It
is
said
money
doesn’t
buy
happiness,
and
the
show
proves
it
—
there
is
romance,
heartbreak,
affairs
and
murder.
A
place
that
should
be
heavenly
quickly
turns
into
a
hell
of
misery,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
When
The
White
Lotus
premiered
in
July
2021,
it
was
meant
to
be
a
six-part
mini
series.
Created
by
Mike
White,
the
series
—
set
in
a
luxury
resort
in
Hawaii
—
could
be
said
to
be
a
darker,
more
sophisticated
version
of
the
1975
British
comedy,
Fawlty
Towers.
The
show
was
such
a
hit
that
it
was
decided
to
turn
it
into
an
anthology
series,
and
the
second
season
was
set
in
Sicily.
Between
the
two
seasons,
the
show
won
15
Prime
Time
Emmy
Awards
and
two
Golden
Globes
and
was
listed
among
American
Film
Institute’S
10
best
programmes
of
2021
and
2022.
It
made
sense
to
produce
a
Season
3.
Season
3
is
set
in
Thailand.
The
biggest
attraction
of
White
Lotus
is
the
location
and
a
dazzling
glimpse
of
high-end
opulence.
The
show
is
not
laugh-out-loud
funny
but
a
bawdy,
bitter
social
satire
about
wealthy,
dysfunctional
Americans,
their
antics
and
interactions
with
the
resort’s
staff.
It
is
said
money
doesn’t
buy
happiness,
and
the
show
proves
it
—
there
is
romance,
heartbreak,
affairs
and
murder.
A
place
that
should
be
heavenly
quickly
turns
into
a
hell
of
misery.
The
show
starts
with
death
and
then
goes
back
over
the
week
to
see
how
a
dream
vacation
ended
in
a
nightmare.
In
episode
one
of
Season
3,
just
one
character
from
the
earlier
season
returns:
Belinda
(Natasha
Rothwell)
was
a
member
of
the
staff
of
the
White
Lotus
resort
in
Hawaii.
There
is
also
a
glimpse
of
Greg
(Jon
Gries)
whose
wife
(a
scene-stealing,
award-winning
Jennifer
Coolidge)
died
in
Season
2.
He
is
described
by
his
slinky
new
girlfriend
Chloe
(Charlotte
Le
Bon)
as
a
bald
LBH;
her
acronym
for
Loser
Back
Home.
The
setting
of
Season
3
is
a
lush
green
resort
with
thick
vegetation
and
wild
animals.
It
looks
a
bit
scary,
especially
when
the
background
music
alternates
between
sinister
and
jaunty,
with
strange
animal
calls
slicing
through
the
silence.
Episode
one
opens
with
Belinda’s
hunky
son
Zion
(Nicholas
Duvernay)
having
a
meditation
session
with
Amrita
(Shalini
Peiris)
when
the
crack
of
gunshots
is
heard
in
the
background.
After
establishing
the
shock
of
violence
in
the
tranquil
resort,
the
show
flashbacks
to
the
arrival
of
the
guests
on
a
ferry,
where
two
of
the
men
have
already
had
an
argument
over
smoking.
They
are
greeted
by
the
smiling
staff,
including
one
of
the
owners,
Sritala
(Lek
Patravadi).
The
guests
include
the
Ratcliff
family,
Timothy
(Jason
Isaacs/Lucius
Malfoy
in
the
Harry
Potter
movies),
his
odious,
drug-addicted
wife
Victoria
(Parker
Posy),
grown
up
children,
Saxon
(Patrick
Schwarzenegger,
Arnold’s
son),
Lachlan
(Sam
Nivola)
and
Piper
(Sarah
Catherine
Hook),
whose
interest
in
Buddhism
dragged
the
family
halfway
round
the
world.
There’s
also
the
sullen
Rick
(Walton
Goggins)
and
his
chirpy
girlfriend
Chelsea
(Aimee
Lou
Wood).
Finally,
there’s
television
star
Jaclyn
(Michelle
Monaghan/True
Detective)
with
her
gal
pals
Kate
(Leslie
Bibb/Iron
Man)
and
Laurie
(Carrie
Coon,
The
Gilded
Age),
whom
Saxon
immediately
labels
as
‘cougars’.
The
hotel
staff
has
the
sweet
wellness
mentor
Mook
(Lalisa
Manobal
of
the
K-pop
group
Blackpink)
batting
away
the
romantic
overtures
of
Gaitok
(Tayme
Thapthimthong),
a
security
guard
at
the
resort,
the
harried
manager
Fabian
(Christian
Friedel/Zone
Of
Interest),
Pornchai
(Dom
Hetrakul),
a
wellness
expert
who
has
to
train
Belinda
and
the
muscled
Russian
health
mentor,
Valentin
(Arnas
Fedaravicius),
hired
to
attract
the
ladies.
The
Ratcliffs
refuse
to
surrender
their
phones
as
requested,
and
Timothy
has
some
work
crisis
chasing
him.
Rick
won’t
give
up
smoking
and
snaps
at
anyone
who
talks
to
him.
Saxon
is
an
entitled
brat,
who
has
a
nude
scene
already
eliciting
online
comments.
The
fake
cheer
of
the
trio
of
female
friends
clearly
hides
deep-seated
insecurity
about
aging.
The
cast
is,
as
always,
spot
on,
and
the
problems
likely
to
arise
are
evident
in
the
first
episode;
a
new
one
will
drop
every
Sunday.
This
season
seems
to
have
less
humour
and
more
of
an
ominous
vibe.
Mike
White,
the
solo
writer-director,
with
an
incisive
understanding
of
class
divides,
did
say
in
an
interview
that
this
season
is
more
about
death
and
Eastern
spiritualism.
Otherwise,
the
theme
of
toxic,
rich
people
bringing
their
chaos
wherever
they
go,
is
repeated.
The
show
opened
to
an
overwhelmingly
large
viewership,
and
already
Season
4
has
been
given
the
go-ahead.
So
fans
of
The
White
Lotus
can
expect
more
shenanigans
in
another
tourist-bait
hotel.
As
long
as
there
are
exotic
resorts
to
go
around,
there
is
enough
material
to
draw
from
the
mine
of
human
misery.
Armchair
travellers
can
rejoice.
The
White
Lotus
3
streams
on
Jio+Hotstar
The
White
Lotus
3 Review
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