The White Lotus opened its first season teasing a death and it appropriately delivered with none other than hotel manager Armond, played brilliantly by Murray Bartlett. While virtually any character aside from Jake Lacy’s unlikeable Shane Patton could have ended up inside the box labeled “Human Remains” Shane saw loaded into the underbelly of an airplane, the fact it was Armond came as a shock to many. Certainly, creator Mike White did his best to shield the victim’s identity not just by showing only Shane in the flash-forward scene but by having a nosy couple at the airport ask rather pointedly where - if Jake was on his honeymoon as he said - was his new wife?
While Alexandra Daddario’s Rachel did manage to survive to the end of season 1, the growing tension between the new Mrs. Patton and Jake certainly misdirected the audience to think the results could be otherwise, especially when her husband placed a large knife at their bedside in the name of self-defense. But despite setting up a mysterious, inevitable demise, The White Lotus centered very little on mystery and much more on the intersecting character flaws and personal journeys between the affluent guests and practically invisible staff at The White Lotus, a luxury hotel in Hawaii. Armond, as the hotel manager, was naturally the least invisible of the employees yet seemed only to draw the attention - and ire - of Shane, a man who at all times needed someone to blame for his disappointments. It was Shane who ultimately killed Armond.
In retrospect, perhaps it was that very antagonistic relationship between Shane and Armond that foreshadowed the real identity behind the human remains. While season 1 centered on three different major groupings of guests and staff, only Rachel and Armond featured heavily in Shane’s storyline, which indicated that for his character to be so affected in the flash-forward airport scene one of those two had to be in the box for the ending to feel earned. Add to that fact Armond was arguably the only character who devolved over the course of the season, and his death makes the most sense.
Armond’s tale was one of tragic downfall. He started his journey on The White Lotus welcoming guests with the politeness and proper etiquette expected of one in his position and Armond ended it defecating onto clothes belonging to one of the hotel’s patrons, albeit a self-entitled man-baby of one. But narcissistic clientele is in the job description and Armond’s self-inflicted personal and professional injuries were more to blame for his death than Jake’s paranoia at realizing someone was in his hotel room. Presumably, that was the self-reflection that went through Armond’s mind as he lay dying in the bathtub after Jake stabbed him thinking he was the same intruder who robbed and assaulted other guests the previous day.
In a tale featuring clashing class systems and out-of-touch elites, a surprising number of characters actually evolved for the better, meaning Armond’s death makes the most sense. Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya became uncharacteristically self-aware while spa manager Belinda learned not to get dragged into guests' woes. Fred Hechinger’s Quinn was an introverted phone addict who became an outdoor nature and water lover, and his sister, Olivia (Sydney Sweeney), proved friend Paula (Brittany O’Grady) was more important to her than someone used for woke credibility. In contrast, Armond sent two honeymooning guests on a romantic cruise that he intentionally failed to mention involved the spreading of a different guest’s mother’s ashes, relapsed from sobriety with drugs stolen from another guest’s “lost” bag, and descended into substance-fueled debauchery with one, then two, members of his staff.
Armond was a likable character and his actions, though unprofessional, were completely understandable. But in a tragedy where everyone else was moving forward and he was the only one moving back, he put a karmic bullseye on himself and couldn’t realize the error of his ways until it was far too late. Season 1 of The White Lotus presented many tales of transformation and finding awareness but it's doubtful season 2 won’t bring with it another story as tragic as Armond’s.