The new generation of Hollywood has been filled with some fascinating performers, but very few have been quite like Sydney Sweeney. The actress, producer, and headline-grabber has built an impressive career and brand in Hollywood, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Most recently, she starred as Christy Martin, a real-life boxer, in the biopic, Christy. Long before that and HBO’s Euphoria, which smacked her rising star on the map, Sweeney gave solid TV performances in series such as Sharp Objects, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the forgotten Netflix show, Everything Sucks!. But one of her strongest performances is nestled in the Emmy-winning hit HBO series The White Lotus, before it became the sensation that it currently is.
Who Are the Mossbachers in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 1?
In Season 1 of Mike White‘s The White Lotus, White brought viewers on a vacation to a tropical resort, where the lives of the staff and wealthy guests were put into the spotlight. With a focus on wealth and class, the Hawaii-set season featured an ensemble of all-stars, reminding us how money can bring out the worst in people. Among the various guests on holiday were the Mossbachers: successful CFO Nicole (Connie Britton), perpetually-in-crisis Mark (Steve Zahn), sardonic Olivia (Sweeney), and socially awkward Quinn (Fred Hechinger). Also along for the vacation was Olivia’s best friend and catalyst for the class discussion, Paula (Brittany O’Grady).
The Mossbachers, though a family unit by blood, were often anything but, as especially evident in the dinner scene. They all lived in their individual universes, which was truly proven through Sweeney’s Olivia. As Olivia, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Mossbacher family, Sweeney offered a performance that was so painfully real, you can’t help but love to hate her character — or hate to love her. As socially aware as Olivia was, she lacked self-awareness.
Sydney Sweeney and Connie Britton’s Dynamic on ‘The White Lotus’ Subtly Brings Out the Best and Worst of Olivia
On the surface, it seemed that Olivia had stereotypical relationships with her mother and best friend, but there was a deep complexity. The mother-daughter dynamic was one in which Olivia didn’t want to live in Nicole’s perfect shadow. She was irked by Nicole not because of who she was — she resented her because she didn’t want that to be her future. She thought she was better than her, often criticizing her in order to poke holes in her apparent perfection. But deep down, Olivia knew that as much as she compensated, she ended up overcompensating.
Right from the jump, when Nicole discovers that Olivia relegated her brother to sleep in the galley kitchen, it starts to expose the power dynamics the two women have. Olivia was successful over Nicole thanks to Sweeney’s ability to deliver her lines with perfect deadpan. She explains, quite graphically, why she didn’t think it would be best to sleep in the same room as her and Paula, and then seemingly mocks him. Olivia showed attitude without being overtly cruel, giving her character the most scathing subtext. Her dry sense of humor allows Sweeney to soar. Olivia was not someone you’d want to get on the bad side of, and Nicole knew that. Sweeney made Olivia biting and conniving, while also parodying an entire generation through her tongue.
Sydney Sweeney Perfectly Carries Olivia’s Arc on ‘The White Lotus’ to the Finish Line
Season 1 featured some truly peculiar parental dynamics, with notable examples being Shane (Jake Lacy) and Kitty (Molly Shannon), but Olivia’s major storyline centered on her best friend. What made Sweeney’s performance so fascinating was her ability to allow Olivia to go on the journey of understanding how the actions of her own privilege can have brutal consequences. And yet, she couldn’t seem to comprehend how her own actions were part of the problem. Grappling with class dynamics thanks to the stark contrast with her best friend Paula and the employees at The White Lotus, Sweeney gave us a character we hoped would leave the experience changed, fully understanding her place in the world.
Sweeney’s Olivia believes she’s uplifting Paula by giving her a chance to experience “her world,” and yet, while surrounded by beauty and privilege, they both neglect the world around them. Instead, she leads her in viewing Paula’s actual life through the lens of the employees. Olivia becomes resentful that Paula is more desired than she is. So, she begins to act out of hurt. When Olivia learns that Paula was involved in robbing her mother, the tears aren’t those of understanding why Paula went to those lengths. Her tears are from a sense of betrayal. In her eyes, she gave this girl the world, and this is how she repaid her. However, it’s Olivia who ends up “winning” in the end when Paula comes back to her with her tail between her legs.
Sweeney made Olivia more than just a surface-level character who was an angsty, privileged teen. Olivia could have been quite a one-note character, and yet, Sweeney defied that. She found the finish line of Olivia’s arc by revealing that this character, despite her experience, remained unchanged. Not every character has to change at the end of a tale. In fact, that’s what made Sweeney’s take on Olivia so realistic. She was a mirror to many people just like her.
The White Lotus is available to stream on HBO Max.
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Mike White
- Directors
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Mike White
- Writers
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Mike White
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Natasha Rothwell
Belinda Lindsey
