quinn Mossbacher can stay on an island on his own. Although, if Kevin McCallister (a child) can be home alone, then maybe a teenager will be alright.
On one hand, the series is renewed for a second season. Unfortunately, we will get a new cast of guests and hotel workers at another White Lotus resort. I have high hopes, though.
Mike White’s series, The White Lotus, is now on HBO. Check it out now! And take a look at our reviews on The White Lotus‘s previous episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5!
Have you seen this series? What are your thoughts on it? Who was your favorite character this season? Let us know! For more comedy-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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