abductions

Ethan (Will Sharpe) confronts Harper (Aubrey Plaza) for humiliating him by discussing their sex life in front of Cameron (Theo James) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy). They discuss their mutual lack of attraction, with Harper asking Ethan if he still desires her. Ethan is also confronted by Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Grannò) as neither he nor Cameron fully paid for their services, which is witnessed by Harper.

Before Dominic (Michael Imperioli), Bert (F. Murray Abraham) and Albie (Adam DiMarco) leave to meet their relatives in their ancestral village of Testa dell'Acqua, Albie suggests that Lucia accompanies them as their translator. Lucia briefly stops to speak to a hotel employee and then joins the family. On the way, Lucia notices that they are being followed by Alessio. Not wanting to cause trouble, Lucia agrees to leave with him. Without their translator, the Di Grassos meet their Italian relatives, who respond with suspicion and hostility. They return to the resort, where Bert praises Mia for playing the piano. After the performance, Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), alone on her birthday and having learned that a concierge she was interested in is engaged, takes Mia up on her offer and they have sex in one of the vacant guest rooms.

Ethan witnesses Harper flirting with Cameron and becomes increasingly convinced she has cheated on him. Albie is visited by Lucia, who explains that she owes money to Alessio.

Quentin (Tom Hollander) hosts a party at his house, where he introduces Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) to his cocaine dealer, Niccolò (Stefano Gianino), whom he implies works for the Mafia and whom Tanya notices is carrying a gun. Drunk and under the influence of cocaine, Tanya sees an old photo of Quentin with a man resembling Greg, her husband; before sleeping with Niccolò.

Elsewhere, Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) becomes increasingly tired of Jack's (Leo Woodall) drunken antics. Jack states Quentin and his friends have spent all their money on their luxuries, but some new money will soon be coming in. He cryptically implies Quentin rescued him from dire circumstances.

The episode was written and directed by series creator Mike White. This was White's twelfth writing and directorial credit for the series.{{cite web|url=https://directories.wga.org/project/1213172/the-white-lotus/|title=The White Lotus – WGA Directory|website=Writers Guild of America West|access-date=June 20, 2023|archive-date=March 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303001232/https://directories.wga.org/project/1213172/the-white-lotus/|url-status=live}}

In its original American broadcast, "Abductions" was seen by an estimated 0.684 million household viewers with a 0.10 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.11 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.{{cite web|url=https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-sunday-12-4-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html|title=ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 12.4.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated|work=Showbuzz Daily|first=Mitch|last=Metcalf|date=December 6, 2022|access-date=June 20, 2023|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208021052/https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-sunday-12-4-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html|url-status=live}} This was a slight increase from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.641 million household viewers with a 0.11 in the 18-49 demographics.{{cite web|url=https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-sunday-11-27-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html|title=ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 11.27.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated|work=Showbuzz Daily|first=Mitch|last=Salem|date=November 30, 2022|access-date=June 20, 2023|archive-date=November 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130154145/https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-sunday-11-27-2022-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html|url-status=live}}

"Abductions" received extremely positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the episode, based on 2 reviews.{{Cite web|title=The White Lotus: Season 2, Episode 6|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s02/e06|access-date=June 20, 2023|website=Rotten Tomatoes|archive-date=November 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128033638/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s02/e06|url-status=live}}

Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "I always knew this season of The White Lotus would belong to Aubrey Plaza. But I was hardly ready for the way in which her Harper would take a chokehold on this HBO anthology series. Plaza, who's long been known and often underestimated because of her uncanny ability to channel deadpan 'evil hag' energy, has here yet again proven why she's one of the most fascinating performers around."{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-white-lotus-review-season-2-episode-6-1849844934|title=On The White Lotus, Aubrey Plaza steals the show|last=Betancourt|first=Manuel|date=December 4, 2022|accessdate=June 20, 2023|work=The A.V. Club|archive-date=February 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223225315/https://www.avclub.com/the-white-lotus-review-season-2-episode-6-1849844934|url-status=live}}

Tom Smyth of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Few shows welcome rabid theorizing more than The White Lotus does, between its promise of impending death and every episode's ominous ambiguity. If you've been on the internet at any point over the last five weeks you've probably seen a lot of those theories, because everybody's watching this show with a suspicious eye. And while we've had our guard up this whole time, it seems like our characters have finally caught up — reading into every little interaction and developing suspicions of their own."{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-recap-season-2-episode-6-abductions.html|title=The White Lotus Recap: Suspicious Minds|last=Smyth|first=Tom|date=December 4, 2022|accessdate=June 20, 2023|work=Vulture|archive-date=December 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219063253/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-recap-season-2-episode-6-abductions.html|url-status=live}} Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Abductions' was a perfect hour of this HBO drama because it continued to peel away at these individuals on their vacation in Italy."{{cite web|url=https://www.tvfanatic.com/2022/12/the-white-lotus-season-2-episode-6-review-abductions/|title=The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Abductions|last=Dailly|first=Paul|date=December 4, 2022|accessdate=June 20, 2023|work=TV Fanatic|archive-date=May 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516222911/https://www.tvfanatic.com/2022/12/the-white-lotus-season-2-episode-6-review-abductions/|url-status=live}}

Henry Wong of Esquire wrote, "It's been such a pleasure to watch these various couples mess around, break up, and get together, that it will be difficult to watch next week's finale. Still, you have to check out sometime."{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a42150514/the-white-lotus-episode-six-recap/|title=‘The White Lotus’ Episode 6 Recap: Fever Pitch|last=Wong|first=Henry|date=December 5, 2022|accessdate=June 20, 2023|work=Esquire|archive-date=March 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327115914/https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a42150514/the-white-lotus-episode-six-recap/|url-status=live}} Shawn Laib of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "We still have hardly an idea who will remain dead or alive going into next week, but it certainly seems like the lack of communication between these four characters will have a lot to do with their fates."{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-white-lotus-season-2-episode-6-review-abductions/|title=The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Abductions|last=Laib|first=Shawn|date=December 5, 2022|accessdate=June 20, 2023|work=Den of Geek|archive-date=February 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208125617/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-white-lotus-season-2-episode-6-review-abductions/|url-status=live}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.hbo.com/the-white-lotus/season-2/6-abductions "Abductions"] at HBO
• {{IMDb episode|22333372}}

{{The White Lotus}}

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Category:2022 American television episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by Mike White (filmmaker)

Category:Television episodes written by Mike White (filmmaker)

Category:The White Lotus episodes