Each season of the HBO dark comedy anthology series The White Lotus takes place in a different White Lotus resort property, with a new crop of characters, and a new mysterious murder. As with the previous seasons, the third season opens with some ominous music, the sound of gunshots, people running, panicking and screaming, and an unidentified floating dead body. But to see how we got here, the series jumps back to a week earlier as a trio of new guests make their way to The White Lotus resort in Thailand.
This season’s new crop of despicable, self-centered guests starts off with the Ratliffs. They are a wealthy and proud North Carolina family—parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) & Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey), and their three children, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) & Lochlan (Sam Nivola). Eldest son Saxon is an over-confident, horny douche. He follows in his father’s footsteps, both having graduated from Duke, and now working together. He’s playing the numbers game, constantly hitting on the other guests trying to score, without any luck. Middle daughter Piper is a Religious Studies major who’s writing a thesis on Buddhism and is interested in interviewing a monk at a monastery nearby—she’s the reason the family ended up at The White Lotus and not their usual vacation spot. Youngest son Lochlan is a bit shy and naïve. He looks to his older siblings for advice, even though they may not be the best role models. He’s recently been accepted to both Duke and Chapel Hill—both his parents’ alma maters—and must make a decision about his future.
Shortly after the Ratliffs arrive, Tim is hounded by calls from journalists, asking him to make a statement about something illegal he may have been involved in at work. This could send him to prison and leave the family penniless and disgraced, and so he’s desperate to get more information on what the Feds know, and struggles to figure out how to get out of this situation before his family finds out. He decides to get rid of the family’s phones in the name of a digital detox, in order to buy himself some time. Meanwhile, Victoria is in her own self-centered and delusional world, constantly popping lorazepam for her anxiety.
The second couple on the boat to the resort is Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) and his much younger Manchester girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). Chelsea just wants to let loose and have some fun, and help Rick get his joy back, but there is something heavy from his past weighing on Rick, and a secret reason he chose Thailand for their trip. As Rick spends time on his own, Chelsea befriends a kindred spirit, Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), a model from Quebec who moved to Thailand a year ago with her wealthy older boyfriend, Greg Hunt (Jon Gries).
The final guests are a trio of 40-something childhood friends on a midlife crisis trip aka their “victory tour”. TV actress Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) is recently married and still in the honeymoon phase of her life; Laurie (Carrie Coon) put her focus on becoming a partner in her firm above all else, leading to a divorce and issues with her daughter; and Kate (Leslie Bibb) is seemingly happy and successful, married with kids, living in Austin. All of the women put on an outwardly happy face and say they enjoy being there with one another, but they are all hiding issues. They are also quick to gossip and share derogative comments about one another as soon as one of them is out of the room—always following this up with a fake “but I love her” or “but she still looks great”.
It wouldn’t be The White Lotus if the staff also wasn’t filled with folks with issues of their own, and this season that includes resort owner/aging starlet Sritala (Lek Patravadi); ambitious general manager Fabian (Christian Friedel) who’s always trying to impress her; pacifist security gate guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) who has a crush on fellow co-worker Mook (Lalisa Manobal); Mook is the health mentor assigned to Rick and Chelsea; Australian Pam (Morgana O’Reilly) is the health mentor assigned for the Ratliffs; and handsome Russian Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) is the health mentor assigned to the women, though he has a side hustle going on that will soon bring trouble to the ladies and the resort.
Returning this season is White Lotus employee Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell) from the White Lotus in Maui. She needed a break and is participating in a 3-month work exchange program to share and compare wellness programs. Her liaison is Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul), and the two really hit it off. She also plans to receive a visit from her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), who’s joining her on vacation after finishing his final exams. However, when she recognizes Greg Hunt—former White Lotus guest and former husband of the now-deceased Tanya—she begins to wonder if Greg killed Tanya for her money, and fears that he may now go after her to keep her quiet.
I have really enjoyed each season of The White Lotus, which always assembles an amazing cast of despicable characters you love to hate. The series is a bit of a slow burn as we learn what skeletons each of the characters has hiding in their closets, and we get clues as to who was murdered, why and by whom. Even those who initially appear to be good people usually end up breaking bad by the end—the White Lotus resorts seem to have this affect on people. This third season once again takes us to an exotic new locale as we see these dysfunctional relationships play out with lots of drama, thrills, and dark humor. There are many twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.
While it’s great to get new characters each season, I also appreciate how the show finds a character to bring back to connect the story to the previous season. I think the Belinda/Greg storyline worked well in this respect. This season also has a few “did they really go there?!” type storylines that are quite surprising and fun. In addition to the amazing main ensemble, this season also features a hilarious guest appearance by Sam Rockwell later on in the season, where he easily steals his scenes.
As I binged my way through the third season on this DVD release, I found myself thoroughly entertained and captivated all over again. There are some exciting twists and turns to the season, but what really impressed me upon my re-watch was the foreshadowing and clues that seem so much more obvious after knowing where the story is going. Series creator Mike White does an excellent job of hiding these Easter eggs in plain site.
It’s unfortunate that Warner Bros. has only been releasing this series on physical media on DVD, despite the fact the the series airs in HD on HBO and 4K on HBO Max. The DVD picture quality is generally clean and quite good. While I got used to it quickly, it definitely lacks that extra level of clarity and detail that you got in the original HD or 4K presentations. The audio track fares much better, providing clear dialogue, and showcasing the show’s quirky score and soundtrack. There is also excellent use of the surround channel to provide an immersive experience, bringing to life the ambiance of the nature setting, such as the sounds of the macaques and birds, or the excitement in the streets, or at a fighting match.
The third season’s 8 episodes are split across 3 discs, which reside on a swinging tray inside a standard-sized DVD case. Our review copy did not include any slipcover. The discs contain nearly an hour of bonus material, which includes in-depth looks at each episode as well as some fun Q&As with the cast.
What’s Included:
- Episodes: (8:34:01)
- All 8 episodes of the third season:
Disc 1 (3:01:46): “Same Spirits, New Forms”, “Special Treatments”, “The Meaning of Dreams”
Disc 2 (3:05:45): “Hide or Seek”, “Full-Moon Party”, “Denials”
Disc 3 (2:26:30): “Killer Instincts”, “Amor Fati” - 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Unpacking the Episodes (29:11)
The cast and creator discuss the characters and the events of each episode.- Unpacking Episode 1 (3:05) – Jason Isaacs (“Timothy Ratliff”) & Parker Posey (“Victoria Ratliff”)
- Unpacking Episode 2 (3:32) – Lek Patravadi (“Sritala”) & Christian Friedel (“Fabian”)
- Unpacking Episode 3 (2:39) – Walton Goggins (“Rick Hatchett”) & Aimee Lou Wood (“Chelsea”)
- Unpacking Episode 4 (3:14) – Lalisa Manobal (“Mook”) & Tayme Thapthimthong (“Gaitok”)
- Unpacking Episode 5 (3:16) – Michelle Monaghan (“Jaclyn”), Carrie Coon (“Laurie”) & Leslie Bibb (“Kate”)
- Unpacking Episode 6 (3:49) – Patrick Schwarzenegger (“Saxon Ratliff”), Sarah Catherine Hook (“Piper Ratliff”) & Sam Nivola (“Lochlan Ratliff”)
- Unpacking Episode 7 (3:49) – Natasha Rothwell (“Belinda Lindsey”) & Jon Gries (“Greg Hunt”)
- Unpacking Episode 8 (4:47) – Director and Creator Mike White
- Invitation to Set: Welcome to Thailand (2:24)
The cast and series creator discuss the Thailand setting, integrating Buddhism, bringing back Belinda, the cast, journey outside of the resort, the darker tone, and more. Includes interviews with director/creator Mike White, and stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Aimee Lou Wood, Natasha Rothwell, Leslie Bibb, Lalisa Manobal, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Coon, Tayme Thapthimthong & Michelle Monaghan. - Get to Know (18:12)
The actors get to know one another by asking their co-stars some fun/revealing questions. Select from:- Leslie, Carrie, Michelle (2:33)
- Walton & Aimee (2:52)
- Natasha & Nicholas (3:37)
- Patrick & Sam (1:58)
- Jason & Sarah Catherine (3:17)
- Lek & Christian (1:58)
- Tayme & Lalisa (1:57)
- Thai Tea (3:27)
The cast talk about the Thai culture depicted in the series. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Dom Hetrakul (“Pornchai”), Lek Patravadi, Christian Friedel, Tayme Thapthimt, hongLalisa Manobal & Walton Goggins. - Closet Tour (3:25)
Actress Michelle Monaghan and costume designer Alex Bovaird go through the wardrobe closet and discuss Jaclyn’s looks. Includes some behind-the-scenes footage.
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
In its third season, The White Lotus continues to be a fun and twisty show that keeps you guessing until the end. Series creator has assembled another great ensemble cast of characters you love to hate, and he does a nice job of slowly building the story and revealing the backstory of these characters. I wish Warner Bros would at least give this series a Blu-ray release that would showcase the beauty of the foreign locales, but the DVD still looks pretty solid and sounds excellent. The discs also contain a nice assortment of bonus material. This third season is definitely worth checking out for fans of the series. And while there is one connection to the past seasons, new viewers could still watch this season standalone.
