In the new series White Lotus – which concludes tonight with the long-awaited finale in which we finally find out which guests were found dead in the first episode – no one is who they seem. No one can be cute either, but part of the show’s brilliance is its ability to at least occasionally empathize with characters who act with terrible self-respect.
Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), the shrewd manager of a luxury hotel in Sicily, where the series is set, has fewer rights than the mega-rich guests she employs. At the start of this series, we learned that Jennifer Coolidge’s iconic hot mess, Tanya McQuoid, is worth a cool half a billion dollars.
But Valentina’s relative modesty does not make her an outstanding figure. She became the new MVP of the show because her least attractive traits—irritability, interfering, bluntness bordering on rudeness—are rooted in very real pain.

In the third episode, we see Valentina chasing after a local guy who was harassing her while she was drinking her morning espresso. She’s not the only woman on the show who struggles with unwanted attention from men, but in episode five we find out why Valentina is especially reluctant to admit it.
At this point, enterprising sex worker Mia (Beatrice Granno) asks her what we were all starting to think about. “You’re gay, right? I’m kind of gay too,” she says with a nonchalance that shocks the deeply withdrawn Valentina. Suddenly, the fact that she seems to have no friends or life outside of the hotel becomes not only sad, destructive.
At this point, Valentina seems to turn into a beleaguered queen as she represents every queer person too scared to be themselves. The hard facade she puts on is just her way of getting through the day. Impacciatore said she created her own backstory for Valentina about the abusive relationship that traumatized her. For the actress, the scene in which Valentina shows a softer side while feeding several kittens was key to understanding her psyche because “she’s like a little kitten inside of her,” she recently said. “I thought: “Valentina loves these kittens so much because she is uncomfortable with people …”
This social awkwardness is definitely the reason Valentina has a crush on hotel receptionist Isabella (Eleonora Romandini), which is heartbreaking not only because she’s clearly out of reach, but also because Valentina’s advances are so uncomfortable. Even the ugly starfish brooch she puts on Isabella becomes poignant: Valentina can’t express affection, so she gives her a gift more befitting a distant aunt. We later learn that Valentina hopelessly underestimated the situation. Rocco (Federico Ferrante), the male co-worker she believes was molesting Isabella, is actually the secretary’s boyfriend.
Valentina also reveals that she’s never been with a woman before, and when she enjoys a passionate night with Mia in episode six, it’s unexpectedly touching. Yes, it’s paid sex – Mia offers her body to sing at the hotel bar – but it’s also upbeat, cathartic, and long overdue. Valentina finally becomes herself, if only for a moment.
Because the show’s writer/director Mike White is a scheming genius, he covered Valentina’s testimony at the camp from the start. In the first episode, she welcomes horny grandfather Bert DiGrasso (F. Murray Abraham) to the resort with a sweet but spicy dose of verbal limoncello. “I’m impressed you’re even here,” Valentina tells him with a flawless expression on her face. “It’s a long drive from LA, and you’re pretty old, aren’t you?” Valentina seems to intuitively recognize this guy – an aged Lothario who thinks he still has a chance with much younger women after reading and deciding to make him smaller.
She then delivers the season’s quip in the second episode – the impicatore has since revealed that she improvised. When Tanya, dressed all in pink, poses next to a Vespa in the hotel courtyard and imagines she looks like the Italian movie siren Monica Vitti, she makes the mistake of asking Valentina who she is trying to be. The manager’s surprisingly dry response: “Peppa Pig?”
Impacciatore’s casting for the role was also a clue. In Italy, she is a longtime LGBTQ+ icon and ally who is regularly invited to Pride events. Not only is she a fantastic actress who captures the salty and sizzling side of Valentina, she’s also someone who really understands her character’s core struggle to truly live.
“Gay community [in Italy] does not have the same rights as straight people or homosexuals in America,” Impacciatore told me. vulture Recently. “So Valentina not only doesn’t know her way, but she’s also culturally afraid to accept the idea.”
For that reason, I hope Valentina gets some kind of happy ending in today’s series finale – if that’s even possible. White Lotus. If not, then I will be happy if Valentina finds someone in Sicily with whom she can regularly spend time.
Source: I News

I am Harvey Rodriguez, an experienced news reporter and author with 24 News Reporters. My main areas of expertise are in entertainment and media. I have a passion for uncovering stories about the people behind the scenes that bring the entertainment world to life. I take pride in providing my readers with timely and accurate information on all aspects of the entertainment industry.