The hit HBO series The White Lotus has dominated TV news as of late thanks to its whopping 11 Primetime Emmy nominations and the announcement of a second season, turning the show into a true anthology series — one where each season has an entirely new cast. Arguably the best nomination for the show comes from its nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, a category that the show, per PEOPLE, won during the Emmys ceremony on September 12, 2022.
With season two dropping later in 2022, the announcement of the new cast regenerated talks of The White Lotus thanks to its stars. Big names like Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge, and Theo James, to name a few, help keep the possibility of another round of multiple supporting actor nominations intact. While season two hopes to be as successful as the first season, let's revisit some of the best season one moments.
7 The Attempted Robbery
In the fifth episode, Paula (Brittany O'Grady), helps her island crush, Kai, break into the Mossbacher's room to steal jewelry from Nicole Mossbacher (Connie Britton). Paula was invited on the Mossbacher's family vacation as she is friends with Olivia (Sydney Sweeney). As the week vacation goes on, Paula finds herself at odds with the rich family, causing her to convince her crush Kai that he and his people deserve more. During what was supposed to be a family boat ride, Paula tells Kai that he could break into the safe and steal the jewelry without being caught. Unsurprisingly, Nicole ends up going back to the room to find Kai there. He pushes her out of the way, only to be confronted by the return of Mark (Steve Zahn). Mark fights him off, saving his wife from the attack, something that finally brings Nicole to appreciate Mark as a man again and ends their long period of lack of intimacy.
6 Olivia's Soft Side
Throughout the first season of The White Lotus, right up until almost the end, Olivia is not a likable character. Up until the season one finale, Olivia is a snarky self-aware brat, honestly. She is privileged and shown a few times acting stuck-up towards other guests and even her friend Paula. After putting together that Paula had something to do with the attempted robbery, instead of being her usual self, we see Olivia hold Paula as opposed to confronting her. While this act may not make up for her behavior during the majority of the trip, it does serve as a way for viewers to see a bit of a character arc for Olivia.
5 Belinda Stands Up for Herself
Throughout season one of The White Lotus, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is strung along by Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), who, after having a session with the Spa Manager in the first episode, expresses an interest to invest in Belinda and her dreams of owning her own spa. Tanya and Belinda attempt to meet and discuss business multiple times, but Tanya, who is in Hawaii to spread her mother's ashes at sea, is distracted by, at first, her mother's death, and then by a new love interest. By the final episode, Belinda finally gets the money investment she wanted, but not in the way she initially though. Her seeming friendship with Tanya and her connections were what she was more interested in rather than just a handful of cash. While being strung along by Tanya, another hotel guest, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) also seeks out Belinda's advice. In the finale, she calls Belinda to her room and offloads her concerns about her new husband to Belinda. In arguably the most iconic line in the season, Belinda responds, "My advice? I'm all out," and then walks out, leaving Rachel stunned.
4 Shane’s Temper Tantrums
Shane (Jake Levy) is the son of a wealthy family who is in real estate. From the beginning of The White Lotus, viewers get to see just what a spoiled brat/man-child Shane is. Although he is there on his honeymoon with his new wife Rachel, he spends more time complaining about the room mix-up than actually spending time with his wife. In the opening moments of the show, he tells a couple who is asking him how his vacation went to "leave him alone," and from there, he only gets worse. When the hotel accidentally double books the Pineapple Suite, aka the nicest room in the resort, Shane makes hotel manager Armond's life a living hell, resorting to temper tantrums and even calling his mommy. It's no wonder his wife worries marrying him was a mistake.
3 Quinn Stays in Hawaii
Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger) has arguably the best character arc in The White Lotus. Upon arriving on the island, he is a kid obsessed with technology. After spending the night on the beach, thanks to his sister forcing him to try and sleep in the kitchen, he wakes to find the high tide has destroyed his phone, iPad, and gaming system. As he finds himself lost without his technology, he begins to appreciate the Hawaiian culture around him. One morning, he asks to join a group of Hawaiians who are riding a Hōkūle’a, or voyaging canoe. As he befriends this group, Quinn finds it harder to want to leave the island. In the finale, when his family forces him to come home, he sneaks away and returns to the resort as the rest of his family gets on the plane. While we don't get to see the family's reaction, we can bet they weren't too happy to have their only son disappear.
2 Tayna Spreads Her Mother's Ashes (Finally)
Tanya's sole purpose in coming to The White Lotus resort was to spread her mother's ashes at sea. While she does not actually get to spread the ashes until the finale, it is the topic of almost all of her conversations while at the resort. She originally doesn't want to spread her mother too close to the shore for the fear of her washing ashore, but then when she charters a boat to spread her mother further at sea, she is unable to bring herself to do it. Rest assured, though, once she does spread her mother's ashes, she does so in a typical Tanya way — dancing and spinning about, causing a scene — one that Quinn watches from his makeshift bed on the beach.
1 Armond's Revenge
Armond is the hotel manager of The White Lotus, which means he bears the brunt of all hotel guest complaints. When man-child Shane makes his life hell, Armond spirals and decides to go back on his sobriety with drinking and drugs. His relapse crosses over into work, and he is actually fired by the higher-ups after Shane's temper tantrums have gone up the ladder to corporate. During a night of partying with a few of the hotel employees, Armond finally gets revenge on Shane for the past week's worth of torment. He uses his key card to enter Shane's room and upon spotting his suitcase, decides to take a dump right on top of all his polo shirts. Unfortunately, the revenge is short-lived as Shane returns and catches Armond. Without spoiling the ending, let's just say this is the last the two will ever have to deal with each other.