‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 6 recap: What happened last night?
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Another blue-hued Ratfliff nightmare sets in motion an episode that delves into worst-case scenarios for some of the show’s characters.
The episode opens with Tim (Jason Isaacs) raising a gun to his head and pulling the trigger, leaving his wife and daughter in hysterics. But Tim comes out of his daydream, seated at the patio table where things left off in last week’s episode. He stashes the weapon he took from the guard booth in a nearby apothecary cabinet before popping another lorazepam and climbing into bed. Victoria (Parker Posey), thinking he’s preoccupied with Piper’s (Sarah Catherine Hook) recent news, attempts to ease his worry. But his panic only intensifies when Victoria makes it known, in no uncertain terms, that she’d rather die than live a potential life of poverty: “I just don’t think, at this age, I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life. I don’t have the will.” It prompts Tim to have another hallucination, this time a murder-suicide of him and his wife. But any gun action from Tim is now thwarted because Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) successfully retrieved the gun from the cabinet while the Ratliff’s are away.
Piper, meanwhile, is trying to prove to her mother that she’s serious about her decision to move to Thailand. When Victoria challenges her spiritually curious daughter to spend the night at the Buddhist center to get a sense of what she’s in for long term, Piper hesitantly accepts.
But Tim’s secret and whatever shame Victoria has about Piper’s decision are hardly the biggest family scandals now. Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is grappling with whatever dirty deeds went on between him and his younger brother. The memories of his drug-fueled night hit him in spurts. It isn’t until Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) fill him in on their escapades that Saxon learns he and Lochy (Sam Nivola) did more than kiss. Saxon tries to blame the drugs, which gives Chelsea the opportunity to say what we’re all thinking: “God, I don’t think there’s a drug in the world that would make me get with my brother.” Lochy, on the other hand, comes to his own realization about the extent of his full moon shenanigans while in a meditation session with Piper at the center.
And because this episode is really putting the question “What would be my worst nightmare?” to the test, over in Belinda’s (Natasha Rothwell) corner, her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) arrives to find her in bed with Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul). But there’s no time to worry about the imprint that’s left on his brain because Pornchai suggests they open a spa together in Thailand, and then Greg/Gary (Jon Gries) invites Belinda and her son to a party at his home. (The sketchy widower also encourages Chloe to invite Saxon after she denies anything happened between them.) If that’s not cause for a head massage, what is?
Then there’s the matter of the three frenemies. After witnessing Valentin’s (Arnas Fedaravičius) walk of shame, Kate (Leslie Bibb) tells Laurie (Carrie Coon) about Jaclyn’s (Michelle Monaghan) late-night rendezvous. Noticeably peeved and continuing the trio’s vacay ritual of talking behind each other’s back, Laurie calls out the pick-me girl behavior: “She has not changed at all … It’s sad. She’s an aging actress. You saw her yesterday. She literally lives off male attention. It’s one thing when you’re 25. But now you’re 45, and guess what? It’s pathetic,” Laurie says. When she confronts Jaclyn about it, the actress denies anything happened. But the tension is set.
Meanwhile, our new favorite pair of friends, Rick (Walton Goggins) and Frank (Sam Rockwell), are about to give us the buddy comedy (or buddy true crime drama) that we didn’t know we needed. After last week’s truth bomb, Frank again delivers one of the most masterful moments in this week’s episode with his first spoken line — “That’s a brutal story, man” — as Rick shares the background on his father and why he’s concocted this plan about a fictional Hollywood movie to entice Sritala (Lek Patravadi) to give them access to the home she shares with her husband, who Rick is convinced is responsible for his father’s death. Frank reluctantly agrees to help play the fictitious producer, so long as things don’t get messy. The episode closes with their arrival at the home.
And surely things are about to get messy.
Now it’s time for Greg Braxton, Mary McNamara and Yvonne Villarreal, platinum-status members of “The White Lotus” frequent guest program, to break it all down.
Who do we think is the corpse this week? Does Gaitok’s retrieval of the gun change things?
McNamara: Between Tim’s suicidal ideation, Victoria’s “I’d rather be dead than poor” speech and the potentially life-ruining revelations of drunken incest between Saxon and Loch, it certainly feels like the Ratliff family is a “put the gun down” powder-keg. A struggle between Tim and Gaitok for said gun, now in Gaitok’s possession again, is certainly possible, but I still believe monkeys will be involved. The victims of the past two seasons have been beloved characters killed in tragically absurd circumstances, so I still think Tim is out. I was hoping White would leave the younger siblings alone, but I suppose Loch, especially after the incest thing, and Piper are fair game. But pending developments on the Rick front (please, please don’t let the body be Chelsea!), I’m going to go with Gaitok. Though the “do you think you’re a killer” comment by his boss during target practice could be key — if he winds up killing Mook (while shooting at monkeys), that would be sufficiently absurd and terrible.
Villarreal: We haven’t seen Pam (Morgana O’Reilly) lately and I’m worried that when we do, the resort wellness mentor will get caught in the crosshairs of one of the Ratliff scandals and meet her death.
Braxton: I’m going to continue my stance on not speculating about whose corpse it is. In the previous seasons, the characters were extremely flawed and troubled, but White’s genius was making them layered and even relatable. This season seems stacked with so many self-absorbed, one-dimensional characters it’s hard for me to root for most of them to survive. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Ratliff family.)
What do we make of the Ratliff brothers’ flashbacks? And is Saxon soulless, as Chelsea suggests?
McNamara: Never mind the flashbacks. Chloe straight up told them what happened. Honestly, I have never felt worse for two TV characters in my life — cruel and unusual punishment by White! I mean, it even made me feel bad for Saxon — he didn’t want to take drugs in the first place. (And the moral, children, is … do not take rando pills handed to you by a stranger.) Saxon is a classic entitled frat boy a — , but even he doesn’t deserve this.
Villarreal: This is not the will they/won’t they I need from “White Lotus.” Even though I knew White would hit us with more than a kiss, and the red flags were there all along, I was not prepared for what appeared on my screen — and this is coming from someone who watched the recent birthing scene from “The Pitt.” I know the producers have said that this is not for shock value, and I believe them, but holy moly, someone better make sure Victoria is appropriately medicated by then.
Braxton: If there were truly an exploration of the Ratliff brothers dealing honestly with their feelings about each other, I think that could get beyond the “ick” factor and enter territory that could be risky but revelatory. But there are too many other traumas for this show to explore, so I’m not holding my breath for the series to go there. As for Saxon, I don’t necessarily find him “soulless,” just clueless, like the kind of guy at a party who would say, “Well, enough about me. What do you think of me?”
What are you expecting from Greg/Gary’s party? Do you think Belinda will show up? Would you?
McNamara: Absolutely not. And if she does, I will be very disappointed. Frankly, I’m already disappointed that she hasn’t called the police, Interpol or whichever agency is seeking Gary. What’s wrong with an anonymous tip? As for Gary’s motivations, well, he is, and always has been, the least believable character in the “White Lotus” universe so pretty much anything is on the table, including Tom Hollander, having somehow survived the Season 2 shootout, showing up to take revenge.
Villarreal: As a real estate voyeur, I am curious to see more of Greg/Gary’s posh pad up on the hills. But judging from his yacht party, whatever this shindig is won’t be very lively (unless Chloe is passing out more of her pills). I do think Belinda will be intrigued enough to engage in some detective work and scope it out. But I’m telling you now, if anyone puts their hands on Belinda, I will send White a box full of poisonous fruit from a pong pong tree.
Braxton: Are you asking whether Belinda, who almost collapsed in fright after seeing a lizard in her room, would attend a party hosted by a guy she suspects might be trying to kill her? Of course she would. Duh!
Does Pornchai’s suggestion to help Belinda open a spa seem suspicious?
McNamara: Not really. If anything, the fact that Tanya was, essentially, the reason Belinda asked Pornchai to spend the night would make it a wonderful way for Tanya to sort of deliver on her initial promise. And for Belinda to have a happy ending, which I think we all want.
Villarreal: I, too, want Belinda to enjoy some romance. But my head did tilt to the side when Pornchai brought up opening a spa together. I’m not saying it isn’t possible the man is down that hard for her after one night, but I would think he’d be more concerned with helping her reach authorities to tip them off on Greg/Gary. So, yes, I’m wary of his intentions.
Braxton: It wasn’t the most romantic “we had a wonderful night” morning-after convo. Plus, Belinda has the right to be suspicious of any business proposition after what happened with Tanya. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice …
Beyond helping Rick carry out his plan, do you think there is more to Frank’s presence with that storyline?
McNamara: I certainly hope so — Sam Rockwell is too big a treasure to waste. I wonder if Jim Hollinger will turn out to be one of the men Frank encountered during his sexual escapades. It feels like someone should be; otherwise, why deliver that instantly iconic monologue?
Villarreal: Yes, I want to go down this rabbit hole. I have spent too much time trying to figure out what Frank’s head-spinning life update was trying to signal. I saw a theory that suggested it might be setting the stage for Rick to discover that his father might actually be Sritala.
Braxton: You mean Sam’s obvious Emmy-bait moment? I’m sorry. All the shock-and-awe hoopla over Frank’s “journey through Asian ladyboy hell and back” monologue skipped over a logical point. Frank has turned his decadent life around and has found peace with Buddhism and is so clean that he won’t let his lips touch alcohol, preferring chamomile tea. But securing a gun to Rick to commit a crime? No problemo, man. I don’t think that would be in the Buddhist guide of living a good life. Isn’t he concerned of his possible implication in a crime? When it comes to that exchange, I’ll stick with my “all for shock value” opinion.
Let’s dissect Victoria and the “fear of poverty” scene.
McNamara: First, let’s dissect her use of the term “comfortable life.” Talk about an understatement, but very revealing of the 1% mindset. I find Victoria very problematic — for an addict, she appears remarkably calm about her missing benzos. It would make more sense for her to be screaming down the place for a replacement prescription, not to mention a more thorough search of where they might have gone. Remember “Nurse Jackie” nearly tearing apart her car when her pills fell between the seats?
Villarreal: What struck me about this conversation was Tim’s reaction to it — as if he hadn’t been aware just how much his wife’s identity is tethered to their wealth and status, or at least their perceived wealth and status. I would have thought the pressure to maintain his grip on their lifestyle by engaging in fraudulent business dealings was at least partly motivated by that, so wouldn’t he expect their world crumbling down — especially with how she’s struggling to process Piper’s plan — to be so devastating that she’d take drastic measures, just as he’s tempted to do? And, sure, it could just be that her matter-of-fact, unequivocal delivery that she’d rather be dead than poor is so halting to him, considering his state of mind. There was also something both weirdly sinister and calming in how Victoria spoke while raising a bottle of essential oils to her nose — but maybe that’s just the Southern drawl at work.
Do you think Jaclyn will finish the Barbra Streisand memoir on this trip?
McNamara: Like she’s reading it in the first place.
Villarreal: Maybe it’s the murder weapon we didn’t see coming?
Braxton: She’s just looking at the pictures.
Who gets your Best Facial Expression award this week?
McNamara: Chelsea, after the incestuous hand-job revelation. Never has the word “what?” been infused with such a broad spectrum of emotion.
Villarreal: With a book of Rumi’s poetry splayed across her stomach, no less. The bulging eyes truly carried the moment.
Braxton: Rick’s death-eyes glare when finally seeing his father’s suspected killer.
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