As “The White Lotus” nears its finale this Sunday, all eyes are on Ethan and Harper as they navigate what actor Will Sharpe says is “the fear of their marriage falling apart.”
While Ethan’s loyalty is questioned as Harper discovers remnants of Ethan and Cam’s night with Mia and Lucia, the dynamics change in Episode 6 when Ethan suspects that Cam and Harper are having an illicit relationship. There is a sexual encounter – leading to a tense confrontation. The dinner is interrupted when Harper and Daphne are joined at the table by their husbands.
“I think the short answer is he can’t keep it anymore,” Sharp told TheWrap ahead of his character Ethan’s season finale. “He’s probably telling himself that he’s someone who doesn’t want to play this game of competing for position and just wants to keep the peace, but operating that way has had very negative consequences so far.”
Read on to see Sharpe’s first glimpse of true honesty between Harper and Ethan all season, Ethan’s growing worries, and that tense confrontation.
TheWrap: At the beginning of Episode 6, Ethan is relaxing in a chair and looks like he hasn’t gotten much sleep. What’s going on in his mind?
Will Sharpe: The biggest question is where he and Harper are in their marriage. That scene at the beginning of the episode is the closest they get so far to talking about it directly, because up until that point, they’ve told themselves they’re being honest with each other, but really, then they don’t communicate. Don’t do very well about the deeper type of issues.
Superficially, he tries to say, “I told you I did whatever with Cameron that night and I think you don’t believe me.” I don’t know if he goes about it in necessarily the most helpful way, but part of it may be because he dreads the fact that they’re not really in a great place. It’s easy to have a conversation about, “I told you the truth.”
Obviously this has made it very difficult for her to trust him, since he didn’t tell her about it directly. He knew, on some level, that letting this party into his room was also a sign that he was eager enough to investigate. Even if it’s fair for him to say I had shown some restraint, and that included the willpower not to go all out, he was certainly keen. I always felt like in that scene, it’s scaring him a little bit that he’s gotten this far. What does he say about that? Does this mean that he is like the boy from Cameroon? Why is he even more tempted than this?
So I think he’s paying attention to all those things, and maybe, he’s angry with himself about some of his choices.
Then Harper bursts her bubble by saying, “We’re not attracted to each other anymore.” Do you think there is truth in this and in that moment, does Ethan know about it?
I think he is. He is concerned that there may be some truth in this, and may not yet be ready to face it directly. But yes, it is a sad sight.
How do you understand their lack of intimacy? Is it purely not being attracted to each other? Is there some other reason why they haven’t connected in this way?
Mike and Aubrey and I talked about their relationship early on and would also ask questions like, is there anything in particular that we feel isn’t helping? Is it due to the fact that they have suddenly come into so much money? Is it destabilizing them and their sense of self and sense of who they are as a couple? and of course, Cameron and Daphne and how different they are [and] How comfortable they are with public displays of affection can also affect them.
But Mike was kind of clear that all he really wanted was that their only problem was that they had been together for a really long time. The three of us decided that it would be at least seven or eight years, if not more. Mike often said how it is, sadly, really normal, for this kind of atrophy to happen in long-term relationships — it’s universal and relatable.
I think it might be time and the fact that there are no secrets left, and that’s why they’ve gotten so close, that they’ve almost kind of drifted apart. We meet them at a point where I don’t think either of them have realized how bad this is, but coming on this holiday [and] Coming out of their daily lives, living in this matrix with Cameron and Daphne, I think they’re bringing those issues to the surface.
Ethan then answers Harper’s question, “Do you want me?” with “I Love You”. What does he answer like that?
It’s a really interesting question, and I remember talking about it with Mike the other day, and it almost felt intentional or something.
We did a few takes where Ethan says, “Yeah, sure, I want you, I love you.” But there is the idea that it is somehow not playing convincingly. While the option to keep it as “I love you” is what he can say [and] Feel it is true in that moment.
But she is worried about the question she is asking. I’ve noticed how so many other storylines have some kind of element of fantasy – sometimes a dark fantasy – but Ethan and Harper seem trapped in this harsh reality. Yes, they’re in a beautiful location and, in some ways, it’s a dream vacation, but in terms of their mobility, they just can’t seem to catch a break. I feel like Ethan, even though he thinks he’s trying to be nice, is often making very bad decisions and that’s probably something he’s starting to realize too, and it’s driving him a little away. It’s like eating
Even when he is in hot water with Harper, he still fondly addresses Lucia and Mia when he learns that they were not paid. So why does he still address them with kindness and patience, despite the fact that it could jeopardize his marriage?
This is an example of a situation where I don’t think he is doing anything wrong in that particular situation. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t know Harper was watching and he probably thinks it’s not like you weren’t paid.
Where he messes up is when Harper confronts him about it: he just doesn’t explain and it’s because he doesn’t want to start a fight in front of Cameron. And of course there are reasons not to attend – he hasn’t had a good morning [and] It can escalate really fast. So let’s do it later.
He’s paralyzed, I think – it’s the fear of his marriage breaking up [that] Partly that’s what’s influencing those decisions.
What was your reaction when you first read the script for this episode and saw that Ethan is now suspicious of Harper and Cameron?
His size was described to me before I actually read the script. So I already knew it. To the point where it could go either way, it could be that he’s just freaking himself out and, in fact, he’s being overly suspicious for no reason and things that may have calmed down now, and He is his worst enemy, just getting over it. Or it could be that there really is something to it.
When they are later at dinner, what prompts Ethan to confront Cam about his flirting with Harper, since he has been relatively silent before?
I guess the short answer is that he just can’t keep it up anymore. He is probably telling himself that he is someone who does not want to play this game of competing for prestige and just wants to keep the peace. But doing things this way has had negative consequences so far.
It seems to me that something has been boiling inside him from the very beginning and it is starting to reach boiling point.
“The White Lotus” season 2 finale airs Sunday, December 11, Stream on HBO and on HBO Max.