Diksha Sundriyal
Reaching its penultimate episode, the third season of HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’ sets the stage for the final showdown, which we received a glimpse of in the first episode. Following the rise in tension in the last episode, this one seems to slow things down a bit, as nothing quite erupts, even though a lot is simmering in the background. It seems that the show might be keeping all its cards for the finale, which does make this episode a bit disappointing, though it still leaves one interested to see what happens next for the characters. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rick’s Date with Destiny Arrives
The entire reason behind Rick coming to Thailand was to confront the man who killed his father. Or at least, the man who he thinks killed his father because his mother told him so on her deathbed. He convinced his friend, Frank, to go along with his plan, who was skeptical of it but had no other choice. Now, as they sit in front of Sritala and her husband, Jim, Rick can barely hold himself together. Frank keeps Sritala busy with the talks of the film that he is supposed to be making, and Rick uses this to get Jim to another room where they can have a more private conversation.
Once they are alone, Rick doesn’t beat around the bush too much. He asks Jim about his early years in Thailand and how he managed to become what he is now. He also discovers that Jim and Sritala have two daughters, who are outside the country at the moment. With the talk of being a father and having kids on the table, Rick immediately jumps to his own childhood and the lack of his father’s presence. He tells Jim about his role in his father’s death and even pulls the gun on him. However, he is unable to shoot it. Instead, he simply pushes the old man, who falls from his chair while also being a bit rattled by Rick’s behavior.
The most interesting thing in this interaction is when Rick mentions his mother’s name, and Jim repeats it with a sense of familiarity dawning on him. He seems to recognize the name, and it’s not just some faint remembrance but the recognition that Jim knows who Rick is. What this most likely points towards is the fact that either Rick misinterpreted his mother’s words about his father or she lied to him. Because it seems that Jim might be the long-lost father Rick craved for his entire life. In any case, he runs out of the house with Frank without making this discovery. By the time the men are back on the streets of Bangkok, Frank seems to have relapsed. He is ready to party again, having already had alcohol at Sritala’s place, and the night soon spirals into sex and drugs.
All The Ratliffs Reconsider Their Paths
In the last episode, the sexual interaction between Saxon and Lochy creates a chasm that neither of them wants to cross. To keep things from getting awkward, they don’t cross paths with each other in this episode. Lochy decided to stay with Piper at the monastery, where the memories of the previous night dawned on him with disturbing clarity. The words of the monk and the shame of his own actions have such an impact on him that he decides not just to support Piper but also to accompany her to Thailand for one year. When he shares this with her, he receives an unexpected reaction where she doesn’t seem too happy with it. Later that night, we find her deep in thought, and it seems that her mother’s words might be about to come true. Perhaps Piper is ready to change her mind.
Meanwhile, Saxon and his parents go to Gary’s dinner party. While Victoria is still reeling from the absence of Lorazepam, Tim is drowning in it. On top of it, he also consumes copious amounts of alcohol, which leads Saxon to question him. He makes it clear that he has rested his entire career at Tim’s company, so if there is something going on at work, he should know about it. Tim still doesn’t share the tsunami of trouble he is in, but later that night, he thinks about shooting down Saxon as well, as it seems to be the only way that he can keep his son from getting entangled in his troubles. Luckily for Saxon and Victoria, Tim is unable to find the gun, as Gaitok took it away in the previous episode.
His father isn’t the only thing bothering Saxon. He is still trying to come to terms with what happened with Lochy while also being disturbed by Gary’s interest in him. Chloe reveals that Gary used to watch his parents have sex when he was a child, and this has since become a part of his fantasy while also having affected his relationships. The bottom line is that he wants to watch Chloe and Saxon have sex, to which he vehemently refuses. As the party starts to die down, he and Chelsea leave, and in the guise of trying to learn her ways of spirituality, he makes a move on her, which she shuts down immediately.
Laurie Goes on an Adventure of Her Own
The discovery that Jaclyn slept with Valentin heightens the tension between her and Laurie, which becomes very uncomfortable for Kate. The trio meets up for dinner, where things don’t get any better. When Laurie takes a jibe at Jaclyn, she retaliates by telling her that she is always disappointed because she never breaks out of her pattern, which leads her to make the wrong choices. Her words are echoed by Kate, who also believes that Jaclyn sleeping with Valentin isn’t really that big of an issue and is only being inflated by Laurie due to her own insecurities. In return, Laurie calls out both of them, but the conversation is shut down when she walks away.
Kate becomes a little concerned about Laurie, but Jaclyn doesn’t seem to care a bit. Kate calls her out for not being apologetic at all, which leads the actress to further victimize herself. Meanwhile, Laurie meets up with Valentin and his friends at the boxing match. She is hit on by Alexie, with whom she later ends up having sex. Following this, Alexei tells her about his sick mother, who is still in Russia and whom he needs to bring to Thailand, but he needs money for that. He asks Laurie to wire him the money, though she repeatedly tells him that she doesn’t have it. The conversation is broken when Alexei’s Russian girlfriend bangs at his door and almost catches Laurie, who escapes from the window and later finds a cab for the resort.
Interestingly, Laurie and the three men aren’t the only ones watching the match. Gaitok finally gets his date with Mook. They go around the market first, where he confesses to her that he is not getting a promotion because he is considered too soft for it. He also tells her that he staunchly believes in non-violence, which is why he is perhaps better off not pursuing that line. Mook tries to convince him that self-defense justifies whatever violence he may have to resort to. Next, they go to watch the boxing match, which is where he notices Valentin and his friends, whom he recognizes from the day of the robbery.
Belinda and Gary Have an Interesting Chat
When Gary decided to throw a dinner party, one of his targets was to meet with Belinda and clear things up. When she first walks up to him at the restaurant, he refuses to recognize her, but later, he approaches her to clear the air. He invites her to the party, and, at first, she is not in the mood to attend it. But then Zion convinces her to go and get it over with, which brings her face to face with Gary, aka Greg. He corners her to a secluded spot in the house where he confesses that Tanya died in Italy but claims that he had nothing to do with it. He says that he ran away from Italy because he didn’t want to be surrounded by cops and all the media and whatnot during his time of grief. He has found a good life in Thailand, and he plans to stay here for the rest of his years.
He also talks about how Tanya mentioned Belinda and had wanted to invest in her business. To honor his dead wife’s wishes, he proposes an amount of $100,000 to her. In return, he wants Belinda to honor Tanya’s wish of letting Greg live in peace, away from any trouble. Belinda is surprised at the offer and asks for some time to consider it. She doesn’t want to take the money because she believes it would make her complicit in Greg’s crimes. Zion gives her a reality check by telling her that if she doesn’t take the money, Greg will take it as a sign of her causing trouble, and this might make things even more dangerous for her. She is irritated by the fact that her son is right and must make a choice that could be life and death for her.
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