‘Saint X’ Episode 2 Review: 'White Lotus' vibe permeates this Caribbean murder mystery
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The second episode of Hulu’s adaptation of Alexis Schaitkin’s 2020 novel ‘Saint X’ has finally picked up pace. Alison is drawn towards both Edwin, the Black islander who works at the resort, and college boy Tyler who is on a vacation with his father. In the present timeline, Emily, Alison’s sister, who is now in her 20s is fighting hard to learn about the truth behind her sister’s murder.
However, despite jumping timelines, ‘Saint X’ is rooted in its origins. It has a resort on a Caribbean island, the economy of the island depends on the well-being of the resort and the people who work there have a shared history. With the history of the folks on the island as the backdrop, new unspoken relationships are coming to the fore with the arrival of guests at the resort. Like between Alison and Edwin or the couple expecting a child and Alison. New bonds are being formed, no matter how sweet or sour they are. But remember, all these newfound relationships lead to one culmination - the murder of Alison. Given the scenery and the premise, it almost feels like the show is reminiscent of another series. Can you guess which one?
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'White Lotus' vibes
The second episode is primarily focused on Alison's budding relationships with Edwin and Tyler, with the police investigation into her murder picking up pace. Alison is now confidently moving around in the resort but her little sister Emily has her apprehensions about being left alone. Given the new guest at the resort of Indigo Bay in the show and the involvement of staff members on a more personal level with the guests, HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’ comes to mind.
Although ‘Saint X’ is a story about a young woman trying to get to the bottom of her elder sister’s murder which took place at a resort over 20 years ago, ‘The White Lotus’ dealt specifically with the lives of guests at the resort in the show. Even though in HBO’s show, the lives of guests would eventually be entangled, it remains to be seen whether ‘Saint X’ goes down the same road. ‘Saint X’ offers an investigative drama which was missing from the ‘The White Lotus’ plot. More so, the lives of people staying at the resort during the time of Alison’s murder have not been covered in the present timeline. There are a lot of facets yet to be explored in the show. It will be interesting to see how the creator of the show, Leila Gerstein, portrays both past and present timelines.
Who is Emily chasing in the episode?
Emily Thomas who is now all grown up is thrown down the rabbit hole once again when she meets a cab driver who in reality is Gogo and is now working under the name of Clive Richardson. He, along with Edwin was accused of the murder of Alison and Emily remembers him from the time at the resort. Emily takes matters into her own hands and begins to dig into the past and starts following Gogo for answers.
The show deals with themes of murder as entertainment, Black and White privilege, and continues to add layers with every episode. Despite all the complex plotting, we hope the next few episodes will be pacier rather than expositionary.
You can catch 'Saint X' every Wednesday exclusively only on Hulu