HBO’s anthology series, The White Lotus, has captured viewers with its biting commentary on privilege, wealth, and social hypocrisy. Set at the luxurious White Lotus resorts, the series follows a new group of wealthy guests each season, who ultimately reveal their worst impulses. Whether in Maui, Sicily or the latest season in Thailand, the show expertly critiques the self-absorbed elites.
Among its most divisive characters, Sydney Sweeney’s Olivia Mossbacher embodies the worst excesses of entitled youth. Olivia is a wealthy, entitled, and smugly “woke” character while also disdaining society’s flaws. She’s deeply unlikable for many reasons, and viewers hate the character who shows little self-awareness and uses her privilege.
Sydney Sweeney’s character in The White Lotus is a perfectly privileged ‘woke’ socialite
Sydney Sweeney‘s Olivia Mossbacher in The White Lotus is a character that portrays the kind of subtle, deceitful privilege that’s often overlooked but deeply damaging. Olivia, the sophomore college student and the daughter of a powerful CEO, is the epitome of privilege. She spends her time at the Hawaiian resort with the rich family, bullying her younger brother, and getting high with her best friend, Paula. While she claims to be socially conscious, her understanding of “wokeness” is wrong in many ways.
The fact that she doesn’t genuinely engage with it but instead uses it to uphold her sense of superiority makes her one of the hated characters in the show. Her relationship with Paula is a great example of this. Olivia’s empathy for marginalized groups is exposed as self-serving when she treats Paula, her Black friend, as little more than an accessory to demonstrate her supposed progressiveness.
The whole dynamic between the two friends is a subtle manipulation. The way she undermines Paula’s relationship is a perfect example of how someone can claim to be progressive while being entirely self-serving and oblivious to the harm they cause.
Beneath the mask of justice of social justice lies a deeper, more troubling truth. Olivia shares more in common with her parents than she’s willing to admit. She criticizes their privilege but takes on the same entitled attitudes, all while enjoying the benefits of wealth. Her actions, ranging from belittling her family to undermining Paula, are all driven by a need to control and protect her privileged position.
Fans react to Sydney Sweeney’s character in The White Lotus as menacing but praised her performance
Sydney Sweeney’s portrayal of Olivia has drawn widespread acclaim, earning her an Emmy nomination. Fans online have weighed in with pretty hateful reactions about the character as well as praised Sweeney’s performance. Many praised her ability to make a character so detestable yet compelling.
Some Reddit users highlighted Olivia’s hypocrisy while mentioning most of the characters in the series are detestable. While others noted the vulnerability beneath the surface. One Reddit user aptly summarized, “You are not supposed to like her… maybe the son, he’s alright.”
Comment
byu/guava_eternal from discussion
inTheWhiteLotusHBO
Comment
byu/guava_eternal from discussion
inTheWhiteLotusHBO
Comment
byu/guava_eternal from discussion
inTheWhiteLotusHBO
Comment
byu/guava_eternal from discussion
inTheWhiteLotusHBO
Comment
byu/guava_eternal from discussion
inTheWhiteLotusHBO
Overall, these comments reflect how Olivia can be both incredibly frustrating and oddly relatable. She represents a certain kind of entitled youth who is still figuring out who they are, and while her behavior is problematic, it’s not without any complexity. It’s the type of character that leaves you thinking about her long after the show ends. Now, as season 3 arrives, it’s only better to think that Olivia will grow out of it for the show’s better development.
Stream The White Lotus on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
