Who Dies in The White Lotus Season 2?
Update: The deaths came as a surprise to many viewers of The White Lotus. The body floating in the ocean belonged to Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), who dies after killing three men—Quentin (Tom Hollander) included—on a yacht, after she realizes they are trying to kill her.
Below, see the best theories about the death over the course of season two—no one guessed Tanya, because creator Mike White repeatedly shared he hoped Coolidge would be in future seasons. However, viewers did piece together the connection between Quentin and Greg (Jon Gries) and that Greg was scheming to get Tanya's fortune.
The opening scene of The White Lotus season two features Daphne (Meghann Fahy) telling two newly-arrived American tourists, "Italy’s just so romantic, you’re gonna die." Then, she goes into the Ionian Sea for one last swim before her Sicilian vacation ends, and bumps into a dead body. She screams, and leaves the water, running into the arms of someone on the beach.
The storyline quickly brings viewers back to a week earlier, when the guests of the White Lotus in Sicily arrive for their weeklong Italian holiday. But, viewers can't help but think of the dead body—and the looming specter of death over the show.
Here's what we know: After Daphne discovers the body, the scene then flashes to hotel staff arriving at the beach. Rocco (Federico Ferrante) tells Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), "One of the guests has drowned," and adds, "Salvatore says other bodies have been found." He clarifies, "Other guests have been killed." Valentina asks, "Rocco, how many dead guests are there?" He replies, "I don't know... a few?" So we know one guest is definitely dead, and possibly a few more.
We also know that creator Mike White has said he wants Jennifer Coolidge to be in future seasons of The White Lotus (season three will possibly be set in Japan?), so her character Tanya is probably going to survive her Sicily trip.
Here's our best guesses at who dies in The White Lotus season two:
Greg, Tanya's husband
In the first season of The White Lotus, Greg was sick. Now, he seems to be doing fine—and keeping phone calls secret from his wife, Tanya.
One redditor, u/Glitterbitch14, hypothesizes Greg is a con man. "My theory: Tanya has been a mark for greg since season one. I think he always knew she had money, and made up a lie about a terminal diagnoses hoping he could avoid a prenup (he brings this up at dinner). That didn’t work, and now he’s stuck and not bothering with the nice guy act. I think he has arranged for something to happen to her on this vacation. That’s why he was so bugged out when the assistant showed up."
Another reddit user, u/Unable_Mushroom9355, writes, that Greg's death can tie to the Moorish man story that the guests hear upon their welcome to the hotel. "I think there's also the possibility of Tanya killing Greg, perhaps accidentally, due to her suspicions of him cheating. Would also work with the Moorish man story, and with the lower class characters getting the short end of the stick. (Although Greg is independently wealthy, he spoke this episode about his reliance on her money, and the prenup they signed.)"
Could Greg return for the final episode... and die? Would he reunite with Quentin, who was shown to be his lover from many years ago? Are the two scamming women out of their money?
Cameron
Could the dead body be Daphne's husband? Many think no, that she would have a stronger reaction upon finding his body. But what if she killed him?
"I have a weird feeling that Cameron is the body in the water at the end, and Daphne murdered him, but was careful to set the stage that she 'just happened upon his body' in the beginning scene because she mentioned how she loves to watch the crime shows with murder in them, and keeps throwing little lines like tonight's bit about being able to cut off his balls if she wanted to..." redditor u/UsernameSuggested writes.
In an article on Indie Wire, journalist Proma Khosla says the fact that Daphne is alone at the beach also gives credence to this theory. She writes, "Cam and Daphne are nigh inseparable in flashbacks, but on the last day of their trip she’s alone on the beach, without even a vacant chair next to her. She appears to collapse when she runs back to the beach, but that’s a justified reaction wether or not she recognized the corpse in the water. When police wrap up the body bag, Daphne’s face is deliberately obscured by umbrellas, because her expression would immediately confirm whether or not it’s Cam."
After episode five, when Daphne shows a photo of her son to Harper, insinuating he's her trainer's son—not Cameron's—one reddit user u/priyarainelle wrote, " Starting to think it might be her husband who dies. And she did what she had to do to keep herself happy." Another, u/sloanethomas33 shared, "She's giving me Amy Dunne from Gone Girl vibes. She’s not dumb, she knows the score. None of this is new to her."
Ethan
Viewers are just getting bad vibes from Ethan. As Jessica M. Goldstein writes in Vulture, "The fact that he’s so committed to his fitness regimen, on vacation, to the point of exhausting himself too much to have sex with his wife in the evenings: psycho-killer shit. "
Indeed, he's not a fan favorite. "Every character interests me and the mystery is just a bonus. I am excited to see who dies but that’s not my primary reason for watching which is refreshing," twitter user @Eddy_Moviess tweeted. "Ethan for sure on chopping block though."
But perhaps Ethan is the killer? One redditor, u/kosciuszko123, writes, "I kinda wonder if he’s gonna end up being the/a killer by end of season. Definitely sensing his time is yet to come in a future episode or more this season." Another redditor, u/AubreyPlazaWitch, says, "Ethan is definitely killing someone. He keeps starring at the statue."
Dominic
The Moorish man story–of a local woman beheading her lover when she finds out he's married—is what many people are focusing on in guessing who dies. A Sicilian girl was seduced by a Moorish man, and then she murders him when she finds out he was married with children. Dominic is still married (though not happily; his wife, played by Laura Dern, clearly hates him) and perhaps things go sour for him?
However, it's looking increasingly unlikely that Dominic is one of the victims.
Harper
In the second episode, Bert tells a story about Hades kidnapping Persephone to the underworld. Immediately after, the show cuts to Harper swimming in the sea and being pulled under the water by Cameron. Does Cameron kill Harper?
Redditor u/CozyMoses hypothesizes: "Bert Di Grasso describes the story of Persephone in rather stark and graphic detail during episode 2. Particularly he lingers on the image of Hades stalking Persephone and then bursting from the earth to kidnap her. In the same episode we see Cameron stalking Harper underwater, before suddenly rising out of the depth and scaring her. The camerawork to me evoked the imagery of Hades stalking Persephone underwater. The camera lingers on the underwater view, sort of like we're underground, and the vaguely threatening conversation they have after has a weird tone to it. Still curious to see where the show goes, though I have been getting a real threatening aura from Cameron."
Mia & Lucia
While killing the sex workers is extremely cliché, Mia and Lucia are both guests of the hotel as of the second episode, and either of them has a chance of dying.
"I am assuming Mia and Lucia are one, if not both dead," reddit user u/catfashion writes. "The manager made mention of those dead being guests and they had the scene in episode two about them being added onto the room to become guests."
Another user theorizes, "The leg seen in the opening scene seems to have pale skin and be shaved, so this would likely be Mia or Portia. I think it works well with Mia, because she's being portrayed as this dreamer with so much potential who just needs to get out of her current situation, and writers love to kill those characters off."
Yet another thinks Mia and Lucia are the guests who die. User u/gumby writes: "Remember, Mike White's deal with the White Lotus is that it's about wealthy privilege. The elites don't die, just the poor. The wealthy always come out just fine, and the lower class gets shafted (which includes death). Look at the people who got shafted in S1: Armond, Kai, Belinda." They continue, "The wealthy-adjacent people don't end up in a super bad place (not dead, or in jail, or cut off from money), but they don't come out as well as the truly wealthy. In season 1, look at Rachel (Shane's wife) and Paula (Olivia's friend). So for season 2, those folks are Portia and possibly Greg."
Could Ethan kill them? U/PouncePlease writes, "I predict that Mia swiped Valentina's master keycard and will give it to Lucia so she can enter Cameron and/or Ethan's room to get the money they're owed. Lucia sneaks into Cam and Daphne's room, but she doesn't find any cash, so she tries the connecting door to Ethan and Harper's room. Ethan thinks she's Cam sneaking in to rendezvous with Harper and accidentally kills her, mirroring the accidental death of Season 1. Hence why, in the preview for next week, Harper is choked up and scared saying, what's going to happen to us?"
Quentin
A later addition to the crew is Quentin, who seems to have a hidden agenda when it comes to Tanya. Is he with a group of scammers? Does he try to kill Tanya and end up dying instead? One reddit user, u/Moneyfrenzy, guesses, "Somehow Tanya and Portia end up uncovering the scammers plans before it happens, and act in self defense. I could see the bodies being Quentin + Nephew and others in the group (more uplifting ending)"
Perhaps it's the entire group the dies. u/ToneDeaf-00 writes "Most of you forget that in the first episode of S2, several corpses are found. (At least that's what Rocco says to Valentina) And there's a yacht in the background."
Could Quentin die by suicide, perhaps? As Carolyn Twersky writes in W Magazine, "I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Quentin took Tanya to see Madame Butterfly, a story in which the main character kills herself when she’s unable to be with the one she loves. Quentin seemed extremely emotional during the performance, and followed up that viewing with a story of his own lost love, and the admission that he would still do anything for his heterosexual lover thirty years later." We now know that the man Quentin fell in love with in Wyoming be Tanya's husband Greg—so it's all connected somehow.
Tanya could've foreshadowed it, when she says, "Wow, look at this view. I wonder if anyone has ever jumped from here."
Portia
One reddit user, u/nodtny, guesses that Tanya and Greg's story is a retelling of the Greek myth of Adriande and Thesus, which would make Portia the character of Ariande's nurse—who, in one version of the story, dies on the island.
In agreement, u/PhaseClare writes in response to the theory, "I've been convinced that Portia's going to die for a little while, so this all 100% tracks. A few stray notes/observations to support: Portia hasn't gone swimming, she just sits by the pool. I think she ends up the one drowning (maybe she can't swim and/or gets thrown overboard)? She's said a bunch of times about wanting to just have fun and have an Italian adventure, and I think she's about to get it!" The theory continues, "my gut is that shit is going down for Portia and Tanya. I can't tell if maybe Greg arranged this or if he comes back and something goes down...it would be a payday for the hustlers and get Tanya off his back if he arranged it."
Another user, u/Moneyfrenzy, hypothesizes, "Tanya is obv getting scammed and is the target, but Portia will be killed instead (darkest ending imo)."
Indeed, Greg (who may be working with Quentin to blackmail Tanya) didn't want Portia on the trip—perhaps because he was planning something nefarious. Could she accidentally be the victim? As one reddit user, u/mkcp530 guesses after the penultimate episode, "This episode is really giving me the vibe that Portia will be killed trying to save Tanya at this point."
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