We saw it coming, but fans of The White Lotus were still left in shock following the fifth episode, “Russian Roulette,” after watching as Ratcliffe brothers, Saxon, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Lochlan, played by Sam Nivola, shared a kiss during a night out.
"The brothers kissed omg omg omg," one viewer wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Not the brothers kissing and of course Lochlan initiating it," another added alongside a meme of a man shaking his head.
A third person shared a gif of Jennifer Coolidge's character Tanya McQuoid holding a champagne flute, with the caption: "Very excited for the absolute chaos that's gonna ensue when The White Lotus brothers kiss tonight."
The show's producer David Bernad has since defended the scene, saying that it wasn't “just for shock.”
Speaking to The New York Post, Bernad explained: “No, in terms of that—that’s all [creator Mike White]. Mike is brilliant, and I think those big story turns are not just for shock.
“There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across.”
He added that “as the season wraps up, you’ll see the purpose of that story turn. The show goes there for a larger thematic idea. I love that family storyline, especially the brother story - and, it culminates in a very satisfying way.”
The shocking moment happened while the Ratcliffe brothers were out partying with Chloe, played by Charlotte Le Bon, and Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood.
While out on the mainland, the group ended up taking a mystery pill and things got very trippy. Saxon told the two ladies to kiss and then Chloe asked the brothers to kiss, at which point Lochlan gave his brother a quick peck. He then went in for a full blown kiss, grabbing his brother's neck in the process.
The storyline between the brothers has been brewing for some time now. At the end of episode one, Lochlan could be seen trying to watch as his brother masturbated in the bathroom.
Speaking about their relationship in an interview with Radio Times, Schwarzenegger said: "I think that one of the things that we worked on as a group, as a family, was to try to create that dynamic: the closeness, but the oddness, the weirdness we thought was normal, the older brother to younger brother relationship,” he said. “But I think that Saxon actually really does care about his brother.”
Just last week, The White Lotus aired another nude scene, this time featuring Jason Isaacs who plays the boys' onscreen dad, Timothy.
Isaacs' full frontal scene was the latest in the ever-growing collection of nudes in Mike White's HBO holiday series, following on from Patrick's moment at the beginning of season three, season two's Theo James and season one's Steve Zahn.
