The White Lotus is a top-tier dark comedy series that keeps the audience engaged - from beginning to end. It achieves this by continuously creating an itch to scratch.

Mike White, the writer and director, does not assert that the series is a caricature state-of-the-nation, but his exact and unforgiving writing succeeds where many others have failed.

White created this profoundly humorous, distinctly newfangled series to provoke without sounding too patronising. The anthology series tackles issues like class, sex and race but remains subtle throughout, illustrating how important it is to package a message well to convey it effectively.

Both seasons of the HBO series begin with mysterious corpses that are not identified till the end. While it is thrilling to watch the mystery unravel, the deaths are too odd a hook. However, it is through these deaths that White sets the tone and shows how various relationships function.

Despite their animalistic, selfish impulses, the characters in The White Lotus have emotions, uncertainties and concerns. The underlying theme is that no relationship can be divorced from the transactional and that power plays an innate role in how individuals interact.

Since each season is set up as a murder mystery, death plays a crucial role as it is the only state where a person cannot compete for more, be it more sex, more money or more power. White successfully draws an analogy that implies that, in the current system, one continues to struggle until one succeeds or dies trying.

The first season explores class tensions and disparities between the affluent guests and the less privileged staff at a Hawaiian resort known as the White Lotus. In the confines of this five-star paradise, White has found the classic parable of American privilege.

The guests take it endlessly, whether it is for fun or because they feel entitled. They all live together but no sharing occurs. At the end of the day, they are the guests, and they expect to be looked after. The staff is there only because they are needed.

Season One opens with a death, but we don’t know who the deceased was, why the death happened or how it happened. As we try to piece together the clues, the plot suddenly swings back to the beginning of the week.

We watch as the hotel staff, led by Armond played by Murray Bartlett, greets the new guests who have smiles plastered on their faces.

Each episode that follows offers juxtaposition: a glimpse into a day in the life of those who bus tables and rub backs and those who demand and can afford luxuries.

A heated dialogue about the gender dynamics of their future develops during the honeymoon of newlyweds Rachel, a struggling journalist, played by Alexandra Daddario, and Shane, her pettish husband, played by Jake Lacy.

The anthology series tackles issues like class, sex and race. Each episode offers juxtaposition: a glimpse into a day in the life of those who bus tables and rub backs and those who demand and can afford luxuries. A stay at the White Lotus may not be relaxing, but it is guaranteed to be unforgettable.

Meanwhile, a prosperous family is led in. Nicole Mossbacher is an ambitious CEO played by Connie Britton. Steve Zahn is Mark, her maladjusted, unsuccessful husband.

The family is divided by their ultra-woke daughter Olivia, portrayed by Sydney Sweeney. Brittany O’Grady is her indifferent friend, Paula. These two bully little brother Quinn, played by Fred Hechinger, who is too immersed in his many screens to care.

Last but not the least, comes the frail, lonesome Tanya, played wonderfully by Jennifer Coolidge, who is travelling alone to disperse her mother’s ashes. Tanya enjoys the company of Belinda played by Natasha Rothwell. Belinda is a black masseuse who quickly becomes a friend and one-sided confidant.

The obvious socio-economic divide between those who work at the luxury resort and those who can afford to stay creates an unavoidable tension in the setting that no amount of politeness can completely mask. The staff are instructed to embrace ambiguity, to avoid showing any actual personality and to be as generic as possible so that the guests can use them as and when they like.

Season Two features another carefully chosen group of affluent guests. However, this time they are looked after by staff and sex workers at The White Lotus Hotel in Sicily rather than in Hawaii.

Tanya is the only significant character who returns. This time the plot focuses on sexual politics. It is an excellent narrative, with complex and nuanced writing, which does not allow the audience to settle into one’s sympathy or dislike for too long. The characters are too layered to be judged; the series has more grey in it than black and white.

Among the new set of guests to arrive at the lovely coastal resort are three Di Grasso family members, who travel there to embrace their Sicilian heritage. They depict the three ages of man and his virility.

The grandfather Bert, played by F Murray Abraham, flirts with every young waitress he encounters. Then there is Dom, portrayed by Michael Imperioli, whose wife and daughter did not join him on vacation as they are furious over his infidelity. The pacifying son, Albie, played by Adam DiMarco, is appalled by his grandfather’s antics.

Albie is interested in Portia, played by Haley Lu Richardson, who is Tanya’s personal assistant. This time, Tanya is back with a darker edge to her innate lunacy and narcissism. Having fallen in love with sport fisher Greg, played by Jon Gries, at the end of Season One, she is now married to him. Greg is no longer concerned with her needs or desires; instead, he has transformed into a bully who berates her for being overweight.

We also see Theo James take on the role of Cameron, a pompous banker, and his charming but basic wife Daphne, played by Meghann Fahy. Cameron invites his former college roommate, Ethan, played by Will Sharpe, as their guest.

Ethan is a newly-rich workaholic, and Ethan’s snarky wife Harper, played by Aubrey Plaza, is an employment lawyer. A shifting tension between them - of status, class, intellect and financial power - creates some brilliant scenes.

There are a lot of layers, subtleties and gripping themes added to the series as local prostitutes Mia, played by Beatrice Grann, and Lucia, played by Simona Tabasco, also enter the picture. A vicious circle of truth and fidelity mind games entangles them all. Essentially, this time, the conflict is fuelled by sex obsession, with desire serving as the major plot device.

A stay at The White Lotus may not be relaxing, but it is guaranteed to be unforgettable.

The writer is a freelance contributor