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 (090425)
For a few years, White Lotus was one of the coolest, sexiest, and most
talked-about shows on TV. There was as much discussion of its plotlines at
people’s houses as the Warren Ellis The Authority run in comic shops at the peak
of its popularity. Now, a little of the buzz has died down, and the series has
lost a bit of its novelty and cultural cache. That is not to say it should be
written off completely, which would be premature. While the third season is not
as riveting as the first two, it is still quite absorbing, dramatic, and in some
ways transgressive.
The basic elevator pitch premise of the series is that there is a lovely luxury resort
called the White Lotus which is filled with seemingly happy,
relatively stable and ridiculously rich people. The problem is all kinds of weird, horrible things
are happening to them in the background. Each season is set in a different destination
(like the Sheradon, its also a resort chain)
with an almost entirely new cast of guests and employees-but the stories all
work the same premise. The hook is the “eat the rich,” schadenfreude the
audience experiences with each episode. Almost a genre of films in itself at
this point with movies like:
Triangle of Sadness,
Knives Out, Snowpiercer,
Saltburn,
and most of all
Parasite
all working this same theme. The series gives the audience the pleasure of observing rich
people who have done terrible things suffering comeuppances or horrible fates. At its best, the series evokes the
weirdness
of one of my favorite shows: David Lynch's Twin Peaks. One wonders, with
all the missing people piling up over the first three seasons, why anyone would
go to the White Lotus for a getaway. The hotel is almost as dangerous to visit as
the town Sunnydale from the Buffy
the Vampire Slayer series.
Season Three takes place at the resort in exotic Thailand. And there is an aura of
mystery, intrigue, and overall weirdness about the place. Like the other
seasons (and the opening episodes of Twin Peaks), the film starts with the
discovery of a dead body. As the story develops we flash back and get into each characters ‘
back-stories. We learn about each cast member's secrets and flaws which may or
may not impact the overall story. But what worked
wonderfully well in the first two seasons shows some signs of going stale here.
Fortunately, the fresh dialogue and the fine ensemble cast are still enough to
carry the show.
Much of the show this Season centers around a rich, privileged southern family, the Ratliffs,
and how they react to Eastern culture and religion. Timothy Ratliff (Jason
Issacs) is a high-tech finance guy. He is appalled to learn that this resort has a
digital detox policy and no guests are supposed to use any technology on
vacation. There are some people I know in real life who would prefer death to
putting their cell phones down for a few days. His wife, Victoria (Parker
Posey), wants a break from her old life, but she does not want to make any major
changes. Also, she has a very provincial view of religion. She tells her
daughter in a matter-of-fact way: “ You cannot be Buddhist, you're not Chinese,
“ while her son, Saxon, declares that Buddhism is for cowards. The daughter,
Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), is there allegedly to interview a famous Buddhist
monk for her thesis. She gets the most out of the trip, although early on she
sarcastically quips that the place is just a: " Disneyland for the rich."
For the next eight episodes, it is clear that many of the residents know nothing
about the country or its customs, which is not surprising for American
vacationers. Others try and fail to appropriate parts of the culture. But one
character, Timothy Ratliff, provides some valuable cross-cultural insight in one
of the film's key lines, which sums up the whole cast when he states: "Everyone who
moves to Thailand is either looking for something or hiding from something."
Some of the people just have a vacation and return to their regular lives, others find what they want and experience self-actualization, while
a few find only
death.
Even though the Season is set is Thailand, we don't get to see much of the Asian perspective.
The native characters seem
happier and more centered, but this may be only because they are not nearly as well developed.
Perhaps the writer/producer Mike White thinks happy people are less interesting. The K
Pop star Lisa is a very pretty hotel employee with aspirations to move up in the
world. And she is dating a fellow staff member (Tayme Thapthimthong), however if
you'll find little in the way of exploration of Asian culture through her
character. If you're looking to find some of the culture the series seems to
have avoided, I highly
recommend you watch K Pop Demon Hunters, which is currently streaming on
Netflix.
Throughout the season we follow the stories that play out with several of the
guests and employees. The Ratliff family comes close to falling apart in the
midst of a financial crisis, a sadistic, bizarre incident of incest between the
two brothers, and a desperate attempt at a murder-suicide carried out by the
father. Meanwhile, in a parallel story, Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), the kind hotel security
guard, struggles because he thinks the violent aspects of his job go against his
Buddhist beliefs. In the season finale, he is faced with a choice to either quit
his job or escape the cycle of violence. And then there's
Chelsea (Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood), the most likable character in the
show, who is ultimately brought down by her romantic partner, Rick (Walton Goggins),
who comes to Thailand with a secret agenda to confront the man who murdered his
father. In the final episode, this plan ends with tragic results, which might
leave a bad taste in the audience’s mouths.
Some of the biggest laughs occur because of a trio of lifelong friends. Kate
(Leslie Bibb), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), and Laurie (Carrie Coon) reunite for
a luxury vacation. At different points, each woman is left out as the other two
talk behind her back. As the divorcée who doesn’t have a seemingly perfect life
like the others, Laurie continuously feels estranged from the trio. While the
week nearly pushes Laurie over the edge, she delivers a heartfelt and redemptive
monologue during the final dinner scene about her life’s failures and finding
meaning in her friendships despite their many flaws. While I was initially
frustrated that Laurie didn’t sever ties with Jaclyn and Kate, I realized that
it was more meaningful for her to rise above the petty competition that long
fueled her insecurities.
If you’re expecting Season Three to match the level of excitement and intrigue
of the first two, then you should dial back your expectations. But if you get past the
new season’s familiarity, there is still much to appreciate in White Lotus,
especially the breathtakingly beautiful visuals and multi-dimensional
characters.
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