Every White Lotus sex scene, ranked

The omnipresent ick is the only natural law of the White Lotus universe. You can catch a whiff of it in every torrid sex scene—excitement and unease, desire and desperation, sweat and the faint smell of stolen arancini. Season one spoke to the ways that our sex lives can cycle through periods of feast and famine. Season two is what happens when a social satire decides to buy a skimpy black bikini and become a sexual thriller. And season three…well…we don’t even know what’s happening there.

But if you dare, feast your eyes on this definitive ranking of its most unforgettable sex scenes, from seasons one to three.

Season two, episode six: Harper and Cameron

Technically, this sex scene is a projection that plays out in the tormented mind of Ethan Spiller (Will Sharpe). But there’s some degree of truth to his paranoid fantasies. Over the course of the season, Ethan grows to suspect his wife, Harper (Aubrey Plaza), is cheating with his college buddy Cameron (Theo James). In the season’s penultimate episode, he fumes while imagining them hooking up on a table, then racing to cover up the indiscretion before Ethan finds out.

And frankly, can you blame Ethan for feeling threatened? With a combination of lust and hatred in their eyes, every glance between Harper and Cameron feels meaningful. In several moments, Cameron definitely appears to be seducing Harper. Cameron undresses in front of Harper in the first episode. Later, he plays a light prank on her and openly admits his desire to be liked by her. At every turn, he goes out of his way to meet her cool, judgmental gaze with flirtation. And Harper gradually warms up to Cameron in return. Their underlying motivations become less opaque in the season finale. Cameron is using Harper in a power play to demonstrate masculine dominance over Ethan and Harper is seeking a reprieve from her sexless marriage. The situation is messy, to be sure. But in one way or another, everyone gets their needs met by the end of the season.

Season three, episode two: Chelsea and Rick

Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Rick (Walton Goggins), efficiently do away with any question of why they’re actually together after Chelsea, as she says, “almost died” in a jewellery store mugging at the resort.