THE UNSPOKEN TRAGEDY OF 'THE WHITE LOTUS'.

The story of three sets of guests attempting to vacation in Hawaii. The idea is to escape the stress of life, but they all fail. This show depicts incredibly our human error in dealing with stress because every one of them takes their stress with them on their vacation. How can a person hope to unwind while surrounded by toxic people? When they're toxic to others?

The staff of the resort is mostly impacted while hosting this endless stream of rich, white, entitled babies. That level of toxic behavior takes a toll. Eight miserable years in customer service with a similar customer made me suicidal. "The White Lotus" does an amazing job of bringing the ugliest side of customer service to life. In no way is it an exaggeration for comedic effect. It's real, ugly, and in no way funny.

The series also begs the concept that hotels, resorts, and cruises are all a fantasy. The comfort and decompressing are all on the surface. Beneath it, everyone is just as miserable as ever. All they're doing is stalling their never-ending despair to which everyone must eventually return.

In the end, nothing ever changes.
Unless we make it so.

The miseries of customer service and the divide between the haves and the have-nots are self-explanatory. I'm comfortable letting those well-crafted themes speak for themselves. Instead, let's explore the unwritten tragedy from within the newlywed VIP couple. Rachel Patton (Alexandra Daddario), the aspiring journalist turned wealthy trophy wife, not only fails to enjoy her honeymoon at the White Lotus, but also a full-fledged reality check. Which then leads to an identity crisis.

With the courting and wedding concluded, there is no more need for either spouse to put their best foot forward. The masks come down, and the real entitlement begins. Shane's entitlement is clear enough. He is born into privilege, never wanting, and used to getting his way. When the inner Karen comes raging out, no one should be surprised to see it. Rachel, on the other hand, has a far more subtle (blink and you miss it) sense of entitlement, and she's slow to expose it. Still, it's there.

She pretends not to know her husband. She pretends to be surprised by his behavior. She pretends to be the humble, grateful guest with an understanding background. Let's be honest. She knows exactly what she signs up for as Shane's "arm candy" from the beginning. She marries him to sell out, but it takes a pep-talk from her mother-in-law for it to finally sink in. Thus, it comes as no surprise that she is willing to stay with her spoiled brat of a husband in the end because she always intended to.

This early marital disagreement launches her into her own weird fixation that distracts her from her beautiful honeymoon as much as her Karen husband. Her feeling of hopelessness leads her to acquire the opinions of the other guests where she sees the difference between the two women she could become. She first reaches out to Nicole Mossbacher to whom to tell her struggles, and Nichole's advice comes from a place of strength and self-respect. A serious career woman never gives up. She doesn't rely on her husband's money. Rachel should never stop writing if she wants a serious career in journalism. This advice is logical and practical. Any strong woman would take it.

However, Rachel is not a strong woman. She doesn't even approach Nichole for advice. Not really. That conversation in Episode 2 is designed to brag about Rachel's writing, one article. "10 Top Woman..." including Rachel M. Rachel is looking for praise over this one "puff piece". Her portfolio is so littered with clickbait and puff pieces that her Top 10 Women piece is her greatest claim to fame, which is why it's the only one she references over the course of her week at the resort.

She ultimately uses it to worm her way into notoriety with the powerful demographic of VIP guests. It's not enough to impress that top woman because the pep talk turns dark as soon as Rachel drops the title. This is the first time we see an honest critique of the quality of Rachel's work. It's not good. She comes off as a rushed, lazy writer. Since we already know she's also easily distracted, this doesn't bode well for her career. Rachel walks away from that encounter with more of a reality check than she bargained for and a dim opinion of Nichole's character: from idle to “bitch” and weirdo overnight. All because Nichole gave one honest opinion of Rachel as a writer. That says more about Rachel's character than Nichole's.

I always say: If you don't want an honest answer, don't ask the question.

This marks the first major red flag over Rachel's final decision over her career. However, she first meets lonely heart Tanya McQuoid. This older wealthy woman is much more like the family she married into, specifically her mother-in-law. With money to burn and time to travel, Tanya finds her life void of meaning. The purpose of her journey to the White Lotus is to let go of toxic influences and release bad habits. When presented to Rachel at the shared boat incident, funeral/romantic dinner, Tanya is a mess. She shows Rachel with her miserable, manic behavior that all the money in the world CAN NOT buy happiness. If Rachel gives up her work/passions, she will eventually end up just like Tanyal. Ouch.

These two extreme examples of Rachel's future don't go unheeded. She has a moment of clarity near the end of her honeymoon, and that leads to the couple's first real fight where Shane's ugliest side comes to the surface. He becomes threatening, paranoid, and violent. This is Rachel's third look into her future. She realizes that her relationship is potentially abusive. It's only a matter of time before he focuses his violence upon tables and hotel staff. He kills a man, for Christ’s sake. That's highly alarming.

Why, then, with these horrifying red flags in front of her does Rachel choose to stay with her terrible husband? Because she intended to from the beginning. She knows her role as a wealthy trophy wife from the beginning. She knows her career is going nowhere because she doesn't have the skill. She knows she doesn't have the tenacity to better her writing.

There was never a choice for her. No forks in her road. There is only one option: to make her marriage of convenience work. Rachel Patton's honeymoon at the White Lotus is no vacation. It's certainly not the beginning of a happy, successful life as it is for Nicole M. Instead, it gives her a brutal reality check of the life ahead of her. That choice is made the moment she says, "I do".

Just like that, she forfeits her purpose.