'The White Lotus' Season 2 Finale Ending Explained

The White Lotus hotel in Sicily, Italy, has officially closed its doors.

The highly-anticipated season finale aired on Sunday, December 11 on HBO and HBO Max, and finally, audiences found out whose body Daphne (played by Meghann Fahy) encountered floating in the Ionian Sea in Episode 1.

However, murder(s) was not the only problem at the White Lotus Hotel in Sicily.
The season finale of The White Lotus Season 2 saw plenty of cheating and scheming, with mainly the women getting what they wanted.

Newsweek has the full recap of The White Lotus Season 2 finale below, character by character.

The White Lotus Season 2 Finale Ending Explained

Tanya

Fans of The White Lotus will need a moment to mourn the death of beloved Tanya McQuoid, portrayed by Emmy-winning actress Jennifer Coolidge.

During her stay at The White Lotus, Tanya and her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) befriended Quentin (Tom Hollander), a seemingly wealthy Brit who was infatuated with Tanya.

However, when Tanya saw Quentin having sex with his so-called nephew, Jack (Leo Woodall), she suspected something was not quite right.

In the finale, Tanya quickly realized her life was in serious danger and suspected Quentin, Jack, and their fancy friends were doing her estranged husband Greg's (Jon Gries) dirty work.

Tanya suspected Greg was after her multi-million dollar fortune as their prenup stated he would receive a huge segment of her money when she died. The money would also be used to pay Quentin and his friends for successfully committing the murder-for-hire plot.

In a hilariously bittersweet moment, Tanya managed to get a hold of Niccoló's (Stefan Gianino) gun and shoot at everybody on the boat, killing Quentin and his corrupt friends, one after the other, not before asking Quentin if Greg was "having an affair."

But sadly, as she tried to escape from the boat which had been anchored a few miles from shore, Tanya slipped and fell, ultimately drowning in the Ionian Sea.

Sadly, it seems Greg may get Tanya's fortune after all.

Portia and Jack

Meanwhile, Jack had clearly been instructed to keep Portia away from the villa in Palermo over the weekend so Quentin and his friends could carry out their plan.

However, whilst drunk, Jack admitted that Quentin had no money and revealed they were about to come into a huge fortune, aka Tanya's.

In the morning, Portia woke to find that her phone had been taken from the bedside table and suspected Jack may be responsible. Whilst he went to the bathroom at breakfast, she used his phone to call and warn Tanya that something seriously was not right but sadly, Tanya's fate looked set to already be sealed.

Portia begged Jack to take her back to Palermo but instead of driving her there, Jack kicked Portia out of the car near an airport and instructed her to get on a plane, never to return.

As for what happened to Jack next, that was left up to the audience to decide.

Lucia and Albie

Albie's (Adam DiMarco) darker side was exposed in the season finale of The White Lotus Season 2 and it turns out, he really is his father's son.

Falling head over heels in love with Sicilian sex worker Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and believing her to be in serious trouble, Albie manipulated his father Dominic (Michael Imperioli) into giving him 50,000 euros so she could be free from Alessio, who she allegedly owed money to.

Albie convinced his father to wire the money in exchange for sweet-talking his mother into reconnecting and forgiving his father after his affair.

Ultimately, Dominic agreed to transfer the money to his son and after spending one last night together, Lucia left Albie first thing in the morning, with his money.

As Albie later explained to Portia, he well and truly had "been played." It turned out Lucia did not need saving after all, it was all a scam.

Harper, Ethan, Cameron, and Daphne

At the beginning of The White Lotus Season 2 finale, Ethan (Will Sharpe) is haunted by the idea Cameron (Theo James) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza) had sex. Despite Harper's insistence it is all in his head, Ethan is visibly tortured by the idea.

Harper then changed her tune and told Ethan she and Cameron kissed but "it meant less than nothing," sending Ethan into a violent rage that saw him try to drown Cameron in the sea, despite his insistence nothing happened between them.

Whether Cameron or Harper were lying about the kiss, sex, or if anything actually happened between them at all, unfortunately, audiences will never know.

Still full of rage, Ethan joined Cameron's wife Daphne on the beach and told her he believed something had happened between their spouses. Daphne looked genuinely crushed at the thought but let's be honest, it probably was not caused by Cameron's infidelity, it was because of Harper's potential betrayal.

In a twist audiences did not see coming, Daphne and Ethan headed off to a secluded island where it was most definitely implied they slept together, but once again, audiences will have to interpret those longing glances between the pair for themselves.

By the end of their stay, Ethan and Harper had become just like Cameron and Daphne, a couple whose toxic relationship they had previously mocked but equally, Ethan and Harper seem happier than ever.

Elsewhere, Mia (Beatrice Grannò) got her gig singing at the hotel in exchange for helping Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) explore her sexuality, the Di Grasso family did not have the family reunion they were hoping for, and the only people who seemed to survive Season 2 unscathed were employees Rocco (Federico Ferrante) and Isabella (Eleonora Romandini), who seem more in love than ever.

The White Lotus Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO and HBO Max now.