“The White Lotus” Season 2 might be building up to this year’s big death(s), but one thing is crystal clear about this installment of Mike White’s HBO limited series: It’s horny as heck.

Before we move on and award “The White Lotus” an off-season imaginary Emmy for Outstandingly Horny Limited Series, let’s be clear what that means. Sex scenes and nudity are all over current television, — especially on HBO — but “The White Lotus” Season 2 excels at sexual tension, sexual politics, and sexuality itself as if manifests between characters. Horny is an energy, not an action. With an attractive cast of all ages (if lacking other types of diversity), the unbearably romantic Italian backdrop, and Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s propulsive score, HBO is poised to deliver the horniest show of the season.

Crafting a horny show is no easy task, nor is de-throning 2022’s reigning champ,...