(may contain spoilers)
Douban rating: 6.8
Director: Mike White
Starring: Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Lisa
Douban Comments: “Unlike the first two seasons, this one doesn’t have any characters who immediately shine with charm from the moment they appear. The satire is more blunt, and the humor feels toned down. While Season 1 fired shots at class and race, and Season 2 tackled gender dynamics, this season seems to focus on the mind, body, and soul. It’s all about the inner anxiety eating away at each character – everyone’s quietly falling apart.
Now for the classic who dies, who’s the killer guessing game:
Hotel staff Lisa and the unlucky security guard.
The stereotypical white middle-class family – on the surface, they seem like the perfect couple with great kids. But underneath, the dad is hypocritical and controlling, caught in a personal crisis he can barely handle. The eldest son is your typical American straight guy, obsessed with sex, always chasing after rich girls. The daughter is insecure and lost, ready to break ties with both her family and her class. And the youngest son is secretly lusting after his older brother.
The seemingly close-knit trio of girlfriends – a washed-up actress, a show-off married to a rich man, and an ordinary career woman struggling at work. They reminisce about their youth while quietly competing, envying, and fake-praising each other.
The hollowed-out white husband haunted by his father’s murder, paired with his pretty but brainless younger wife.
Tanya’s husband, who murdered his previous wife and is now hiding out here with his beautiful, much-younger new wife.
The spa masseuse, who was the only one in Season 1 to recognize Tanya’s husband, and her deeply anxious son.”
“The Ratliff family represents a typical elite household. The ambiguous relationship between the brothers, along with the subtle hints of taboo between the sister and younger brother living together, reveal the twisted desires lurking beneath the polished surface of the upper class.
Rick and Chelsea’s age-gap relationship, and Jaclyn’s fake friendship with her ‘plastic’ socialite girlfriends, continue the show’s exploration of sex, money, and power. Intimacy among the wealthy is ultimately a game of resource exchange, and the lower classes are always the ones sacrificed in this process.
Belinda, as a branch manager, plays a dual role – both as an enforcer within the capitalist system and as someone being exploited by it. Rick’s search for the resort owner’s missing husband hints at a deeper thread, one that may eventually shake the power structure of the resort itself. These clues suggest that in Season 3, death may no longer be confined to those at the bottom, but may strike directly at the top of the power pyramid.
The brilliance of The White Lotus lies in how it never offers the illusion of redemption. The floating corpse at the very start is a grim promise of how it all ends. The hypocrisy of the wealthy might get briefly exposed, but the rot runs deep and will inevitably be passed down through generations. Just like the Ratliff children – despite witnessing their parents’ ugliness, they are still wrapped in the halo of elite education, destined to become the next generation of ‘White Lotus’.”
“My standard for judging a good show these days is simple: does the first episode grab me right away, or does it drag? The White Lotus, congrats – you nailed it! Season 3 looks like it’s going to be the best one yet. It’s centered around my favorite theme: vacation and healing. And it’s got that same familiar vibe -middle-class people with way too much self-awareness, living completely inside their own heads, endlessly talking without ever considering how others feel.
After the first episode, it’s already a 5-star rating from me. This show is so good. It’s the kind of series you want to really savor and soak in every frame. The soundtrack and atmosphere are still absolutely perfect. And Lisa is so adorable.”
