‘The White Lotus’ Recap: Season 3 Starts With Another Dead Body and One Big Surprise

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⚠️ WARNING: The following discussion may include plot details from “The White Lotus” Season 3, Episode 1, currently available on Max. Proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers!

Be aware that the information below could reveal key plot points from the first episode of “The White Lotus” Season 3 on Max. Read at your own risk if you want to keep the story a surprise!

Check-in has begun at “The White Lotus” in Thailand.

Following custom, the third installment of Mike White’s HBO dramedy begins by revealing a perplexing corpse in a premonition, set a week after the travelers have arrived at the Thai island of Koh Samui.

During a tranquil moment of meditation, a young man’s peace is shattered by the sudden sound of gunfire, some bullets even breaking through the windows of the wellness center. He swiftly takes cover before plunging into a nearby pond in a desperate plea for protection from a Buddha statue, his thoughts focused on the safety of his beloved mother, Belinda – the spa manager who had journeyed from Hawaii in Season 1 to master the art of wellness in Thailand. As chaos ensues among the hotel guests, he is horrified to spot a lifeless body floating face down in the water.

A week ago, an American tour group aboard a boat was making their way to the island. Each member was introduced individually. Among them was the lively and vivacious Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) accompanied by her moody older partner Rick (Walton Goggins), who seemed unusually unhappy (and smoked). Also on board were the Ratliffs, a family from the South who traveled to Thailand for one of their children to interview a monk as part of their college thesis. Lastly, there was Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon), old friends taking a trip together to reminisce.

Each traveler group exhibits intriguing relationships and undercurrents, which are likely to be further examined and intensified in upcoming episodes, possibly delving into unsettling depths. For instance, it remains unclear what’s causing Rick’s frequent irritability, but he consistently asks about one of the resort owners. The owner himself is recovering from a stroke in Bangkok, while his wife, Sritala (played by Lek Patravadi), is the public image of the resort as she manages it in his absence.

In the Ratliff suite, a persistent hotel staff member tries to take the family’s cell phones. However, they are determined to hold on to them. The family patriarch, Timothy (Jason Isaacs), is a prominent finance executive and his son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger, reminiscent of Jake Lacy from Season 1) works for him. The family prioritizes work and fitness over the resort’s wellness programs and digital detox emphasis. Victoria (Parker Posey, portraying a humorous Southern accent) is struggling with jet lag, while Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) intends to visit a Buddhist temple for research purposes. Lochlan (Sam Nivola), the youngest, finds himself sandwiched between his siblings. A high school senior, he’s considering Duke University, where his father and brother went, or UNC Chapel Hill, where his mother and sister attended. On a deeper level, he grapples with choosing between his older brother’s materialistic lifestyle and his sister’s inquisitive approach to the world, which has created a rift within their self-absorbed family. The sibling relationship is already strained: Saxon inquires about Lochlan’s preferred type of adult content late at night, then proceeds to disrobe in front of him. Lochlan, why aren’t you averting your eyes?

In the meantime, the girls’ trip is simmering softly. Immediately, Jaclyn and Kate compliment each other on their timeless beauty. “You look fantastic.” Yes, “You look fantastic.” By the way, Laurie is sitting there! Jaclyn, a successful television actress, treated her two friends, who promised to cover their own medical expenses (and some of Jaclyn’s). Neither of them seem to be financially strained — Kate is married to a prominent businessman, and Laurie has reached the top of the corporate ladder — but there are intriguing social undercurrents brewing beneath the surface. Jaclyn and Kate discuss their plastic surgeons and personal achievements, but neither can genuinely praise Laurie except for “everything you do is just so difficult.” After a long day of reminiscing over wine, Laurie retires to bed first. Looking at her two friends, both appearing happier than she, she lets out a primal whine. It seems like this vacation will be a challenging one.

A heartwarming (or somewhat one-sided) romantic situation is developing between the hotel employees, Mook (Lalisa Manoban, popularly known as Lisa from Blackpink’s band) and Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong). When her motorbike malfunctions on the roadside, he offers her a ride. He’s clearly trying to win her over, yet she seems captivated by Sritala’s bodyguards, who earn more and globetrot. She teasingly dismisses Gaitok’s job as merely monitoring cars entering and exiting, but he gently reminds her of the time he rescued a man from drowning two years ago.

The initial signs of trouble at the White Lotus often appear when people like Timothy begin receiving calls from journalists. While I appreciate my fellow journalists, it’s usually not a good sign to receive several missed calls from one during a vacation. Timothy is taken aback when a reporter informs him that he’s working on an investigative article about one of his ex-business partners, Kenneth, with whom he collaborated on a fund in 2018. It seems there might be some questionable activities related to the fund and the Brunei government. Timothy claims he hasn’t spoken to Kenny in four years, but he quickly reaches out to him once the conversation ends. At this point, we don’t have any evidence that Timothy is a bad person, but there’s an expression of guilt on his face when Victoria, in bed, praises his virtues.

In the bar by herself, Chelsea encounters a woman named Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). She’s not a guest at the resort but lives up on a hill with her partner, an older, grumpy man, whom she calls an “LBH” – Loser Back Home. As she gestures towards him sitting alone at a table, it becomes clear that this isn’t just any ordinary LBH. It’s Greg, yes, the same Greg portrayed by Jon Gries in Hawaii’s White Lotus. You might remember him as the man who began dating Jennifer Coolidge’s character Tanya McQuoid, married her, and plotted to murder her for her fortune in Sicily. He joined forces with the “evil gays” during Season 2, wining, dining, and plotting to kill his wife, but things didn’t go as planned. Instead, Tanya took revenge on them all on a yacht before meeting her unfortunate end, striking her head on a dinghy boat in the Ionian Sea and eventually wasting away there.

As a cinephile, I had a secret stash of knowledge up my sleeve when it came to Season 3 – Gries wasn’t officially announced as part of the cast earlier, but his silent debut in the premiere episode sparked curiosity. His mere presence hints at intriguing possibilities for future conflicts, particularly with Belinda. The question is whether she’ll recall him from Maui or if she’s even aware that Tanya isn’t alive anymore.

For now, the sun is down and the monkeys are howling. But there are plenty more days in paradise.

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2025-02-17 06:17