Rating: 7.2/10
** This review contains spoilers **
After a two-year wait, “The White Lotus” fans were gifted with its third season. Staying true to its themes and character development that won the show and cast 87 awards in the first two seasons, the crew made its way to Thailand at a new luxury resort. Once again, a group of guests embarked on a tumultuous week that went downhill almost as quickly as it started, ultimately ending in disaster.
The most recent weeklong vacation at a fictional White Lotus resort has wrapped up, with the hotel amenities and views as lavish as ever. Another mystery-filled season led viewers down every path but the right one, with a classic glimpse of the future in its first scene.
Powerful themes of death and spirituality were evident from episode one’s opening moments as gunshots rang out. The scene ended with a lifeless body floating across a pond before the frame cut away. Viewers were left guessing for seven weeks which character would meet their end in the season finale.
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While the season lacked its traditional quirky, dramatic and super-involved hotel manager like Armond (Murray Bartlett, season one) and Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore, season two), other roles were consistent. With only two familiar faces in season three, many new actors were placed into character stereotypes created in previous seasons.
Jason Isaacs played an excellent Timothy Ratliff, serving as the token dad undergoing a mid-life crisis, tapped out of the family vacation. His son, Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger), filled in as the somewhat ignorant son who grew up with an irregular home life. But nobody fit the bill like Parker Posey. The new star took over the annoying, naive role once held by Jennifer Coolidge and blossomed in the role of Victoria Ratliff.
The production crew stuck with the foundation laid in season one, and it hasn’t steered “The White Lotus” wrong yet. While the violent, murderous tendencies of characters in season three mixed with brother-on-brother incest may be dramatized, each season portrays the all-too-real idea that every family has faults.
Hypocrisy ran deep in season three, as messed-up characters judge even more messed-up characters. The satire seems to make fun of the world, especially the wealthy class. After the show’s 21 episodes, it appears this hypocrisy is intended to distract from its main point. Viewers are meant to be thrown off the scent of the mysterious death(s) in the season finale.
While the season may have lacked some of the purely insane characteristics that made the first two so admired, it still covered some insightful topics. Walton Goggins played a fantastic Rick Hatchett throughout eight episodes, although some may have only looked at his hairline. Jokes aside, the stereotypical “tough guy” shoved his childhood trauma aside, leading to plenty of grief for Rick and his partner, Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood.
The season’s deepest message pertained to mental health, especially for men. The show did a fantastic job illustrating the consequences of ignoring instances of aid for those struggling with mental health. Rick and Tim initially scoffed at the wellness resort’s unique tactics in the first couple of episodes, but both ended up in bad places toward the end of the season.
Another powerful message was delivered through Chelsea’s relationship with Rick. Their romance was questionable from the beginning, surprising plenty of viewers as a younger woman put up with a ton from a much older man. While Chelsea seemingly cared deeply for Goggins’ character, she ignored far too many red flags. A somber lesson for all experiencing unbridled love for a partner: you’re going to get hurt.
The final positive from the season occurs in the final scene. With so few people returning each season, it should be difficult to create the perfect “Ohhhh” moment from viewers as they begin to connect the dots. “The White Lotus” says, “Hold my beer,” flawlessly capturing the moment when Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) channeled her inner Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge). The formerly innocent masseuse riding away into a beautiful Thailand horizon as Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) watches with sorrow created that “Aha!” moment for viewers and was a brilliant ending to a strong season.
While many of the season’s messages and lessons were powerful, some scenes fell flat. The dialogue felt empty far too often, especially from the trio of Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie, played by Michelle Monaghan, Leslie Bibb and Carrie Coon.
Whether it was sitting around drinking wine, political talks around the dinner table or just tanning by the pool, it was difficult to understand where the director was taking viewers. Without going into too much detail, Rick’s Bangkok night out with his old buddy Frank entered a similar realm of pointless conversations. Frank’s previously crazy life fetishizing Asian women provided no context for future events and left many viewers looking exactly like Rick.
With the boring dialogue out of the way, the show ended how it does every season: cliffhangers galore. Very few of these get answered, with Gary/Greg (Jon Gries) being the only character to appear in all three seasons, making the show’s final minutes extremely stimulating.
What happens to the Ratliffs, especially after Tim had imagined ending his and his family’s lives in various ways? Does Belinda start her own spa or live happily with her son? Does Gary like that foreplay, or did he just want to get to Saxon? Why did Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) not tell everyone about Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and his buddies? All will likely go unresolved, leaving viewers to debate.
Despite having some confusing storylines that didn’t add anything substantial, the season was a solid addition to “The White Lotus” saga. The themes were impactful and easy to follow, and a majority of the final episode was kept a good secret from the 6.2 million viewers on Sunday.
“The White Lotus” season four is already underway, as a new group of guests will travel to yet another extravagant resort for a chaotic week of leisure. Until then, “The White Lotus” says: sà-wàt-dii khráp!
