Review: The White Lotus Season 3

A slightly directionless third season still manages to leave a lasting impression

3.5/5

It’s not difficult to see why Mike White’s The White Lotus became such a mainstream phenomenon in the wake of its 2021 debut; White’s darkly comedic dialogue and the stunning backdrop of an exotic resort perfectly contrast each other in every new season, and . Besides, watching spoiled, rich hotel guests wrapped up in their intertwining personal conflicts and sinister conspiracies is unfailingly fun to watch. To an extent, fans of the first two seasons know what to expect by now: family dramas, breakups, get-back-togethers, and by the end of the season, at least one killing. With season 3 bringing in a new cast of love-to-hate guests and long-suffering employees occupying a wellness retreat on the Thai island of Koh Samui, how does it stack up to the previous entries in the anthology series?

Firstly, season 3 of The White Lotus is absolutely beautiful. The show has always been unquestionably gorgeous to look at, and once again the visual language effortlessly matches the tone of every scene. Attenborough-esque wildlife shots and flowing cultural dances consistently backdrop the insecurities of the hotel guests at every turn. Nature itself has often felt like its own character in The White Lotus, and this season is no different. It’s achingly foreboding, the bouncing monkeys and encroaching waves almost seeming to mock the blissfully ignorant characters. The score too, is equal parts soothing and horrifying. Unnerving chants and frantic drums perfectly encapsulate the wonder and excitement of these characters' vacation, but also the unshakeable dread lying beneath. Especially in the season’s conclusion, this music makes it almost impossible to remain calm while seeing tensions come to a head. As a result, the dark, skin-crawling energy that has come to define the show is still very much present amongst the comedy of it all.

In typical fashion, this season enlisted an impressive number of vaguely recognisable character actors who are, without fail, brilliant to watch. One standout is certainly Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff, a hilariously high-strung mother figure with a comical Southern drawl (to which Posey is admirably committed). She’s extravagantly stylish and painfully snobby but Posey delivers such a tired nonchalance about the character it’s almost impossible to truly dislike her. In a similar vein, the trio of backstabbing childhood friends, Laurie (Carrie Coon), Kate (Leslie Bibb), and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), are enjoyably two-faced but remain just endearing enough for us to hope they work things out. Each relationship feels genuinely intricate, and the nuances of every character moment are portrayed so expertly, it’s almost easy to forget how little screentime some of these characters receive. Unfortunately, this is where the season begins to struggle under its own weight. With two more episodes to work with than the show’s first season, this one arguably bites off more than it can chew with the amount of plotlines being tossed back and forth. The show’s existing status may be a slight disadvantage in this regard, but many of the well-performed characters feel almost like a rehash of those from previous seasons, or worse, like they simply never matter to the bigger picture at all. Privileged kids and horny old men are blatantly familiar ground for The White Lotus and, while season 3’s characters still have many poetic moments of their own, several of them feel based in slightly stale concepts. Funny dialogue and awkward run-ins absolutely count for something and ensure the season is never actively boring, but many conflicts feel predictable and simply take too long to reach any kind of resolution. Extremely high stakes are established for certain characters from the very first episode, and other character arcs feel quite underwhelming compared to the much deeper mysteries being sidelined. White leans into the understated charm of past seasons, but the pacing doesn’t feel quite right this time. The characters often seem to operate on completely different timescales except for when they actively share the space and the end result, despite its thrilling moments, is a little bit of a mess. 

None of this is to say The White Lotus season 3 isn’t a good time. It’s a solid entry to the series and, while it could have been more tightly structured plot-wise, it still explores a whole range of human dynamics and experiences in their rawest form. Each episode has just enough drama to keep the average viewer invested, certain moments are comically outrageous, and the finale certainly closes things with a bang. This eventual thrill feels very overdue and wraps things up with slightly too much haste, but it certainly embraces the chaos and poignancy in equal measure. All things considered, The White Lotus is still an aesthetically stunning show full of terrific performances even if its latest outing was a slight lull in the show’s usual quality.