By Katie Sterling
Social media has been abuzz following the recent return of a show where the drama is high, the characters are largely unlikeable and murder is waiting just around the corner.
White Lotus season three is back with a tropical flair, still delivering on its tried-and-true format of rich people behaving poorly. Viewers know things will turn sour, it’s just a matter of when and to whom. After all, paradise isn’t so lovely when you look at it through its cracks…
Following the format of earlier seasons, this iteration introduces viewers to a new location of the luxury resort White Lotus, this time in Thailand. The show opens with a quick scene that once again informs viewers that someone won’t make it through their vacation alive. After teasing the dead body, we flashback to a week prior as a boatful of Americans head to the island of Koh Samui. While White Lotus has stayed true to its format of vacations imploding poorly, the cast of characters changes per season. Creator Mike Judge loves to cast a slew of well-known names and big personalities to play his characters, leveling them all on the same playing field so viewers never quite know who will fall victim. Much like his past shows, Judge throws them together on an island, toys with them and it’s anybody’s guess who will survive.
So, who are the suspects, victim(s) and not-so-innocent guests checking in this season?
There are the Ratliffs, a Southern family who have traveled to the island so their second-oldest Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) can interview a monk for her college thesis paper. Brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) have come along because being filthy rich means your parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey) think nothing of paying for the whole family to attend a luxury resort, turning a school assignment into a chance to pamper themselves. If you look past the khaki, you’ll see small hints of the Three Wise Monkeys (“See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil”) paralleled with the three siblings. The rich and entitled deliberately ignoring wrongdoing…say it isn’t so?!
Perhaps another cliché is guest Rick (Walton Goggins), a grumpy man whose background you’re not quite sure of, vacationing with his much younger and much more bubbly girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). It becomes clear that Rick has arrived at the island hoping to meet with the White Lotus’ owner’s husband, but his intentions are still murky to the viewers.
Lastly, there’s Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) who are childhood friends reuniting on a girl’s trip. It’s thanks to the success of Jaclyn’s acting career (and wallet) that the three of them are able to spend the week together. It’s a lot of fond memories and laughter until the trio break off into duos and their real opinions of each other start to come out. Will their bond be broken by the end of this vacation?
While viewers don’t quite know what to make of these new faces, there is an individual that reprises their role from seasons prior. Spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) from season one has traveled from Hawaii to Thailand to learn their tricks of wellness. Given how the first season ended, you would think she might throw in the towel on hospitality, but some are just gluttons for punishment.
While the first episode slowly introduces each character, it’s clear that they are all harboring their own secrets and that in due time, each character will be tested and taken to extremes. Is it really the White Lotus if there isn’t blood on someone’s hands by the end of the week? Despite personally bailing halfway through the second season of White Lotus, this season looks a bit more promising. Could it be the fact that island mysteries seem that much more mysterious? Guests are secluded in their own little bubble, surrounded by thick layers of jungle and monkeys howling in the distance. You just don’t get that same eerie feeling with Vespas sweeping by and crowded piazzas of Italy in the second season.
While Thailand may be synonymous with its Buddhist ways, these souls will need a lot more than meditation to save themselves. It’s always fun to see who is newly checking into the White Lotus, but the real drama is seeing who won’t get a chance to check out. Only time will tell if this season will be able to hold its own or if the tried-and-true pattern of this series will prove as painful as the personalities on screen
White Lotus is currently streaming on Max.
