At the beginning of the first episode of “The White Lotus” season three, Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) is sitting down for a meditation exercise with an employee of the Thailand resort. He’s never been to the South Asian nation before, but he “grew up in Hawaii so really similar except there’s no monkeys in Hawaii.” That’s a not-so-subtle wink from writer and director Mike White that this installment of his landmark HBO series will harken back to the first season more than the second jaunt to Italy. Before Zion has a chance to truly relax in his session, gunfire is heard. Before you know it, he’s found a dead body floating in the water. And, just as in previous seasons, the mystery of who that person is begins.
READ MORE: “The White Lotus’”Season 3 Trailer: What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand
After a familiar title card “One Week Earlier” appears, the guests arrive at White’s modern manifestation of “Fantasy Island.” Well, no, it’s the Thailand outpost of the series’ fictional White Lotus resort (the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui), but for anyone who knows anything about television history or has seen the infamous ’70s drama, the guests arriving on a boat were hoping that their dreams would come true. That rarely occurred. And, after screening the first six of eight episodes, these characters are also likely to find their dreams shattered and their lives forever changed.
At the forefront of the series is the Ratliff family, a North Carolina-based cadre who believe they have traveled to Thailand so their daughter, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook, steady), can visit a nearby Buddhist monastery to finish her college thesis. Her older brother Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger, wonderfully channeling ’80s Tom Cruise cockiness) is ignorantly curt and the epitome of a contemporary, conservative rich boy, podcast bro. The youngest in the family, Lochlan (Sam Nivola, talented), is a quiet high school senior who idolizes his brother while doing everything he can to appease his sister’s wishes. Their parents have arguably the least interesting storylines in the series. Timothy (Jason Isaacs, solid), learns he may be in severe legal trouble within hours of reaching the resort, and his wife, Victoria (Parker Posey, deliciously hypocritical), is blind to everyone else’s problems (perhaps it’s all those pills she keeps popping).

Throughout the show’s two incarnations, White has been quite good at leaving many things unsaid or unrevealed about his subjects. A perfect example this season is a seemingly mismatched couple: Rick (Walton Goggins, simply stellar) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood, a marvel). Rick seems to have a shady past, but does Chelsea too? How did this moody American and this Manchester girl at least two decades his junior even meet? White may never tell us, but he flips the conventional narrative by making the audience believe Chelsea truly loves him. Shockingly, she has no secret motive for staying with him. She’s a genuine, self-proclaimed romantic. Rick, on the other hand, is haunted by a mysterious desire for revenge. Or does he think he needs to want revenge? Further in the series, a monk tells another resort guest, “Everyone runs from pain to the pleasure only to find more pain. You cannot outrun pain.” That mantra could apply to Rick as well.
The trio of lifelong girlfriends at the center of this season may be White having his most fun and peaking as a screenwriter. Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan, pitch-perfect) is a well-known Hollywood television actress who can’t hide her discomfort being married to a more successful male star 10 years younger than her. Kate, (Leslie Bibb, spot-on), is the wife of a successful Austin-based businessman who, in many ways, is no longer who her childhood friends believe her to be. Laurie (Carrie Coon, spectacular as always), is a New York City corporate executive who is trying to keep up appearances as the weight of paying a hefty alimony bill to her ex while her teenage daughter reportedly spirals (at least, that’s what the gossip is) is crushing her.

White pulls off a masterclass with these women as they forge alliances behind each other’s backs, only to increasingly betray each other over the silliest of social interactions. You know these women. You and your friends may be these women. It’s a spot-on microscope of adult friendships that this season may end up being remembered for the most. And when Jaclyn and Laurie discover Kate is now an avid churchgoer and calls herself an “independent” politically, you can already hear the howls of coastal viewers as New York and Los Angeles give each other that look as the reality of their “liberal” Austin sister sets in. White has painted a picture of contemporary America written and filmed months before the November elections ever took place. His foreshadowing may hit you like a rock.
Perhaps one of the more conventional storylines of the season revolves around the return of Belinda (Natasha Rothwell, excellent), an employee of the White Lotus resort in Maui who was screwed over by a kooky rich woman (Jennifer Coolidge) promising her a better life. After two rough years personally, Bellinda has traveled to the Thai outpost to research new health and wellness techniques for the Hawaii hotel. When she recognizes a familiar face amongst the dinner guests, the tension racks up predictably.

There is also a seemingly – but likely not – minor storyline with a Gaitock (Tayme Thapthimthong, massively charismatic), a security guard at the resort, and Mook (Lisa Manobal of Blackpink and burgeoning solo career fame), a wellness host. Gaitock wants their friendship to be more romantic, but Mook masterfully brushes it off. And yet, all may not be what it seems. As one character notes, “Anyone who moves to Thailand is looking for something or hiding from something.” Perhaps that applies to the employees of the resort as well.
As the series progresses, White’s takedown of these increasingly ugly Americans feels almost like a closing argument in a criminal case. It’s noteworthy that out of all the guests, the British Chelsea, her new French Canadian friend (Charlotte Le Bon, smarter than the room), and some of the Thai employees may be the only truly decent humans for miles. Even Piper, who is not the angel she seems, recognizes that this White Lotus is “like a Disneyland for rich bohemians from Malibu and their Lululemon yoga pants.” The knives are out.
In the first two seasons, White had the creative freedom to push boundaries. If taboo topics were not discussed, they were often demonstrated. There is one subject matter in this third season that will certainly get people talking. Why White chose to go down this road will hopefully become clearer by the end of the season. It may be salacious just to be salacious, but White has done nothing in his celebrated career so far to just throw something this incendiary into the mix without it having a larger meaning. In the context of a non-complete season, you have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

If there is one minor regret, it’s that this season is certainly not as funny as the previous two. That’s mostly due to the absence of Coolidge, whose character met an untimely end in the Mediterranean Sea. An event that, surprisingly, is still reverberating halfway across the globe in Thailand. Coolidge is irreplaceable, and anyone thinking Posey’s presence is meant to fill that void will be disappointed. But narratives evolve and change and, as always, Mr. White has much to say. And often it’s more timely than he may have ever predicted.
It should also be noted that cinematographer Ben Kutchins, who shot season one, thankfully returns to craft jaw-dropping images with White every episode. Sure, Thailand is naturally gorgeous, but this is above and beyond pretty light at twilight. Kutchins’ framing and the light sources make this chapter of “The White Lotus” the most genuinely cinematic yet. [A-/B+]
“The White Lotus” airs every week on HBO and MAX beginning on Sunday, February 16 at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT