Throw on your sunglasses and swimsuits because television’s most chaotic vacation dramedy has planted its tangled roots in the monkey-laden jungles and rocky coastal waters of Thailand.
Mike White’s Emmy-winning anthology series, which made its HBO debut in 2021, quickly ascended to television royalty. Originally a limited series, the show expanded its stay with an all-new cast (save Jennifer Coolidge) in 2022’s Italian-set second season. Sporting another absorbing, all-star ensemble of loud personalities juggling familiar debauchery, season three remains near the peak of the decade’s best.
Like its predecessor, this chapter introduces a fresh cavalcade of wealthy characters converging at one of the White Lotus’ many worldwide luxury resorts. The opening scene foreshadows a violent climax sure to conclude with blood and body bags.
Hailing from North Carolina is the Ratliff family, dragged to Thailand by middle child and college senior Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) for a thesis endeavor. The cocky eldest brother and all-around meathead Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) teaches his impressionable younger brother, Lochlan (Sam Nivola), how to live deliciously. All the while, their narrow-minded, Lorazepam-addicted mother, Victoria (Parker Posey), remains comfortably ignorant as her husband, Timothy (Jason Isaacs), secretly grapples with the FBI and career implosion.
Revenge-seeking Rick (Walton Goggins), accompanied by much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), didn’t come to Thailand to relax or make nice, instead planning a climactic confrontation with the man that killed his father.
TV star Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) funds a girls trip with longtime best friends Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Kate (Leslie Bibb). Their toxic dynamic devolves into a gossip train of backstabbing, judgment and jealousy as the season unfolds.
Despite its anthological nature, watching previous seasons is becoming more crucial. Returning characters Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and Greg ‘Gary’ Hunt (Jon Gries) reconvene and clash over their troubled history.
The cast is rounded out by Greg’s girlfriend, Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), timid security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) and resort staffers Mook (Lalisa Manobal) and Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius).
White’s writing is as biting and entertaining as ever, framing turbulent interpersonal relationships, family drama and rampant narcissism. Privileged personalities clash with culture shock as indulgence, enlightenment and regret seep into their glorified Thai experience.
Saturated with scandal and revelry, including one climactic night of brotherly love, season three features the show’s most outlandish characters to date. Posey goes all out with a thick, kooky Southern accent. Her mannerisms and facial expressions mold a hilarious, unforgettable piece of character work.
Schwarzenegger’s Saxon is a detestable, nepotistic womanizer whom you love to hate. He’s supremely fun to watch and navigates one of the season’s most surprising arcs, realizing his hedonistic ways are only a harmful inhibitor toward the pursuit of genuine human connection.
The Ratliff story is absolute chaos — a looming nightmare — but they still feel authentic. They’re a spitting image of the privileged American family desensitized to a life of comfort they can never give up, doomed to suffer from the inequity they perpetuate. Timothy’s paranoid dejection and utter defeat culminate in a generational crashout.
The best-friend trio might just be my favorite troupe the series has yet to offer. Monaghan and Bibb lead a complex week of plastic, fabricated friendliness. As the odd-one-out, Coon turns in a career-best, often unhinged performance, showcasing the horrors of friendships built on judgement and jealousy. Every time these ladies sit down over dinner and a bottle of wine, you know somebody is about to catch a stray. When one is absent, you bet the other two will rip her to shreds.
Rick’s story can sometimes feel a bit aimless, almost serving as the season’s side quest. But it earns its inclusion once it reaches an adventurous apex, supported by an outrageous guest appearance from Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell. To top it off, the loveable, happy-go-lucky Wood and the standoffish Goggins have the season’s most endearing connection.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of. Not all of them have a ton to do. The resort itself feels like much less of a character this season, primarily due to a lack of attention on employees. Still, White does a fine job weaving plotlines and characters together, though a bit less cohesively than previous seasons.
The finale was a whirlwind of suspense and calamity well worth the wait. Not every character or plotline is particularly crucial to the teased climax, but they never have been. “The White Lotus” has always been about its characters and their intermingling journeys. Some of them change drastically; others remain the same. The results we’re left with are equal parts thrilling, tragic, satisfying and introspective.
“The White Lotus” is a big-budget show, and its technical side expresses that excellently — with some help from Southeast Asia’s stunning beauty. The music has always been a standout and remains so. Though the main theme from the previous seasons is sorely missed, composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer assembles a fantastic collection of exotic sounds, calming and thumping. It’s a shame he won’t be returning for season four.
“The White Lotus” season three is exactly what I’ve come to expect from this show. As long as he’s got that brilliant pen, a healthy HBO budget and an inevitable lineup of fantastic actors, I see no reason why Mike White would ever need to switch up this formula. Though an increasingly evident hotspot for death and disarray, the White Lotus is always worth a visit. Let’s hope it doesn’t shut down anytime soon.
