The White Lotus Fan Theory Suggests a Surprising Secret Identity

This article contains The White Lotus spoilers through season 2 episode 5.

The White Lotus’s second season has featured an abundance of mystery, sex, and deceit, but perhaps no plot line has been harder for fans to decipher than the one involving Tanya and Portia (Jennifer Coolidge and Haley Lu Richardson). They originally arrived in Sicily with little to no purpose, wandering aimlessly and waiting for something external to sweep them off their feet and give them a vacation worth remembering. 

That exact item manifested in the form of Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his supposed nephew, Jack (Leo Woodall). These British exports seem like the life of the party, but as Tanya and Portia have gotten to know them a little better, it would appear the foreigners’ original intentions and identities may not add up. 

The fifth episode of the season concluded with a jarring scene of potential incest. Tanya walks in on Quentin and Jack getting busy in private, but some fans are starting to think the two might not be related in the first place. Redditors have claimed that it seems like too much of a coincidence that Tanya’s husband, Greg (Jon Gries), left the resort about the same time that Quentin arrived. 

Greg had been unusually irate over the circumstances of the trip, being irritated that Portia was there, not wanting to spend time with Tanya anymore, and secretly talking with people on the phone when Tanya wasn’t looking or listening. It’s almost like Greg is planning something sinister, and Quentin is the conduit to transform it into a tangible reality. 

Quentin talks to Tanya right before the sex scene about how he’s only ever loved one man. The beau was a buckaroo from Wyoming, a heterosexual man who he would still do anything for even to this very day. Is Greg the cowboy being referenced in this anecdote? Something isn’t adding up here. Why is Quentin so interested in Tanya’s enjoyment of her vacation? 

It’s a semi-safe bet that Quentin isn’t who he seems to be, and that Jack isn’t actually his nephew, instead perhaps an escort used to sucker unsuspecting romantic partners into the loop. If Quentin and Jack can get as close as possible to Tanya, Quentin can go for the kill, quite literally. Greg would get what he wants, which is Tanya’s money, and Jack gets what he wants, which is a relationship with Portia as a reward for screwing Quentin and helping the scam. 

These theories all would potentially make the storyline revolving around Tanya a lot more fulfilling. Her engagement in the second season of the show has sometimes seemed a little more aimless than the first go-around at the Hawaiian White Lotus. Tanya falling for the trap Greg, Quentin, and Jack have laid down would be quite the comeuppance for her after she treated the hotel wellness therapist, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), from the first season so poorly. 

If you remember, Tanya kept telling Belinda that she was going to fund her own therapy center so she could quit working at the White Lotus and live out her dreams. Instead, Tanya met Greg and her sentiments towards Belinda were revealed as nothing more than a facade to comfort her lonely heart. Once again, Tanya is gullible for company, and this time it might not be the type of companionship she can survive. 

Remember, there’s still a dead body we have to discover at the end of the season. With only a couple of episodes left, it certainly wouldn’t surprise us if that corpse ends up being Tanya or Portia. The White Lotus knows how to throw a nasty curveball, though, so we’ll always be on our heels.

New episodes of The White Lotus season 2 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.