The ‘White Lotus’ Season 2 Opening Credits Hid Major Twists and Clues in Plain Sight
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Now that The White Lotus season 2 is done, we can go back and really analyze what clues may or may not have been in the opening credits. Did a couple of those paintings catch your eye as you were vibing to the music? There was a lil bit of foreshadowing there. Let’s break it down. Spoilers, if that wasn’t obv, for The White Lotus season 2 finale.
The paintings in the opening credits, according to Vanity Fair, are a combination of real paintings at a villa in Sicily (the one where Daphne and Harper spend the night, actually) and images designed by Mark Bashore and Katrina Crawford to create a narrative for the sequence. They specifically paired each image with each actor’s name based on a specific moment in season 2 or one of their character’s overarching themes.
First, the images correspond to the names of the cast and the ~overall themes~
The first painting is of a man bowing to a woman. It’s courtly, romantic, and traditionally heterosexual. Then the camera zooms in to reveal a woman spying on the two of them—because everything is more complicated when you take a closer look. One of the first conflicts this season was Harper’s insistence that Cameron and Daphne’s PDA-filled relationship wasn’t perfect, and she was correct. Many, many, many of the storylines or backstories this season have to do with infidelity and jealousy.
That image, however, specifically corresponds to F. Murray Abraham’s (Bert) name. Makes sense, because his character’s way of flirting is very old-school and he observes a lot of bad behavior during his trip. Next is a woman with a monkey on a chain as Jennifer Coolidge’s (Tanya) name pops up. That does feel like Tanya and Portia’s dynamic, doesn’t it? It could also be Tanya and Greg’s dynamic.
The next few images are seemingly innocent. Adam DiMarco’s (Albie) name appears over a man playing music for a woman as she lounges and looks at him adoringly. That’s Albie’s “nice guy” fantasy, right? Meghann Fahy’s (Daphne) name is over two cherubs—like her two children at home, who may or may not be the product of adultery.
Then Beatrice Grannò’s (Mia) name appears with the image of a sexy sphinx. Like the sphinx, Mia watches over the action at the hotel and observes before making a move.
Then there’s a man and a woman riding a donkey together and Jon Gries’s (Greg) name. That one, according to Vanity Fair, is pretty straightforward. It’s their iconic Vespa ride.
Speaking of Greg, next is Tom Hollander (Quentin) and a gaggle of half-naked men and women who look like marble statues and are reminiscent of the parties he likes to throw.
After that, part of the same gaggle, is a woman approached by two naked women on a bed with Sabrina Impacciatore’s (Valentina) name. That could be Valentina scolding Lucia and Mia, feeding stray cats, or looking for love herself.
Next up is the image of a woman dropping a necklace off a boat (Titanic much??) and Michael Imperioli’s name. If you look closely, you see that the woman dropping the necklace is accompanied by a man on his knees, bowing or begging. Dominic is desperate to win back his wife and buys her a necklace (and then opens his wallet in a major way) in order to do so.
Then there’s a penis…which we see is part of a statue…and then see that a dog is peeing on that statue. The actor corresponding to that lovely series of images is Theo James (Cameron), who is often naked and not to be taken seriously.
Next, and part of the same storyline, is Aubrey Plaza (Harper) and two birds fighting—like how Cameron and her husband Ethan fight over her at the end of the season. Or maybe even to symbolize Harper’s and Daphne’s competing personalities.
Next is a woman daydreaming by a lamb and Haley Lu Richardson’s (Portia) name. That “head empty, no thoughts” woman is certainly meant to be poor, dumb Portia with her awful style. Is the lamb a sacrificial lamb? Is that also her, or is that Tanya? Up to you!
Back to our married couples: The next image is a woman beckoning to a man holding fruit and Will Sharpe’s (Ethan) name. It looks almost exactly like that moment in the finale when Daphne took him into a cave.
Next is an exotic cat with a dead bird. That’s Simona Tabasco, aka Lucia, baby! She got her money (her prize, like a bird) and got to slink away happily.
Finally, Leo Woodhall’s (Jack) name appears beside a man standing over another man with his foot between his legs. That’s either telling us that Jack is f*cking his “uncle” or that he’s secretly aggressive.
Then the beat drops and sh*t gets wild
The next series of images in the credits go by quickly. Some notable ones include:
A monkey dressed in a little outfit riding a goat. What that means is going to depend on whether you thought the monkey from earlier represents Greg or Portia. Does it represent Greg’s secret plan or Portia’s little outfits?
An old man pestering a young woman—like Bert with every woman who passes by or Rocco’s replacement at the front desk who kept pestering Isabella.
A fire behind a huge villa. This, I think, either literally represents the volcano we see in the finale or metaphorically represents how everyone’s world is burning.
Two people engaging in oral sex on the beach. Ethan and Daphne, perhaps? There are a lot of images in this section that are just horny, like a man sucking on a woman’s bare breast, a very phallic fountain, three holes in the side of a building, naked women picking water lilies, and goats mating. Those could be anybody. It was a very horny season.
A naked man spearing a hog and later carrying it past a fountain. I think that’s the sexy assassin hired by Quentin who was supposed to take out Tanya.
A bleeding man falling down the stairs and a woman holding a knife. That wasn’t the weapon of choice during Tanya’s showdown against the gays on the yacht, but it does kind of look like her confronting all of them.
A depiction of a girl from Greek mythology named Leda who was ravished or raped (depending on who’s telling the story) by Zeus in the form of a swan. This, as a couple of people noticed and tweeted about, is foreshadowing Mia seducing Valentina.
The very sexy torso of a broken statue. This could be Cam, but it could also be Ethan, who is secretly ripped and breaks over the course of the season.
What the credits didn’t spoil, however, is who dies on The White Lotus season 2 and how. There were plenty of clues about it on the show, like Daphne’s obsession with shows about husbands murdering their wives, the fortune teller, and Tanya’s outfits. They just weren’t in the credits. So don’t feel bad if you didn’t pick up on every single clue. Some of them were hiding in plain sight, and others were more subtle for the true sleuths among us.
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