Spoilers Ahead!
I, just like so many of you, got sucked into the magic that is the world of Max’s The White Lotus. While before spring break I hadn’t even watched the first season in its entirety, I came back to Isla Vista completely caught up and anxious to find out how Mike White would finish up this third season of the show, now taking place in the beautiful and mysterious Thailand! The finale gave viewers satisfaction over correctly guessed conclusions, yet upsetting ends for beloved characters. Let’s get to the debrief — group by group!
The insane Ratliff family
There is a lot to unpack here. Timothy Ratliff attempts to murder his family, except for Lochlan. Yet Lochlan is the one who actually dies. Then, Lochlan somehow comes back to life? It was a lot to keep up with. I am honestly glad this season is over so that I do not have to keep stressing out about Timothy and his financial situation. Or his incestuous kids. Since Piper turns out to share her mother’s shallow roots, Saxon Ratliff’s transformation made him my favorite character out of the whole family by the end of the show!
P.S. Did you hear about the deleted romantic scene between Piper and Zion revealed in a post-episode podcast with Mike White? Apparently, they just didn’t have enough time to include it in the finale. Yeah… pretty crazy!
Our beloved yin and yang
Chelsea. Deserved. Better. But once I saw that beautiful sunset scene of Chelsea and Rick’s reunion, I knew they were both done for. Mike White was not kind enough to give us this beautiful moment without some devastation to follow. And upon further reflection, Chelsea had been predicting her own demise throughout the whole season. After her near-death experiences of witnessing the armed robbery and the emergency trip room post-snake bite, she twice referenced the “rule of three” and how something else was waiting for her. Chelsea also talked about the “yin and yang” of her and Rick’s relationship, how she was Hope and he was Pain. Unfortunately for her, Pain won.
Another thing about this couple, I personally thought Jim being Rick’s father was way too cliche and totally giving “Luke, I am your father” vibes. I think we all saw this moment coming, but I don’t know why they decided to add this in after the damage was done. Did they just want our hearts to hurt a little bit more when Chelsea and then Rick got shot moments later? Does this prove that Rick was safe throughout his whole panic episode, or was Jim planning on attacking him anyway? While it was nice to have a theory verified, I don’t think adding in this aspect did much to help the storyline, except to make the audience more hearbroken.
The terrible… turned terrific(?) Trio
I don’t really know how I feel about this one. I was shocked when Laurie decided that her friendship with Kate and Jaclyn was worth something? I think in this case, Mike White was trying to show that female friendships can be complicated, but that they are also important. Yes, each of the three friends is deeply flawed, but at the end of the day, they prove that while men, careers, and lifestyles can get messy, your friends will always be there for you. While it seemed abrupt in the way White ended their time on the show, I am glad he did not leave them in a toxic spiral but instead in a grateful space.
Holy Belinda!
Okay, Belinda and Zion were definitely the victors of this season. After their masterful negotiation with Greg/Gary, I was quite impressed. I just feel bad for poor Pornchai. Belinda did exactly to him what Tanya did to her in season one when she left despite promises of starting a business together. While I was sad to see Belinda throw away some of her strong morals, I am happy for her that she survived yet another sketchy experience.
So in all, this season was a rollercoaster for sure. While I think I will need more than a week to recover from the loss of our dear Chelsea, I am also just so excited about finding out where the next season will take place. My guess is Morocco or somewhere else on the continent of Africa!