What’s going on with the men and women of The White Lotus?

Warning: this story contains spoilers for season two, episode three of The White Lotus.

In the opening minutes of the third episode of The White Lotus: Sicily, we’re treated to a short, almost forgettable exchange between hotel manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) and a local man at a café.

Valentina only has eyes for her morning espresso, so when the man leans over and introduces himself – “My name is Salvo, and yours?” – she is less than impressed.

Sexual politics? Sure. But first, coffee. Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) in The White Lotus.Credit: HBO / Binge

“This happens every morning; some guy asks me my name and stares at my tits. I just want my coffee in peace,” complains Valentina before storming out. We may never know if Salvo’s intentions were innocent or lecherous, but it probably doesn’t matter.

Here in The White Lotus: Sicily, even the simple act of a pre-work espresso comes served with a side of sexual politics. While last season focused on the impacts of wealth, colonialism and class, this time round, showrunner Mike White forces his characters to grapple with the power dynamics of sex and how it shapes their respective relationships.

Nowhere is this more evident than in our awkward foursome. In this episode, the girls are off on a day trip to the nearby town of Noto while the boys stay at the hotel to drink beer and ride jet skis.

In Noto, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) admits she has prebooked them to stay overnight but intends to tell Cameron it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. “I want Cam to think we had so much fun we decided to stay; he has intense FOMO and abandonment issues,” she says.

The games people play. Daphne (Meghann Fahy) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza) compare notes in The White Lotus.Credit: HBO / Binge

It’s a power play that Harper (Aubrey Plaza) finds bizarre, but having finally discovered a chink in the loved-up couple’s armour, she can’t help but pull at the thread until it unravels. After several bottles of wine and a few edibles, Harper asks Daphne if Cameron has ever cheated on her.

“Maybe just once that I know about. But don’t feel bad for me. I’ve figured out how to handle it, like today,” says Daphne, referring to their not-so-impromptu sleepover.

“I do what I want, so I’m not resentful.”

This is The White Lotus at its most insightful: exposing the lies we tell ourselves to survive. Back at the hotel, Cameron (Theo James) views Daphne’s absence in the same way he views everything: as an opportunity.

The Beta and the Alpha, a complex and competitive friendship. Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Cameron (Theo James) hit the beach on The White Lotus.Credit: HBO / Binge

First, he uses the time to pitch Ethan (Will Sharpe) on investing some of his newfound wealth with his company, and then he promptly makes a move on Lucia and Mia.

“The most ambitious guys were always the horniest, like you and me,” he says to Ethan before inviting the girls to their table for a drink. Noto FOMO? Not likely.

For the endlessly entitled Cameron, sex is simply another thing the universe owes him – be it with his wife, Lucia (Sabrina Tabasco) or any number of other women. And while Daphne tries to frame their power imbalance as a game they’re both engaging in; it appears Cameron is playing alone and playing to win.

If we’re supposed to loathe the brand of toxic masculinity Cameron represents, then we should pity poor Albie (Adam DiMarco). Over on the boys’ trip, he’s cursing himself for blowing it with Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), going as far as explaining to her that he didn’t make a move because he wanted to avoid making her feel uncomfortable.

Is there such a thing as too nice? Albie (Adam DiMarco) struggles to make inroads with Portia (Haley Lu Richardson).Credit: HBO / Binge

“I don’t think you’re the type of guy that could make anyone feel uncomfortable in that way,” explains Portia. “You could probably go a bit more the other way.”

With those words ringing in his ears, Albie feels rocked; if the nice guy schtick isn’t working, who is he supposed to be? His father? His grandfather? Neither are attractive options and over lunch, he finally snaps.

Bert (F. Murray Abraham) and Dominic (Michael Imperioli) indulge in the most alpha-male of conversations, championing The Godfather, with Bert declaring it “the best American movie ever made.”

Cue Albie’s moment to invoke the woke: “You would think that because you’re nostalgic for the salad days of the patriarchy. Men love The Godfather because they feel emasculated by modern society.”

At this point, Dominic can’t bite his tongue any longer, telling his son, “they’re undeniably great movies.

But Albie’s not done yet: “It’s a fantasy for a time when men could solve their problems with violence, sleep with every woman, and come home to their wife who doesn’t ask them any questions and makes them pasta.”

It’s now unclear if he is talking about The Godfather or to his actual father, but when Dominic offers that “men are hardwired to have that fantasy,” Albie hits back.

“Gender is a construct; it’s created,” he says, glancing at Portia to check she’s impressed. It’s an almost note-perfect scene by Mike White, using The Godfather as a vehicle for each family member to flex their generational bias.

The episode ends with Ethan briefly kissing Mia before shrugging her off while Cameron and Lucia have sex on the couch. Try as he might to play Cameron’s game; Ethan isn’t that kind of man. In the foreground, his phone buzzes, Harper is calling, but not for the first time on this holiday she can’t get through to him.

The White Lotus is on Binge and Foxtel On Demand.

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