The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 1 Recap: Welcome to Thailand

It’s finally time to check back into The White Lotus. Originally a pandemic-era miniseries that turned into an anthology after becoming a runaway hit, The White Lotus and its cast of incorrigibles have touched down in Ko Samui, Thailand, for another week of vacation gone wrong.

While each White Lotus season has its own setting, cast, and theme (this time, it’s “death and Eastern religion and spirituality,” per creator Mike White), certain motifs repeat. Like its predecessors, season three opens with the discovery of a dead body, setting the stage for another murder mystery in paradise. The very first shot of the season is of a monkey looking thoughtfully at the sky from its perch in a tree. From there, we enter the White Lotus’s idyllic grounds, where a young man named Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) is having a peaceful meditation session with wellness employee Amrita (Shalini Peiris).

We learn that Zion, who grew up in Hawaii, is there at the urging of his mother, who thinks he’s under too much stress with school finals and mysterious other “things.” As Zion and Amrita take a deep breath in and out, their moment of zen is interrupted by the sound of gunshots, and terrified, they both scatter from the room. Wading through jungle waters, Zion sees other hotel employees and guests running and hiding from the faceless shooter. Coming across a large statue of Buddha, Zion prays to both the figure and Jesus for protection, setting up the season’s themes of spiritual ambiguity, human frailty, family, and desperation. “Don’t let anything happen to my mother, motherfucker,” Zion begs-slash-threatens Buddha, and just as he looks up, a lifeless body floats by him.

And thus, we’re in for another whodunnit, with the tense stakes of the opening scene quickly fading to the vacation vibes of a Thai schooner floating across the sea. We’re introduced to some of our main cast, who are already in conflict, as preppy couple Timothy and Victoria Ratliff (Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey) glare at the disheveled Rick (Walton Goggins) as he lights up a cigarette, his much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) taking a selfie beside him in a knit bathing suit cover-up. The Ratliffs’s three children, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola), sit quietly, each lost in their own world. A group of three giggling blonde women make up the season’s girls’ weekend contingent, played by Carrie Coon (Laurie), Michelle Monaghan (Jaclyn), and Leslie Bibb (Kate). We don’t even make it to the dock before frat bro Saxon (the Sperrys and sunglasses strapped around his neck are a giveaway) and Rick nearly come to blows over the cigarette, which stays lit. Seems like it’ll be a restful week.

As much as The White Lotus spends time satirizing its upper-class vacationers, it also focuses on the underclass forced to serve them. Back on land, we meet two such characters—White Lotus employees Mook (Blackpink’s Lalisa Manobal) and Gaitok (Thai actor Tayme Thapthimthong). Gaitok gives Mook a ride to work on the back of his moped since hers has broken down, setting up a welcome romantic comedy B-plot.

Once our guests arrive on shore, they’re greeted by Mook, ingratiating hotel manager Fabian (Christian Friedel), and the glamorous owner of the resort, Sritala (played by Lek Patravadi, whom White has described as the “Judi Dench of Thailand”). She’s particularly interested in meeting the group of girlfriends (who have known each other since childhood), throwing herself at Monaghan’s Jaclyn, a successful actress back in America. Sritala introduces the women to their hunky “health mentor” for the week, the shirtless Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius), and the show’s sexual tension is ignited.

As the Ratliffs check into their suite, we learn some key facts about the family. First, the basics: they’re from North Carolina, where both mother and daughter attended school at UNC Chapel Hill. Middle child Piper, appropriately draped in a prim white nap dress, is a religious studies major currently writing her senior thesis on Buddhism, which is why the Ratliffs are visiting Thailand: so she can interview a particular monk at a nearby monastery. The men of the family all have or are expected to go to Duke; shy, youngest son Lochlan is currently deciding between the two schools, with pressure from both parents to attend their alma mater.

Now, for the gritty: older son Saxon works for his dad’s company, and the two polo-shirt-clad men are too addicted to their phones (and work) to turn them over for the hotel’s recommended digital detox. High-strung, fabulously kooky mom Victoria (with a Gucci Bamboo 1947 handbag slung over her shoulder) is fine with the idea, though she seems more dedicated to preserving her positive image of the family than diving deep into the wellness package hotel employee Pam (Morgana O’Reilly) is offering them. This is The White Lotus, after all, so there’s bound to be some boundary-pushing sexual storylines; in this case, it’s an incestuous undercurrent to the relationship between Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan. When Piper suggests Lochlan can share her room, Saxon blurts out, “Brothers and sisters don’t sleep together after they have full-grown, you know…genitals,” before roughhousing an annoyed Piper. “We’re a normal family, you’ll see,” Victoria only somewhat jokingly tells Pam.

Next, Rick and Chelsea check into their suite, and we learn that the bohemian couple has been traveling the world together: Mexico, Costa Rica, “wherever really, because Rick barely works,” as Chelsea brightly tells Mook. The odd couple seems like a mismatch on a few fronts: there’s the glaring age gap, but there’s also an inconsistency in energy; Chelsea is bubbly, goofy, and absolutely thrilled to be in Thailand. Rick is disgruntled, depressed, and drinking heavily. He’s also asking Mook pointed questions about hotel owner Sritala. We learn that her husband, Jim Hollinger, is a “very famous man in Thailand” and is currently in Bangkok for a medical procedure. Rick seems disappointed that Jim isn’t at the White Lotus but won’t tell Chelsea why or what’s clearly bothering him, instead growling, “You’re the one who’s crazy.”

Over at the girlfriends’ suite, the dynamics of the decades-long friendship triangle begin to reveal themselves. As the famous actress, Jaclyn is The Successful One, having paid for the trip (the very put-together Kate, rocking a slick blonde bob, insists she’ll be paying for her own spa treatments and a few of Jaclyn’s, too). Laurie has a just-happy-to-be-here vibe, and gets the party started, popping open a bottle of wine. The conversation quickly turns to what cosmetic procedures each woman has (or hasn’t) had, with excessive compliments covering up a sense of jealousy and insecurity, especially on Kate’s part (“You look amazing,” “No, you look amazing,” she and Jaclyn keep telling each other, while Laurie sits there awkwardly, ignored). It’s all very Real Housewives.

Last season, White brought back Jennifer Coolidge’s beloved Tanya McQuoid (who was set up to be murdered in Italy by her husband, Greg Hunt—more on that later). White promised another fan-favorite reprisal, and this season, it’s White Lotus spa manager Belinda, played by Natasha Rothwell. You’ll recall that in season one, Belinda was screwed over by Tanya, who, after leaning on Belinda for excessive emotional support, promised to give her the money to open her own spa and then dumped her the minute she felt better. It was a devastating blow to Belinda, but she didn’t quit the hotel; now, she’s on an employee exchange program to bring the best aspects of Thai wellness culture back to Maui. She shares that her son is coming to visit, and it becomes apparent that she’s Zion’s mother. Hotel employee Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) acts as Belinda’s exchange guide, and the two have instant chemistry. He quickly becomes her chivalrous caretaker, moving aside a harmless but frightening lizard, introducing her to everyone on the property, and showing her his way of praying to his Hindu gods. “It’s been a rough couple of years,” Belinda says. “I think the universe knew I needed something.”

On the other side of the property, the adorable Gaitok continues to try to impress Mook. When he sees Sritala’s tattooed, imposing bodyguards flirting with her, he warns that they’re arrogant men and promises to do whatever it takes to impress his “princess.” So far, everything remains uncertain except that we’re firmly Team Gaitok.

Let’s check back in with the Ratliffs. Over at the pool, Saxon doubles down on his lecherous behavior, shooting his shot at a completely uninterested Chelsea. Piper, meanwhile, takes Lochlan to check out the monastery she’s planned this trip around. Having refused to give up his phone, Timothy gets a terse voicemail from a Wall Street Journal reporter urging him to call back. He brushes it off but seems concerned. For such a successful businessman, a call like that can’t be anything good. Lochlan heads back to the pool to join Saxon, who wastes no time in oversharing with his little brother, “Dude, those long plane rides make me so fucking horny,” adding that getting with women on vacation is as easy as “printing money.” He unsuccessfully tries to flirt with our trio of girlfriends (calling them cougars, of course). Unphased by their total lack of interest—amused even, by the challenge—he tells his brother, “It’s a numbers game, Loch. You gotta play the numbers.”

At dinner, we find out that Piper hasn’t even set up her interview with the monk yet—something strange is definitely afoot there. Timothy tells Lochlan to take advantage of the hotel’s posture-correcting treatment. “If you’re gonna sit in front of a computer your whole life, it’d be good not to be a hunchback,” he warns his son. Lochlan replies that he’ll be busy thinking about which college he wants to attend—Duke or Chapell Hill. “What’s the decision?” Timothy asks. “You got into Duke. You’re going to Duke.” It’s obvious what this family’s priorities are.

At a nearby table, Rick stares down Sritala as she chats up Jaclyn, Laurie, and Kate. The sophisticated hotelier was once a famous actress and singer, too, and she’ll be performing later for the guests. She also shares that after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, she’s gotten deep into wellness culture, becoming a “pioneer” in the space. Rick loses his appetite after listening to this exchange, and Chelsea continues to try to codependently fix him. “You know, I think the cosmos brought us together so that we could get to the root of your issues,” she tells him. “I’m gonna help you get your joy back...even if it kills me.” Later, Rick secretly Googles images of Sritala and her American husband. Clearly, he’s not just in Thailand for fun.

Outside the restaurant—no phones allowed, remember?—the reason for the Wall Street Journal reporter’s call to Timothy comes into ominous focus. He’s writing a piece on a man named Kenneth Wynn and wants to know if Timothy worked with him to set up some fund in 2018. Doesn’t sound good. Timothy claims he hasn’t seen or spoken to Kenneth, who is being investigated for his connection to the government of Brunai, in years. He’s visibly shaken by both the call and the story, which is running later that week. As he hangs up, he bumps into Rick, once again smoking a cigarette, and tells him to “fuck off.”

Later, in their hotel room, Timothy mentions the encounter with Rick to Victoria, who says Rick is, of course, just jealous of the amazing, successful, hardworking Timothy. The Ratliff patriarch seems only mildly comforted by his wife’s praises, foreshadowing that whatever he’s hiding from her would destroy her perfect image of him and possibly their family.

At the bar after dinner, Chelsea chats up Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), a “former model” with a vaguely French accent. The two bond over their boyfriends both being older, grumpy, and balding—and when Chloe eventually gestures to her man sitting alone at another table, it’s a shocking reveal: he’s Greg! Chloe says that they’ve been living in Thailand, in a “house up the hill,” for a year. So that’s where Greg ended up, after arranging Tanya’s murder-by-gays and making off with her money.

Back in their room, the trio of girls are catching up over another few glasses of wine, and it’s another round of Jaclyn and Kate complimenting each other on their fabulous lives while largely ignoring odd-man-out Laurie. Kate is married to a prominent businessman in Austin, Texas, and Jaclyn is married to “the man of her dreams.” “Who would have ever thought, right?” she laughs. Laurie works in the corporate world; “Everything you do is so hard, you’re so impressive,” Jaclyn says. It’s Frenemyship 101. Kate says that when her husband called their Thailand vacation a “mid-life crisis trip,” she corrected him, saying, “It’s a victory tour.” Eye-roll. Laurie, drunk, stumbles back to her room alone and bursts into guttural sobs.

Over in the Ratliff boys’ room, Saxon continues to be wildly inappropriate with his little brother. He tells him that their sister, Piper, needs to lighten up, and that despite being her “pretty hot,” he doesn’t think she’s ever had sex. He lectures Lochlan on the meaning of life: “pussy, money, freedom, respect.” Lochlan is a bit skeptical, but he’s not not listening. And when Saxon grabs his laptop to watch porn and masturbate in the bathroom—letting his little brother get a good look at him fully nude—Lochlan doesn’t look away until Saxon finally shuts the door.