The White Lotus
Season 3
Came out; 2024
Episodes: 7
Where to Watch: Max
Rated: TV-MA
Rating 8/10
Caution; Spoiler Alert
Cast
Leslie Bibb as Kate Bohr
Carrie Coon as Laurie Duffy
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
Lalisa Manobal as Thidapon “Mood” Sornsin
Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
Lek Patravadi as Sritala Hollinger
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
Natahsa Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff
Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
Jon Gries as Gary/Greg Hunt
Caution: Spoiler Alert
Story Line:
A week in the life of vacationers unravels as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise; with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel's cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself
Thoughts:
I was excited to see Belinda and Gary/Greg together. We all know Greg had Tonya killed in the last season so it was interesting to see how this would play out.
I was also excited that Walter Goggins was in this season, he is a great actor and everything he's in seems pretty good. My first introduction was as Boyd Crowder in Justified.
The first episode generally starts with parts of the end, this one would make you believe there was more shooting than there actually was at the end.
A few things I figured out while watching but several things were unexpected.
I wouldn't call this the best season, but it was pretty good. The ending still left me with some questions that won't get answers and I'm ok with that.
I can't wait to see what season 4 has in store!
Episode Guide
Episode 1
Zion, the young son of White Lotus Maui spa manager Belinda, is joining his mother on a visit to the White Lotus in Ko Samui, Thailand. He begins a session with the hotel's meditation counselor before being interrupted by repeated gunfire nearby. While scrambling through a pond to look for his mother, Zion discovers a dead body. One week earlier, a group of new guests arrive at the White Lotus. Middle-aged Rick Hatchett arrives with his much younger British girlfriend Chelsea. Rick is upset to learn that Jim Hollinger, the hotel owner's husband, is not present. Wealthy businessman Timothy Ratliff arrives with his wife Victoria and their grown children Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan. Timothy receives several calls from a journalist working on a story about possible illegal activity by his former business partner, Kenny Nguyen. Jaclyn, a popular TV actress, arrives with her childhood friends Kate and Laurie. Security guard Gaitok flirts with health mentor Mook after giving her a ride to work. Left by Rick to drink at the bar alone, Chelsea befriends ex-model Chloe, whose boyfriend is revealed to be Greg, Tanya McQuoid's widower.
Episode 2
Kate and Jaclyn discuss Laurie's messy divorce and her troubled daughter while Laurie is out of the room. Later, when Jaclyn is absent, Kate gossips with Laurie about Jaclyn's suspected narcissism and questions her marriage to her much younger husband. At breakfast, Kate approaches Victoria, revealing they had met at a baby shower a decade earlier, but Victoria awkwardly rebuffs her. At Chelsea's insistence, Rick attends a meditation session with the hotel's counselor, and he opens up slightly about his traumatic childhood. Gaitok reveals his true feelings to Mook, but she gently dismisses his advances. Later, Valentin distracts Gaitok at the security gate, and a robbery occurs at the hotel boutique where Chelsea and Chloe are shopping. Belinda and Pornchai exchange massages. Piper is upset by her brothers' comments and questions about her sex life. Chelsea and Rick dine with Chloe and Greg, who is using the name "Gary". Greg is evasive about the details of his life. Timothy continues receiving calls from high-profile publications about his potential involvement in a major money laundering operation and finally connects with Kenny, who believes he is certain to be arrested and threatens suicide. After overhearing hotel owner Sritala's plans to visit her husband in a Bangkok hospital, Rick tells Chelsea he must leave briefly to go to Bangkok.
Episode 3
Victoria wakes from a dream about walking toward a tumultuous ocean, unsettled as Timothy takes a call about an urgent matter. At breakfast, she shares her dream, and Piper interprets it as a warning. Rick approaches Sritala at the restaurant, posing as a producer and offering her a project, which Chelsea finds suspicious. Lochlan attends a posture correction session, where the therapist questions if he struggles with assertiveness due to his dominant family members. Gaitok endures humiliation from Jim's guards, who imply he is incompetent and reveal that resort manager Fabian wants him fired, though Sritala has been protecting him. Rick, under the influence, impulsively frees snakes from a terrarium at a nearby snake show, causing chaos when Chelsea is bitten and rushed to the hospital while he follows. Piper visits a Buddhist temple, considering their summer program. Victoria, noticing Timothy's stress, gives him lorazepam, causing him to nap throughout the day. Timothy later steals more lorazepam to sleep at night. Belinda suspects Greg and later questions his identity at a dinner with Chloe, Chelsea and Rick, mentioning his relationship with Tanya which he denies. After admitting that her husband voted for Donald Trump and that she herself is an independent, Kate later watches Jaclyn and Laurie laughing and gossiping about her marriage and political views.
Episode 4
Gaitok meets with Fabian who, due to the heightening crime in the resort, ramps up security by providing him with a gun. The Ratliffs meet with Chloe and Greg on their yacht for the day, alongside Rick and Chelsea. Chelsea confronts Rick about his upcoming trip to Bangkok and his emotional disconnection from her, he later tells her that Sritala's husband Jim Hollinger allegedly murdered his father when he was a child and is going there to confront him. Piper tells Lochlan she lied about her thesis and is planning to tell Timothy and Victoria she is staying in Thailand for a year after graduation. Kate, Laurie and Jaclyn go to a nearby resort on Valentin's suggestion but find it filled with retirees and leave, they order Valentin to take them out. However, their day in town is interrupted by a Songkran water festival but they meet up with Valentin and his friends at a beach club. Timothy calls his lawyer who tells him that Kenny cooperated with the federal investigation and that he is looking at a sentence in federal prison, leading him to steal the gun from Gaitok's unattended security booth. Belinda discovers Tanya's death in Italy and learns how Greg fled from questioning. Meanwhile Greg, who has left Chloe and the other yacht-goers while they attend the Full Moon party, stalks Belinda and her son Zion at his home.
Episode 5
Piper shocks her parents by telling them she intends to stay in Thailand after graduation. Gaitok discovers Timothy stole the gun; however, when confronted, Timothy evades Gaitok's questions and contemplates suicide. Chloe, Chelsea, Saxon and Lochlan arrive at the Full Moon Party; Chloe procures ecstasy for the group. Fabian tells Belinda that Greg has been asking questions about her; but when Belinda informs Fabian that Greg is hiding from authorities and may be a threat, Fabian refuses to call the police. Distressed, Belinda confides in Pornchai and the two sleep together. In Bangkok, Rick meets with his friend Frank, who gives him a gun. Frank tells Rick about his unhinged sexual exploits in Thailand that subsequently led to his conversion to Buddhism. At the club with Valentin and his friends Alexei and Vlad, Jaclyn outshines Kate and Laurie; and later, at the hotel, she has sex with Valentin despite having pushed for Laurie to sleep with him for the past few days. After the party, back on Greg's yacht and high on ecstasy, Chloe initiates a kissing game, leading to an incestuous kiss between Saxon and Lochlan. Timothy prepares to commit suicide with the gun but is interrupted by Victoria, who advises him to go back to bed.
Episode 6
Belinda is surprised when her son Zion arrives early and catches her in bed with Pornchai. Later that day, Pornchai tells Belinda that he is interested in opening a spa with her in Thailand. Greg suspects that Chloe had sex with either Saxon or Lochlan, and tells her to invite the boys to a dinner party; Greg also invites Belinda, who becomes paranoid about his intentions. Kate spots Valentin leaving Jaclyn's bedroom and tells Laurie, who openly scorns Jaclyn's behavior as deceitful and consistent with her old ways. Piper brings her family to the monastery to assess its legitimacy. Timothy has a conversation with the monk about death, which moves him; he decides to let Piper stay at the monastery, much to Victoria's horror. Lochlan joins Piper for the stay; he and Saxon separately come to remember that they had an incestuous threesome with Chloe on the boat the previous night while intoxicated. While the Ratliffs are away, Gaitok recovers his gun from their villa. Timothy contemplates a murder-suicide of his family to spare them from his impending financial ruin. Rick persuades Sritala to invite him and Frank (posing as a film director) to her house in Bangkok, where he is finally introduced to Jim Hollinger.
Episode 7
While Frank chats with Sritala, Rick confronts Jim privately, threatening him with a gun, but decides to abandon his revenge and instead has a night out with Frank. Saxon notices his father's strange behavior and asks if anything is wrong at work, noting how his entire identity is tied to his father's success, but Timothy denies there being any issues. Greg offers Belinda $100,000 for her silence on his whereabouts so she can use it for her business which Tanya once promised her; Belinda does not accept the offer, even though Zion urges her to. Laurie has an argument with Jaclyn and Kate, and leaves them to attend a Muay Thai fight with Valentin. She later has sex with Aleksei, who then attempts to pressure her into giving him $10,000; when they are interrupted by Aleksei's girlfriend, Laurie flees. At the fight, Gaitok confides in Mook that his Buddhist beliefs in nonviolence contradict his job as a bodyguard. He later recognizes Valentin's friends as the boutique robbers. Piper is dismayed when Lochlan tells her he wants to join her at the monastery. Saxon rejects an invitation from Chloe to fulfill Greg's cuckoldry fetish. Seeing the distress in Saxon, Chelsea attempts to teach him to meditate, but leaves after he tries to come on to her. Timothy fantasizes about killing Victoria, Saxon, and himself, but finds the gun he had taken to now be missing.
Episode 8
Piper and Lochlan return from the monastery; Piper admits to her parents that she cannot foresee living without material comforts, relieving Victoria. Rick leaves Frank behind in Bangkok and returns to Chelsea. Valentin begs Gaitok not to report him and his friends for the robbery lest they be deported. Zion accompanies Belinda back to Greg's house and successfully negotiates a payout of $5 million; Belinda decides to leave Thailand. Laurie reconciles with Jaclyn and Kate at dinner. Timothy nearly kills himself and his family (spare for Lochlan) with poisoned piña coladas, but backs out at the last minute; Lochlan unwittingly drinks the leftovers from the blender the next morning and nearly dies before reawakening in Timothy's arms. Now deranged Rick is confronted by Jim, who insults Rick's mother; a spiraling Rick begs for another meditation session with Amrita, who is busy attending to Zion. Rick spots Jim and Sritala taking a picture with Jaclyn, and shoots Jim dead with his gun; Sritala reveals that Jim was Rick's biological father. A shootout occurs which leads to two bodyguards killed and Chelsea fatally struck by a stray bullet, devastating Rick. Gaitok, alarmed to the noises, is forced by Sritala to shoot Rick dead. In the aftermath, Timothy tells his family their lives are about to change as they receive their phones back and discover the news of his case; Gaitok is promoted to Sritala's bodyguard to Mook's delight; Belinda and Zion wave goodbye to a disheartened Pornchai.
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