White Lotus is known for its sensationalism and shocking story lines, it’s part of the series’s popularity. Despite this, viewers have been calling into question the incestual scene and references . The Hollywood Reporter spoke to members of the cast about their take on this element of the season. 

A scene in season three, episode five shows Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff kissing, and in the latest episode it was disclosed that the two brothers had participated in a threesome with the sister Chloe, which only Chloe remembers in full. 

Patrick Schwarzenegger (Midnight Sun, Gen V), who plays Saxon, told The Hollywood Reporter about his thoughts on his character’s new arc. 

“There’s some sensationalism, but then there’s also the stuff behind the wall of the character and what he’s dealing with in the conflict of what just happened. What is that going to do to who he thinks he is?” he questioned. “His thoughts on, what is it like to be a man? What is a man? What makes all these different things that he thought he stood for in the episode and the days before?”

“Mike [White, Creator, School of Rock, Enlightened] does a great job with my character with that scene, but also in past seasons of always bringing something that is really fun and outrageous and sparks a conversation that gets people talking, but also has to do a lot with the pilgrimage of the characters’ story and where he’s going,” he continued. “ And here, especially with the relationship Saxon has with his little brother. There’s always more than what just meets the eye of the shock value on the screen.”

Sam Nivola  (The Perfect Couple, White Noise) also spoke to THR about how he felt when filming the scenes. “It’s kind of impossible for it to not be charged when you’re literally naked with all these cameras in front of you,” he said. 

“We really trusted Mike,” Nivola continued, “because there’s always a very shocking, crazy, intense moment in every season. It’s never just for the sake of being shocking, it always serves the story. And that [incest] scene is really the inciting incident for where our relationship goes next. It’s a great storytelling tactic. Going into this, we really trusted Mike because he’s a fucking badass and a genius.”

It is still up in the air with how this new development will play out. 

Episodes of the White Lotus premiere at 9 p.m. Sunday on Max.