White Lotus finale: 10 thoughts from a Thai American
I wanted more from Mook and Sritala.
Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watch the finale of White Lotus season three, leave now unless you don’t care about spoilers! 😎
No one puts the Boo in Buddhism better than Victoria Ratliff.
A week after the finale and The White Lotus is still being talked about everywhere. It was the subject of a (mostly clever) S.N.L. skit over the weekend, and Parker Posey’s southern accent is all over TikTok. At least, that’s what the algorithm served me.
The finale was longer than other episodes — an hour and a half — and attracted 6.2 million cross-platform American viewers, according to an HBO release.
This season’s Buddhist themes, wacky characters, and Thai setting had me hooked. Overall, I thought the ending was excellent but there were some things that could’ve been tweaked.
Here are 10 thoughts I had while watching the season three finale.
1. Mook was the Thai girl — and that’s it
Mook is played by the magnificent Lalisa Manobal, a.k.a. Lisa, a globally famous Thai K-pop star of BLACKPINK. Lisa brings stage presence to the screen and I love how expressive her eyes are, but she doesn’t have much to work with in terms of Mook’s character development. Beyond being the female love interest of Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), there wasn’t more to her.
We hardly know anything about Mook. She drives a moped to work. She is talented at lum, or traditional Thai dancing. She’s sweet and demure throughout most of the season until she goes on her date with Gaitok and watches Muay Thai fighters. That’s when we learn that she thinks Gaitok needs to work on his killer instinct to get ahead at work. Where did that come from? Who knows. Mook’s purpose in this story is being a prize to Gaitok.
There was potential to have Mook play a bigger role, in my opinion. Lisa shined in the role because she’s got star power, not because she was given any compelling lines or story development.
2. Gaitok sold out for the girl
I liked how nice Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) was even though he was bad at his security guard job. Ultimately, he betrayed his Buddhist morals by killing Rick (Walter Goggins) and got himself a job promotion and his girl Mook.
It didn’t have to be this way. In the short term, Gaitok may have gotten what he wanted but in the long-term he’ll have to live with the fact that he embraced violence and killed a man — and there’s no turning back from that.
Impressive how Thapthimthong, a British actor born to Thai immigrant parents, had to work on his Thai language skills to sound more Thai as Gaitok. And when Gaitok spoke English, he had to have a Thai accent.
3. Poor Pornchai lucked out
Poor Pornchai! He liked Belinda but she dumped him *and* his business proposition.
Even though Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) didn’t have a happy ending, it was amazing to see Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) get her $5 million. She took that money and ran! No one will appreciate this newfound wealth more than a working person. Maybe we’ll see Belinda as a guest next season.
4. Chelsea’s ‘amor fati’ = death
As soon as Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) explains the concept of amor fati and embracing your fate, I felt that she would die. “And at this point we’re linked, so if a bad thing happens to you, a bad thing happens to me,” she tells Rick.
Amor fati is also the name of the episode, which was another giveaway. Did anyone really think Chelsea and Rick gave happily ever after vibes? Similar to Mook, Chelsea’s role in the series was a bit of a prop for male characters. In Chelsea’s case, she was a barnacle on Rick and later, a huge loss in Rick’s last moments. She was also an interest of Saxon’s, providing him with spiritual books to read (like “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön).
5. Water in death was symbolic
When you’re born, you’re like a single drop of water. And when you die, you land back in the water.
That’s what a Buddhist monk, Luang Por Teera (Suthichai Yoon) told Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) in episode six (which was one of the best episodes this season, in my opinion).
We see Rick and Chelsea’s bodies float hauntingly in the water after they’re fatally shot. Rick has almost a smile on his face — no more suffering, as the monk had said about death.
When Lochlan (Sam Nivola) is getting sick from the poisoned fruit (side thought: I don’t understand why this boy is making smoothies with a dirty blender that’s just nasty) he has visions of himself underwater trying to swim to the surface where four shadows stand. It feels like he’s dying. In the vision he’s unable to reach them and his body floats through the water but never gets to the surface. Luckily, he throws up the poison and lives.
6. Identity is a prison
Buddhist monks provide thought-provoking ideas throughout this season. We see the season open and close with monk’s words. In the first episode, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) listens to Luang Por Teera’s Buddhism book:
Identity is a prison. No one is spared this prison. Rich man, poor man, success or failure. We build the prison, lock ourselves inside, then throw away the key.
It’s clear that several characters — Rick, Chelsea, Timothy, and even Piper in the end — are trapped by their identities.
The monk’s words in the season finale also set the tone for the episode, about how we sometime wake with anxiety. He says:
We want resolution. Solid earth under our feet. So we take life under our hands. We take action. Our solutions are temporary. They are a quick fix. They create more anxiety. More suffering. There is no resolution to life’s questions. It is easier to be patient.
I felt like these words spoke most to Rick’s actions, which led to all the carnage and suffering.
7. Carrie Coon’s monologue was gold
The three rich white ladies are all good. Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) said it can be a lonely world and we need our best friends — especially the ones that judge you for your “profound defects.” I think she’s half right.
I love when Laurie (Carrie Coon) says: “I don’t need religion or God to give my life meaning because time gives it meaning.” I teared up when she told her besties she loved them.
8. No more of Khun Sritala?
Sritala Hollinger (Lek Patravadi) is introduced as a visionary of the White Lotus wellness program. I was interested in learning more about how she started it but the show doesn’t dig too deeply into that.
Lotus is a major symbol in Thai culture and Buddhism, so it makes sense that its vision came from a Thai person. Did she name the hotel chain? How did she start this? Is she legitimate in her wellness beliefs or is she a shrewd business woman? Would’ve been interesting to explore more of Sritala’s character. The flashback to her singing when she was young was fun to watch and I liked how her background as an artist was a big part of her character.
Sritala’s another character I could see popping up in the next season, newly widowed and checking in the wellness program of another resort in the White Lotus chain.
Patravadi’s acting was on-point in the finale. Her pained shouting at Rick after he shoots her husband (“He’s your father!”) was cutting. And the anger and fear in her voice was palpable when she orders Gaitok to shoot Rick.
9. The Ratliffs’ story ended perfectly
Oh, Piper. I was rooting for you to prove yo mama wrong, but you were a rich girl all along. No stains on the mattress or non-organic food for you!
We don’t get to see the family’s full reaction to Timothy ruining their finances. Their story ends after they get their phones back and Timothy warns them that things are about to change. All we get is a slight turn of head from Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger).
We could’ve seen more but didn’t need to. In fact, I think their story ended in the perfect spot. Deciding to stop here reminded me of a wonderful talk I recently attended at the Schulz Museum between authors Kate DiCamillo and Ann Patchett. They mentioned “the art of the pause” in storytelling, and DiCamillo noted that good writing is also knowing what to leave out. Pausing the Ratliffs’ story right as they get the bad news was perfect — leaving the audience wanting more.
10. Victoria Ratliff needs a comeback
Mike White, please bring Victoria Ratliff back next season. 🙏🏽
There’s something about the way Parker Posey says Buddhism in a North Carolina accent that I can’t get out of my head, but it cracks me up.
“Noooo, Paia-per, noooo! Boo-dism. Tsunami.”
She speaks of Buddhism like there’s a boo in it. Like boogeyman. Or boohoo. Or boooooo you whore, Mean Girls style. I think “No, Piper, no!” is up there with “Run, Forrest, run!” from Forrest Gump — but way funnier.
There are so many zingers from Posey in The White Lotus. Well written and amazing delivery. Another favorite: “I just don’t think, at this age, that I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life. I don’t have the will.”
I’d love to see her back next season in a new location, freshly divorced from Timothy, on the prowl for a new rich man to be with who’s not a weirdo. Or, you know, attempting to murder his family.
OK, a few more thoughts…
Why didn’t Jim just tell Rick that he was his father? This was all one big confusion.
Rick dies wearing an elephant shirt. They say elephants never forgets, and Rick certainly never forgot how he thought he was wronged by Jim.
Monkeys had a big role showing up throughout the season. When Rick thought he made peace at one point, he tells Chelsea he got the monkey off his back.
I don’t blame the meditation teacher, Amrita (Shalini Peiris), for the shooting and I don’t know why some fans do. She was busy with another guest and was being profesh! The only people to blame are Rick and probably mean old Jim. (Side note: Amrita is also the first brown character on the show.)
Highlights for me in the penultimate episode were when Carrie Coon’s character escaped the Russian guy’s apartment after he turned out to be a scammer and seeing Muay Thai fighters.
I’m surprised Gaitok didn’t tell on Valentin and his Russian friends for stealing from the resort shop earlier. He struggled to report that but managed to kill on command.
When we see someone going to the Buddhist temple at the end of the finale, I thought it was going to be Gaitok, especially after killing Rick. But it ended up being Sam Rockwell’s character Frank, back to spiritual ways after a wild night and Rick’s death.
It would’ve been cool to see Thai Americans check into the White Lotus in Thailand, the way there were Italian Americans that checked into the White Lotus in Sicily. (Yup, I’m currently catching up on season two!)
✨Kwamsook nit noi✨
🌟A little bit of happiness🌟 to share with you. ความสุขนิดหน่อย
Happy Songkran! My mom and her little chihuahua🐾 visited us for Thai New Year, yay! Will share more about our Songkran celebrations soon.
