Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for “The White Lotus.”
From Maui to Sicily to Koh Samui, Max’s anthology dramedy series “The White Lotus” has brought audiences worldwide in an episodic exploration of social class through the lens of the luxury tourism industry. Each Sunday since Feb. 16, series mastermind Mike White — who takes on multiple artistic roles as creator, writer, director and executive producer — has taken audiences through the lives of the guests and staff of the fictional hotel chain’s Thailand resort on the island of Koh Samui.
The third season starts no differently than the first two — on the final day of vacation. Like the first two seasons, this season’s premiere opens serenely, with a brief reflection on how the past week of vacation has gone before the façade quickly crumbles and a death interrupts the scene. As always, we are then brought to the arrival of our wide cast of guests for the games to begin.
The third season introduces three groups of guests: the Ratliff family, a trio of old childhood girlfriends and an odd couple.
From first impressions, the Ratliffs appear to be the perfect family, with matriarch Victoria (Parker Posey) going so far as to proclaim themselves a normal one — a completely not-at-all-suspicious way for a fictional family to describe itself. Stepping off three flights and a quick cruise on a sailboat in color-coordinated ensembles, the characters — and the actors who portray them — play the epitome of the North Carolinian upper crust incredibly well.
Parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria can’t get through their introductions without gushing over their kids and their academic achievements at Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill. The oldest son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), middle daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) and youngest son Lochlan (Sam Nivola) quarrel like any group of siblings would, but otherwise, they get along reasonably well.
The normal family descriptor only lasts so long, though.
The family’s dynamic quickly turns sour due to a multitude of vices revealed throughout the first four episodes. Saxon is outlandishly unlikeable and has almost instantly become one of the most discomforting television characters in recent years due to absurdly pervy behavior towards not only the women at the resort, but also his own sister. Several national news publications and, most alarmingly, the FBI are investigating Timothy’s involvement in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme, thus letting him quietly spiral into paranoia.
Victoria is coping well enough on a strong and steady stream of Lorazepam, although she continues to dwell on the status and the decency of those around her and her family. The two youngest kids seem to be alright, but Piper’s forthcoming announcement of her plans to return to Koh Samui for a Buddhist retreat the summer after she graduates signals an impending implosion for the family. Lochlan lies low, but Saxon’s overbearing attempts to change that spell imminent trouble.
Timothy almost immediately makes an inexplicable enemy out of begrudging cynic Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins), who makes up one half of the odd couple. The other half, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), is an obnoxious — yet altogether well-meaning and loveable — millennial. Their relationship dynamic is strained at its worst, but the pair is surprisingly easy to root for. They know they aren’t compatible — she’s an Aries, he’s a Scorpio — but they make it work.
Hatchett spends most of the first three episodes hesitant to speak about why the sudden trip to Thailand was necessary, but he eventually reveals that his father was murdered by one of the co-owners of the Koh Samui resort. While it is unclear whether his plan to confront the man is for revenge or closure, this meeting will inevitably be catastrophic.
Chelsea is making the most out of a less-than-ideal situation. Despite all of his flaws, she truly loves Hatchett and tries to support him by going on an endless stream of vacations, but his whims always get her into trouble. In her first few days in Thailand, she has been in two near-death experiences, including being held at gunpoint in an armed robbery of the hotel’s gift shop and being bitten by a highly venomous snake, which was freed from its enclosure by a severely inebriated Hatchett.
The trio of friends comprises of Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan), Kate Bohr (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie Duffy (Carrie Coon), who are reuniting for a “victory tour,” as Bohr remarks. The trio has not spent more than a few consecutive hours together in years, and their sudden proximity creates many challenges for the group. Already, the trio has sectioned off into three pairs at different moments for passive-aggressive gossip sessions about the absent friend. Although this group and their gossiping is entertaining, they don’t seem consequential to the story at this point in the season. With four episodes yet to air, this is sure to change.
An exciting inclusion to round out this season’s guest lineup is Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), who starred in the show’s first season as the White Lotus’ wellness director in Maui. Her role this season is quite different from her roots on the show. This season, Lindsey exists in somewhat of a liminal space between guest and staff. Her three-month-long visit to Thailand is a business trip, despite the paradisiacal setting often making it feel like a true vacation.
Lindsey’s presence is especially exciting as she is one of just three characters in the series to return for multiple seasons. Like the viewers, she recognizes that one guest isn’t at all who they say they are. The only other returning character this season is Greg Hunt (Jon Gries), who seems to be hiding out in Thailand under the pseudonym Gary. By the end of season two, Hunt had proved that he wasn’t just a bad husband; he was a true villain. It was heavily implied that Hunt had devised a murder scheme targeting his millionaire wife, Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), for the inheritance.
Lindsey’s interest in mindfulness practices in season one makes her a perfect character to reincorporate to support the mission of this season. Each season of “The White Lotus” takes on a central issue that all characters grapple with. In season one, it was wealth and possession; in season two, it was love and sex; and in season three, it is spirituality and the self. In the first four episodes, we have seen Piper venture into Buddhism, Lemon and Duffy confront Bohr’s proximity to Christian culture in Texas and Hatchett struggle to understand his identity and purpose.
This theme goes hand in hand with this season’s destination, Thailand, whose tourism industry thrives on wellness programs, especially those that draw from the beliefs and practices of Buddhism. One of the religion’s fundamental concepts is karma, which the show has woven excellently into the story so far. With a season tagline of “Karma comes for everyone,” it is clear that there is still much in store for this next addition to “The White Lotus” — and whatever it is, it’s bound to be sinister.
Camille Robinson is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at camilllr@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn and Gabrielle Neve Landavora.