Warning: The White Lotus spoilers ahead
Even though season two of The White Lotus featured a handful of strange characters, there was nobody quite as baffling as Meghann Fahy’s Daphne. At first, Daphne came off as an ignorant housewife, but as their vacation progressed, it became clear that Daphne might be the only character who is in control of her own narrative. Plus, she has amazing swimsuits.
“I think that her manipulation isn’t an evil one,” Fahy recently told Variety. “I think she’s empathetic in a way that’s kind of surprising.” Daphne’s pivotal moment came in the finale when Ethan confronted her about their spouse’s alleged hookup. After careful deliberation, Daphne guides Ethan to a nearby island, though it’s unclear what went on there.
Of course, we could assume the two did something, but we will likely never know. But Fahy has a thoughtful explanation of what went down:
I definitely think something happened. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I do know that it was something. Honestly, in that moment, I think Daphne just saw this broken man and wanted to do something to make him feel more empowered in her own strange way. I really don’t think that she led him there to get back at Cameron or Harper. Someone said something really interesting the other day, which was like, do you think that part of Daphne’s sadness comes from her betrayal from Harper? I was like, totally.
I think she’s been through this with Cameron who knows how many times, but I think she really thought that Harper was maybe her friend, or wanted her to be. She has that vulnerable moment in Episode 3 where they’re in Noto, and she talks about how she has a hard time keeping female friends and stuff. So, I do think that was part of the experience of it but yeah, I don’t know that I can say exactly what happened, but I think definitely something sexual for sure.
Even though Fahy doesn’t think that Daphne’s motives were malicious, she does seem to think that Daphne was attempting to take things into her own hands after feeling betrayed by not only her husband but also by her new friend Harper. Now they will never watch Ted Lasso together.
The good news is that both couples seemed to have enjoyed their chaotic vacation! At least they made it out alive, anyway.
