We rarely see someone grapple with their misgivings of their romantic choices as immediately as we see Alexandra Daddario’s character do in Mike White’s The White Lotus. Over the course of Rachel and Shane’s honeymoon, we see the perfect marital dream crumble before Rachel’s eyes. In the hands of Daddario, Rachel is sympathetic and relatable, and she successfully walks the tightrope of someone who, on the surface, has everything she could dream of.
Rachel could have been vapid, but Daddario and White aren’t interested in telling a story that has been told many times before. Over the course of her honeymoon, Rachel comes to realize just how much of a baby Shane is, and the possibility that she would be his mother and not his partner strikes fear into her. Even though she is staying at an idyllic resort, she is trapped on an island with people who don’t fully understand her background or upbringing–and they aren’t interested in learning from it.
Once Rachel decides that she is going to back out of the new marriage, we, the audience, are confronted if we could do the same. Or would we be content with the notion that it might get better?
The final scene between the couple is one of the best interactions of the entire season. The tentativeness in Daddario’s eyes, the way her voice breaks makes Rachel’s fear painfully palpable. Her performance is so layered with what Rachel feels she is entitled to say versus what she needs to hold back. Daddario’s performance is subtle but rich in all the way the rich guest can’t fathom.
