FJSLikesTickling
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- Joined
- May 3, 2005
- Messages
- 44
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- 8
In Season 2, series creator Mike White pivots from the first season’s focus on conspicuous consumption and class warfare to a more operatic, sex-centered narrative steeped in lust, betrayal, and marital gamesmanship. It’s compelling television—elegantly shot locations, sharply written dialogue, and packed with tension.
But from a tickle fetishist’s point of view?
It left me... wanting.
The season opens strong with a delightful moment in Episode 1: Cameron (Theo James) tickling his wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) in their hotel suite. It’s fleeting, yes—but it has all the right ingredients: playful teasing, involuntary giggles, light-hearted protest. Daphne’s laughter spills through the wall, much to the discomfort of their emotionally constipated friends, Ethan and Harper (Will Sharpe and Aubrey Plaza).
It's sexy, it's sensual, and it signals ease, affection, a certain physical fluency. The kind of intimacy Ethan and Harper so clearly lack. In that moment, the program shows us what we all know is true:
No truly functional relationship exists without a little tickling.
One can’t help but imagine an alternate timeline—one in which Ethan and Harper let go. Just a little. A poke to the ribs, maybe? A giggle shared in bed? Who knows? They might have reached their romantic apotheosis without the emotional chicanery.
And that, dear reader, is why I must declare Season 2 of The White Lotus an unmitigated failure.
Because after that one shining moment of ticklish perfection, the season offers nothing. Nada. Not a feather in sight. And it’s not like the show lacked opportunity:
Dominic DeGrasso (Michael Imperioli)
Rudderless and aching after the collapse of his marriage, Dominic seeks comfort in the arms of two beautiful escorts. Does he tickle either of them? He does not.
What a tragic misuse of screen time—and potential.
Portia (Haley Lu Richardson)
Stuck in a dead-end job as Tanya’s frazzled assistant, Portia trades stable, sincere Albie for a boatload of chaos with the reckless (and possibly incestuous?) Jack.
Could a well-placed under-the-table tickle have steered her back on course? I guess we'll have to wait until season three to find out!
Tanya and Greg (Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries)
…No. Just—no.
Greg has the sexual charisma of a moldy grapefruit.
All in all, the season is rich in betrayal, longing, and interpersonal angst. But in terms of tickle content?
A one-and-done tease. A crumb. An amuse-bouche for the feather-minded viewer.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tune in next week for my review of Apocalypse Now (1979), in which I ask the important question:
Is Colonel Kurtz ticklish?
(Spoiler: The horror. The horror.)
But from a tickle fetishist’s point of view?
It left me... wanting.
The season opens strong with a delightful moment in Episode 1: Cameron (Theo James) tickling his wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) in their hotel suite. It’s fleeting, yes—but it has all the right ingredients: playful teasing, involuntary giggles, light-hearted protest. Daphne’s laughter spills through the wall, much to the discomfort of their emotionally constipated friends, Ethan and Harper (Will Sharpe and Aubrey Plaza).
It's sexy, it's sensual, and it signals ease, affection, a certain physical fluency. The kind of intimacy Ethan and Harper so clearly lack. In that moment, the program shows us what we all know is true:
No truly functional relationship exists without a little tickling.
One can’t help but imagine an alternate timeline—one in which Ethan and Harper let go. Just a little. A poke to the ribs, maybe? A giggle shared in bed? Who knows? They might have reached their romantic apotheosis without the emotional chicanery.
And that, dear reader, is why I must declare Season 2 of The White Lotus an unmitigated failure.
Because after that one shining moment of ticklish perfection, the season offers nothing. Nada. Not a feather in sight. And it’s not like the show lacked opportunity:
Dominic DeGrasso (Michael Imperioli)
Rudderless and aching after the collapse of his marriage, Dominic seeks comfort in the arms of two beautiful escorts. Does he tickle either of them? He does not.
What a tragic misuse of screen time—and potential.
Portia (Haley Lu Richardson)
Stuck in a dead-end job as Tanya’s frazzled assistant, Portia trades stable, sincere Albie for a boatload of chaos with the reckless (and possibly incestuous?) Jack.
Could a well-placed under-the-table tickle have steered her back on course? I guess we'll have to wait until season three to find out!
Tanya and Greg (Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries)
…No. Just—no.
Greg has the sexual charisma of a moldy grapefruit.
All in all, the season is rich in betrayal, longing, and interpersonal angst. But in terms of tickle content?
A one-and-done tease. A crumb. An amuse-bouche for the feather-minded viewer.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tune in next week for my review of Apocalypse Now (1979), in which I ask the important question:
Is Colonel Kurtz ticklish?
(Spoiler: The horror. The horror.)
