The White Lotus Recap | S3E6: Denials

Welcome back to the White Lotus, Katie.

Well, thank you so much for having me.

I'm thrilled to be here.

This episode was a doozy.

I'm very excited to talk about it.

But we're gonna be here a long time, I feel.

Yeah.

We started extra early this morning because this episode, this, this, this show revving up.

What else is there to say is.

And I'm seeing a lot of like, people on social media saying for anyone who says it's boring, like you need to see the last two episodes, which I agree.

They definitely made the slow start worth it.

Yeah.

And the anxiety that we felt over the la.

The first four episodes perfectly led up to these most recent five and six, I think.

I agree.

So before we get into it, I, I think we should share a content warning because we are going to talk about suicide in this episode, which obviously can be very distressing.

So I just wanted to say if you need resources or support in Canada or the USA, you can call or text 9, 8, 8.

This is a lifeline that's available 247 and it provides free confidential support from trained counselors.

Okay, so before we get into today or this week's episode, I did want to follow up on our discussion last week about the scene between Valentin.

Valentin and the other Russians because I mentioned that I have a friend who speaks Russian.

Yes, she grew up in Russia.

She's actually Tartar, which I'll actually say because a lot of people don't know this.

Tartar is a Turkic ethnic group and they are the largest minority in the Russian.

Russian Federation.

They have a distinct culture and they speak their own language along with Russian.

And over the centuries they've faced various forms of discrimination, repression and forced assimilation.

So just through this friend of mine, I've learned so much about what it is to be Tatar and their language and stuff.

And I just, I think it's so interesting.

So I just wanted to share that in case people don't know this, that Russia is so diverse.

So she speaks Tartar and Russian and I asked her to translate that scene for me and she did.

And her reaction was really funny.

I was with her in person and she was just like laughing out loud and she was like, oh, they're just, they're just having like a back and forth.

Like they're definitely in some sort of situationship and the women are giving them shit because they haven't been calling or texting or saying where they are.

And she said it was just funny because they were using, I guess like Russian swear words.

Oh, and she explains, like, one of the phrases that they said, and she said, it's like, it's a very Russian phrase, and it doesn't translate to English well.

And then I also asked her what her perspective is of these characters, and she.

Because I told her, I was like, I got the feeling that maybe they're being stereotyped a little bit.

And she.

She was like.

Like, yes, but the stereotypes are true.

She told me.

She was like, I'm not upset by this representation of Russians in this show.

So funny.

I still stand by the fact that Vlad is the most stereotypical one.

Yeah, definitely.

Anyways, that is Farida's take on our Russian friends in White Lotus.

Thank you for the update, Aaron.

That was very exciting.

And shout out to Farida.

So last week's episode was like.

I felt like last week's was this, like, really beautiful, choreographed climax of all the slowly building tensions and all the story arcs of the season.

And then this week's episode felt kind of like the fallout, or like the beginning of the fallout, because everyone is unraveling, everyone is suffering.

This season is quite dark.

Like, they're all dark, but this one has, like, it's gotten dark real fast.

Yeah.

I saw some commentary online.

I don't know how I got sucked into this area on threads of shadow work people, but they were saying that every character in White Lotus is an example of someone's shadow coming forward right now.

And everybody's shadow is, like, present at this moment of the show.

Interesting.

All right, well, we have to start with Saxon, because throughout this episode, Saxon is absolutely, absolutely reeling because he is grappling with the fragmented memories that are coming back to him about the night before.

I really loved how, throughout this episode, it was very slowly revealed to us through his flashbacks and then through a conversation with Chloe and Chelsea, that Saxon and Lachlan not only made out with tongue, as Luke pointed out, very important, but Lachlan jerked Saxon off and, like.

Just the whole vibe of Saxon basically, like, cuckolding while his little brother has sex next to him, like, yeah.

Couldn'T be me.

Early in the day, he and Lachlan encounter each other on the boat, and Lachlan tells him, kind of alarmingly, honestly, that he does not remember anything.

He's, like, completely blacked out.

And Saxon hops on this opportunity to say that he doesn't remember anything either.

So it's established that they both think that they've both blacked out.

I think that Saxon just can't comprehend the meaning of what has happened between him.

And Lachlan, this is the most fragile we've ever seen him.

It comes off to me like he's in a clearer crisis of identity.

And I was thinking about it and I imagined that this crisis is especially intense for him because he is so constrained by his like, hyper masculine identity.

I was also thinking, I wrote down like the, the depiction of Saxon the morning of or the morning after is like the perfect depiction of hangxiety.

That's so true.

Like, even.

Because in the, in the first instance, we don't know.

Like, he kind of has these blurry flashbacks.

He really has no idea what happened, but poss an idea and is like just very like, oh God about it.

And that is like the feeling of anxiety after like a long night out.

And you wake up and you just like start replaying like all the conversations that you had or trying to remember, like, did I annoy all those people last night?

It's funny though, because this is like probably one of the only sources where I would say the anxiety is warranted.

Very warranted.

Very warranted.

This is probably the most extreme depiction of hang anxiety that could possibly, possibly happen to a person.

I don't know.

And probably one of my favorite scenes was when Saxon is forced to talk to Chloe and Chelli, Chelly, Chloe and Chelsea about the events of the night.

Because in that conversation, obviously it comes up, Chelsea was there, Chloe was there, and he blames the incest on the drugs.

And Chelsea is so funny in this scene.

I thought she was so iconic.

Like, her facial expressions were hilarious.

And she says to Saxon, when he brings up the drugs, I don't think there's a drug in the world that would make me get with my brother.

So funny.

Oh, so good.

Now, okay, are we, are we discussing this in full now?

Because I have thoughts about this whole.

Situation about the incest.

Yeah, Yeah, I think it's time.

Yeah.

Okay, so I just want to say Saxon has been creepy about his siblings sex lives since day one.

Yeah, he has been like super stoked about getting Lachlan laid.

He has been talking about his own sister being a virgin or whatever.

I listen, Saxon, this is exactly what he wanted from day one.

He was flying too close to the sun, basically.

Like, he was walking around naked in front of Lachlan, talking to him about porn and like all these things.

This man has been fully coming on to his brother since the first day.

And I'm sorry.

Like, this is what he wanted.

This is what he wanted.

I don't know that, like, I think he was.

I Don't know that he was coming on to his brother, but I think it's sort of his, like, hyper masculinity has made him hypersexual as well.

But it could be that he has an incest fetish.

Like, this is a thing, people do have it and he is not emotionally mature enough, I don't imagine, to have, like, worked through that.

So my impression is that, like, it's an accident, but it may be representative of things going on with Saxon that he just hasn't grappled with himself.

Yeah.

And, like, he's too wrapped up in his hyper masculinity.

I think you're right in that.

Also, you know, when, like, hyper masculinity, it just gets so.

It's like kind of like a left wing, white right wing thing where, like, it gets so masculine that it starts to get a little bit gay.

Like, I feel like totally.

That's where we're at right now.

And I'm sorry, but, like, the whole phrase drunken words are sober thoughts.

I don't know if that's necessarily accurate.

I think it is a lot of the time, though.

And the fact that, yeah, like, Jack Saxon is, like, actively trying to come to his brother, that, to me is like a choice in that moment, like a sexual preference in that moment.

Otherwise he could have just, like, got up and, like, tried to keep creeping on Chelsea, you know?

So, like, my other thought was that, like, maybe Saxon is gay and he's just so repressed.

This is the only time in his life that, like, through some, like, crazy spin of events, he's ended up in a situation, like in a sexual situation with another man and oops, it's his brother.

Like, that's my other man he feels the most comfortable around.

Maybe.

Yeah, it's quite the situation to wake up and face.

Yeah, we're definitely going to see things unravel a bit more because of this.

There's another interaction that I think is interesting and worth noting between Saxon and Chelsea because they've run into each other at the pool and she comments to him that he seems freaked out.

That's an understatement.

He tells her he's annoyed that she refused to hook up with him.

He's so upset, obsessed with, like, power and dominance.

Like, he just truly, like, cannot accept rejection.

It's really disgusting.

And so she replies to him that she has a boyfriend who is her soulmate.

And she says to him, once you've connected with someone on a spiritual level, you can't go back to cheap sex.

Hooking up with you would be an empty experience.

And then she follows this up by saying that he is soulless.

You're a soulless person.

Howling because she's right.

It's interesting because, like, in this moment, I feel like him complaining that Chelsea wouldn't hook up with him.

Such a deflection of the situation that happened.

He wants to, like, just not think of.

It's almost like he wants to blame it on that.

Like, he's just grasping at straws.

Yeah.

It didn't feel like a genuine.

I don't know if the word is request.

Genuine, like desire in that moment when he's saying that to Chelsea, I feel like it's just him saying something to deflect from this situation.

Because after she says he's a soulless person, he looks very, like, pensive.

Also, the pursuit of Chelsea just like, really grosses me out because it's just like he just wants to conquer her because she back talks him.

Like, she doesn't give him the time of day.

She is partnered.

It's really just like a conquering thing for him.

It's not that he's like, in to Chelsea or like, finds her particularly attractive.

And it's not only conquering Chelsea, it's conquering Rick too, where he's like, why does this old guy have this hot woman?

I want to have her and I deserve her more than this guy.

So, yeah, I also wrote down, like, notably, Chelsea does not cheat on Rick.

Love this.

Good for Chelsea.

This line, though, made me think that Chelsea is a bit delulu because I kind of see it before her and Rick, but their relationship is not great.

And is it really one that you would say is on a spiritual level?

Like, something I've noticed is, like every conversation they have.

Have you ever heard Rick ask Chelsea something about herself?

Like when they get on the phone in this episode, does not ask her how her night was.

Does not ask her where she is.

Like, literally doesn't care about her.

So I think that she's like, built up this relationship and is a little delulu about it's giving like, fix me energy or fix him energy.

Where like, this is like a common thing amongst women is like, we.

We think that we can like, help heal men and it's not good for her.

I feel bad for Chelsea.

The only time I, like, I took like a look at their interaction was when, yeah, when they were on the phone and she says something and he says, you're an idiot or something like that.

And then she's just like, kind of Makes a sassy remark, and then she's like, I miss you.

Come home.

And then they seem to, like, soften.

And I was like, is this just, like, a bantery thing that they do?

But, yeah, he still does not show the same level of care that she shows to him.

And I think Chelsea is real.

You deserve better than this.

Yeah, for sure.

This man just ditched you in Thailand to go kill this guy that he's been chasing for the last 50 years.

Like.

Like, if my partner was doing that.

I would expect to be invited.

To be honest, I would be really offended if Luke and I were in Thailand and he was like, I'm going to go kill the person that killed my father.

You can't come.

I would be like, what the hell?

Actually, I'm your soulmate, so I want to be there with you for this.

Exactly.

This is a pretty monumental moment in your life.

Yeah.

All right, so let's get into the rat lists, because a lot goes down with the rattles, too.

Really quick.

Really quick, because at the pool, Chelsea and Chloe are talking, and Chelsea says, you're Libra Rising.

That makes you a good person to Chloe, who thinks Gary is gonna dump her and suspects that she hooked up with one of the brothers, but she actually hooked up with both.

And I looked up like, what the.

What is Libra Rising?

To see what this means.

And so your rising sign is how people perceive you.

Yeah.

And so Libra Rising is, quote, a diplomatic and charming first impression, emphasizing balance, harmony, and fairness in social interactions and relationships.

And this is kind of funny since she got with both brothers.

Very egalitarian of her.

Chloe's not a great person.

No, she's a.

She's not a very likable character.

Not a good person.

All right, so to continue with the grim.

Yeah, things are extremely grim for Timothy.

The episode opens with Timothy shooting himself.

And.

Holy shit.

I did not realize that was a dream sequence.

I truly screamed.

I truly thought it was real.

I was like, this is too much.

They can't do this.

Like, in episode what is the six?

Yeah, it was a dream sequence.

He did not.

But Timothy's definitely having a lot of suicidal ideation.

And we'll see this continue in the episode.

He has a second dream in which he kills Victoria to save her from the misery of the consequences they're gonna face when they go back to the US So he kills her as well as himself.

So, yeah, that's how the episode opens.

And then following that suicidal ideation, Timothy goes and stashes the gun in a Random cabinet in the villa.

Oh, I just wanted to.

I made a note about this.

The decorative furniture with many, numerous empty drawers is alive and well.

It's so funny when you go to these resorts and there's, like, all this furniture or even, like, any hotel that's, like, so cutely decorated, and then it just occurs to you as you're standing there that you're surrounded by empty drawers, and, like, you're like, why are there so many drawers around here?

And it's just because it's part of the aesthetic.

So many opportunities to lose something.

Nobody uses any of the drawers.

I don't know about you, Erin, but when you go to a hotel, do you unpack your stuff and put it in the drawers?

It depends.

I mean, on a shorter trip.

No, but when I've spent, like.

Like, when I, like, like, was working remotely from Puerto Vallarta, then I did okay.

Yeah.

Because I was planted in one spot for a while.

Yeah.

I've only done it, like, maybe twice.

If I'm planted somewhere for a week or longer, I will.

Nice.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's important to get into the regular life feel.

It's nice.

It's nice.

Get your drawers.

Anyway, that's just a dumb tangent, but I just laughed at all those decorative drawers.

So the Ratliff brothers return to the villa, and Victoria announces the source of her suffering this episode, which is that Piper has no thesis and wants to move to Thailand to study Buddhism.

We had another iconic line from Victoria here.

She says, if that strange man is going to have my baby, he better be the best Buddhist in China.

Like, she is apparently off the Lorazepan now, but she is the same person.

Like, I thought she would be different once she was off the Lorazepan.

She's not.

Yeah, yeah.

She.

And.

And her line, like, where we see Timothy thinking about killing her and what sparks this line is her being, like, at this age, I just don't think I can live not.

We're gonna get.

We're gonna get to this.

Yeah.

So funny.

Okay, so meanwhile, Saxon is again, maniacally blending the blender.

I think you're right.

Something's gonna go down with this blender.

Blender is just too much.

And it was.

I don't ever.

I never noticed it being this loud in the show before.

This was an aggressive blender moment.

It was.

Yeah.

I think it's.

It's representing his.

His inner strife.

Mm.

Okay, so everyone's going to go.

Most of the Ratliffs are going to go to the temple to Check it out.

To check out where Piper would like to live for a year.

But before they go, there's a private discussion between Victoria and Timothy.

They are talking about Piper, and Victoria says to Timothy that she wants Piper to fear poverty.

And he pushes back, saying, don't we want our kids to be tough and resilient?

Because what if we lost everything?

And Victoria replies that if they did, she wouldn't want to live.

She says, I don't think at this age, I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life.

I don't have the will.

Just don't have the will.

And like, this was.

It was such a coded discussion for Timothy, obviously, because he's trying to sense how Victoria might react to the news of their demise.

And hearing her reaction, like, I think it sends him into more of a spiral.

It would send me into more of a spiral because.

And I thought this was so interesting because the moment kind of illustrates the weight of patriarchal society because Timothy is responsible for the financial security of his family and he feels alone in that responsibility.

Like, he can't even share it with his wife or tell.

Tell his wife what is going on.

And, like, she should be a source of safet and comfort for him.

So it makes you feel really sad for him.

And this is the future Saxon's working towards.

So I'm glad he's having his crisis earlier.

It's a great point.

Maybe he can avoid it.

I mean, it's interesting, too, like, the in sickness and in health thing, like, marriage is different for everyone.

But it is an interesting idea to know that, like, if you're a wealthy person, you have to be okay with the fact that somebody has married you in part because of how financially secure you're going to make.

And maybe that's not.

I don't know, maybe it's not true love.

Maybe it's, like, actually, like, a transactional type of love.

It's hard to say.

And we don't have, like, a business opportunity to bet them.

Right.

Maybe he wasn't.

Well, he was the son of a governor, so I think he was probably wealthy when they met.

But I saw some chatter online, too, about this where.

Because you and I were commenting in the last episode about how Victoria is kind of, like, always on the money when she's talking about something.

She's either completely wrong or, like, literally pointing out something as it is shockingly right.

Like, shockingly right.

There's people online saying, like, they think that Victoria probably has some, like, offshore money stashed somewhere so that she literally would Never be in this position where, like, even if shit went down with Timothy's money, she still has her own money to live comfortably with, like, her kids or whatever.

That's the impression I get from both of them.

That they both came from privilege.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's the sense I get.

So I'm surprised if maybe she's so calm and relaxed about it because people are saying, oh.

The reason why I was saying she.

She might think she's so smart or might know what's going on is because she's constantly like, everything's gonna be okay.

And all these things people are saying, they think it's sort of like that coded conversation that she knows about the fraud, that she might know something is off with him or that he's, like, up in a serious way kind of thing.

But I don't know.

I kind of have always read her everything going to be okay as, like, a very genuine, like, point to Piper and her daughter.

So.

Yeah, I don't see it.

Like, I don't think she knows.

Yeah, I don't think so either.

Yeah.

It would be funny, though.

Yeah.

I'm just like, how would she?

How would she.

I know.

I don't know.

Yeah.

And it seems like this is the status quo of their relationship.

And some people do have relationships like this where it's like, money is your thing.

And I.

Like, this could never be me.

Like, Luke and I are, like.

We talk about literally everything in our lives could never be us.

But I know people that are this way in their relationship where, like, one person manages the money and the other person has, like, no idea what's going on.

And, like.

Yeah, some people just have that dynamic.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Also, like, I saw a video the other day of this woman in the UK who was doing some sort of talk, and she was saying that for.

For women, men are our apex predator, and marriage is a force of us getting closer to that predator.

And so if women are to get married, they should be being promised, like, financial security, that everything will be okay.

And I was like, honestly, you kind of have a point.

Yeah.

But that's just reinforcing the patriarchy.

Let's be real.

Like, I can't get on board with that.

Like, I don't know.

My view on marriage now.

We're, like, getting really deep.

Is, like, the way that we.

One way to challenge patriarchy is to actively build marriages that don't represent those values.

Totally.

Which, like, Luke and I.

I hope that's what we're doing.

That's what we're Trying to do, like, I think that our marriage is very different than, like, marriages of the past.

But so we're gonna fast forward to the temple.

The rat lifts are there.

We have Timothy, Victoria, Piper, and Piper has convinced Lachlan to come along.

And Lachlan's just kind of like, la de da di da.

Oh, I'm hungover.

I don't remember anything from last night.

Like, everything's cool with Lachlan.

It seems notably Lachlan does stick up for Piper back at the villa.

Yeah.

And this is interesting because there is that push and pull between, like, yeah, Saxon and Piper, and it seems like he really does, like, flow between his two siblings.

So when they get there, Piper goes to speak to the head monk, Luang Portiera, and she shares with him that she has felt a little lost, like everything is pointless.

And the things her family cares about, she doesn't care about.

Which it was the most emotional we've seen her so far, and the most vocal we've seen her so far about her struggle.

And then Timothy goes to speak to the monk, and their conversation is really interesting.

The monk comments to Timothy that many young people from the US come there and he thinks it's because of a spiritual malaise.

He says, and I'm just going to quote it because it was so great.

Lost connection with nature, with family, lost connection with the spirit.

What is left?

The self, identity, chasing money, pleasure.

Everyone runs from pain towards pleasure, but they get there only to find more pain.

You cannot outrun pain.

And, yeah, I think I just thought this was so great because he's essentially summarizing the struggle that so many of the White Lotus guests are currently facing, like they have been consumed with the pursuit of pleasure in an attempt to outrun pain.

I think for Saxon, I was thinking about this pleasure for Saxon is his hyper masculinity, his hypersexuality.

Pleasure for Timothy, up until this point at least, has been power and wealth accumulation.

I was thinking about the gal pal as Jacqueline.

I think it's fame and attention.

But.

All these characters, this is all coming to a head for them now.

So it's interesting because Timothy seems really receptive to what he's hearing.

So he follows up and he asks what happens when we die?

And Luang Portiera explains that when we are born, we are a single drop of water flying upward, and throughout life we slowly descend back down until we rejoin the ocean.

And he explains that becoming one with the ocean again means we aren't suffering or separated anymore because we are One collective conscious.

So it's of, like, a happy return to home.

And this is the moment where I was like.

I think what is happening is Timothy is having his own spiritual awakening where he's realizing, similarly to Frank, who gave the monologue last episode, that material pleasure, which for him is wealth, is all bullshit and meaningless.

And maybe Piper is onto something.

Oh, yeah.

This was such an interesting scene, too.

I.

I loved how.

I loved that, like, little monologue about death.

I thought that was such a beautiful visual, and it was just so nice.

So I felt like Timothy in that moment where I was like, I like this.

But then it was interesting thinking about how he says death is a happy return, like, coming home, and contrasting that to, like, Timothy's literal situation where, like, he's gonna come home to America, and it's not gonna be a happy return.

It's gonna be.

But maybe this is, like, a setup for.

And, like, I don't think we've ever seen people, like, return home from, like, the White Lotus, like, what happens outside of the resort.

But, like, I don't know.

Maybe this is his spiritual awakening.

Maybe this is where he comes to terms with the consequences of his actions and is sort of, like, at peace with coming home and dealing with those actions.

Well, the thing that worried me.

Spiritual Journey helps him through.

The thing that worried me, though, is that that metaphor might reinforce his suicidal ideation.

Yeah.

Because he's probably gonna think now, oh, dying sounds pretty nice.

Yeah, it does sound pretty nice compared.

To what I have to face when I go home.

That was my concern.

Yeah.

But I was.

I also wrote down.

Did I call it that Timothy joins Piper here?

Cause I called this.

And I think episode three or four, and I think it is highly likely that Timothy sticks around with Piper if he chooses not to face the consequences of his actions.

Like, becomes a Buddhist.

Yeah.

And, like, decides to just figure out his spiritual journey in Thailand.

Yeah.

I.

I definitely had the feeling he was not going to go back to the US But I didn't really imagine him becoming a Buddhist.

But, like, I'm starting to see it.

He's definitely gonna go on some sort of journey very similar to, like, Frank's arc, where, like, he is just gonna.

And I feel like you can pursue faith and spirituality, too, as a form of, like, pleasure and escaping your pain.

You can definitely take that too far as well.

Yeah.

I just want to point out here really quick that this is such a parent move to go visit the monastery.

And I was laughing because I was like, I think this makes them Great parents going and visiting this place and figuring out, like, what is up with this place that our daughter wants to be at for a year here and, like, sussing out if it's a cult or not.

Even, like, as ignorant as they might be, like, they're kind of doing the right thing to, like, go check this place out.

But the other thing is that, like, Piper is a adult in college who's about to graduate.

Like, my parents would never do this.

They would just be like, okay, we trust you.

If things go wrong, we'll bail you out.

Like, I was thinking about this.

I was thinking about this, though, because I was like, yeah, Piper's an adult.

Like, her parents don't need to check off the fact that, like, she's going to do this, but this was her choice.

Like, Piper wanted her parents to see this place because otherwise she could have just gone to Thailand with some friends of hers and, like, checked at the place on her own and stuck around and never came back.

But she actually lured her entire family to Thailand to secretly see this place and eventually tell them.

So I think all along she wanted her parents approval and, like, wanted her parents to, like, suss out the place for her.

Because at the end when Piper, or at the end when Victoria is like, you're going to stay here for the night, I was disappointed because Pipe, I was like, yes, Piper should stay there for the night and figure out what it is if it's an opportunity for her.

And Lachlan says he's going to stay with her.

And I was like, no, she should have done this on her own.

She should have figured this out on her own because that was going to be the whole next year of her life.

So I don't know.

I find that Piper is still, like, reliant on her parents and her family and kind of wanted her parents to be there and figure this stuff out, help her make the hard choices.

I don't know if I'd buy it just because she seems so embarrassed by her parents.

But then why does she lure the whole family to Thailand?

I think that this is a rich person thing where they're just very controlling of their kids.

And I've heard this about rich families.

Yes, they have a lot of money, but Piper can't just, like, take that money and go on a trip to Thailand with her friends because her parents want her to go to her Ivy League school.

Like, I.

I think it's more a reflect.

At least my read of it is it's a reflection of control.

Is that, like, they would never allow her to go to Thailand.

I could be wrong, though.

She does say that to the monk at one point where she was like, they would never allow me to do this or something like that without being here.

It's an interesting relationship that she has with her parents, for sure.

But I was like, I honestly, like, if I was the parents in the.

In this situation, and it was like kind of a surprise, like, I don't know, I think my parents would be like, yeah, Katie wants to go to Thailand and check out this place.

She's going to go to Thailand and check out this place.

But the.

But if it's weird, I think the difference is.

And I know this because I grew up around some wealthy people.

I went to a school that was outside of my district, and there were some kids in that school that, like, came from.

From pretty wealthy families.

These people did not work.

And so all their money, like, when they wanted to do something fun, had to be asked for from their parents.

Whereas I worked from the second I was 15.

So by the time I was 19, when I went on my first backpacking trip, my parents couldn't say no because I had money that I had earned.

So I just went.

That is the.

They supported it anyways.

But I think there is, and I have noticed this even amongst friends of mine who during, like, when they went to university, their parents paid all their bills.

Like, I.

When I went to university, my parents did not pay for things.

So I had full control over my situation.

But people I knew whose parents were paying their rent, paying their tuition, they felt indebted to their parents because it's a form.

Money is control.

It's a form of control.

So that's like, my read on it is that Piper, like, has not worked, does not have her own money, and she's controlled by her parents through money.

So for her to have gone to do this, she would have had to ask them for money.

There's no way she could have done it otherwise.

So you don't think she could have just, like, gone to Thailand with her friends at some point while she's in college and then just like that?

But with what money?

Oh, yeah, right.

My point is she would have to ask for the money.

I see what you're saying.

Yes.

Yeah.

It isn't far too much, though, to say, like, she could have gone to them and said, I want to go on a trip.

Trip with my girlfriends to Thailand.

Will you pay for it?

That's what I am saying.

I don't know, though, because some, maybe they Wouldn't have been down with that.

Who knows?

Maybe not.

Because they.

I mean, look at Victoria.

She thinks it's Taiwan.

She'd be like, what is Thailand?

I still kind of feel like if Piper didn't want her parents involved, there are things that she could have done to not get them involved.

But you never know somebody's.

That money is power.

You're right.

Like, who knows?

It's just something I've noticed is, like, in wealthy families, like, especially for children, money is a form of control over what they do and how they behave because you're constantly at the whim of your parents.

Money.

Something I've, like, realized about Piper is that, like, I like her, but I also don't like her because she's such a product of privilege.

Like, everything she's upset about.

It's like, you have access to so much in your life, and it's just like, such a glaring example of extreme privilege, what she's going through right now.

Yeah.

Not that it's not valid.

Like, it is valid.

It's just like.

Like, oh, like you're so privileged.

Yeah.

This is what I was saying last episode where I was like, the.

The.

The issues that she's finding herself in, where she doesn't relate to her parents and, like, she wants to find meaning in her life and happiness in her life.

These are things that she could find at home in, like, building community and actively try to, like, build community.

Even, like, I don't know, maybe getting an actual job.

So she's not, like, under the power of her parents's money, and she has her own money to spend and find Val.

Like, I don't know.

It's just because even the lie.

I would never in my life lie like that to my parents.

No, me neither.

Drag them all the way to Thailand.

That's what I'm saying.

Like, why would you drag your parents to Thailand if you didn't?

I think she comes.

I mean, all the characters, they're all bad people, but, like, I don't think.

Piper's a bad person.

I think she's just, like you said, a product of privilege.

Yeah, she's just stuck in her little bubble.

So while Timothy is talking to the monk, Piper tracks down Victoria, who is wandering around the temple trying to talk to monks.

And she has done the full tour.

She's done the full tour.

She's done the full tour.

And she tells Piper she's seen the place and the living conditions aren't great.

And Victoria obviously thinks that this is going to deter Piper.

So she suggests that Piper spend the night and if she still wants to do the year after that, Victoria will support her.

Listen, I was like, haha, okay, Team Piper.

Victoria, like, Piper's gonna be fine.

Like, this is not that big of a deal to like stay.

But then, yes, Lachlan's like, I'll stay with you.

And she's like, oh, thank you so much.

And I'm like, hey, Piper, I think you genuinely are.

I think your mom might be onto something.

Like, I think you might actually not like staying the night night.

Like, I think.

I don't know it.

She just doesn't give me like, I don't think she's confident in herself.

I don't think she can do things on her own.

But then it's like the one night stay is annoying because it's like if she had come for the year, she would be in a situation where she has to try to adjust.

She would be forced to adjust to her situation, which I think would be healthier because she's going to do one night, potentially hate it, and then just like walk away.

So yeah, it's kind of an easy out is what I'm saying.

Yeah.

Whereas if she'd flown to Thailand by herself to spend the year and the first night went badly, she wouldn't be able to just opt out immediately.

It would be like, okay, I have to actually give this a shot.

Yeah.

All right, so we're going to do a quick segue into Chloe and Gary.

There's not tons to say here.

Gary is very angry with Chloe because he knows that she had sex with once brother.

Supposedly we know that she had sex with both brothers.

And Chloe is worried that Gary is going to leave her.

She tells Chelsea she doesn't want this because she's a good thing going with him.

So she's in full damage control mode.

And when Gary confronts her, she will not admit that she cheated.

And so in a strange manipulative maneuver, Gary insists that Chloe invite the brothers over to the house because he is going to host a dinner party for the White Lotus guests to attend.

And this all comes off as quite ominous.

Yeah.

And it's hard to tell if Gary is genuinely upset about the cheating or if this is just a convenient cover up for what he is really upset about, which appears to be Belinda.

For a hot second, my brain was like, I wonder if he will kill Belinda and frame the Ratliff brothers for murder.

Oh, I think that's a great theory though.

It kind of like kills two birds with one stone, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I almost thought, like, I was like, is Gary.

Like, I kind of read this situation as Gary officially being, like, a jealous guy and maybe he might kill Chloe.

But also just thinking ahead for this dinner party, like, I don't know if anyone's gonna get murdered at the dinner party because the death off of the top of the episode or at the top of the season happens at the resort.

So, yeah, I think it's going to be a fine dinner party filled with passive aggression.

There could be an attempt at murder.

Yeah.

I have some other theories about this, but I'm going to share them more towards the end.

Okay.

Can I point out that Chloe, in her defense of saying, no, I didn't sleep with the brother, with any of the brothers.

She says they're like little boys.

And I'm like, ew, Chloe, you're so self aware that you had sex with, like, a high schooler.

And, like, you're so self aware, and yet it's okay for you.

Like, I.

It is predator vibes.

Like, let's call it what it is.

Like, you slept with someone underage.

Yeah.

You.

You planned, like, she pursued sleeping with someone underage.

Yes.

It's pretty problematic.

Yeah.

I also want to point out, as they're having this conversation, who was blacked.

Out, by the way.

Yeah.

Extremely problematic.

Yes.

Very bad.

She knew it and she remembered it the next morning.

Like, she.

This is all a part of a.

Ew, gross, Chloe, you gross plan.

Yeah.

I also want to point out that as Chloe and Gary are having this conversation at his freaking gigantic mansion, Huge mansion.

Gary is sitting at the breakfast table after his swim eating a hard.

A soft boiled egg.

What is it that is so villainous about eating a soft boiled egg?

To me, I feel is such a villain.

Breakfast.

Oh, I never thought about it.

I was like, why does it feel evil to be eating a soft boiled egg?

Well, you're just.

It's.

I think it's like villains have like a particular, like, flamboyancy where they're, like, very.

You know, we often see, like, James Bond villains with, like, cats and, like, very, like, well dressed and that kind of thing.

And then if you just see them at a table, like, finicking around with the soft boiled egg, it just feels evil.

I don't know what it is.

It's interesting you say this because I don't know if you're watching Severance, but there is a scene in the most recent season.

Where are you watching it or are you not?

Okay, you're gonna have no idea What I'm talking about there is a scene where bad characters are eating, I think a soft boiled egg.

It's the red carpet.

I'm kind of mind blown that you have not watched Severance.

No, there's too many shows happening right now.

But it's like the show.

I know.

This is the show you watched the first season, right?

No, I haven't watched any.

What?

Yeah, it's either White Lotus or Love is Blind.

Okay.

So Belinda and Zion.

Belinda wakes up to Zion arriving at her villa while she's still in bed with Pornchai.

Zion takes it really well.

I thought this was so cute.

He just like chuckles and asks if she needs a minute it.

So they go to breakfast together and wait.

I just need to.

I need to point out in this moment.

Yeah, I said Zion very relaxed for walking in on his mom.

But I guess they just have like a cute, close relationship, but very slick move on behalf of porn Chai, who hides his face so Zion doesn't know who it is that is in his mom's bed, which I think is very smart of him.

Very smart.

So they go to breakfast together and he tells his mom that he's glad she's getting a little sum sum.

I thought this like mom son dynamic was so funny.

Short little interlude.

Fabian stops by their table.

Like Fabian, he's not much of a character really.

All we know about him is that he's working up to singing.

So he announces that he's going to.

There's going to be a staff dinner and he thinks he is going to sing and he looks like very nervous.

This is basically all we get out of Fabian this episode.

Yeah.

So Belinda has a discussion later with Pornchi while they're working where he suggests that they go in on creating a spa together here in Thailand.

So cute.

I love for Belinda.

Although, sorry, the one thing I wanted to say is like, I don't know if Belinda's cutting out for tropical island life given her fear of jungle creatures.

It's a great point.

Let me tell you, Belinda, when you're not on a five star resort, it gets much more real.

What you find in your room.

When I was in Thailand, I found a tarantula in my room.

Oh, that's such a funny point.

Oh my God.

To me, despite.

I think that point that you just made, made.

This is the easiest decision of Belinda's life.

She 100 needs to do this.

She's about to be an empty, empty nester anyway.

Like, her son is graduating college.

He's gonna be out of the House.

It's just her.

Why not move Thailand?

Could be messy.

Sexy man.

And.

But she just met him.

Who cares?

He's hot, he's gentle, he's nice, he's a masseuse.

Like, this is gonna be a good.

This is gonna be a good time.

I think this is the easiest decision she could ever make.

Make.

You should never go into business with your lover, though.

I know people do.

Well, if.

If they'd been lovers for like a couple months, maybe.

But she just met him.

So what?

Sometimes you are the enabler.

You are that friend who enables 72 hours.

That's true.

Okay, so later, Belinda runs into Greg and he invites her to his house that night.

She declines and he responds, I think we should talk.

It's very eerie and spooky.

So here's where my brain went, though, because this whole time I'm like, okay, this is ominous vibes.

But what if Greg isn't going to do something insidious?

Like, maybe he's going down another road.

Stay with me here.

I'm with you.

And I have going to tell Belinda.

Maybe he's trying to damage good troll in the sense that he's going to tell Belinda that his now dead wife Tanya had told them about their plan to work on a business together.

And so he's going to gift Belinda money to get her started.

Like, I'm thinking maybe he doesn't want to kill her.

He just, like, he creeped her on Instagram, saw that she has a son, and thought, okay, I'll just give her money and it'll take the heat off.

Off.

Because killing her would be so messy.

Yes.

Okay.

I saw a similar theory to this, which was he is going to offer her and basically say, like, we.

I know Tanya was gonna do this for you.

And all that down went down.

You're at.

I saw it more of like a hush money type thing where he's gonna give her the money to stay in Thailand and open up a spa in Thailand and, like, never talk about it again.

Groundwork is being set for that.

Yes, exactly.

So I guess, like, I kind of do see it as hush money too, but, like, unspoken hush money.

Yeah.

Is what I'm saying.

Totally.

Yeah, I see this happening, for sure.

I don't think he's going to kill Belinda.

I think it's going to be, let me give you so much money to, like, never talk about this again.

I think he's just going to be like, oh, you.

You were in the well, he could find you.

Like, he could.

Yeah, yeah.

I Also want to point out Greg is walking around the White Lotus Resort.

I'm clearly looking for Belinda and Chloe is, like, hanging out there.

They're not staying here.

Like, they have a mansion down the street.

Why are they allowed to just hang out and walk around the resort?

I think it's like, you can pay.

Like, is there like a whole house membership type thing?

That's the vibe I get.

I mean, I don't know about these luxury hotels.

I do know that like.

Like when I've been in Thailand, that you can go to a resort and pay to go for the day.

A lot of places in the world, you can do that.

So I guess they just like, have a membership or they just pay every day to go hang out there.

Interesting.

Yeah, I was like, rich people things I know also.

So Greg has invited Belinda over for dinner.

I knew he was gonna invite her over for dinner, but there's also a staff dinner going on too.

So is the staff dinner.

What's happening at Greg's house?

House?

Or is it two different dinners?

They're two separate dinners.

And I think that maybe we're going to, like, it's.

They're going to happen at the same time.

I think Belinda's going to run from one to the next for sure.

Potentially.

Yeah.

And maybe Pornchi will save her life at the second.

I don't know.

Yeah.

All right, so it is now time to talk about the Gal Palace.

Okay.

So early in the morning, the sun is rising.

Kate is notably on her phone in her room.

Illegal.

Illegal.

And she looks out and she spots Valentine leaving Jacqueline's room.

And shortly after this.

Sorry, sleeping over.

Like, come on, like, Jacqueline, I understand you want to hook up with this hot guy, but, like, letting him stay the night, like, ew, get him out of there.

Like, so many thoughts.

Yeah, I was a bit lazy.

So shortly after this, we see Jacqueline get a phone call from Harrison, finally.

Who apologizes for being mia.

He tells her that he hasn't had access to phone charger while he's on set, which I call bullshit on.

I don't believe anything he says.

There's always a phone charger.

Yeah, there just.

There always is.

So.

So I feel a little bit bad for Jacqueline because clearly, like, their marriage isn't as great as she talks about.

Later at breakfast, Kate shares this gossip with Laurie, which is interesting because this is routine for them.

She clearly didn't think twice about sharing it.

But I think that Kate shares it expecting that Laurie is going to just accept this as, like, a fun piece of gossip about their friend.

But it actually makes Laurie noticeably upset.

Even though Laurie says, I'm laughing, it's funny.

Ha.

Yeah.

And it's like one of those.

I've definitely seen people go down this spiral where she starts out kind of upset, but then gets more and more upset about this gossip throughout the day.

And the whole time is like, I'm fine, though.

I'm fine.

And Laurie immediately points out that Jacqueline was pushing Valentine on her when actually Jacqueline wanted him.

And she says, quote, that is so psycho.

And then she takes it a step further and calls out Jacqueline for being 45 and still living off of male attention, which I think is a bit cruel.

Yeah.

But okay.

It is the norm amongst these ladies to be quite mean to each other in, like, a really underhanded way phrase.

So, yeah, Kate is definitely surprised by Laurie's reaction.

She thought they were just gonna laugh about this.

And this is, like, the beginning of the unraveling of the gal pals dynamic of gossiping.

I think, like, the gossiping is going to catch up with all of them now.

And then, of course, Laurie brings it up with Jacqueline.

So I have to ask, if you were Laurie, would you bring it up?

What would your reaction be?

I had this question for you, too.

It's so hard to say because.

Okay, I think I would probably bring it up, actually.

No, you know what?

I don't think I would.

I think I would probably chicken out and probably not bring it up and probably stew on it and be like, just sad and be like, oh, well, I guess this is another one.

Another one bites the dust kind of thing.

Because this is.

If Laurie's like, this is the real Jacqueline.

Like, this is what she used to do in high school would be like, push a guy on me and then take him for herself.

If this is an unsurprising move, even if it's been, like, 30 years or whatever.

Yeah, I think, like, it's kind of like, yeah, well, such as life, I guess that kind of sucks.

And I can't really trust her to be around some dudes.

I think it's pretty bold to bring it up to Jack and be like, what's up with that kind of thing?

I think that's something for Jacqueline to unpack in therapy.

Maybe.

I don't know.

It's.

I don't know, because, like, what are you trying to get from the conversation by bringing it up to Jacqueline?

Other than if you were saying, like, listen, that really hurt my feelings.

And, like, you actually bring it to like your personal experience with what just happened rather than what Lori is doing, which I've seen some people call it passive aggressive.

I don't think passive.

I think it's just straight up, like, she's calling it, like, it is.

Like, that happened.

Why did that happen?

What's up with this?

But there isn't, like, sort of any specific resolve that she's looking for in bringing that up to Jacqueline.

Right.

Like, she's not outright saying, like, this made me feel this way, and that's why I'm bringing it up to you kind of thing.

The read to me is she's just boiled over.

Like, this has just been, like, she's just annoyed, and she just, like, can't.

Because I actually think it is something she should talk about with Jacqueline, but in a more healthy way.

But this just brings me to my overarching point, which is, like, I think what everyone is thinking about the gal pals, which is why I don't think I would ever find myself in that situation.

Because if I've ever encountered relationships like that, like, dynamics, I exit them.

Like, I have not stayed in friendships that are like that.

Because.

Because it's not fun.

Like, why.

Why would you continue to be friends for 30 years with.

I know these people.

Like, who wants to go to.

I can never imagine being on a trip with, like, my girlfriends and that happening.

Yeah.

I've been in situations like when I was in high school or, like, early.

Early college years where, like.

Yeah.

Where, like, maybe someone has pushed.

Yeah.

A guy on me and then hooked up with him themselves kind of thing.

And it definitely sucks because you definitely sort of the ugly duckling in that situation.

It's very hurtful.

But that's the point, right?

Like, in high school, I think we've all seen this out of those friendships, but it stays in high school, usually.

Yeah.

Out of those friendships, it's like, why would you use your precious vacation time to go on vacation with two people that, like, you don't really like?

Yeah.

And I kind of always got the sense that this vacation was for Jacqueline, and that's kind of how it was pitched off the top anyway, because Jacqueline has paid for the whole thing too, right?

Yeah.

So it's kind of like, well, it's Jacqueline's vacation.

She can do whatever she wants, and her girls have to kind of support her throughout the whole thing.

It's an interesting, weird dynamic.

The other thing is, like, if.

If I was on vacation with two of my girlfriends and one of my married girlfriends hooked up with a Man, I would be like, are you okay?

Like, what.

What happened?

That's the other thing is, like, I.

Told you, is your marriage okay?

Like, why are you cheating on your husband?

Cuz you are.

Literally, that's what the conversation would be.

About, you know, that your friend is married.

I would 100% want to be like, what's up with that?

Like, you're married.

Are you good?

Like, is everything okay Kind of thing.

And that 100% makes sense to bring up from that context.

If it was your single friend and it was.

Was just felt like a malicious move towards you, and this is what your friend has kind of always been like, so be it.

But there's an extra layer here that is Jacqueline's commitment back at home, and that is like a serious thing.

It's not a marriage isn't supposed to be something you.

That's just like a.

A fruitless thing.

Like, it's a.

It's a commitment.

This is your best friend kind of thing.

Like, how come you're betraying your best friend?

Like, you good?

Is everything okay?

And Laurie kind of calls us out because she's does say when she brings this up with Jacqueline, oh, I didn't know you and Harrison have an open relationship.

Gives her, gives.

But that's like fighting words in my mind.

She's like, try to give her the benefit of the doubt.

But that's definitely a passive aggressive line.

That's not giving her the benefit of the doubt.

It's just kind of like it's gotta be that.

Right?

Right Kind of thing.

Yeah.

So Laurie says what the viewers have been assuming, which is that nothing has changed.

This has been in the dynamic since they were in grade 10.

And then there's a final important scene with the gal pals towards the end of the episode where Kate goes to talk to Jacqueline, who's clearly upset, and Jacqueline tells Kate that she is an actress.

She already deals with so much gossip, so it hurts that her own friends are talking about her behind her back.

And like, I felt bad for Jacqueline in this moment, but at the same time I don't because she has cheated on her husband.

And, like, she is not at all guilt free when it comes to gossip.

Yeah, this was my question because, like, I wrote down, would you say something to Jacqueline?

But then Jacqueline's reply after Laurie brings it up, Jacqueline is like, that never happened.

We didn't hook up.

He just came over.

Like, she'swe didn't see them as the viewers, like, hook up, but we definitely saw them about to.

And we Saw Valentine hunting naked.

So I think it's safe to assume that they definitely hooked up.

And I was like, is.

Is Jacqueline, like, actually not self aware?

Is she in denial?

Is she a gaslighter?

Like, what's her like?

Why wouldn't she just be honest with the girls?

I think it's the dynamic of the friendship.

They're not really friends.

They don't really share with each other.

Yeah, that's my sense.

Also, where is Valentin in all of this?

Like, I feel kind of bad for him because he's just a butler trying to keep his clients happy and earn those tip.

Well, he shows up at breakfast, right?

And he's like, hey, how's your night?

Where's Jacqueline?

And Lori's like, well, wouldn't you know?

Also saw some commentary.

And this is something that I noticed, too, while we were watching that the breakfast scenes in this episode were particularly, like, hard to watch because everyone was touching their food weird.

Like, the fork and knife like, dynamics were just.

People were just, like, poking at fruits.

It was like classic TV actor, like, food interaction.

It just felt.

I would also read that.

I would also read that as like, representing everyone's state of mind.

Yeah.

You know when you're so stressed and anxious that, like, you just poke at your.

Like, you can look, or you're just.

Like, you can't actually consume it.

Yeah.

Just, like, pushing your food around your plate.

That's funny.

I also wanted to quickly point out Kate in this episode.

Honestly, I think she was starting to redeem herself for me a little bit.

And this is.

This is might be a stretch, but I'm just gonna throw it out there because I think it's funny.

Kate has exemplified herself as a girl's girl, where she's just trying to, like, keep an open and honest dialogue between her gals.

You think so?

Well, she's such a little disturber, though.

Like, she's literally going between them, sharing gossip.

Well, I think she's a girl's girl for, like, telling Lori that she saw this because she knew that Lori was, like, into Valentine.

So, like, my sense was valid for her to tell her.

I don't think she told Laurie in good faith, though.

I thought she did.

I don't know.

It just.

I thought she brought it up to Laurie kind of like.

Like, she said, I just thought you were gonna think this is funny.

But also wanted to let her know because she was, like, hooking up with him.

But she says she thinks it's.

She thought Laurie would think it's funny.

Why would Laurie Think it's funny if Laurie was, like, interested in Valentine, I guess, is my point.

All right, well, fine.

But the other notes I had for her was that, to me, she was giving me a little bit of girls, girls energy, which was.

I thought she was kind of looking out for Laurie a little bit, even though she's, like, in the process, kind of, like, betraying Jacqueline.

She did take on the mother hen role last episode, and she ultimately says she doesn't really want to see conflict between friends.

Like, when the conflict is happening, she's trying to, like, sort of diffuse the situation, and she's trying to, like, make it all be fine.

And then I thought about, you know, what Kate said she was an independent.

She never said she was a Republican.

And you know who else is an independent?

Bernie Sanders.

So maybe she's a Bernie Sanders independent, and she is just all around redeemed for myself.

Oh, I have a different read.

She's an independent, which means she doesn't know who she is or what she wants.

Oh, that's definitely the real case because.

She'S like a floater, right?

She's trying to keep the peace, but she's also a shit disturber.

Like, that's what annoys me about her character is, like, she's, like, playing it off like she's the mother hen and, like, trying to, like, bring everyone together, but then behind everyone's backs, she's like, a little, like, train of gossip going back and forth.

So it's like, what are your intentions?

Aren't good because you're literally stirring the pot quietly.

And could there be mother hen resentment there, too, where it's like, listen, I took care of you girls all last night.

Like, it's time for me to have a little bit of fun.

I think the mother hen thing is, like, that.

She's also, like, stifled, right?

Like, she just, like, can't let loose like Jacqueline can.

The way that, like, Jacqueline and Laurie both let loose was interesting to me because it was like, a very different Jacqueline, like, clearly wanted attention from the men, whereas Laurie was just purely actually just having fun.

And then Kate was in between them and unable to access that part of herself.

But it's also because she is the only one in a secure relationship.

Maybe she doesn't want to know that much about her relationship.

Yeah, she's just.

All we know is she's married, and she is more married than Jacqueline is in some sense, because she's not letting loose.

I wouldn't.

I don't know.

Just looking at how.

How Jacqueline dances With those guys, I don't think I would be dancing to that extent in a relationship.

Okay, so Guy Talk finally does something smart.

He sneaks into the Ratliff villa and he finds the gun.

This is important for Gaitok, obviously, but it also means that Timothy does not have access.

Access to the weapon that is part of his suicidal ideations anymore.

So this is definitely a net positive.

Finds the gun amongst 24 empty drawers.

Yeah, this did make me wonder if Timothy is going to turn to another weapon, potentially the poisonous fruit from the pong pong tree that is mentioned in episode one.

And this did send me into a spiral of worry that Saxon will start to have similar ideations as his father.

Because I'm not convinced that Saxon has the tools to navigate the crisis of identity he is now having.

Toxic masculinity doesn't really give you those tools.

So, yeah, I'm worried about Saxon.

This is basically it for Guy Talk.

We do see him toward the end of the episode at the gun range where his colleague comments that he is good at shooting.

His colleague asks him if he has in him the killer instinct.

Guy Talk says he does.

So I'm wondering if there's setup here happening that Guy Talk will potentially accidentally kill someone, which would be so heartbreaking because you know, that Guy Talk would be like absolutely destroyed by that.

Oh, yeah, but he is such a good shot.

Like, I think he's gonna make a monumental shot in a moment of self defense.

Yeah.

Or even in defense of Mook, maybe.

Yeah, maybe it'll be redemption arc for him.

Okay, so finally we have Rick.

He is fully committed to his ruse that he has a friend who is a big Hollywood director.

He's very good at selling this.

Oh, yeah.

And this friend wants to hire Shritala for his next film.

So he convinces Shritala that he and this director friend should visit her and her husband Jim in their home.

Rick returns to the friend who gave us the epic monologue and his revelations around sex and pleasure in last week's episode.

And I didn't pick up the name last week, but this week it comes out that his name is Frank.

Yeah.

Rick convinces Frank to pretend to be his Hollywood director.

Frank is resistant, but Rick assures him that he's not gonna kill Jim.

He says, why did I give you the gun?

He's like, yeah, I'll leave the gun at home.

And he insists that he's just wants Frank to know how badly he fucked up Rick's life.

I was wondering last episode what their relationship was and this made me wonder even more because this is a major favor for Frank to do for Rick because Frank is like volunteering to maybe get implicated in murder.

So it just made me think like, these two have been involved in sketchy stuff together.

Sure, 100%.

And meanwhile, we don't really see a lot of interaction between Chelsea and Rick in this episode, but she does comment to him over the phone that bad luck comes in threes.

So there's definitely foreshadowing going on that something bad is going to happen, maybe to Chelsea, but maybe not.

I guess we will see in the next episode.

So they get to Sritala's house and I think Rick's going to get there and Jim is going to be on his deathbed already because we don't see him at the end of the episode.

So I think Jim is like really in poor health and probably going to die soon.

And it's not going to be the least bit satisfying for Rick to kill him.

And this is, I think Rick's like running from pain towards pleasure, like the pleasure of revenge and killing this guy only to be met with more pain.

He is gonna, I think Rick's gonna be met with the pain of like not getting the revenge that he wanted and probably having some sort of like, maybe spiritual awakening, being like, I don't really need to kill this guy.

He's already basically dead.

So that's one theory.

Another theory that popped into my head was that Jim actually is his father.

Also that because the way the scene, the way they shoot it, right?

Like the camera pans over to Rick and you just hear Jim introduce himself.

And Jim, I will say, notably, doesn't sound sick.

He introduces himself and you see Rick's face and like the focus on Rick's reaction makes me feel we're being set up for this to be a reveal, like who this person is because they purposely didn't show us what Jim looks like.

So I'm kind of like, oh, Rick.

Wouldn'T recognize him as his dad though, and his dad, if it was his dad, he wouldn't recognize him as his son either.

Maybe they look really alike.

Maybe, maybe it's the same actor playing both people.

Because it's not unfeasible to me that Rick's dad like went to Thailand and died, but actually just like decided to stay there for the rest of his life.

Totally.

And Rick's mom on her deathbed angry at her baby daddy for doing this, like leaves this bomb behind.

Yep.

Anyways, could be far fetched.

Just like popped into My head as well.

So at the end of every episode, groundwork is laid for what is to come.

So I always like to unpack this a little bit.

So we're left with Lachlan at the temple, and he is meditating through guidance of the monks when he.

He gets.

When he starts to get his memories back.

So we're left with Lachlan starting to remember what happened is so fun the night before.

His facial reactions, just looking around like, who am I?

So the fallout of his realization is going to happen next episode.

Meanwhile, we also.

It's mentioned a couple times in this episode that we are going to see the Muay Thai fights happening in town.

It's expected that the Russians will go and potentially Laurie Guy Talk is invited at some point in this episode.

So maybe he will go.

Maybe the Muay Thai fight is where some shit will go down.

We also now know that in the next episode, we're probably going to see two dinner parties.

Greg's as well as Fabian's, and, yeah, Chelsea.

And I'm trying to think Chelsea, Chloe, and a lot of the Ratliffs will be at Greg's party.

Yep.

Basically everybody on the boat is gonna be at Greg's party.

Yeah, same crew.

But Belinda is also gonna be there.

Yeah, potentially.

Yeah.

She seemed resistant, so we'll see.

Okay, couple things to point out before we get to the things really quick.

There's an interaction at the end of the episode where Saxon is talking to his dad.

And I think this is, like, the full, like, Saxon, Timothy.

First time we get them having a conversation since we've seen, like, the first episode.

And I just thought there was such a striking difference between, like, their exchange in this episode compared to how they came into the resort.

They are both clearly, like, messed up compared to.

And they're both kind of, like, reckoning with their identity as, like, patriarchs and masculinity.

So that's interesting.

Also, Timothy says locker and pipeline, which I.

I didn't even catch until Saxon questions, and he's like, locker and pipeline.

I thought that was such a hilarious piece of writing.

So.

And then one other thing that I noticed that I found online and didn't notice either, was that when the boys come back from the.

The boat party, they're wearing each other's shorts.

Oh, interesting.

This is a funny little thing otherwise, like.

Oh, that might represent, like, the fact that, like, Lachlan is in the, like, position of power now.

I think, yeah, Lachlan is entering the position of power, and I've seen a lot of commentary of this online.

But I also want to point out, like, as far as we understand, this entire thing that happened that went down was.

Was Lachlan's first time having sex.

Well, we don't know that.

Like, it's.

It's not said at all.

I just, I don't think I've been seeing a lot of commentary being like, Lachlan is entering, like, his problematic era and he's going to be the dominant one.

And we've been seeing all these, like, teens who are bad guys and who.

Who fly under the radar and are actually.

I'm not actually convinced of that.

I'm not convinced of this either.

And I don't think there's enough conversations happening around like, this is a high schooler who just went through some fucked up shit and, like, was like, this seems really messed up.

And we honestly don't know much about Lachlan.

Like, he's probably the ratliff that we know the least about.

He gets the least, like, screen time.

Like, what do we know about him?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, so what are your cringe awards this episode?

Okay, top cringe travel moment obviously goes to Chloe, who drugged a high schooler that she met abroad at a full moon party, hooking up with him and his brother at the same time.

Time ruining an 18 year old's sexual experience, possibly his first time.

Gross.

Chloe sucks.

I agree.

Yeah.

Okay, I have two, three more to award.

Okay, wait.

Yeah, top cringe moment or they all go to Victoria.

Okay.

A first cringe award for Victoria is that she just assumes that her kids can just rock up and stay at the temple overnight.

Yes.

Like, no.

I was wondering about that.

I was like, can they just stay?

Usually cannot do that.

Like, when Luke and I were in Asia, we looked into this.

Like, you usually have to book like months in advance and like, you can't just stay one night, but it works for the plot.

I.

I guess so.

I was like, is this a thing that.

It's just.

It was such a, like, rich person privileged moment for her to be like, well, just stay here overnight.

Yeah.

Not questioning the logistics or whether that's allowed.

Also, Victoria again at the temple, commenting that the monks don't speak English.

I was just like, well, duh, you're in Thailand.

But then the main monk speaks English so well.

Yeah.

Like, I had to deal with all.

The tourists, you know, all the white people coming over.

Yeah.

And then just also in general, Victoria's resistance to Piper spending a year in Thailand is cringe to me because maybe you should let Your daughter spread her wings.

Yes.

Agreed.

Experience the world.

Agreed.

So who are you awarding your conscientious traveler to?

Conscientious traveler award.

I have a big blank space on the page.

I literally could not find.

Find someone to award.

I really had to think hard about this, and then I decided I was going to award mine to Timothy, who has a genuine interaction with the monk.

Shows curiosity and a willingness to learn and understand from him.

It's probably the fact that his head is also focused on crimes, and he's like, what happens if I die?

Like, there's a selfish sort of, like, motive behind it.

But he really goes into.

Also, he goes into the monastery with zero judgment.

Like, he.

He just arrives and is there to vibe and see what it is.

His brain is in other places.

But he's also gone in with no judgment.

And I also would say Lachlan does the same.

He goes to the monastery, zero judgment, and is just curious and interested to see what's up there.

So, yeah, I give it to those guys.

I agree with that.

Sweet.

Well, I think we are set up for probably.

I think the rest of the season is going to be pretty bonkers, which.

Is for another wild ride at the White.

Is it only two more episodes left?

Okay.

This is.

Yeah.

Things are gonna rev up.

Yeah.

Which dinner party are you going to?

Definitely Greg's.

Definitely.

I think I'm going to Greg's too.

I don't know if I want to suffer through Fabian's singing at the staff party.

Okay, well, see you then.

See you then.