New Day (The White Lotus)

"New Day" is the second episode of the first season of the American black comedy drama anthology television series The White Lotus. The episode was written and directed by series creator Mike White. It originally aired on HBO on July 18, 2021.

The series follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain. The season is set on Maui, and follows two couples, the Pattons and the Mossbachers, along with a woman named Tanya, as they each have different conflicts during their stay. In the episode, tensions arise between Shane and Rachel, while Mark is informed of his medical results.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.459 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the character development, stories, directing and score.

Plot
Bored with their stay, Olivia (Sydney Sweeney) and Paula (Brittany O'Grady) smoke marijuana that Paula brought over. Before trying ketamine, they are interrupted by Nicole (Connie Britton), who happily announces that the test results for Mark (Steve Zahn) came back negative. This causes Mark to change his attitude to a more uplifting tone.

Armond (Murray Bartlett) confides in Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) that he feels guilty for not knowing about Lani's pregnancy, and considering breaking his five-year sobriety. Shane (Jake Lacy) is still intent in getting their original suite and even talks with the German couple, eventually discovering that they plan to leave a day earlier than Armond told him, realizing he lied to him. He decides to call his mother (Molly Shannon) for help. Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) is offered to write a new piece, but Shane tells her that they do not need the money. Nevertheless, she converses with Nicole (Connie Britton) about their lives, with Nicole stating that Rachel should be more focused on her own journey. Nicole then finds that she wrote an article about her, and calls her out for her inaccuracy.

Olivia and Paula try ketamine again on the beach, but they are approached by Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge). She wants to ask them about a proper place to put her mother's ashes, but they leave instead. Tanya notices that they left behind their bag of drugs. The bag is given to Armond, keeping them at his office. When Olivia asks if he has the bag, Armond claims no bag was left. An elated Mark asks Quinn (Fred Hechinger) to learn to scuba dive with him, wanting them to bond since his own father died when he was around Quinn's age. Although reluctant, Quinn agrees. That night, Shane gets angered when Rachel expresses her wishes to write the piece during their honeymoon. Meanwhile, Olivia feels jealous when she sees Paula spending time with Kai, a hotel employee.

Belinda is approached by Tanya, who is so grateful for her service that she wants to fund a wellness business with her, intriguing her. While talking with his uncle, Mark is surprised to discover that his father did not die from cancer, but AIDS. His father did not want anyone to tell him until it was proper time, also revealing that he had sex with men.

Armond decides to use the drugs from Paula's bag. Quinn is annoyed by Olivia's presence and goes outside their hotel room, staying at the beach to see the whales in the distance.

Development
In June 2021, HBO announced that the second episode of the season would be titled "New Day", and that it would be written and directed by series creator Mike White. This was White's second writing and directorial credit for the series.

Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "New Day" was seen by an estimated 0.459 million household viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a slight increase from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.420 million household viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews
"New Day" received critical acclaim. Roxana Hadadi of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "'New Day' is a whirlwind of an episode, so packed with plot and character development and so interspersed with wry asides and satirical moments that I had to stop my normal process of writing recaps, which is to take notes during an episode and then go back through them, highlighting in various colors different elements of the episode I want to discuss."

Amanda Whiting of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "In this week's episode, beach boys lug chaises longues onto the hot sand, waiters gawk as Shane Patton piles an obscene buffet plate, and the wealthy resort guests enmesh themselves in the lives of the staff without much thought to what happens when they leave. Consequences are as ephemeral as sunsets."

Alex Noble of TheWrap wrote, "Well, as of Episode 2, a murder victim (and culprit) have yet to reveal themselves. Given the multiple rising tensions amongst the guests and staff at The White Lotus, however, I'm willing to bet that we'll know at least one very soon." Breeze Riley of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Creating a false sense of peace and then ripping it away is The White Lotus's main storytelling trick so far, and it continues to work well. You're left wondering what other bombshells will drop before the guests finish their stay."

Accolades
Jake Lacy submitted the episode to support his Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. He would lose the award to his co-star, Murray Bartlett.