This article contains spoilers.
“Stop worrying about the love you didn’t get. Think about the love you have,” said Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) in the final episode of “The White Lotus” Season 3. Such is a pervading theme in this latest season of HBO’s popular dark comedy.
Once again, Mike White has delivered the show of the year with another installment of “The White Lotus,” with eight weekly episodes that concluded on Sunday. Each season of the show focuses on a different location of the White Lotus hotel chain. Instead of Maui or Sicily, Season 3 takes place at the chain’s Thailand resort. Amongst lush tropical scenery and idyllic suites, this season serves more character development, slower pacing and a heart-wrenching twist.
Because Season 3 moves noticeably slower than previous installments of “The White Lotus,” viewers come to understand characters’ psyches better, resulting in a better payout in the season finale. In line with its Thai setting, the season explores many Buddhist themes such as karmic consequences, the illusion of self-improvement, spirituality, the search for meaning in life and more. Yet, the ideas of being present in the moment and actively loving what you have now ring true in Season 3.
Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs — who you’d never guess played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series) spirals during his entire vacation, as his company falls under due to fraud. In probably the most suspenseful moment of the season, Ratliff attempts to commit a murder-suicide involving his wife and two oldest children, rather than coming clean to his family and savoring time with his loved ones.
Divorced lawyer Laurie (Carrie Coon) and her two childhood friends, movie star Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Texan executive Kate (Leslie Bibb), are on their first girls trip together in a while — but tensions strain their relationship. Relatably, Laurie struggles with feeling left out and villainizes her friends by using past behavior as defining traits in her friends’ current character.
Chelsea’s older boyfriend, Rick (Walton Goggins), pays no attention to her because he is preoccupied with confronting the man who he believes killed his father. Rick’s insistence feels overdramatic and annoying at times as dwells on his lack of a father figure instead of focusing on Chelsea.
Buddhism preaches living fully in the present, as the past is long gone and the future is unknown. This idea is eventually adopted by Ratliff and Laurie through self-reflection.
Yet, Rick ignores Chelsea’s urges to drop his vendetta and feeds into his hatred. This decision leads to his, Chelsea’s and three other people’s demise.
Chelsea’s death marks the first non-comical one in all three seasons of “The White Lotus.” Armond and Tanya’s deaths in past seasons were simply funny. The most lovable character of this season, Chelsea always had faith in the good of others, supported Rick in his questionable decisions and believed that fate would do her well. Chelsea evoked happiness; Rick stood for pain. And pain won, as Rick’s stupidity killed her. Perhaps this season will go down in history as a tragedy.
“The White Lotus” Season 3 delivers audiences with some of the most shocking scenes yet: an incestuous threesome, an old man’s odd kink and a somewhat trope-y “I am your father” reveal, to name a few. There are brand new iconic characters: alongside Chelsea, Southern mom Victoria Ratliffe (Parker Posey) solidifies herself as the new Tanya (think “Piper, no!”).
Yet, the season finale leaves a couple of loose threads hanging, creating an unfinished feeling. Fans are left on their toes to see how the Ratliffe family reacts to Timothy’s fraud scheme. Some of the characters leave the hotel giddy and calm, despite a mass shooting occurring just a few hours prior — what happened? The audience needs more closure.
But maybe closure is not something that fans of “The White Lotus” will ever get. The characters we’ve come to love and hate these past few weeks will continue their lives, and viewers will most likely not see them in Season 4, which is slated to release in 2027. Maybe it is better to live in the moment and focus on the delights of this present season, as Chelsea so often hinted.
Email: m.wong@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @mayaw0ng
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