You could definitely say that The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 6 “Denials” is aptly named. The latest installment of the HBO hit sees multiple characters struggling to admit to the truth of what they have done â or plan to do. Case in point: Jaclyn’s (Michelle Monaghan) utter refusal to admit she slept with hunky Russian butler Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) last week, even though Kate (Leslie Bibb) totally caught him sneaking out of the TV star’s room in the morning.
**Spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 6 “Denials,” now streaming on MAX**
What’s interesting about Jackie’s infidelity is that it is felt less of a betrayal of her marriage vows to heartthrob hubby Harrison and more like treason to the friend group. After all, Jackie has been trying to push single pal Laurie (Carrie Coon) to hook up with Valentin this whole time. So when Laurie learns about the tryst from Kate, she feels absolutely played.
When a wounded Laurie later presses Jaclyn on her affair, she also accuses the actress of having a “plan” to seduce Valentin from the start. She insinuates that Jackie wanted Laurie and Valentin to hook up as part of a ruse, as if to make Laurie the fool. Laurie goes so far as to out Kate as her source and makes a very specific reference to how this kind of behavior goes back to tenth grade.
So what went down? Did Jackie really have a “plan” to nab Valentin? Was she earnestly trying to match the Russian with Laurie? Or is the one night stand simply something that just happened?
“I think it’s something that happens,” The White Lotus star Michelle Monaghan told DECIDER. “In fact â I obviously have no judgment on on Jacqueline’s actions â I actually always believed that she was going to tell them, you know, that she hooked up with him and [she thought] they wouldn’t care.”
“I think it’s only because of the tone that she hears from her friend that she realized she’s struck a chord and she’s done something wrong.”
The more Laurie pokes at Jaclyn, the more the TV star refuses to admit what she’s done. “She immediately does what she does best, which is lie,” Monaghan said.
“But she’s not really that good of a liar, is she?” The White Lotus star continued. “It really questions if she is a good actress, because I feel like she’s pretty transparent, right?”
Jackie is so transparent that it’s not only pretty obvious that she totally hooked up with Valentin, but that she’s earnestly dismayed by her friends gossiping behind her back. She straight up tells Kate later that given all the gossip she has to deal with as a rule in Hollywood, it’s sad for her to discover that her best friends are also “talking shit” behind her back. (Never mind she’s also doing it to them.)
“So I think I sincerely did want, you know, Jacqueline really, really wanted Laurie to hook up with Valentin. She’s had a really rough couple of years,” Monaghan said. “And I think that that desire for her was very sincere and not manipulative.”
Of course, what’s so brilliant about White Lotus creator/writer/director Mike White’s observation of a certain kind of toxic female friendship is the reality that sincere intentions don’t necessarily result in happy endings.
The post ‘The White Lotus’ Star Michelle Monaghan Explains Why Jackie Won’t Admit to Sleeping With Valentin: “She Realizes She’s Done Something Wrong” appeared first on Decider.
