Warning: This post contains spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 6
I’ve never been one to celebrate but a post-Full Moon Party hangover seems absolutely unbearable. And that’s before you even remember the characters' actions: a near-bullet to the head, kissing one’s brother, and cheating on one’s husband. InThe White Lotusseason 3, episode 6, “Denials”, we bear witness to the mother of all hangovers for two characters, the delayed fog that comes with bad decisions for a few others, and the brief celebration that comes for those who decided not to partake the previous night.
We’re en route towards the end ofThe White Lotusseason 3, and while it seemed that in episodes 4 and 5 we were headed for something grand in this last third, episode 6 feels like a dip back down. Fortunately,Mike White has conceived such vibrant characters that simply their reactions to the previous night offer up plenty to gnaw on. However, the air that escaped my nose as the credits rolled wasn’t one of deep relaxation but of frustration; perhaps eight episodes in season 3 was an ambitious promise.
The Ratliff Family Is Having A Complete Meltdown
The White Lotusloves to shock, and there’s always a sense that around the corner of each episode, we’re going to be privy to something we should just not be seeing. You may have thought Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochy (Sam Nivola) kissing last Sunday was that moment, but the beginning of “Denials” dashes that notion immediately. It turns out, while Lochy was having sex with Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), his brother was right next to him, touching himself as only a high, tripping Duke fin-bro can.
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Craziness over. Whew, you are a wild one, Mike White. But, wait, that’s not all. It turns out Lochy was actually pulling double duty, “helping” Saxon, as it were. Upon remembering, Saxon promptly pukes. Sounds about right. Back at the suite, Victoria (Parker Posey) is still beside herself about Piper’s (Sarah Catherine Hook) announcement, and Tim (Jason Isaccs) is having dreams about shooting himself and his wife. The Ratliffs may not be getting the most out of their wellness stay.
Piper, my guest of the week, is the only one who seems to be clear-eyed, and even hers begin watering when she speaks to a monk about living in his temple the following year.
Piper, my guest of the week, is the only one who seems to be clear-eyed, and even hers begin watering when she speaks to a monk about living in his temple the following year. She says what we already know, sobbing out how she can’t relate to her family. After weeks of nothing but confused and annoyed looks,Hook gets a scene to chew on and the loneliness and confusion that she hides behind her mask of flippant coolness comes out in an affecting moment of emotionthat widens the once tightly closed nut of the Ratliff family.
Ko Samui Is The Real Winner Of The White Lotus Season 3
Sritala’s Husband Will Be The Key To This Season Ending On A Strong Note
Once again,the employees and the locals save aWhite Lotusseason 3 episode from being crushed under the voluminous guest stories. The three friends who keep sniping at each other but never hit their mark; Rick (Walton Goggins), whose story by the end of episode 6 has only given us a single line spoken by Sritala’s (Lek Patravadi) unseen husband; and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), who has regrettably retreated to the background without Rick to bounce off. It turns out the most interesting parts of the Ko Samui White Lotus were there before we or the guests ever arrived.
One eye-gouging bit of tension was mercifully loosened thankfully as Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthing) got his gun
Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) shows his face for the first time sincethe opening of episode 1, and he’s welcomed by his mom and Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) in bed together. It’s cute. Pornchai can’t stop smiling the rest of the day and Zion congratulates Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) on finding someone. One eye-gouging bit of tension was mercifully loosened as Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthing) got his gun. The gun is then handed back to Checkov when Gaitok solemnly tells his boss that he does have a killer instinct. He’s a good shot to boot.
This White Lotus location feels like less of a prop than in previous seasons. Thailand is its own world; it’s fearsome and unwelcoming, as the guests were to the employees at Taormina and Maui. You need an absurd amount of money to experience what the lotus eaters experience, butin Ko Samui, your return on investment may only be betrayal, anxiety, disrespect, or worse.
For once, the guests atThe White Lotustruly feel like guests, beholden to the whims of the people who live there. The arrival of Sritala’s husband, a man Rick is certain murdered his father while defending Ko Samui from developers, however, may prove how deep colonial violence runs even in places that appear to have weathered it.
