The White Lotus Recap | S3E4: Hide or Seek

Good morning, Katie.

Welcome to the White Lotus.

Good morning, Erin.

Thank you so much for having me.

I really appreciate it.

I am your butler.

What would you like to eat today?

Honestly, Eggs Benny.

If I had a choice, Eggs Benny every single morning.

And a fruit platter.

Yeah, that's what I choose.

Thank you very much.

Also take my phone while you're at it.

Oh, yes.

Give me your phone right now.

Okay, so I'm launching into this recap with something interesting to note, which I.

You always have so many good tidbits that you bring to these.

I love it.

So I've been reading a lot about, like, the criticism of the White Lotus, which, like, is valid because, yeah, a lot of people feel that, like, there is, like, an irony to the show where it, like, brings over tourism often to the places that it.

That it shoots at.

And this is expected in Thailand.

So I was curious to see, like, what the relationship between the DMO in Thailand and shooting was, because, like, usually big productions like this, like, do work with the local government.

There will be, like, tax breaks involved, or, like, they'll connect with the tourism authority to discuss details.

And it turns out that the current season was made in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Okay, this is interesting.

In contrast to the video that you sent me recently between now and last episode around the relationship with tourism and how the.

The government is putting so much money into tourism and how that's where we're going.

Yes.

Please continue.

Sorry, I have morning voice.

So.

Okay, so it was made in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

And I thought.

And then I read that the.

And this is a bid by the tourism industry to regain momentum that was lost during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Thailand did, like, see a massive, massive drop in tourism.

It had an impact on their gdp.

Obviously, it impacts people's jobs.

And that's where I'm going with this.

I think it's, like, such a delicate balance.

Right.

Because countries like Thailand often do rely a lot on tourism.

And I think that's why government set goals like this and governments agree to, like, productions like the White Lotus.

Honestly, I think, like, a lot of countries want the White Lotus to shoot there because it is, like a marketing campaign for your country.

So it's just interesting because, like, I think this is the problem we see a lot in tourism.

Like, there are benefits of growing tourism in the region, like jobs, gdp, all the usual stuff.

That we know tourism does.

But fast growth as we know can be unsustainable.

So it just.

I would just love to like know what was spoken about, like how they discussed.

Yeah.

This, this opportunity to have the White Lotus there.

I don't know if like the White Lotus single handedly would like drive an over tourism issue like on an island that's already experiencing that, but it does contribute for sure.

It is intense to me.

Yeah.

I want to know if the conversations were like it's so tough.

Cause the show takes place on an island that as you mentioned, it's already experiencing over tourism.

If it was a meaningful tourism campaign, I think you'd expect them to focus.

Yeah.

Like shoot on somewhere else.

Shoot on an island.

That is.

Then the issue is they need a resort.

Yeah.

And the islands that are less developed don't have resorts.

Like they're shooting it.

I think it's the four Seasons.

There's no four Seasons on Koh Lanta or other islands that are less popular and actually could use tourism.

Yeah.

And HBO doesn't want to contribute in that heavily of a way to like help build a resort on a new island, then that can then be repurposed, right?

I don't think so.

And I don't want to encourage that.

This is interesting.

And I actually had a note because you sent me a video that was talking about over tourism and the White Lotus effect and its impact of clean drinking water on the island.

And this is something that after watching that video for context, we'll link it in the show notes as well.

A lot of locals don't have access to clean drinking water.

The water has been privatized now where there's a couple of different guys who go around and deliver water to people.

So yeah, it's not a great situation.

And this is the island that, that the White Lotus takes place on.

And then yeah.

These, the opening sequence of the show, this recent episode.

I was like hyper aware of how much water I was seeing like flowing all over the place.

And so there's like all these fountains with water just.

There's just water free flowing everywhere.

Just to look at.

Just, just, just to look at.

Just to like be outside.

Quick outdoor shower before you go inside to have your real everything shower.

Like so much water being used on this resort.

Yeah.

Just to look at.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I think this is something that we can unpack like throughout the season a bit more.

But I just wanted to drop that tidbit because I, I found it really interesting.

Great.

Because like a lot of it's just funny to me because, like, people have talked to me about this, like, friends and stuff about, like, oh, like, how do you feel about the fact that, like, the White Lotus effect is a thing and it's, like, having this impact on tourism in Thailand?

So it's just ironic to then realize, oh, like, the tourism authority wanted this.

It is very interesting.

I think, like, probably what this speaks to is a disconnect between the tourism authority and the lived experience of people in Thailand that are working on tourism.

Yeah, I think you're 100% nail on.

The head, and it makes me realize the wrong lack of investment.

Like, instead of investing in the White Lotus, maybe invest in better infrastructure on islands that are less visited to bring more tourism there to, like, redirect.

Anyways, now we're going into the weeds.

All right, excellent points.

Let's go to the gal pals.

So we open with Jacqueline from the gal pals.

It is early morning.

The birds are chirping, and she is on the phone leaving a message for her husband, Harrison, and it sounds like he has not returned her calls, and she is getting frustrated.

This is notable because she's the first character we see other than Timothy, who has her phone on her.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

I didn't notice.

Yes.

I was like.

I, like, didn't notice it till, like, a couple seconds.

And I was like, wait, how are you on the phone?

Okay, Piper.

So later on, Kate will call her out for this, the fact that she has her phone.

And that is when we learn from Jacqueline that Harrison has been a bit AWOL because he's apparently been on set.

So we're seeing cracks in this honeymoon relationship.

Meanwhile, Belinda's on the phone with her son Zion.

I wonder if they made Belinda give her phone away.

Maybe not.

She's a different kind of guest.

Yeah.

So she's on the phone with Zion.

He is heading over the White Lotus.

It was a really sweet conversation.

I thought, like, oh, they have a really loving relationship.

And notably, this is the man from the first episode, right?

Yes.

This is Zion.

Zion, who is like, not my mom, not my mom, uncovers the dead body.

Yeah.

So after she hangs up the phone, she starts hearing those strange creaking sounds again.

And I thought to myself, have the monkeys broken in to the walls of the White Lotus?

I don't know.

Maybe I just thought, belinda's just tripping out.

Okay.

I did think this too.

I was like, maybe this is, like, a metaphor for her, like, starting to like.

Because throughout this episode, we'll see that she's like, figuring things out about Greg.

Yes.

Maybe it's like a metaphor for her, like, anxiety around, like, who this man is.

Okay, so we cut next to Guy Talk, who is inviting Mook on a date, and he mentions to her that he's going to have a meeting that day about the robbery.

And they both seem to think this is, like, a good thing.

She is hoping that he will get a promotion.

So we see the meeting.

It's with Fabian and one of the other security guards.

And he's told he didn't do a good job.

Yeah, he's told.

Yeah.

They're like, you can't just smile at the guests.

He's like, well, he can smile at me.

I don't want to be the devil's advocate here, but Guy Talk did fully get distracted by Valentin while the robbers came.

Like, I think that might have been the point.

Like, I.

Like, he didn't do a great job.

Like, he knew something was off because he, like, also sort of, like, let the guys in while he was distracted talking.

Like, he was kind of like, hey, wait a second kind of thing.

I think I have blinders on because I like Guy Talks.

I like him too, but I think he is.

I don't know.

I don't know how to describe him.

I think he definitely dropped the ball.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I just think.

Not allowed.

Not allowed.

Guy Talk is perfect.

Okay.

So they dump on him.

They tell him he's not doing a good enough job.

And because of this, the solution is that he should learn to use a gun.

Yeah, definitely the right solution here.

For sure.

For sure.

He's given the key to access his colleague's gun, which is kept in the security office in, like, a little.

Yeah, in the little wooden box.

Yeah.

So later, he and Mook reconvene.

She asks if he got a promotion, and he says, not yet.

It's starting to seem like there's this dynamic that their future prospects are riding on whether or not Guide Talk gets promoted or, like, gets a better job, which, like, I don't love this for Guide Talk.

Like.

Like, Mook, you should want to be with him because he's a kind, beautiful man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we'll see where that goes.

That's, like, pretty much it for them this episode.

And we'll talk about them a little bit more at the end, but yeah.

So next we cut to the rat lifts.

It is morning.

Timothy is popping Ativan like it is job.

I mean, what is it?

Lorazep?

Larrazapib?

Ativan is the Canadian term for it, I think.

Okay, I'm probably gonna hop back and forth.

Cause I'm used advan, but I'm trying to remember.

It's Lorazipan.

So sorry, everyone.

It's the same thing.

Yeah.

Like, it's Pez.

Like, just literally popping them.

Not good.

No.

Saxon, meanwhile, is maniacally laughing while he makes a protein shake and tries to.

Get it to Lachlan, the happiest man on earth, just viciously making these protein shakes.

Like.

And I wrote in my notes, protein shakes are actually so nasty.

It looked nasty.

Like, I looked at that, and I was like, I would never put that in my body.

I don't know how many protein shakes you've drank in your life, but I've definitely zero.

I've subjected myself to a fair number of protein shakes.

And they're always, like, kind of grainy and just, like, thick.

In, like, a coating of your mouth type of way.

I've never had a good protein shake.

I think I had them when I was, like, a teenager.

I think I've told you this.

Like, I'm still anemic, but I was, like, dangerously anemic as a teenager.

And I would pass out at school all the time.

And my mom was convinced that it was because I wasn't eating enough.

I was.

But she would, like, give me, I think, these protein shakes that were chocolate or something, and she would make them with whole milk.

So I would drink one, and I would feel like I'd eaten, like, six meals.

And they were disgusting.

It was weird because, like, the chocolate, like, kind of masked it, but it was still really chalky.

I've never had a good chocolate protein shake.

They're always so nasty.

And you get.

You're like, oh, but I'll just do the vanilla one.

Also nasty by itself.

I'll add it with fruit.

A little bit less nasty, but still gross.

And you just keep adding things to it, and then you're just like, nothing can mask the powdery flavor that exists in there.

And, like, the grit.

And you're like, yeah, nasty.

Do not recommend.

But it is good for filling yourself up quickly.

True.

And I guess.

I guess, like, why do.

Why do men want protein shakes?

Like, what?

Why?

Because men don't like cooking.

I thought you were gonna say, like, mussels or something.

No, they want to have their protein, but they don't want to sit there and make, like, a chicken breast.

They'd rather just blend up a bunch of shit viciously and just chug it.

Pretend like they never even ate anything.

I'm learning a lot today.

I think Luke is the only exception for men who like cooking.

This is why I married him.

Yeah.

Hilariously, Saxon also asks.

He asks Piper what she's doing, and she says, reading.

And he's like, why?

Oh, yeah.

So good.

Such a good moment.

Okay.

So then Victoria emerges from the bedroom and she asks the kids if they've taken her at a van because she can tell that some is missing.

Yeah.

Timothy's just sitting in the corner.

Literally just popped a few, doesn't speak up, even though he is the culprit here.

Yes.

And there's an interesting exchange because Piper says to her mom, kind of like in a sassy way, you don't have enough lorazepam to get through a week at a wellness spa.

I wrote this down, too.

It's very stressful.

You know, there's a lot of people.

Yeah.

So Saxon then asks Victoria why she needs it, and she says, I thought this was, like, a very important line.

She says that certain social situations make her anxious.

So the implication is, or the suggestion is that she is anxious about the boat trip, which will be with, she says, strangers.

And Saxon replies, but you go to the club all the time back home.

And she says that that is different because she knows them, they know her, and she knows they are decent.

So, like, one of my main observations about this episode is that, like, your point the other week about how she seems to have, like, deep fear of, like, other people and not trusting them that, like, gets, like, really honed in on in the sub.

Do we think it's social anxiety or do we think it's elitism?

I think it's a mixture.

I think it could be a mixture because I don't think, like, elitism would make you that, like, she seems genuinely uncomfortable.

That would make you have that kind of, like, physical response.

So I would say it's a mixture.

I also wondered if it was, like, a product of drug dependency, but I don't know if, like, an Ativan dependency would lead.

It might.

Let's Google it.

I can't find an answer.

But you know what?

That might have been why she was originally prescribed the Ativan.

Yeah, social anxiety, totally.

That's why she needs it before her massage where some random stranger touches her.

Yeah, it is a hilarious.

It is very ironic.

I guess.

So then this scene wraps with, like, a really, like, kind of out of nowhere shot.

We get a full frontal of Timothy.

He's just, like, sitting there and his tube, like, Comes loose.

And I was shocked.

I was also just like, what is the purpose of this scene?

I think it's maybe to show how loosey goosey he's gotten.

Like.

And Lorazepam is really hit him fast.

Like, it's only been like a couple of days since he's been abusing this stuff and already, like, he's gone from his, like, buttons buttoned up all the way to his chin to like, full peno.

You know, like.

Yeah.

I don't know.

Maybe that's what it's meant to show.

This is some.

So this is a dynamic that I find interesting too, because, like, we've talked about how there's this dynamic that, like, Timothy does not tell his family anything.

And we'll see this, like, continue to play out in this episode.

Like, he does not tell them what is happening back home.

But similarly, his family doesn't really seem to notice that he is going off the rails.

Yes.

Would you not notice this about your dad?

I would.

I would 100% notice this.

Especially if my dad was usually, like, pretty put together and like.

Yeah.

Like, if he was just lounging around naked in a bathrobe with, like, no care in the world.

No, like, seeming like self awareness.

It would definitely a red flag.

I wrote this down too, where I was like, how.

How does Victoria not just see that?

It's Timothy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, so we cut to a shot of the three monkeys seen hearing and speaking to evil.

Yep.

Which is followed by Chelsea, who declares, things happen in threes.

Chelsea is worried that a final destination, death, is coming for her.

And I would be worried too.

Chelsea.

I would be.

Yeah.

She says death is coming for her.

I did a little bit of digging into Chelsea's character because I looked at.

Just rewatching the opening sequence.

Amylou Wood, the actress who plays Chelsea, her name appears next to an image of a tiger eating some antelopes or something.

And.

Or I think the.

I don't know what the animal is, to be honest.

It's a smaller animal than the tiger.

There are three of them, one with its head ripped off by the tiger.

And I was like, what is a symbolism around, like, tigers or something like that?

I couldn't find anything.

Great.

And I'm wondering if, like, there isn't going to be an absolute direct tie between tigers and Chelsea's character because maybe it's A, too abstract and maybe B, it's just a white man's version of, like, Thai folklore where he's just picking pieces that work well in the story that he's writing.

But there is some stuff around how tigers are a symbolism of confronting your natural drive or your animal instinct.

That's why there's a lot of tigers in these opening sequences.

There's themes that people are going to have to just confront themselves in some capacity.

But then also, tigers might be a symbol of luck and protection, which could be, like, Chelsea could be the tiger for Rick.

But then there's also a story of, like, a were tiger.

So, like, kind of like a werewolf, but it's a were tiger, where it's usually an attractive young woman who turns into a tiger at night and, like, kills her victims and then turns back into an attractive young woman.

So there's, like, a lot of, like, little different pieces there that I feel like, are kind of tied to Chelsea with, like, the attractive woman who might be attracted.

A symbol of a tiger, a protector, which she.

She kind of plays for Rick, but it's not, like, all totally aligned in any, like, actual concrete way.

So I'm curious to see how this plays out.

But Chelsea's.

The depiction next to the actress's name is probably the most violent.

Not the most violent, but it is one of the most violent animal depictions that we see in the.

Do you think she's gonna get killed by a tiger?

I don't know.

I think the third.

I think a third brush death is coming.

But I think she is, like, probably actually more fierce.

I don't think she's gonna be the victim.

I think maybe she's the aggressor in some capacity.

She's got some aggression underneath her that we haven't seen yet.

Yeah.

So I'm actually gonna go through quite a lot of their.

What happens with Chelsea and Rick, because I just think it's easier to package it all up.

Totally.

So Chelsea finally presses Rick for information about why he's going to Bangkok.

And this discussion becomes more serious later that day when they're on the yacht.

She basically tells him she can't stay with him if he isn't going to ever let her in.

And when she tells him this, she insists that he start opening up to her by sharing with her why they are in Thailand and why he's going to Bangkok.

Which is when we get a very big reveal.

There were some good reveals in this.

Episode that I predicted.

I predicted this.

Yep.

As suspected, the man who murdered Rick's father owns the White Lotus.

We learned that his father came to Thailand to help locals save their land from being stolen by a shady American.

Who we assume is Jim.

Yep.

Until one day, his father disappeared.

Rick's mother told Rick the name of the person who did it, and it is Jim, Shwetala's husband and the owner of the hotel.

So Chelsea asks him not to go to Bangkok.

She asks, what is the point?

And Rick says, I need to tell him to his face what he did to me.

Chelsea wants to go with him because she has a really bad feeling about it, but he says no.

So that's like, basically their relationship.

This whole episode, it definitely gave me the impression that they do both really love each other.

Yeah.

At one point, she starts crying, saying that he never tells her anything.

And then she says, it really hurts my feelings, which I think is a valid thing for her to say.

And definitely opens it up to understanding that this relationship is not just an exchange.

Yeah.

This is a genuine relationship that they have here.

Yeah.

Okay.

So now the gal pals, they decide at breakfast that they need more excitement.

And so they enlist their butler, Valentin, to help them have more fun that day, which means they are going to venture off resorts.

Valentin basically sends them to another resort, which they seem to like initially.

Honestly, at first I was like, wait, did they leave the White Lotus?

Like, it just looked like the white ladies leave.

From quiet pool to loud pool.

Yeah.

So they seem to like it initially, but then pretty quickly, Jacqueline decides it is a bargain hotel for retirees.

Yeah.

She's looking around.

She's.

There's an interaction with some little old ladies who are on tour.

Part of a big group there.

Yeah.

Looking around, all she sees is little old ladies.

Little old men everywhere.

I got the feeling that Jacquelyn in this moment is feeling very self conscious, maybe alone and old, considering her husband.

Her young husband is not talking to her.

Yeah.

Yeah.

My question is, why did Valentin send them here?

He must have known there was all these old people.

I think that Valentin is just used to working with rich people that, like, don't really want to go off resort.

And maybe this is, like, it shows that, like, he doesn't actually see them as, like, sexy middle aged women.

He just sees them as old ladies.

Yeah.

I think that's why they're so mad at him.

Yeah.

They're like, what the hell?

Yeah.

So they go back, they confront him.

They basically drag him into Tuk Tuk to take him with them to go to a nearby town.

And when they arrive in town, we learned that it is Songkran, which is a Thai festival that celebrates traditional Thai New Year.

It's held in April, and it is marked by the Throwing and sprinkling of water.

So it's kind of like a water festival where everyone is doing, like, they show, like, throwing water at each other.

More water being wasted, Nobody.

Oh, my God.

So because it's Songkran, locals are all out in the streets with water guns spraying each other.

Valentin leaves the Gal palace to go find his friends, and they are quickly targeted by water gun wielding children, which they do not like.

They were so funny.

These kids were incredible.

Yeah.

They're literally just like, we are going to personally victimize you with these water guns.

And it was everything.

Yeah, this was funny to me because, like, they are now immersed in Thai culture and, like, in a party.

They are fully in a party and none of them want to have anything to do with it.

I was hopeful that Lori might enjoy this.

She does not seem to enjoy this either.

And, you know, the only way out of this waterfront water gun fight is to participate.

Yeah.

This is why they get my cringiest travel award this episode.

Like, the reaction to this.

I mean, I would have been stoked.

I would have been, like, having the time of my life.

I want to go back and see how Jacqueline describes what she's looking for to Valentine, because I feel like this is it.

Like, they're looking for energy, life, young people.

Like, this is all those things.

Too young, though.

But what they really want, let's be real, is they want to go to a club and they want young men to hit on them.

Yeah, that's what they really want.

Anyways, they get my Cringiest Traveler award because they did not embrace the opportunity to learn about and participate in a local tradition.

Missed opportunity.

So this is basically the extent of their storyline in this episode.

Later in the episode, they do regroup with Valentin, who has brought his two friends who also appear to be Russian, and they start partying together.

So it's sort of left that.

We will see how this plays out in the next episode.

I think these men are sex workers.

Yeah, I actually maybe.

And I think Valentin is one too.

My main thought was, like, okay, if Valentin was involved in the robbery at the resort, do we think these two friends of his were robbers?

That is also a great theory.

I think you're right.

I think that's probably the.

It was two robbers, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And Valentin.

Distracted guy talk.

That's got to be the robbers.

It has to be.

I also wrote not Kate the Republican.

Sort of like flirting with the Russian over here.

Yeah.

The irony.

I mean.

Sorry.

She's an independent.

She's an independent.

God.

There was something else I read, which is that something that gets stolen from in the robbery during the White Lotus robbery is a snake necklace.

And one of the men that Gatok brings has a snake tattoo that he shows to one of the ladies.

So I don't know, maybe another correlation.

Okay, so meanwhile, another group of guests are heading out to spend the day on Greg's boat.

Chelsea and Rick are on their way there.

Rick runs into Amrita, who shares with Rick that he has touched her heart.

She tells him, you are not stuck.

You can escape your story and find peace in this life.

And she tells him that she has hope for him.

And some spooky music comes on during this exchange.

It was kind of like an out of nowhere scene.

So I felt like, okay, this is some sort of foreshadowing, like maybe maybe Rick won't kill Jim.

Maybe.

Yeah, I think maybe Amrita will get in his head, like what, like 50ish years that he's been, like, thinking about trying to get revenge for his dad.

So I think he is definitely overdue to just chill out and sort of get over it.

I mean, easier for me to say that to someone even though he's a fictional character.

Yeah, but.

But I also wrote, like, why doesn't Rita care so much about Rick?

Like, to me, I don't know, is there.

It did seem like so out of nowhere and how she was so intentional about this.

I'm like, is there something you want from this man?

But maybe I'm.

That's just my inner Victoria coming out.

I just thought, oh, like, she's basically a counselor.

Like, she probably does come to care about her clients.

I would, I would hope so.

She saw something in Rick.

Grumpy face.

While this is happening, Chelsea goes to check on the woman that was working in the shop during the robbery.

And she comes back and reports to Rick that this woman didn't even get a day off.

She didn't even get a day off.

And Chelsea says, I told her that she needs to get a lawyer.

Which is the most, like, rich person response imaginable.

I also noticed that the first thing that she says when she goes into the shop, like you could hear it in the background.

She immediately tells the shopkeeper that she was bitten by a snake.

That's the first thing she says before she asks if she's okay.

So funny.

Okay, so it's officially boat time.

I paused to do a full analysis of the boats because a lot of people thought this would be the same boat that Jennifer Coolidge falls off of.

They're not the same.

It's not the same boat.

The other boat was smaller, I think.

And there are different types of boats.

Like this one had, like a pontoon style.

Yeah.

Whereas the other one was more traditional luxury yacht.

But Tanya definitely paid for this yacht.

That's my theory, I think.

Yeah.

All of her life savings or whatever, life insurance went to this yacht, definitely.

So on the boat today are the Ratliffs, Chloe, Chelsea, Rick and Gary.

It's honestly a very anxiety inducing group because Timothy clearly hates Rick.

Yeah.

Victoria's making fun of Chloe.

I wrote on my notes, all caps.

Oh, no, not Tim and Rick.

Yeah.

The only people excited to see each other are Chloe and Chelsea and Chloe and Saxon.

Yeah.

And the boat is also just full of LVHs and their underage girlfriends.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So weird vibes on the boat.

Timothy spends the boat trip spiraling as he takes more and more Ativan.

He's also mixing it with alcohol, which is not a good idea.

And then Victoria spends the boat trip just, like, judging people and spiraling because her Ativan is missing.

We know where it's gone, but she does not.

Saxon obviously spends the boat trip egging Lachlan on to flirt with the women on the boat.

And Lachlan, I thought, this is so cute.

He starts doing magic tricks.

I know.

Which, like, honestly, like, that would work on me.

Like, if you're trying to hit on me, like, just do magic trick.

Also funny, because people are loving it.

He is like the life of the party.

Yeah.

I will also reveal that I know some magic tricks because a friend of mine is Katie.

I've done them for you.

Don't you remember?

No.

Oh, I haven't.

I thought I did.

No, you weren't at that event.

One time I brought my deck of cards to an event and I just did magic tricks for everyone because a friend of mine has, like, been learning for years and years and years.

And on my birthday, he taught me one really good trick.

I'll do it for you next time we see each other.

Did you just have the one trick that you know?

Yeah.

I love this.

Anyways, if you're socially anxious, it's a great way to break the ice.

I also wanted to point out.

So Parker Posey's character, Victoria, she hides her purse under a pillow on a couch.

Something I've done many a time.

But the only thing valuable in my purse is the things inside.

How much do you think Parker Posey's bag is?

I looked this up, up.

$10,000.

It's actually not that expensive.

So it's a Gucci bamboo purse.

It is $3,980, so almost a 4K purse.

American USD.

Oh, that's like $6,000 Canadian.

Just tucks it under a pillow.

Oh, my gosh.

This is good.

We should continue to Google random things.

I actually.

Piper.

I love Piper's Dr.

I mentioned this already, and I, like, Google imaged one of the dress.

The dress she wears on the boat, actually, because I was like, oh, maybe I'll get this dress.

No, I will not, because it's $400American.

So good.

Okay.

So, yeah, so Lachlan's doing his magic tricks.

It looks like he's starting to, like, feel the vibes.

And we see Saxon and Chloe are, like, getting increasingly cozy with each other.

But there is, like, a good scene between Piper and Lachlan where she reveals to him that she has a plan to move to Koh Samui for at least a year after she graduates.

And she's not actually there to write a thesis.

She's not there to write a thesis.

I love this too.

I called her.

She's there to check out the meditation center.

Yep.

So she is planning to tell their parents this evening.

And she says, you need to say some things, like supportive things to give me ammo in this discussion.

And he asks her, why are you doing this?

And she says to him, I can just tell that it's the right place for me.

So I found this really interesting because it spurred questions for me.

I was like, piper, like, couldn't you do this meditation work at home?

And, like, are a few.

I think she's been to the temple twice.

Is, like, two brief visits to the temple enough to really know that it's the right place for you.

She hasn't even walked around in Thailand.

She has not had any exposure to, like, actual life in Thailand.

And so I think it's just, like, a prime example of the urge to escape and, like, find yourself somewhere else.

I have a feeling this is what Mike White was aiming for with this character.

This comes up later in an episode or later in this episode as well that you probably have written down.

But the theme around people either come to Thailand to hide or to seek, and this is very much this entire series.

We will get to this.

Yes.

Okay, so there's a few other notable interactions that happen on the boat.

We learned that Timothy's grandfather was the governor of North Carolina, and his father was a very successful businessman.

Both his parents are dead to which he says, thank God.

We also see an interaction between Chloe and Greg.

Chloe goes to him to ask if they can take the boat out for the full moon party that night.

Oh, one second.

This cat is crumpet.

You gotta go to your.

She's just velcroing onto you.

Go there.

Yeah.

Okay.

Stay there.

Okay.

So.

So Chloe asked Greg if they can take the boat to the full moon party that night.

He says that he has something he needs to do, and so she asks if she can take the boat without him.

Just the whole exchange just really, like when you compare it to Chelsea and R.

Like, you can just see how their relationship is, like, very transactional.

Yes, yes, I wrote that down, too.

I was like, there's a notable difference between Chloe being there for the boat and Chelsea would rather be with Rick.

And even when they leave the boat, she's really desperate to be with Rick.

Would prefer to do that than to stay on the boat.

Yeah.

And then we see this exchange that you've mentioned.

It's between Timothy and Greg.

Timothy says to Greg that they say anyone who moves to Thailand is either looking for something or hiding from something.

And Gary replies, neither.

I got sick of the rat race.

I'm sure you did.

I'm sure you did.

I don't really think of government jobs as the rat race, but okay.

Greg then asks Timothy, are you hiding or seeking?

To which he responds, I'm just on vacation, my friend.

But you never know.

Wait, I didn't catch him.

Say, but you never know.

He kind of trails off, and then he says, but you never know.

Oh, back to your theory.

Timmy's never leaving.

I don't think he is.

This episode, for me, like, really made me think that, but we'll see.

Interesting.

Because, like, I'll save it.

We'll talk about it in a bit.

Okay, so now we cut back to Belinda, who is at the White Lotus and very troubled.

We see her Google Tanya's name and the results that come.

Wait a second.

They're allowed to have their laptops?

No, they're not.

I think Belinda is okay.

She must be, because she's working.

Just an aside.

Yeah.

So we see her Google Tanya's name, and the results that come up are that Tanya has drowned under mysterious circumstances, which we know.

And then she clicks into an article, and we learned that Tanya's body was one of four that were found off of Taormina.

Oh, I was, like, pausing to, like, read the articles that she pulled up.

One of four.

So she wasn't the only person maybe the gays were killed as well.

Didn't she?

Didn't.

Wait, now I have to re.

Watch that scene again because wouldn't other people.

People dying on the boat too?

Didn't the gays also die on the boat?

I don't know that that was confirmed.

I don't think so.

Wait, did they Wait?

Yeah.

Interesting.

No, because she thinks they're trying to kill her.

Yeah.

I have to review that scene.

I'm gonna go back and watch it because now I need to know.

But yeah.

So there were four bodies found.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we also learned that Greg is wanted in Italy for questioning and has not responded to requests for questioning.

Yes.

So Greg is definitely in hiding.

And this is when I was like, I think now that Belinda has spotted him and can, like, tie him back to things, there is now a motive for Greg to kill Belinda.

Yeah, definitely.

So she then Googles Greg and we see that he worked for the blm.

It just made me remember her.

That scene in season one where Tanya's like, oh, you work for Black Lives Matter?

No, it's the Bureau of Land Management.

So he worked there for 27 years.

And then.

Yeah, so this.

This Google by Belinda really just confirms that Greg is, like, pretending to be, quote, unquote, Gary.

So meanwhile, the boat trip wraps up.

Rick leaves the boat to head to Bangkok.

Greg leaves it to go do something, and Timothy, Victoria and Piper get off the boat to go to dinner.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, Chloe, Saxon, and Lachlan stay on the boat to go to the full moon party.

I'm just rereading through some of my notes.

There was a couple of conversations that happened on the boat just before it ended.

One where Rick is telling Chelsea about his plan and what happened to his dad.

And Chelsea says, so is this a bit.

You killed my father prepared to die.

Such a good line reference to the Princess Bride.

So good.

Also, on the boat, Timothy is just, like, wasted just drinking.

As you mentioned, he's got the Lorazepam, but so much so that he's, like, touching Piper's face and just being so obvious about it.

And yet still Victoria's like, not got a clue.

Even Piper doesn't question it that much.

Which I was like, if my dad was doing that to me, I would be like, are you okay, Dad?

I might be like, dad's a little drunk kind of thing, but I don't know.

She is young, so maybe she.

And she does strike me as like a very straight edge woman, so maybe she's just not been exposed to drug use.

Yeah, it Kind of reminds me of when I went to St.

Martin with my parents and we went to the beach and my mom had a couple.

I think she only had like two rum punches, but they just hit her so hard and she just could not stop giggling all the way back to our car.

And that memory has lived with me forever.

And I never thought of her any different way other than just like, haha, my mom had a couple too many rum punches.

Yeah.

Okay, so I think we should also just mention what a full moon party is in case there's people that have not been to Thailand or not heard of this.

It's a beach party essentially, that happens on the night of the full moon or around that time.

This is not a Thai tradition.

This was started by backpackers and they basically like have a bad reputation these days.

People get very drunk at this and do a lot of drugs at these parties.

They're known for leaving tons of trash all over beaches.

So they're not very good for the environment and people.

Bad things happen to people at these parties because they get like, very out of control.

So I did not attend a full moon party when I was in Thailand.

It was a choice.

But I would love to hear from someone who has, I would like insider knowledge about what these are like.

So anyways, that's where the boat crew.

Is headed, by the way, who's driving the boat there?

Because Greg's not on the boat boat.

I guess he was.

They have staff for sure.

They must have staff.

Okay.

These luxury yachts, like they have a.

Whole team be lying directly towards an island.

There's a show about this.

I haven't watched the show.

It's called like Below Deck or something.

Yeah.

So at dinner, Victoria launches into her.

Her assessment of the boat trip, which was hilarious.

This was an iconic scene.

Yeah.

Which is that she thought she was going to have a grand mal seizure.

She says that was a convention for con men and tax cheats.

She also mentions that she wouldn't be surprised if a few of them were killers.

And she says all of this in a way that is so unhinged.

But it's funny because she is not wrong.

Yes.

She's 100% accurate.

There's a confirmed killer on board.

There are confirmed fraudsters on board, AKA her husband, confirmed creeps on board, AKA her son.

It's just hilarious to me that she's.

She of all the characters, sees it for what it is.

But through the lens of her Like ADA Van Hayes.

Yeah.

And.

But yet she still can't see Timothy.

Yeah.

She calls him a boy Scout.

Yeah.

And that was, like, a funny exchange too, because she says to Piper, like, aren't you glad your father isn't like that?

And it's like, oh, some dark foreshadowing here.

So it's definitely been established that Victoria is very distrustful and has paranoia about people.

Interestingly, it seems to be very much about people who are part of her own wealthy crowd, which is interesting, given what her husband has been up to.

So it's actually, like.

It made me kind of sad to think this, but I realized that when the deceit and the fraud that he's been involved with gets exposed, it's going to reinforce the fact that Victoria cannot trust anyone within her circle because she's gonna have been wronged by her own husband.

Yeah.

Is this also a commentary around, like, there is just no ethical billionaire class or something?

Like, I don't know, if it gets harder and harder to find good people in the wealth sphere, then maybe that tells you about wealthy people.

Yeah.

I mean, I think most people who have that amount of wealth have not come by it honestly, but, yeah, maybe that'll be her arc.

She'll realize.

The thing is, she's trapped in it now.

Like, do you think Victoria could go out and get a job?

I don't know.

I don't know.

And I don't see.

I don't sadly, see much growth for her.

No, me neither.

Okay.

So Timothy.

Timothy later goes to get his phone from Pam, and I just, like, howled at the way Pam says when he asked for his phone.

I butchered that.

But, like, just in such an Australian way.

Oh, no.

Amanda Kendall's gonna come for us.

She is.

She is.

Anyone who's Australian and listening, I'm very sorry how badly we butchered that.

I wrote, bad idea, Timothy to grab your.

Grab your phone when you're having a destructive mental health moment.

Yes.

Yes.

So he receives his phone.

Obviously, things are not good.

He learns from his lawyer that Kenny is cooperating with the Feds.

The lawyer tells him that he's advised to plead guilty.

He learns that his assets have probably been frozen and that the Feds can take whatever they want, including the family's house.

So it's become obvious that, like, they will have nothing when they return.

And Timothy mentions that he would rather die than go to PR and which reinforced my idea that, like, he might not go back to the U.S.

I.

Think he's just going to.

Nope.

Out of Everything and just become an lbh.

I think so too.

And I think he might try to convince his whole family to do the same.

Maybe his Piper already wants to be there.

Lachlan doesn't have much going for him yet because he's young.

Saxon just wants to do anything his dad does and also definitely doesn't want to go to jail and also loves the sex tourism industry in Thailand, so.

But Saxon strikes me as someone who doesn't want to be poor.

Yeah, like they don't have any money in Thailand, so it's not like being.

It'll be easier because cost of living is lower.

But like, yeah, but Saxon will just try to create a new startup business because he's not technically guilty in any of those things.

I could see Saxon being like, like, I'm going back, you guys stay here.

Mm, yeah, maybe Piper's gonna love it.

She'll be like woohoo.

And go to her meditation.

Finally we're pulling.

Okay, so then like a pretty critical scene happens.

While Timothy is on the phone.

Gytok walks Mook to the hotel from the security office.

And while he walks her, he has left the gun out on the table.

When he comes back from the walk, he finds that it has disappeared.

So we do see when he gets off the phone, look into the security office.

Kind of like wide eyed.

I thought that was like a strange shot of him.

He definitely notices the gun.

For sure.

He does.

And I think like the suggestion is that he is taking the gun especially cause he literally just said I'd rather die than go to jail.

Yeah.

But then I thought to myself, okay, did he peer into the security office and see a monkey holding the gun?

I saw it looked like the, the framing was of the gun on the table and then you could see Timothy through the window and the gun was sort of blurred out.

Like you could see it was the gun, but it was, it was just like not the focus.

So I think he definitely saw the gun just sitting on the table.

I think he took it.

Yeah.

Okay, good to know.

And that's basically it.

We are left on a pretty intense cliffhanger.

The full moon party is about to begin.

Rick is on route to Bangkok.

The gal are who knows where.

Notably Rick is in the airport that is filled entirely of white hippies.

There is not one single Thai person I saw in this shot.

Yeah, this was my other cringe moment.

Rick, you, you should have traveled overland.

What are you doing taking these short haul flights?

Do I expect more from you?

Not really.

But if we're, if we're trying to be more responsible tourists.

You should have taken the ferry to the mainland and then an overnight, which is what I did.

I think you've picked both of my travel cringe moments being that and the water gun fight.

The water gun fight was my pick for sure.

Yeah.

Who is your conscientious traveler?

Oh, hold on.

There's more to wrap up.

More.

So the cliffhanger is that Rick is on route to Bangkok.

The gal pals are who knows where.

The full moon party is about to begin.

Timothy has learned the gravity of his situation and has still not told his family.

Piper is planning to tell her family that she is going to move to Thailand.

Greg is doing something extremely sketchy.

At the end of the episode, we see him looking at Belinda's Instagram.

I missed that.

What?

The final scene is him in his mansion.

His.

I wrote down his mansion.

I think I was just too busy looking at the mansion that is also definitely funded by Tanya's money.

And he is on his laptop creeping Belinda's Instagram and looking at pictures of her and her son.

Folks, this is why your Instagram should be private.

Private.

Yes, yes.

In case Greg is trying to kill you.

So yeah, Greg has definitely those two.

And there is a scene like when they're in the white lotus of them like locking eyes for a minute.

So like the tension is building there.

And then the final shot is of the yacht heading toward the full moon as the sun sets and the moon rises.

So I have a feeling the next episode is going to be like.

Most of the episodes span like the course of a day, but I think that the next episode is going to be nighttime.

Yeah, I hope so.

Like, I hope we see the full moon party.

This is the thing I thought like for episode four, like, I was like, are we still like laying the foundation here?

And if next episode isn't like hitting the ground running, I'm going to be disappointed.

Yeah, I.

I kind of felt the same way.

But the first two episodes introducing all of the this stuff.

I do think, like everything that happened in this episode though was like really critical and really interesting.

Like there were some huge reveals in this episode.

100%.

It's just like the pace, like it's.

It is slower, but I'm still thoroughly enjoying it.

Okay.

Yeah, no, I'm definitely enjoying it for sure.

Okay.

So who's your conscious conscientious traveler?

I honestly don't have one picked right now.

I'd say hard to say cuz I didn't see anyone super stand out to me.

I'm curious to hear your pick first.

It's always really difficult, but I have to give it to Piper because she opted out of the full moon party.

Yes.

Okay.

Love this.

Love this.

Yeah, I think that's my pick too.

I don't think I can pick anyone else.

I wanted to give it to the gal pals because they went off resort, but.

But they didn't.

That's the.

I was thinking the same thing.

I was like, they were so cute, close.

But when they were finally off resort, they hated it.

Yeah.

They prefer to be at a different resort.

Yeah.

Yeah.

In fact, I think they have officially visited three resorts in one day.

Yeah.

I think it'll be interesting to see what happens with them on their night out.

Yeah.

I did a little bit more looking into to the opening sequence just before we wrap up with the name of.

Wait, hold on.

What was her name?

I just.

Why did I delete it?

The woman who plays Belinda in the opening sequence, her.

The actress's name that I'm blanking on now is seen next to a crane looking at its reflection in the water or sort of having a reflection in the water and an alligator creeping on it while it does this.

This is definitely symbolism in some capacity of.

I was thinking, like, oh, maybe Belinda kind gets wrapped up in, like, the beauty of being at the White Lotus, but I think this is just, like, maybe it's a reflection of her literally reflecting on the past and an old version of herself and that kind of thing.

And the alligator.

Is Greg coming for her?

Coming for her?

Who knows?

Doing too much, digging into this stuff.

That's the thing.

I know you can really go down a rabbit hole with this show.

I'm going down rabbit holes.

And then I watch the episode and I'm like, oh, no.

It's still kind of surface level, but, like, you can read.

You can just watch the show without thinking about it too hard and.

And get everything you need out of it.

So, yeah, I'm excited for the next episode.

It's gonna get rowdy, I think.

I think so.

It's gonna be good.

It's gonna be juicy.

I think we're gonna see things, like, come to a head in this episode or start to.

At least they, at the very least, start to come on White Lotus.

It's episode five.

Five.

Episode five.

I know I'm seeing a lot of people saying that they don't love this season.

I think the first season is still my favorite season.

It will always be mine, for sure.

It'll.

Nothing can beat it.

It was so good.

It was just so good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, well, I guess we'll see where it goes from here.

I'll see you at the moon party.

I'll see you.

See you at the full moon party.