The couple group in The White Lotus, the Sullivans and the Spillers, are really coming undone. In Ep 5, Harper does not take it well when she discovers that Ethan has been lying about Cam having sex with a prostitute in their very room.
To make matters worse, her devil-may-care attitude invites even more unwanted attention from Cam himself. After watching all of this with bated breath, you might ask yourself—are Cam and Harper going to have an affair?
Cam and Harper may not have an affair. However, he will most definitely make a move on Harper to make Ethan jealous. Cam may even rile Ethan up by implying that Harper and he have an affair going on.
Now, I know the show has been aggressively teasing that Cam and Harper will sleep with each other. But that’s also the exact reason I don’t think they will—it’s too on the nose and expected. Allow me to build my case:
Here’s Why Cam and Harper Won’t Have an Affair
The tension between these two couples has been high since Episode 1, especially between Cameron and Harper. But now, their partners, Daphne and Ethan, are also adding to the dangerous storm that is brewing.
After feeling betrayed that Ethan has been lying to her for Cam, Harper asks the boys a few intimate questions about their sex lives from college. As uncomfortable as it is for everyone involved, Ethan, in particular, opens up by saying that Cameron has “mimetic desire.”
What is that exactly? In Ethan’s own words, Cam internally perceived that Ethan had a higher status than him. So, whatever Ethan desired, Cameron would automatically want it, too. This is why Cam always slept with the girls Ethan had a crush on.
If we are to read between the lines, this means that Cam will try to sleep with Harper as well, especially to make Ethan jealous. This is further evidenced by Cam’s attempt to rub Harper’s thigh at dinner later. Plus, the promo for Episode 6 also teases this tension. Have a look!
The promo even suggests that Ethan and Harper’s own relationship is close to breaking, as Harper points out that they’re no longer attracted to each other. Desperately, Ethan tries to patch it up with an “I love you.”
Despite all the signs pointing to an affair, Harper has made her discomfort about Cameron clear from Day 1, when he changed clothes in front of her.
While there’s some room to speculate that Harper may feel some kind of attraction to Cam, her values, conscience, and general distrust toward people like him may thwart the possibility of an affair.
But I do expect Cam to play-pretend that he has a thing going on with Harper, just to irk Ethan and get back at him for the “mimetic desire” comment that implied that Ethan has a higher status than Cam.
As seen in the promo, Ethan is furious about the possibility that Cam may have been in his room alone with Harper.
Whether or not Harper has an affair with Cam, her relationship with Ethan has already been damaged. The last two episodes will definitely deal with its consequences, and there is a real chance that it may lead to murder.
About The White Lotus
The White Lotus is an American satire comedy television miniseries created, written, and directed by Mike White that premiered on HBO on July 11, 2021. Season 1 was set in Hawaii, and season 2 in Sicily.
The White Lotus follows the vacations of various hotel guests over a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.
Jennifer Coolidge and John Gries star in both seasons with a rotating cast in the two seasons. The series was renewed for a third season.
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