The White Lotus | Season 1

Just rolled credits on season 1 of The White Lotus. What a masterful slow burn of a story. Nobody's phoning it in. Most of the characters are despicable, at first, and slowly the layers are peeled back exposing deep flaws.

It feels a bit like Upstairs/Downstairs or Downton Abbey, with the disparagement of worldview and status between the guests and staff. Watching Murray Bartlett, the manager of the resort, slowly descent into madness from the constant stream of complaints from the guests (namely the fun-to-hate Jake Lacey) must have been such a challenging and fun role.

Also the transition scenes where any character is moving from one location to another on boat or foot, the soundtrack is just so insistent during some parts with tribal drums and humming, only to melt into choral traditional Hawaiian music. Beautifully shot, edited, and scored.

I'm looking forward to season 2!