It was tense to endure 90 minutes, and two theories were confirmed. In fact, several: the victim was actually the couple – Chelsea and Rick (he is pink) – and yes, Jim was Rick’s father. We ended the third season of The White Lotus with Mike White warning us that there are many more murders in this cursed hotel chain. Yes, in 2027 we will return one last time to another White Lotus hotel and we will have enough time to theorize. Let’s talk about the 8th episode of this season.

Picking up where we left off, there was a lot of tension on the last day of the American guests and it was difficult to manage so much anxiety

The Ratliffs: Greek tragedy

It was obvious that Victoria’s prayer would work: Piper has never fooled anyone. She is lost and a typical spoiled brat who thinks that “changing” means pretending to be something she is not. She also can’t live without luxury, much to Tim’s dismay, who will now have to kill his entire family before taking his own life.

Poor Lochlan, still not understanding what he did to Saxon (I wanted to include you, was the excuse), is “rejected” by his brother and Piper. Alone, he accidentally drinks the shake with the poisoned fruit and almost dies. We only find out that it wasn’t a fatal fruit (or the dose he took) in the last moments, but the Ratliffs return to the US united as never before. Not even Tim’s announcement that “things will be different” when he returns seems to shake them.

The three friends: the truth that sets them free

Laurie, Kate, and Jaclyn take a whole day to get over the exchange of truths between them, but with Jaclyn leading the apologies, they end up reconnecting and finding love again. Laurie talks about her frustrations in a spectacular monologue by Carrie Coon, and even though she omits the fact that the Russians were criminals, the three of them return home happy (and traumatized? After all, they barely escaped with their lives in the crossfire).

Chelsea and Rick: Amor Fati

The audience’s favorite couple and the one everyone immediately bet on as the victims who actually ended up being killed as a result of Rick’s choices. This was my “scenario 10”, which wasn’t 100% true because sadistic Mike White played a trick on us with Belinda (see below).

Rick returns from Bangkok at peace with himself, to meet Chelsea again and start the rest of their lives together. An emotional reunion between the two, the surrender of their hearts in love… all to make us suffer afterward. Although everyone pointed to Chelsea’s gold chain that had the words “Forever gold” on it (a metaphor for Forever Young), I was only sure when she mentioned the title of the episode as her life mantra. And since Rick was wearing a pink shirt, confirming my tip from every season, it was clear what was going to happen. And it did.

Jim, like us, was shocked that after lying and threatening him and Sritala, Rick still had the nerve to go back to the hotel, spend the day, and tell them he was leaving the next day. With a gun, Jim not only threatens Rick: but he insults him by badmouthing his mother. With that, Rick tries hard, but he can’t get back to his previous peaceful state of mind. With Chelsea behind him, Rick freaks out, grabs the gun, and kills Jim, only to find out that Jim is his father. I swear I don’t feel sorry for Jim: he was disgusting and insensitive to Rick. But Chelsea? Caught in the crossfire, proving that bad things happen in threes. Rick, desperate, doesn’t see Gaitok behind him. The security guard hesitates, but when Sritala orders him to shoot, he kills Rick. Two dead people who make no difference in the story of The White Lotus.

Gaitok and Mook: boring

The good-natured and incompetent security guard was instigated by two women to go against his good nature and managed to get the promotion he had initially sought by killing Rick. Mook doesn’t even deserve to be discussed – useless and hateful – but Gaitok, a favorite of the audience, spent the episode trying to snitch on the Russians without success. In the end, he killed his boss’s killer and became a hero.

Belinda and Greg: Noooo!

But the big murder of the season was the character of Belinda, a good-natured and upright character, always taken advantage of. Induced by her idiot and self-interested son, Belinda extorts no less than 5 million dollars from Greg/Gary, leaving Thailand before the psychopath changes his mind. This irritated me more than Chelsea and Rick’s deaths.

Greg ends the season with a party at his house, ready to live out his sexual fantasy with Chloe (watching her have sex with another man) and apparently, he managed to keep his location a secret to enjoy the fortune he inherited from Tanya. Now, to get “justice”, we will have to see many more people paying the bill: Greg, Belinda, and Zion!

The conclusion of the season may imply that the story of Greg Hunt, the psychopath, really ends here, as the real-life inspirations for the character suggest. After all, other characters might seek justice for Tanya, but the most honest of them seemed to be Belinda. More than Portia. And we saw how fear and greed determine the outcome of the game.

In the tradition of bringing someone from the previous season to the last one, you can exploit other former guests, or go for an entirely new group. The curse of the White Lotus, I hope, will have to be mentioned or have shaken the business because, in a few years, there were many deaths around the world: a manager in Hawaii, a guest and three visitors in Italy, and now, two guests, four security guards and the owner of the White Lotus in Thailand. That’s 12 victims in three years. I don’t know how a hotel chain survives so much!

A “different” season, but still excellent

Many complained about the slow pace of the third season, but I see the absurd success as the impediment to The White Lotus being able to exceed astronomical expectations. It was a good season and kept us hooked for eight weeks.

The formula remains interesting: a murder, we go back 10 days in time to follow the problems and try to figure out who the victim is. There are always three groups of guests: a whole family, adult friends without children, and a couple who are a bit apart. Sometimes the groups cross paths, but in essence, they are American tourists being insufferable in exotic places that bring out the animalistic side of all of. Among the hotel staff, while they do everything to please the guests, the employees live their own dramas.

Yes, there is the plot of Tania McQuoid and her psychopathic husband, but there is something in the background. At the center is always the study of human relationships, and done through several very bad people. So, there is still a lot to explore.

The third season was fun and intense, but less well-oiled than the previous ones. Still, I can’t wait for 2027 to arrive with the final season. We will follow, of course!

Pesquisar

Pesquisar