“The White Lotus” season two strikes the vacation-themed sequence to Sicily, and there is one iconic a part of the island that the present makes word of: the intricate statues of heads.
Through the first episode, Cameron (Theo James), Ethan (Will Sharpe), Daphne (Meghann Fahy), and Harper (Aubrey Plaza) ask concerning the statue of their room. Their hotel-worker information explains to them that it is referred to as a Testa di Moro. He explains, “The story is a Moor got here right here a very long time in the past and seduced a neighborhood lady. However then she came upon that he had a spouse and kids again residence. So as a result of he lied to her, she lower his head off.”
The group wonders why folks would wish to show the statues if they’ve such a darkish backstory. Daphne tells Cameron, “It is a warning to husbands, babe. Screw round and you may find yourself within the backyard.”
Rocco would not inform them the remainder of the legend, or the opposite interpretations of the Testa di Moro’s origins. In response to Go to Sicily, after the lady eliminated the person’s head, she used it as a vase to develop basil. The scent attracted her neighbors, who cherished the vase and had copies of it commissioned.
However Go to Sicily additionally provides one other backstory for the statues. In a distinct model of the legend, the lady and the Moor fell in love. When her mother and father came upon, they beheaded each of them and hung their heads as a warning. That is why the heads are normally proven in pairs, although “White Lotus” principally exhibits the person’s head alone, referencing the opposite model of the story.
What Is the That means of the Head Statues in “White Lotus”?
Primarily based on Rocco’s clarification, it appears the heads are a reminder of the secrets and techniques that may be saved between {couples} and the way in which they flip into poison — and even violence. It thematically resonates with the present’s second season, which appears to all be about dramas between {couples}. Daphne and Cameron appear to be the picture-perfect wealthy couple, however Harper would not belief them. And on the finish of the night time, whereas Cameron and Daphne have intercourse of their lodge room, Harper and Ethan are disconnected in mattress.
Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge)’s marriage to Greg (Jon Gries) is not going nice both. He is livid she introduced her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) along with her and reprimands her about her weight and consuming. And Dominic (Michael Imperioli) will get berated by his spouse on the telephone. She calls him a liar, accuses him of protecting secrets and techniques, and finally ends up crying. His actions have saved his spouse and daughter from becoming a member of the boys of the household on trip, and his apology for his inaction appears significantly disingenuous since he hires Lucia (Simona Tabasco) to sleep with him earlier than he even arrives in Sicily.
However different resonances are tied to the statue within the sequence, too. The lodge employee says the statue is of a “Moor,” a phrase that Europeans used within the Center Ages to imply Muslim folks, and particularly these from North Africa or the Center East. In Shakespeare’s “Othello,” the title character is described as a Moor, and that is why he would not slot in with the remainder of Venetian society. The characters of “White Lotus” season two are virtually all white. Harper notes to Ethan on the finish of the episode that the 2 of them are the “white-passing, various associates.” The Testa di Moro, then, is a literal objectification of a nonwhite individual, an individual who in any other case would not be welcome on this ultra-elite house. And he turned an object by means of violence; solely by means of homicide can he be an accepted a part of Sicilian life.
We already know that at the very least one visitor will not make it by means of their trip alive. Might or not it’s due to the secrets and techniques and lies that come between a husband and spouse? We’ll have to attend and see.
