Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola on ‘surreal’ incest sex scene on ‘The White Lotus’: ‘We played it as truthfully as we could’

It finally happened. The White Lotus delivered on its hints at incest when brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) shared an intimate night with instigator Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) in Season 3’s sixth episode. The previous installment ended with them kissing as Chloe and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) egged them on, leading fans to believe that was the only brotherly love they'd be seeing this season. But in true Mike White fashion, the series upped the ante and threw a major wrench into the lives of Saxon and Lochlan.

When Saxon wakes up aboard the yacht he and his brother had partied on (next to a naked Lochlan, no less), things are still fuzzy, but he's horrified when memories of the night before begin coming back to him in flashes. He got what he claimed to want — a chance to sleep with Chloe — but his little brother being an active participant (with both parties) sends him into shock. Despite essentially hitting on both his siblings earlier in the season and his clear lack of tact about a variety of controversial topics, the eldest Ratliff doesn't seem proud of what transpired between himself and Lochlan. He spirals until his brother wakes up, and they have a terse exchange during which they come to the forceful conclusion that they both blacked out the night before. Then, naturally, Saxon runs off to violently vomit. Lochlan, meanwhile, seemingly contemplates his first "adult" night out.

Nivola wasn't too fazed while filming with Schwarzenegger and Le Bon, even though he was new to onscreen intimacy. "Shooting the scene was really a breeze," he tells Gold Derby. "It was my first sex scene, which brought its own natural stresses, but Mike was good at assuaging those fears immediately. He was so calm and relaxed, and the intimacy coordinator was great. We were all really good friends by the end, so it was actually really easy, and then it just became about the work. How does Mike want this to look? What's he trying to do with this scene, and how can we best achieve that for him?"

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Does he believe Saxon and Lochlan were fully aware of their actions in the moment? Nivola is perfectly happy to leave that as a question for the viewers at home to answer. "It's up to the audience and Mike, really," he says with a laugh. "We played it as truthfully as we could given the totally surreal nature of that scene."

Schwarzenegger agrees and credits White's skill as a writer who's unafraid to tackle deeply taboo subject matter for stimulating so much debate. "He deliberately writes this way to have these types of conversations," he says. "I think that he does it the right way. He's amazing at it. He does a really great job and leaves the speculation up to the consumer."

White's voyeuristic lens lingers several times on Saxon and Lochlan in the sixth episode as their inner thoughts undoubtedly churn, but one brother in particular seems more disturbed by the entire encounter than the other (and it ain't the one who just lost his virginity). Will the siblings manage to have a proper conversation about what went down between them?

The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.