White Lotus III Episode Five
A recap and review…
SPOILER ALERT!
Full-Moon Party
The closing of episode 4 marked the halfway point of the season and it’s safe to say the tempo has increased somewhat. Various storylines are beginning to converge and we have been primed for the upcoming evening: the night of the Full Moon. We were expecting events to take an even darker turn, particularly with Gaitok’s gun in Timothy’s possession, and we were not left disappointed.
Episode 5 picks up the reins moments after Gaitok’s (Tayme Thapthimthong) discovery, as he frantically searches for the gun. If it wasn’t where he’d left it, it was hardly going to be in another drawer, but he checks nonetheless! Eventually accepting it is gone, Gaitok consults the security footage. Of course, it is Timothy (Jason Isaacs) who is the culprit.
Back at the hotel restaurant, Timothy struggles to digest his reality: his ill-gotten luxurious lifestyle faces imminent destruction and he is to be exposed as a conman, the type of person his wife so vehemently despises. Despite the terror plastered across his face, attention turns to Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), who nervously reveals her plans. The thesis she was supposedly working on was a pretence to convince her family to take the trip to Thailand; what she really wants is to join a meditation programme for ‘at least a year’. ‘You want to live in Taiwan?!” retorts a horrified (and confused) Victoria (Parker Posey) and she assumes the look on her husband’s face is shock at Piper’s announcement. Observing from afar is Gaitok as he contemplates his next steps, eyes flicking between the Ratliffs and a dancing Mook (Lalisa Manobal). Timothy departs the table and Gaitok takes the opportunity to confront him, albeit pretty weakly. Tim cooly acts none-the-wiser, but Gaitok isn’t fooled; security footage doesn’t lie. With the gun still in Timothy’s possession, how will Gaitok go about getting it back? I’m fearful he will go to the Ratliff’s hotel room to search for it, only to be caught and blamed for the missing lorazepam. He’d lose his job and any chance of a relationship with the ambitious Mook. Mind you, he is arguably Thailand’s most incompetent security guard, so perhaps a career change wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Rick (Walton Goggins) didn’t heed Chelsea’s advice to refrain from seeking out Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) whom Rick believes killed his father. Now in Bangkok, Rick is being ferried through the bustling streets on the way to meet Frank* (Sam Rockwell), the man Rick spoke to in an earlier episode. The old friends meet in a plush hotel and catch up over drinks. Tellingly Frank orders a camomile tea, prompting him to embark on an exposing monologue about his newfound celibacy, sobriety and religion and the risqué sexual fetishes they have replaced. Having been expecting a wild, alcohol-fuelled meet, Rick looks completely stunned, yet engrossed as Frank describes dressing as an Asian girl and have sex with men who look like him. Frank may now be a camomile tea-drinking celibate Buddhist but it doesn’t stop him delivering Rick what he had asked for: a gun. By my records, this is the third gun we have seen this season, leaving us guessing which one will be fired in the fateful shoot-out.
Elsewhere, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lochlan (Sam Nivola), Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) remain aboard the yacht, unshackled from their respective parents and partners. Chloe is charmed by Lochlan, ‘the little magician’, and discloses to Chelsea dissatisfaction with Greg/Gary’s sexual offerings, describing him as a monk. Hardly… Chelsea, however, insists she could never be unfaithful to Rick. Their relationship certainly fits a White Lotus pattern of first impressions being deceiving. Initially presented as mismatched, it’s increasingly clear there is a genuine compatibility between them, something that can rarely be said of couples featured in the White Lotus.
Claiming to not take drugs and then proceeding to do so is something that clearly runs in the male lineage of the Ratliffs. Saxon caves to peer pressure and accepts Chloe’s ‘candies’. From here it all gets a little weird. Chelsea’s loyal allegiance to Rick falters and her and Chloe performatively kiss much to the delight of the brothers. But then it is their turn and the incestuous relationship between them heavily hinted at in episode one finally comes to fruition. What happens next is left to our imagination but a foursome could well be on the cards. The ambiguity is reminiscent to season two, when Daphne and Ethan may or may not have had sex in a Sicilian cave.
Amidst the fun and games, some ominous lines stuck out to me. Whilst out clubbing, Lochlan playfully tells Saxon that he is going to bring him down. With every line intentional, I don’t believe this is simply brotherly banter. Back on the boat Chelsea expresses her frustration to Chloe that Rick is the only one allowed to feel pain and questions the validity of her own pain: “Bad things have happened to me too,” she says. Chelsea is a creation of Mike White so of course there is more to her than the bubbly persona at the surface. In the same conversation, Chloe casually remarks that she thinks her boyfriend ‘Gary’ (Jon Gries) is capable of killing her. We already know this, but does this suggest he is going to strike again?
Outcompeting Saxon, Lochlan, Chloe and Chelsea for a good time are our three cougars. After Jaclyn’s (Michelle Monaghan) plans for a good time were foiled by some mischievous planning by Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius), the ladies go about rectifying that by hitting the club scene. Tagging along are the three enigmatic Russians. They go heavy on the shots and end up in the hotel pool. Watching uncomfortably from the sun loungers is Kate (Leslie Bibb) in her buttoned-up PJs, whose reluctance to join them implies it is not just her politics that distinguishes her from Jaclyn and Laurie (Carrie Coon). She was, however, right to be sceptical about Jaclyn’s ‘happy couple’ facade with Harrison in episode two. Despite playing matchmaker for Laurie and Valentin, it is in fact Jaclyn who ends up sleeping with him, secretly inviting him back to her room when the others have called it a night.
Thank goodness Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is still here to counter the chaos elsewhere. Of all her appearances since season one, this episode was her chance to shine and boy did she impress. After piecing together the mystery of Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) death and Greg’s involvement, she shares her intel with Fabian (Christian Friedel), the hotel manager. Unfortunately he fails to grasp the danger of the situation, much to Belinda’s incredulity. Her exasperated attempts to explain are met with wilful ignorance and it is a funny exchange to watch. Fabian practically reprimands her for speaking ill of guests. Undeterred Belinda returns to Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) to explain and he vows to protect her. He starts straight away, humanely removing a lizard from her room. Pornchai suggests Belinda must have left the window open. Could the lizard in fact be evidence of Greg breaking into her room? I’m not really sure what the point of that would be though, unless he was putting some Pong Pong fruits in her fruit bowl…
Belinda and Pornchai clearly both struggle asserting their own desires but finally get there. After an awkward yet elegant dance of pleasantries, with Pornchai asking which bed he should sleep in, Belinda explicitly giving her ‘consent’ and checking if it’s a thing in Thailand, they kiss. Cue a gentle rendition of the White Lotus soundtrack. The cameras leave to preserve their dignity.
In the episode’s final moments, the weight of the gun becomes too much for Timothy. In his Duke T-shirt, he sits at the table with the gun as he pens a suicide note. Surely Jason Isaacs had signed up for more than five episodes, I was thinking to myself… And yes he had. Finally proving herself useful, Victoria interrupts in a timely fashion. Timothy successfully scrambles to conceal the gun and note and manages to brush off Victoria’s concern. She tells him he’s succeeded in every way and sweet talks him back to bed. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.
The theme of this week was self-discovery. Piper set out her plans to find meaning. The Full-Moon parties were a chance for several characters to let loose, especially for Saxon and Lochlan who found themselves pushing, er, conventional boundaries. Belinda finally let her own needs be met. And let’s not forget Frank’s deranged monologue to confront his ‘Achilles’ Heel’.
A high bar has been set this episode, but there is still much to look forward to next week. Rick has asked Frank to keep ‘tomorrow night’ free for him, presumably to meet Jim Hollinger, the enigmatic hotel owner. What will Rick learn about the man who supposedly killed his father and what will he do about it? As the pills wear off, how will Saxon come to terms with his misadventures aboard the yacht? I think he’ll come to regret it more than his little brother Lochlan. Belinda is expecting Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) so will soon have two doting men at her side. And of course the hotly anticipated fight is coming up, with Kate, Laurie, Jaclyn and Gaitok all invited as spectators. If Gaitok wants to keep his job, he should probably stay in the booth for now.
With three episodes to go and three guns in circulation, it’s all to play for. The body floating in the moat remains anonymous, but I would expect nothing less from The White Lotus. We are always left waiting till the very end to be served up with something that never fails to surprise.