The White Lotus S3 Review – Tantalizing, Provocative, A Must See Indulgence
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Friday, 29 August 2025 12:13
- Written by Janet Walker
The White Lotus, from HBOMax, presents another installment in the widely popular destination, dramady as a new cast of players arrive at the luscious White Lotus Resort in Thailand, for a week of intrigue, adventure, and sex.
In additional to the staff, the guests arriving at the resorts luxurious Thailand retreat include lovers Rick Hackett, played by Walton Goggins, and Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood. Also on this rejuvenation trip are Hollywood star Jaclyn Lemon, played by Michelle Monaghan, and her two best friends, Kate, played by Leslie Bibb and Laurie played by Carrie Coon.
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Also arriving for a week's stay in paradise is The Ratliff Family including financier Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, his drug-addicted wife, Victoria, played by Parker Posey, and their children the sex-starved Saxon, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, his Buddhist leaning sister, Piper, played by Sarah Catherine Hook, and the youngest son, Lochlan, played by Sam Nivola.
Returning to this adventure is the White Lotus Maui Spa Manager Belinda, played by Natasha Rothwell, and Greg Hunt, played by Jon Gries, and his lover Chloe, played by Charlotte Le Bon.
For the fans of the series, each of the seasons viewers find themselves traveling along with the guests to exotic locals and indulging with them as they throw caution to the wind and allow the restraints of the lives they lead to fall away. And this season is no different.
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When we meet our guests, they are all arriving via boat, and the personalities are clear immediately. The confrontation begins with Hackett, who is a smoker, and the Ratliffe family who are sitting across from him and become subject to his second hand smoke. We understand immediately the dynamics between the pair, even as we don't yet know the financial status of each or what drives them, we understand the Ratliffe believe they are more sophisticated and refined then our smoker.
As they arrive on the island, we also meet the White Lotus hotel owner, Sritala Hollinger, played by Patravadi Mejudhon, who as a former actress is enamored with Jaclyn Lemon, and is directing the hotel manager Fabian, played by Christian Friedel, to have the boat circle the bay once more, so her hair and make-up will be impeccable.
Once everyone has arrived, the episodes break off into the individual storylines and unlike other seasons, Season three has no immediate cliffhanger. As the episodes build we understand each of our guests have issues, the Rick consumed by anger from his past treats everyone including his "soul mate" rudely, with disdain and disregard. No one else matters except this all consuming desire for vengeance.
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The gal pals are catching up as each one has their own baggage to shed before they can allow the intoxication of the Thailand to fully take over, and as they have been friends since grade school, they each see patterns rising in them that remind them of the past and the moments when they experienced hurt. For them, we understand Jaclyn is the star, and while she is gracious and kind, and they are successful, she is the star, and they are the entourage, and only entitled to her leftovers.
For the Ratliffe the family is filled with testosterone charged Saxon who is making this trip all about getting himself laid, and parading his cuter, younger, boyish, brother around to secure the deal. As we find early his mom, Victoria needs her anti-anxiety medication, like American Express she can't leave home without her meds. And Piper has a secret; she lied to her family to bring them here. She explained she needs to interview the leader of the local Buddhist colony for her thesis, when in fact she has decided she is returning to the colony to live after graduation. During the first days, Timothy is very much the man in charge. By the end of day one, he receives a phone call that a friend he was in business with decades ago has been arrested for money laundering, and now the feds are coming after him.
By mid-week, what was once a calm and tranquil paradise escape has become quite the opposite. Jaclyn and Laurie have reverted to their competitive high school days, and each are witnessing behaviors that are surprising. Chelsea, who also believes in astrology, is falling under a doomed cloud, as she in the jewelry shop as it is robbed, and bitten by a cobra snake when Rick decides, after smoking weed, the snakes need to be free. So now, they are dining with Gary, who is dating Chloe, and is seen by Belinda, and she is sure she knows him. During dinner she approaches him, and he explained his name is Gary not Greg, and there is no way she knows him. We later find out he is the late husband of Tanya, played by Jennifer Coolidge, and is still wanted in Italy for questioning.
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For the Ratliffe's, Timothy's situation deteriorates so rapidly that he makes the shock move to detox from technology for the remainder of the week and asks each of his family to do the same. So now, even with no technology or connection to the outside world, he understand he and his family are going to face a troubling and possibly insurmountable world once they return to the states. While he tries to hide his despair, he begins to sneak his wife anti-anxiety medicine and becomes so lost and despondent he contemplates suicide and then worse.
For the sex starved Saxon, the night they spend on Gary's yacht celebrating the full moon becomes a night that even he, with his porn mind, and sexual boosting, is unable to reconcile.
A night in Bangkok for Rick and Frank, an old friend, played by Sam Rockwell, provide the requisite anything goes drinking, drugging, multi-partner sexual perversions.
There are also other smaller storylines with the hotel staff, as this season we see everyone has an angle, and for some that means turning away from the past tethers and become. And while it seems like the Tanya and Gary/Greg storyline is completed, the idea that the bad guy wins seems is the antithesis of justice, which happens frequently when art mirrors life.
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With 23 Emmy nominations, The White Lotus is a must see indulgence as much for the extremes as for the magical destinations. The cinematography during this season was artistic, creative, and imaginative, especially for the many who will never visit the Far East, it is enchanting, and awe-inspiring.
Seven of the nominations went to Supporting Actors, which included Carrie Coon, Walton Googins, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Sam Rockwell, Natasha Rothwell and Aimee Lou Wood. The awards ceremony will be held on September 14, 2025. The show also received a nomination for Outstanding Drama series as well as technical achievements.
The White Lotus doesn't shy away from nudity and like the other seasons there is full frontal male nudity, drug use, multiple partners scenes and sexual extremes.
Tantalizing, alluring, and exotically enticing, The White Lotus Season 3 is an enjoyable voyeuristic extravagance. Stream in now on HBOMax.
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Country: U.S.
Runtime: 8 episodes/60 minutes, 353minutes total.
Language: English, Thai with English subtitles.
Director: Mike White.
Producer: Todd Brown, Heather Persons, John M. Valerio.
Executive Producer: Mike White, David Bernad, Mark Kamine.
Writer: Mike White.
Cast: Aimee Lou Wood, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Parker Posey, Sam Nivola, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Sarah Catherine Hook, Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Natasha Rothwell, Jon Gries, Sam Rockwell, Scott Glenn, Praya Lundberg, Morgana O'Reilly, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Julian Kostov, Charlotte Le Bon, Arnas Fedaravicius, Tayme Thapthimthong, Patravadi Mejudhon, Lalisa Manobal, Bancha Mutaporn, Nopphasin Nanthasit.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has completed the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," are available on Amazon. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
