“The White Lotus” latest season is set in Thailand, and the show’s junior season did not disappoint. The show takes viewers to a different hotel each season in a beautiful location. The White Lotus season finale has come and gone and there is much to discuss regarding all the loose ends that were tied in this final episode. Viewers find out who shot the gun and which bodies were floating in the water in the first scene of the show eight weeks ago.
A Greek tragedy
“...because amor fati. Do you know what that means?” Chelsea said.
“I don't know what that means,” Rick, her boyfriend, said.
“It means you have to embrace your fate, good or bad. Whatever will be, will be,” Chelsea said.
Rick, played by Walton Goggins, goes to Thailand with his girlfriend, Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood. He goes to Thailand to meet the man that killed his father, based on what his mother told him.
Rick’s life-long hatred for the man who killed his father ends up being untrue, and he then fills that role. He wasted his life hating the “person” that killed his father, but he ends up being that person. Another key point of Rick’s tragic ending is that he could not accept the love he had in his life, Chelsea, because he only focused on the love he did not have when he was younger. He realized this too late after staring down at Chelsea after she was shot.
As humans it is so easy to focus on what we do not have, the love we didn’t get, the things we missed out on, or the pain that we had to suffer. But that is the human experience, and Rick was so resistant to that experience. He sat in his pain everyday, no doubt, but he could never allow that to be okay. He believed that once he killed his “father’s murderer” that he could find peace and in a way he did, from his own death, because Rick lived a life prioritizing and chasing needs that could never be fulfilled, and existential ideals.
Mike White, the showrunner, does a great job with reframing death, suggesting that it could be another step in life (a connection to the season’s topic: religion. Buddhism is at the forefront because of the Thailand location). Rick’s character seemed inept to move on from his pain and suffering, and it begs the question of the necessity of death that some people can feel.
Mike White called this plot “the classic Greek tragedy.” If only a couple of things would have happened differently, many lives would not have been lost.
The Ratliffs
The Ratliff family came to Thailand entitled, and left in similar fashion despite the father’s trouble with the law. When the Ratliff parents are faced with Piper’s confession about wanting to stay in Thailand for a year to become a Buddhist, Piper’s mother is not okay with this, due to the fact that it deviates from the lifestyle she expects of Piper. She worries that the Buddhist monastery is an untrustworthy cult.
After the finale, it is clear Mike White made a real commentary and parallels between cults and this fictional family’s values. Throughout the season this family racks up quite the list of activities on this trip. This includes suicidal attempts by the father, incest between siblings and the father’s familial murder suicide attempt (due to the financial troubles at home). All the family members have quite the superiority complex, especially the mother. Lochlan is the only one who is seriously threatened with death, as the father does not go through with the last part and it is the father that “saves” the son.
Piper decides not to stay in Thailand. It seems that all the Ratliff children have changed after this vacation. While they leave the hotel via a boat, they seem to all take the journey on the boat differently than how they came in. Piper loses her headphones and is staring up in the sky, Lochlan has his hands hidden in his pockets, and Saxon is seen reading the book Chelsea gave him. It is clear that Piper is leaning into her original path. Saxon is clearly affected by his connection and conversations with Chelsea. Chelsea tried so hard to change Rick but it seems she made a real impact on Saxon. The father finally begins to tell the family about his issues with the law at home, but the camera cuts away before we can gauge much reaction.
Gaitok’s morality
Thailand’s White Lotus resident security guard is Gaitok. During the season he is harboring feelings for Mook, another worker at the hotel, played by K-Pop star Lalisa Manobal. She makes it clear she wants him to get a promotion at the hotel, which means doing things Gaitok is not comfortable with. He believes in the Buddhist way of peace, while the job he wants for Mook’s sake is the opposite.
There was an internal turmoil all season with Gaitok, played by Tayme Thapthimthong. Will he do what it takes to earn Mook’s respect, or do what he finds morally sound?
The finale answers that question for us in a tense moment after Rick kills Jim, as Jim’s wife screams for Gaitok to shoot Rick. He ends up going through with it and it changes things for him exponentially. After the deaths, the audience is shown that he is dating Mook now, because he stepped up in that moment.
I think this shows that certain values are prioritized in life, power and masculinity are rewarded, despite the violence and chaos it can cause. Mook could represent the idea of what men think women want from them in general or romantic relationships, which oftentimes is based on the patriarchy to begin with. This storyline also shows the way of Buddhism that Gaitok wants to follow but decides against due to the pressures of society. Overall, these moments were interesting to watch but I believe it did not satisfy viewers as much as other plot lines in the show.
Girl’s trip
The final vacationers of this article that are worth note, are the three ladies who travel to Thailand as a reunion for childhood friends. An actress, a Texan and a lawyer all walk into a hotel but this discernment is not made till later episodes. The three women's names are hard to remember and they all look and feel similar. Trading niceties and smiles, while catching up on their lives and how they are doing.
Cut to many scenes where two of the ladies end up talking about the third person, who becomes an outlier. Laurie seems to be the outlier for most of the trip, she is not afraid to speak her mind and be straight up, unlike the other two women who tend to lean on the side of fake niceties.
Now regarding the finale, as a viewer I expected a fight and the women to leave this vacation no longer friends or at the least to not address their issues but still harbor resentment towards one another.
But this is why Mike White is such an exceptional writer.
Laurie, played by Carrie Coon, gives an amazing monologue at the women’s final dinner. When she begins talking, I sat waiting for her to go at them, and instead she does the opposite. She really opens up and is vulnerable with them, leaving the other two women with no material to gossip about anymore. Laurie shares how her life has felt non-successful with her career and love and she is scared that those anchors which should give her meaning, just didn't. This was such a powerful moment, this defied expectations of what female friendships can look like, to cut the competition and just share and find real solace in doing so.
While on the trip she had an epiphany that time gave her life meaning and that is why she cherishes these women so much. Laurie has known these women for almost her whole life and the time they have spent and grown together have much importance to her. Despite their issues and flaws between all the women, she accepts that and loves and wants their relationship still. These statements by Laurie really showed the love she felt for them.
“I am just happy to be at the table,” Laurie said.
Of course Mike White had to throw a little sadness underlying in this speech though. Laurie came in as the outsider in this friendship and in this speech she acknowledges this and is okay with that position. This outlines the truth that there will always be power dynamics in every relationship, that does not take away anything from her vulnerability and love from this speech. It is just a recognition and allowance of her position.
I found the three women's plot lines to be the most realistic and completely honest to the participation in women’s relationships.
Final words
White Lotus never leaves viewers with a happy ending, and that’s what makes the show what it is: realism. The sad, upended finale leaves viewers considering their choices and whether they can see themselves in the characters, perhaps not liking the reflection. I think between the three seasons there is a blatant consistency. I think all the seasons acknowledge that no matter where you travel there you are in the mirror. Mike White does a great job of bringing out the harsh realities of the society we live in and what introspection we should all do.
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