Recentering

"Recentering" is the fourth 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 August 1, 2021.

The series follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain. In the episode, Shane and Rachel are visited by his mother, Kitty, causing problems. Meanwhile, Armond faces a new dilemma.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.515 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing, character development and performances.

Plot
Paula (Brittany O'Grady) and Kai (Kekoa Scott Kekumano) watch the sunrise at the beach, just as Kai explains more about the culture of the Native Hawaiians and reveals that his family was evicted from their home illegally by The White Lotus to build the hotel. She returns to her room, which concerns Olivia (Sydney Sweeney). Nicole (Connie Britton) also questions Mark (Steve Zahn) for his disappearance and state.

Armond (Murray Bartlett) confesses to Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) about his relapse, and she calms him down. Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) informs Olivia and Paula that she found their bag and sent her to Armond, so they demand it back. As he goes to retrieve it, he is confronted once again by Shane (Jake Lacy), who demands to talk to his boss. Angered, he decides to take the drugs and return the bag to Olivia and Paula. Shane's mother, Kitty (Molly Shannon), surprises him by showing up. While Shane is delighted, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) is not pleased as she interrupts their honeymoon. Tanya also informs Belinda that she has to cancel their appointment to discuss the wellness business, as she is planning to go out with a sport fisherman named Greg (Jon Gries).

That night, Olivia "meets" Kai for the first time, not revealing that she is Paula's friend, while Quinn (Fred Hechinger) unwittingly reveals that Mark cheated on Nicole from an earlier confession. Kitty dismisses Rachel's goals and suggests taking a different route, which embarrasses her. Tanya dines with Greg, believing he is a Black Lives Matter activist. However, Greg reveals that the BLM acronym was different, he actually works at the Bureau of Land Management. After their dinner, they have sex. Armond invites Dillon (Lukas Gage) to his office, where they choose to use drugs and have sex. During this, Shane tries to contact Armond's boss, only to discover that he gave him a fake number. He leaves his discussion with Rachel to confront Armond at his office. Belinda guides him to Armond's office, where they are both shocked to find him performing anilingus on Dillon. As Armond laments his situation, Shane laughs and walks away, proclaiming to take him down.

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

Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Recentering" was seen by an estimated 0.515 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 0.478 million household viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews
"Recentering" received generally positive reviews from critics. Roxana Hadadi of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "Even as 'Recentering' finally acknowledges the Hawaiian perspective, sketches out the sympathetic Paula, and tumbles Armond further into self-destructive debauchery, Mike White's insistence that our identities are generationally cyclical looms large."

Amanda Whiting of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The White Lotus has been circling the possibility that it's a show with something to say, but this week, Mike White finally lands the plane (sort of). The rich, white hotel guests — smiling, damaged — are each presented a chance to show what they're about. One by one, they arrive at the same answer: themselves. Still, as a series, The White Lotus is more curious about the deficiencies of its privileged characters than in getting to know the characters who wait on them."

Alex Noble of TheWrap wrote, "If you've been keeping up with The White Lotus, then you've probably noticed that the show, written and directed by Mike White, is far more concerned with the social satire than the murder it keeps teasing us with. If that's an itch you need scratched, there is plenty of other HBO Max programming for you. But personally, I'm loving the show’s approach. Still, now that we're past the series halfway mark, I can't help but wonder if the emphasis on the character dynamics is intended to distract us from some killer in plain sight." Breeze Riley of Telltale TV gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Hopefully, The White Lotus continues to build on the ideas brought up on this episode instead of relying on the same self-absorbed drama of its increasingly predictable characters."

Accolades
For the episode, Murray Bartlett won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.