Tamal Kundu
HBO’s satirical anthology series ‘The White Lotus’ offers an in-depth look into human nature through multi-faceted stories inhabited by complex characters. In season 2, the main theme is sexual politics, which is the focal point in the characters’ interactions. Albie Di Grasso (Adam DiMarco) and Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) arrive at the Sicilian branch of the White Lotus as part of different plot threads. Portia has come with Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), the lonely, apathetic, and depressed heiress from season 1, and her husband Greg (Jon Gries), whereas Albie is in the company of his father Dominic (Michael Imperioli) and grandfather Bert (F. Murray Abraham), in Sicily to find familial roots.
Albie and Portia meet, grow close, and when it seems that they might start dating, things fall apart between them. If you are wondering whether Albie and Portia end up together, we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Albie and Portia: Unexpected Reunion, Uncertain Future
Although Albie and Portia express their interest in each other early in the season, the latter soon starts to find Albie mellow and boring. The arrival of Jack (Leo Woodall), a buffed-up British young man with a hint of danger lingering around him, draws Portia’s attention completely away from Albie. Even Tanya’s rare advice about not chasing after emotionally unavailable men go unheeded.
Meanwhile, a heartbroken Albie finds comfort in Lucia (Simona Tabasco), a local who he later discovers is a sex worker. That doesn’t stop him from pursuing a relationship with the woman. If anything, it fills him with the desperate desire to save her. His father warns him against this, but Albie isn’t good at heeding advice either. Perhaps if Dominic had told his son that he used to be one of Lucia’s clients, he would have listened. But he chooses to say nothing about it after Albie promises to put in a good word about him with his mother. And Albie, despite knowing his parents’ history, uses access to his mother as leverage to get €50,000 for a woman he barely knows.
In the end, the predictable thing happens, and Albie finds out that Lucia has played him. Alessio, the man who is supposed to be Lucia’s souteneur, turns out to be her friend.
Meanwhile, Portia discovers an extensive plot against Tanya. Jack is very much involved in it and is likely being sexually exploited by the man who is supposed to be his uncle, Quentin (Tom Hollander), one of the masterminds of the plot.
After ensuring that Portia stays away from Tanya while Quentin and his associates execute their plan, Jack drops her off near the airport. His parting words to Portia are a warning about how dangerous Quentin and his associates are.
A terrified Portia follows Jack’s instructions and goes to the airport, where she runs into Albie. It is from him that she learns that her employer might be dead, along with the people who intended to murder and exploit her. The season ends on a good note for these two characters. They tell each other about their romantic misadventures before exchanging numbers. It is implied that they might even have a relationship in the future.
However, even if that happens, we can’t safely say that things wouldn’t end differently from before. In the White Lotus, character development is a rare thing. Despite everything she has gone through, Portia might meet another emotionally unavailable man and end up choosing him over Albie. In the post-finale commentary, series creator Mike White observes that the Di Grasso men’s relationship with women is fraught with sexual desire. It’s true with Bert and Dominic, and it’s likely true with Albie.
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