Mike White has revealed that he had, from the first season of The White Lotus, already been hinting at what would ultimately happen to Tanya.
Tanya was a fan-favourite on The White Lotus and was one of only a few characters that returned for the second season of the show.
Tanya’s death in this second season was sad, but it did not come as a complete shock. Mike White, who is the creator of The White Lotus, revealed that they had actually been hinting at what was going to happen to Tanya from the first season of the show.
Why Tanya is one of the best characters on The White Lotus
If The White Lotus has taught us anything, it is that Jennifer Coolidge is one of the only actresses in the industry who can make an overbearing and out-of-touch character like Tanya McQuoid seem so endearing.
So much so that she was asked to come back for a second season of the “eat the rich” satire that is The White Lotus.
While Tanya was introduced on the show as a not-so stable character to begin with, her issues only seemed to get worse as the second season of the show progressed.
The White Lotus: What was going to happen to Tanya?
Mike White, the creator extraordinaire of The White Lotus, revealed that he knew what was eventually going to happen to Tanya from the time the first season of the show was being filmed.
Tanya was one of only a few characters to return for the second season of The White Lotus. However, very few devoted The White Lotus knew she would eventually be the body that Daphne bumps into in the first few minutes of the second season’s first episode.
White explained that Tanya’s line, which she delivers in the first season of the show: “Death is the last immersive experience I haven’t tried,” was the first clue that her trip to Sicily in the second season would be her last.
However, the hints and clues about Tanya’s eventual death did not end there.
In the second season, Tanya’s new best friend Quentin takes her to see an Italian opera called “Madama Butterfly”, in which the main character commits suicide after she realises that her husband will not be returning home.
Tanya ends up dying in much the same way later in the season, after her own husband, Greg, leaves her in the middle of their vacation for a business trip.
Fans have also pointed out that Tanya wears a dress that is similar to the one that Apollonia Vitelli wears in “The Godfather” (wherein the character is killed off in an explosion).
This is addition to her doom-filled tarot card reading at the beginning of the season, and the fact that she dresses as the deceased actress Monica Vitti for her romantic Vespa date with Greg.
Did Jennifer Coolidge know that Tanya was going to die in season 2?
Coolidge also confirmed that creator Mike White did, in fact, tell her that Tanya would die before they started filming the second season of the show.
Coolidge was not happy with the news that Tanya would be leaving the show at first, but she knew that she would not be able to change Mike White’s mind about it, even if he had not even planned out how it would happen yet.
Is Tanya really dead?
Even though Tanya’s death may be difficult for devoted The White Lotus fans to accept, it seems unlikely that she will be able to make a comeback on the third season of the show.
Even Coolidge has come to terms with the fact that Tanya is definitely, completely dead. White also confirmed that he wanted Tanya to have a fitting, operatic conclusion to her story that was as dramatic as the character.
How will they replace Tanya in season 3?
There are few characters who can deliver a line like “These gays, they’re trying to murder me,” in a way that not only makes it go viral, but makes complete sense for the situation that she is in.
This is why it is going to be so difficult for White to fill the gap that Tanya’s death has left in the show.
HBO has already renewed The White Lotus for a third season, but White has not yet confirmed if any of the season two characters or even a character from the first season, will return to the show.
He has, however, hinted that the third season of the show might still have some references to Tanya.
Fans certainly hope that White will reveal in this next season whether Greg was truly involved in a conspiracy against Tanya all along.
