*Spoilers for tonight's White Lotus episode if you're in the UK*
Anyone who has watched The White Lotus will know it's crammed with dangerous dynamics, moral dilemmas and more than one dice with death. In season three, however, the storyline that has caught the world's attention is not the imminent demise of one of the characters, but the sexual escapades between two brothers.
In episode five, Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff , who are, to our knowledge, biological siblings, shared a passionate kiss during a game at an intimate Full Moon afterparty on Chloe's (Charlotte Le Bon) boyfriend's yacht. High on pills and buckets of mixed cocktails, Lochlan lent in for a full kiss with his brother under the drunken instruction of Chloe and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). Despite having little to no sexual or romantic experience, Lochlan seemed alarmingly unfazed after the incestuous kiss. Meanwhile, Saxon did not seem entirely aware of what had just happened.
In episode six, we discover that the kiss led to an orgy between Chloe, Lochlan and Saxon that mainly comprised of Chloe and Lochlan having sex while Saxon took care of himself next to them. Another version of the memory shows Lochlan giving his own brother a hand job while having sex with Chloe.
As for how much they remember, exactly what happened or whether they were fully conscious, the episode leaves it somewhat open for interpretation. Regardless, two brothers waking up next to each other butt naked after an orgy is by no means your typical family holiday...
Because the storyline is, so far at least (we're holding out hope that there is hidden meaning), definitely incest and therefore pretty disturbing to watch, it has invoked an extreme response from viewers online and has been called 'disgusting', 'sick' and enough to make them 'throw up' and 'switch off' their televisions.
One X user argues that it's only there 'for talkability' and therefore 'isn't The White Lotus' they know and love. 'Last night's episode of The White Lotus made me so uncomfortable. Nothing entertaining about incest. Like wtf was that,' reads a similar post.
A third wrote that the incest storyline is enough to stop them from watching the show. 'Ew I'm sorry but u cannot convince me to watch The White Lotus, I hate incest story lines,' they commented. Another viewer just seemed perplexed and put, 'The incest storyline on The White Lotus is so ???? because genuinely where do you go from there.'
Someone else pointed out that a lot of the backlash seems preoccupied with the idea that it's 'gay incest' rather than incest being troubling enough on its own. And, as always, there are some social media users who are quietly relishing in the drama of it all. 'Lmaooooo The White Lotus incest plot has all our attention. Like, it's so disgusting but I can't stop watching,' reads one post. 'Saxon and Lochlan will be having full on incest sex in the finale and I will be more seated than I've ever been for anything in my life,' reads another.
In other words, the storyline has entirely taken over discourse about the show and a lot of the audience appear to be losing faith that it is going to be explained or justified. Speaking about the incest subplot himself, Nivola told Variety it was 'very weird' on a number of levels. 'It was very weird kissing Patrick because he’s a really good friend of mine. And, you know, I’m straight, he’s straight. It’s already weird,' he said.
The actor explained that it would have been easier to film if they had only just met, adding: 'Patrick was already like a brother to me. It felt sort of f**ked up.' He added that it was easier filming with Le Bon as she had only joined the set a few days earlier. 'We didn’t really know her at all,' he explained. 'But I guess she knew that [creator Mike White] wouldn’t cast someone inappropriate to play a creepy role.'
While he did not give away where the incest storyline goes next or if it is ever fully explained, Nivola did defend his character. 'I don’t think he’s evil or malicious in any way,' he added. 'It’s crucial for the story that he’s not some psychopath.'
Meanwhile Schwarzenegger weighed in during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter to say, 'There’s some sensationalism, but then there’s also the stuff behind the wall of the character and what he’s dealing with in the conflict of what just happened. What is that going to do to who he thinks he is?'
'His thoughts on, what is it like to be a man? What is a man? What makes all these different things that he thought he stood for in the episode and the days before?' he added.
Nivola then reiterated, 'We really trusted Mike, because there’s always a very shocking, crazy, intense moment in every season. It’s never just for the sake of being shocking, it always serves the story.'
'And that [incest] scene is really the inciting incident for where our relationship goes next. It’s a great storytelling tactic. Going into this, we really trusted Mike because he’s a f*cking badass and a genius.'
With only two episodes left to go this season, there are still a lot of loose ends left to tie... And a lot of unanswered questions.
The White Lotus season three is available to stream on NOW and Sky Atlantic.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).