Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the latest episode of The White Lotus.
Well, folks. They really went there.
Fans of The White Lotus have been speculating about what’s really going on between the Ratliff brothers ever since episode one of the current series, with Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola’s characters sharing a kiss in last week’s instalment – albeit as part of a dare while they were partying with two girls.
However, in this week’s instalment, we discover that things didn’t stop there, with Lochlan performing a sex act on his brother while having sex with Charlotte Le Bon’s character, Chloe.
And in a new interview with Variety, Sam opened up about filming what he revealed was actually the first sex scene of his career.
“I’m a very anxious person, so I’m always nervous, especially on a big job like that,” Sam shared.
“Doing the sex scene was nerve-racking, and we were on a boat, and I get seasick, so that was fucking stressful. The actual scene itself went smoothly. Mike White was sort of calming about it, and I really trusted Patrick and Charlotte.”
In a separate interview with Vanity Fair, Sam also described the scene as “fucking insane”.
He recalled: “I had never even kissed anyone on camera, let alone done a sex scene. So that whole thing was really scary.”
On the contrary to what fans have been saying for the last six weeks, Sam also claimed that he doesn’t believe his character is attracted to his brother, and his actions actually stem from a place of “insecurity”, and an attempt to “connect” with Saxon.
“What he learns over the first few episodes is that Saxon is the sex guy. His primary motive in life is to make money and get laid,” Sam suggested to Variety.
“So, the thing on the boat is Lochlan’s tragically misguided attempt at being like, ‘So, you’re the sex guy. Let’s do something in that realm and try to connect in some way’. It’s obviously a big swing and a miss.”
Last week, Sam made similar claims about the brothers’ relationship, describing the suggestion of incestuous feelings between them as a “red herring”.
Instead, he claimed, “really it’s just [that] Lochlan just wants attention and he just wants his brother to like him”.
Elsewhere in his Variety interview, Sam also admitted he’d found it “very weird” kissing Patrick in the previous week’s episode, not only because they’re both straight, but because they’d already formed such a bond while shooting in Thailand for weeks prior.
Defending the scene, he also told Vanity Fair from certain critics who feel the storyline between the brothers is just for “shock value”, he insisted: “I really don’t [believe that]. I would’ve felt a lot less comfortable shooting it if that’s what it was.”
He added: “I have a thing about sex scenes. I hate it when they put sex scenes in shows and there’s no reason, you know what I mean? Especially if it’s just super hot sex that goes really well and they both enjoy it. It’s like, why?”
At the end of the episode, the Ratliff brothers have found themselves separated, with Saxon invited to a mysterious dinner party at Gary/Greg’s place, and Lochlan spending the evening at a monastery with his sister, Piper.
It was there that Lochlan suddenly had a flashback to what had transpired between himself and his brother the previous evening, having previously admitted that he’d blacked out while they were partying.
The White Lotus continues on Mondays on Sky and Now in the UK.