The White Lotus spoilers follow.
We hope you’re ready for a bloodbath because it’s all coming to a head on HBO’s The White Lotus. The shocking death in the season-one finale will likely look like a five-star retreat in comparison, given the fact we know multiple bodies are about to stack up on the sunny shores of Sicily.
All bets are off when it comes to who’ll see this idyllic vacation become their last, but like any good murder mystery, there are theories and red herrings galore. Seemingly at the centre of it all right now is The White Lotus alumna Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) and a throwaway reference viewers are calling "The Cowboy Theory."
The White Lotus episode five has Quentin (Tom Hollander) mention falling in love with a straight cowboy in Wyoming. He ominously said he’d have done anything for this mystery man and still would — some 30 years later. This is quickly forgotten though following the big reveal that Quentin’s nephew is actually his lover.
Things get more confusing in episode six, when Tanya finds an old picture of Quentin and the cowboy. It’s in this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that fans have theorised the cowboy is Tanya’s husband.
If this is the case, Greg (Jon Gries) might have recruited his old flame to get his hands on Tanya's fortune. Given That Greg is literally out of the picture right now because he flew home on "business", it would be convenient if Tanya were killed off when he has an alibi.
It’s clear something is off with Greg, and remember that earlier in the season, we heard him telling an unknown person on the phone how Tanya has "no idea". Having Greg cheat on Tanya with another woman is a little too easy, but the idea he’d use Quentin to kill his wife would be a twist worthy of season one’s finale demise.
There are a few flaws in the theory. Namely, why would Quentin leave a photo around if there’s a danger Tanya would recognise Greg? Tanya’s prenup could also mean Greg will get nothing in the event of her death, but that depends on the finer details.
December 4's 'Abductions' adds another twist, as eagle-eyed viewers spotted a red light in Tanya's room. Whether blackmailing her with a sex tape or using it as grounds to nullify the prenup, Greg, Quentin, or the pair can use it as leverage.
The fact Jack (Leo Woodall) can't afford arancini suggests Quentin doesn’t live the lavish lifestyle he pretends to, so the whole blackmail plot could still work without Greg. Jack also told Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) that Quentin won’t have to sell his villa because he’s "coming into money".
Whatever is going on, we guess things will go horribly wrong and at least one of season two’s deaths will follow in the footsteps of Shane (Jake Lacy) accidentally stabbing Armond (Murray Bartlett).
Picture the scene where Tanya shoots whoever is trying to wrong her. Even if we didn’t know death was on the cards, 'Abductions' had a literal Chekhov’s Gun in the possession of Nicolo (Stefano Gianino) before he and Tanya got down to it.
Chekhov’s Gun is a plot device that becomes integral to the story. Chekhov wrote, "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there."
Nicolo's gun looks destined to become much like season one’s pineapple-coring knife and be used as a murder weapon. We just don’t know which guest will be wielding it. There are also the sprawling plot threads of the other parties, and with the whole allegory of a cheating husband having his head lopped off by his scorned lover, the likes of Cameron (Theo James) and Dominic (Michael Imperioli) could be unrelated to Tanya's arc but still in the firing line.
We hope Tanya makes it out of this one alive, as she could be something of a Jessica Lange in American Horror Story legacy actor for the inevitable The White Lotus season three. Then again, Tanya McQuoid could just as easily be doomed to the tragic fate of Madama Butterfly.
The White Lotus airs on HBO Max in the US, and on Sky Atlantic, Sky Go and NOW in the UK.
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