Season two of The White Lotus has generated many theories among fans regarding the main characters’ true natures, but few characters have been as fascinating to analyze as Meghann Fahy’s Daphne Sullivan. When the season begins, Daphne seems to be little more than a shallow, clueless, and wealthy housewife to an entitled finance bro.
But as the season has progressed, Daphne continues to prove that she is one of the smartest, most aware characters in the entire season and maybe one of the characters who wields the most power, too. There is so much more to Daphne than meets the eye, and the fact that she keeps viewers guessing is a true testament to both the writing and Fahy’s charismatic performance.
“It’s Like Hide And Seek. Keeps Things Interesting.”
Season 2, Episode 3
While The White Lotus has included analysis of class and gender relations in season two, its most interest analysis has come in the form of challenging societal expectations of marriage. Does it matter if a marriage is unconventional and even bordering on toxic if the two parties within the marriage are, by all appearances, completely happy with their arrangement?
Daphne’s character offers the most interesting insight in this regard. In episode three, Daphne reveals to Harper that she enjoys playing psychosexual mind games with Cameron. “It’s like hide and seek. Keeps things interesting,” she simply explains, proving that she is not just the trophy wife Harper initially believes her to be.
“Husbands Murdering Their Wives. Happens A Lot…”
Season 2, Episode 1
In The White Lotus, the identities of the dead bodies on the beach is still a mystery thus far into season two, but the threat of murder and intrigue has lingered among all characters since they first arrived in Sicily. When Daphne, Cameron, Harper, and Ethan have breakfast together in the first episode, the series uses their conversation to offer keen insights into their characters.
In one moment, Daphne is portrayed as clueless and disinterested in social events, even struggling to remember if she votes. But in the next, she is proclaiming her passionate love of Dateline, and her special interest in “Husbands murdering their wives. Happens a lot on vacation.”
“They Really Just Wanna Get Something Out Of You.”
Season 2, Episode 4
The gender and sexual politics within season two have mostly been explored in the context of marriages and affairs, but Mike White’s biting satire hasn’t shied away from analyzing friendships among men and women as well.
Even though Daphne at times seems like the total Instagram mom who likely has a gaggle of mom friends, she reveals her more cynical world view regarding female friendship in a conversation with Harper: “They pretend they wanna be your friend, but they really just wanna get something out of you.” Even though she doesn’t share her husband Cameron’s line of work, Daphne’s understanding of the world is just as transactional and cold.
“When We Disagree, You Just Give In, Right?”
Season 2, Episode 2
Theo James’s Cameron is an almost suffocatingly macho character who regards everything around him as something to control or acquire. Yet even though he cheats on Daphne and sneaks around behind her back in other ways, Cameron seems like he might not be the one in control of his marriage after all.
During a conversation at breakfast in episode two, Daphne offers Cameron an almost disarmingly razor sharp smile when she tells him, “When we disagree, you just give in, right?” It’s a subtler moment, but with just a smile and a few words, Daphne makes it clear that she is not a woman to mess with.
“Why Let Them Have All The Fun?”
Season 2, Episode 3
By episode three, the turn in Daphne’s characterization is fully cemented through her trip to the palazzo in Noto with Harper. What seems like an innocent girls’ getaway winds up having much more of an edge to it, due not only to the games that Daphne admits she plays with Cameron, but also her active choice to buck outdated gendered expectations.
While the allegedly more modern and open-minded Harper is the one who expresses discomfort about doing things without their husbands on vacation, Daphne has absolutely no time for the expectation that men should be the only ones doing what they want in life. “Why let them have all the fun?” she points out.
“You Know What? If I Wanted To, I Could.”
Season 2, Episode 2
It’s not clear just yet whether Daphne could be responsible for any of the murders, even though she is the one to discover the body in the ocean in the premiere episode. But the series continues to link her character to moments of unexpected coldness and veiled threats in a particularly interesting way.
During a moment of intimacy before the couple has sex, Cameron jokes about not wanting Daphne to “cut off his balls,” because he feels like Harper by comparison has emasculated her husband Ethan. Yet even though Daphne assures him that she won’t do so, she sharply notes, “You know what? If I wanted to, I could.” It’s impossible to deny her.
“I Did Some Damage Myself. I Have The Receipts…”
Season 2, Episode 4
Sometimes, the throwaway lines are the ones that really say the most about a character and what a series intends for them. After Daphne and Harper return from their stay in Noto, the dynamic has fundamentally changed between the two couples due not only to their adventures, but also Cameron and Ethan’s escapades with sex workers the night before.
While discussing the shopping she did in Noto, Daphne notes, “I did some damage myself. I have the receipts to prove it.” But the damage she did in Noto isn’t merely financial, as she sowed seeds of doubt in Harper’s mind about Ethan’s fidelity – doubt that seems completely well-founded, too.
“Really, They’re Just Wandering Alone.”
Season 2, Episode 3
Episode three truly offers some of the best character work in the season, as it is the first real in depth look offered at Daphne’s character and the way her mind works. While enjoying edibles and drinks with Harper, Daphne begins discussing what it means to be a woman, and why she’s glad she’s not a man.
Modern men “think they’re out there doing something really important, but really, they’re just wandering alone,” Daphne explains, succinctly deconstructing the pointlessness of men like Cameron and Ethan both with a brutal yet sympathetic clarity.
“Don’t Feel Bad For Me. … I’m Not A Victim.”
Season 2, Episode 3
There is no doubt about the fact that Cameron is a pig and a cheater from basically the moment his character is introduced in episode one. But episode three is the first time the series makes it clear that not only is Daphne aware of his infidelity, she accepts it and refuses to be made to feel pitiable because of that fact.
“Don’t feel bad for me,” she simply tells Harper. “I’m not a victim.” Daphne accepts her circumstances not out of resignation, but because her husband’s proclivities allow her to take more of what she herself wants in other ways, too.
“Maybe You Should Get A Trainer.”
Season 2, Episode 5
It’s not until the fifth episode that viewers really get to understand just how savage Daphne is when it comes to exacting her revenge on her careless, ultimately clueless husband. When Harper tries to talk about Cameron and Ethan’s sexual escapades, Daphne is disinterested in the details, encouraging Harper to make peace with it in her own way just like she has.
But the way she has made peace with it is one that sent Twitter into a tailspin. Daphne reveals she has a handsome, blonde and blue-eyed trainer at home, “accidentally” showing Harper a photo of her blonde and blue-eyed children as she speaks. “Maybe you should get a trainer,” she savagely advises Harper. Daphne has made peace with her husband’s cheating by not just doing her own cheating, but by having children with another man. Not a victim indeed.
