There’s More to Patrick Schwarzenegger’s White Lotus Nude Scene Than Meets the Eye

WELCOME BACK TO The White Lotus, HBO’s satirical comedy-drama about wealthy, troubled people hitting the self-destruct button on their personal lives in some of the most beautiful, luxurious locales in the world. Sunday’s premiere, “Same Spirits, New Forms” took viewers to a brand new White Lotus resort in Thailand, and introduced this year’s cast of vacationers, including the Ratliff family, played by Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Cook and Sam Nivola.

There was a lot going on in the episode, but one of its more memorable moments took place in the hotel room shared by brothers Saxton (Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Nivola). The episode establishes pretty early on that Saxton is a hypersexual kind of character, even making inappropriate comments about the “hotness” of his sister, and true to form, it’s not long before he is hit by the urge to watch porn and masturbate. Not wanting to do so in front of his younger brother, he heads to the bathroom, completely naked, to jerk it. It makes for some pretty awkward, uncomfortable viewing, particularly in the split second where the brothers make eye contact before Saxton closes the door.

In other words, it’s pure White Lotus.

We’ve known this moment was coming for a little while now. After attending the premiere on February 11, Arnold Schwarzenegger spilled the beans about his son’s performance on Instagram, writing: “What a show! I could claim to be surprised to find out he has a nude scene, but what can I say – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Don’t miss it this Sunday – trust me.”

“Same Spirits, New Forms” furthers something of a White Lotus tradition: putting full-frontal male nudity front and center in its season premieres. The pilot episode way back in 2021 featured a close-up of Steve Zahn’s character’s genitals, a creative decision which both illustrated his vulnerability and also set the tone for the show in general. (That inaugural season continued to push the envelope in terms of male nudity and sexuality, with one episode ending on a rarely-shown-on-television scene of rimming between Murray Bartlett and Lukas Gage.)

Season 2 opened with a similarly graphic nude scene, this time featuring Theo James as Cameron, who purposefully flusters Aubrey Plaza’s Harper by changing into his bathing suit in full open view, with the help of a “ginormous” (James’s words) prosthetic penis. It’s a perfectly in-character power play, in which Cameron quite literally whips it out, showing Harper and the audience exactly who he is.

These phallic displays are baked into the show’s DNA. From the very beginning, The White Lotus has been interested in interrogating the nuances of male sexuality and the darker side of homosocial relationships. That’s in large part thanks to showrunner Mike White, whose subversive queer sensibility permeates the show and has led to some viral television moments: who could forget Sydney Sweeney’s highly-memed speculation as to whether or not her late grandpa was a bottom; Michael Imperioli’s cringe-inducing threesome; and of course, the taboo-exploding “uncle/nephew” roleplay between Tom Hollander and Leo Woodall that led to Jennifer Coolidge’s fateful sea voyage.

Season 3 continues this exploration of modern masculinity: Saxton is intent on pressuring his brother into studying at his own alma mater rather than that of their sister Piper, while Southern patriarch Timothy is beset by financial issues which threaten his sense of self. Outside of the Ratliff family, this year’s White Lotus guests include Rich Hatchett (Walton Goggins), a middle-aged man who is feeling some kind of way about his age after being mistaken for the father of his much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).

Whether it’s Patrick Schwarzenegger’s porn-obsessed sleazebag, Theo James’s intensely competitive friendship with Will Sharpe, or Murray Bartlett coercing his employee into a cocaine-fueled office hookup, The White Lotus is consistently provocative, which is what we have come to expect from that coveted Sunday night slot on HBO. But it’s never provocation for its own sake. Mike White is clearly fascinated by flawed, often-unlikeable men, and loves to holds them up to the light like a kid who has just found some exciting new creepy-crawlies under a rock.

“Look at my weird little guys,” he seems to be saying. “Watch them slither and squirm.”

And we do! Every Sunday, at 9 p.m Eastern.