Right from the start of The White Lotus Season 2, Harper suspected something was fishy about Cameron and Daphne, and although she’s tried to look past it, her first instincts may have been right on the money. There must be a reason Ethan’s estranged college roommate suddenly invited him and his wife on a luxury Sicilian vacay, right? Well, as the season has progressed, there’s a growing fan theory that Cameron and Daphne are trying to break up Ethan and Harper during their stay at the White Lotus resort.
By Episode 3, Cameron’s ulterior motives seem more obvious than ever, and it also looks like Daphne may be working with her hubby on some grand scheme. After Cameron insisted Ethan set up a meeting with his finance firm, it’s clear that the business bro is after his former roomie’s newly acquired riches. Daphne may have warned Harper about the Bernie Madoff-type bosses that Cameron works with, but she doesn’t seem to really be looking out for the couple, either. In fact, the whole third episode felt like a divide-and-conquer scheme Cameron and Daphne may have hatched together in order to get Ethan and Harper to realize they’re not right for each other and break up.
Viewed through that lens, the chaotic couple’s antics show a clear motive: Cameron’s objective was to loosen Ethan’s inhibitions with drinks and pills to try to entrap him in a cheating scandal, which he could then use as leverage in securing the financial arrangement that he’s after. Daphne’s role was to plant seeds of doubt in Harper’s minds about Ethan’s fidelity, asking her probing questions like whether Ethan has changed since becoming rich and putting her in an awkward position by insisting she suddenly stay the night in Noto without informing Ethan.
The end goal? Get Harper and Ethan to split up so that Ethan is all the more likely to invest with Cameron without his wife to be a voice of reason and talk him out of it.
There had already been plenty of hints at this scheme prior to the couples splitting up for the day in Episode 3. In retrospect, Cameron’s scene-stealing nude scene in the season premiere was probably an attempt to get Harper to cheat on Ethan, and the same goes for his flirty exchange with her while swimming in the sea together in Episode 2.
It’s less clear just how involved Daphne is in her husband’s grand plan, but she could be his perfect partner in executing it. Or, maybe she came up with the scheme herself and has been telling Cameron how to break Ethan and Harper up this whole time. Or, you know, it could be something else entirely. You never know with this show.
Fans will have to keep an eye on these two as The White Lotus Season 2 continues, with new episodes dropping Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
