Valentina's Best Insult On HBO's The White Lotus Was Improvised
One of the big questions "The White Lotus" fans had going into season 2 was how the show could ever outdo season 1's hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett), the only character having fun in a season filled with miserable people. Unfortunately, not only is "The White Lotus" an anthology show but Armond also met his demise in the season 1 finale, so there was no way to bring him back. Instead, the manager of the White Lotus' Italy resort in season 2 would have to do.
Fortunately, that turned out to be pretty easy, with Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) winning over most fans by the second episode. Specifically, there's a moment where Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) asks Valentina to guess who she's dressed as in her new pink outfit. "Peppa Pig?" Valentina awkwardly replies. It's an unexpectedly savage response that's made funnier by how it flies right over Tanya's head. When Tanya says, "I'm Monica Vitti," Valentina responds bluntly, "Monica Vitti's dead. But yes."
The "Peppa Pig" line immediately establishes Valentina as being sorta severe and otherwise bad at connecting to guests on a human level. It would also qualify as great writing ... if showrunner Mike White had actually written it. In truth, however, the line was improvised by Impacciatore, and White enjoyed it so much he kept it in.
As Impacciatore explained to Vulture, the line was born from "a moment of terror" on her first day filming with Coolidge. "Mike came up to me and said, 'Sabrina, the more b****y you are, the more Valentina is funny.' I was scared because I thought, 'I can't be a b***h to Jennifer,'" Impacciatore added. Seeing Coolidge dressed in pink, the "Pegga Pig" line just popped into her head. "I don't know why. It was just to save my life," she admitted.
Before Impacciatore played Valentina, she was primarily a comedic actor
It makes sense that she would have a knack for improvising funny lines on "The White Lotus," as Impacciatore is one of many "White Lotus" stars with a background in comedy. In that same Vulture interview, she talked about getting hired for a comedic role on the Italian variety series "Non è la Rai," which was a surprise to her at the time. As she explained:
"Being a comedian was something I didn't understand right away. But the director of the show and my coach said I had an incredible sense of comedy. So, on the show, I was improvising and writing my own characters, but I never stopped studying as an actor. I've kept challenging myself throughout my career, doing many different things."
Sure enough, "The White Lotus" was a very different thing for her. It was the first project that got her international acclaim, as well as the first show that led to her being invited onto American talk shows and recognized by people from the U.S. on the street. Indeed, for the first time, Impacciatore found that one of her characters was more popular in the United States than they were in Italy.
"In Italy, it's a lot more of a niche thing because you have to have the cable platform to watch ['The White Lotus']," she explained. "But it's a very good niche to be in, a niche of people that are cultivated and look for high-quality shows."
As of season 3, Valentina is still the best White Lotus manager
Impacciatore's career in the U.S. seems to be taking off, as she's now starring in Peacock's loose "The Office" spin-off "The Paper" (which has already been renewed for a second season). Her success feels fitting because her turn as Valentina was truly special, so much so that fans are now hoping she will someday make her way back to "The White Lotus." (Unlike Armond, Valentina survived her season on the series to work another day.) If White wanted to make up an excuse for Valentina to stop by the France resort in the upcoming season 4, nobody at home would complain.
What makes Valentina memorable is not merely that she's funny, but that she's also a lonely soul who's as complicated as the guests she serves. She goes on an introspective journey throughout season 2, coming to terms with her sexuality even if it involves violating a few of her own rules for the hotel. And sure, she comes dangerously close to crossing some ethical boundaries with one of her employees, but unlike Armond, she at least comes to her senses before she can take things too far. Armond may have been a queer disaster, but Valentina was a queer success.
Valentina maintained her place as the show's best manager even after season 3 introduced us to a new hotel resort in Thailand. Sadly, the new manager there, Fabian (Christian Friedel), was a total dud, lacking any of Valentina's aura and possessing none of Armond's charm. Hopefully, the season 4 manager will be given more substance to work with, but they'll have to clear a high bar for us to forget about Valentina, the only "White Lotus" manager yet to end their season on a dignified note.