The White Lotus
Credit: HBO
This weekend’s episode of The White Lotus ends with a promise, or perhaps a threat. As several of our heroes boat off across the ocean to an island full moon party, Saxon raises his beer in a toast: “$&%!’s about to get crazy!” he says the other partygoers. There is much merriment all around. But we know that Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is correct. Things are about to get very crazy, indeed, for both the staff and guests of Thailand’s posh White Lotus hotel. Spoilers ahead.
The Last Boy Scout
The White Lotus
Credit: HBO
Probably the most significant moment in the entire season so far, other than the shooting itself in the opening scene, is the introduction of The Gun. Russian playwright Anton Chekov famously said, when discussing narratives, “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.”
Mike White turns this idiom on its head a bit by introducing a body in the first act, but it’s the same concept. Episode 4 effectively begins the second act of this season of The White Lotus, and it’s not until the second act that the actual gun makes an appearance. Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) is having a very bad week. The feds are investigating a shady embezzlement scheme he and a colleague, Kenny (Ke Huy Quan) were involved in, and he learns from his lawyer that said colleague is fully cooperating with the investigation. So much for killing himself, now he’s selling Timothy down the river.
Ratliff is clearly not above stealing. The money scheme may have been his first taste of “this and that” but he continues to steal and lie once in Thailand. He pilfers one of his wife’s benzos after she urges him to take one to relax. Then he takes a couple more. When Victoria (Parker Posey) confronts her children about the missing pills, he doesn’t confess. When they go on Gary/Greg’s (John Gries) boat, Victoria hides her purse and Timothy steals the entire bottle.
How he’s still managing to stand, let alone stay awake, by the dinnertime is truly baffling. Several lorazepams and several drinks in, he can barely sit up straight.
There are several important moments with Timothy:
- He tells a couple on the boat that he’s in finance and then reveals that his grandfather was the governor of South Carolina, his father was a successful businessman and then starts rambling about how glad he is his parents are dead. The couple politely makes their escape.
- At the bar, he asks Gary/Greg what he’s doing in Thailand. They say people only come here for two reasons, he tells him, to look for something or to hide from something. We know that Gary/Greg is doing both, but he brushes it off. He’s just retired. When he asks Timothy the same question, he says that he’s just on vacation with his family “But you never know . . . .”
- Finally, at dinner his wife tells Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) that she’s lucky her dad isn’t like one of those tax-evaders and other ne’er-do-wells on the boat. He’s a “boy scout” she says. Rattled, he makes a quick exit and goes to retrieve his phone.
The last conversation he has is with his lawyer, who tells him the bad news and that he should expect prison time, though in a cushy federal prison and only a few months if they play their cards right. “I’d rather die!” Timothy shouts. And what’s he supposed to tell his family now that all their assets have likely been frozen and the government is poised to take their house and all their worldly goods? “That we’re poor now?” he scoffs. He hurls some further abuse at his lawyer before hanging up. And as he veers into a panic attack that even a day of lorazepam and booze can’t waylay, he looks up and notices something.
Which brings us to Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) who is about to have a very bad evening. The affable security guard hasn’t had the best day, either. He’s been given a stern talking-to by both hotel manager, Fabian (Christian Friedel) and his direct supervisor. The supervisor wants him to learn how to shoot a pistol, which he takes out of his desk and shows him. Immediately, I knew this would be The Gun.
Later, as Gaitok sits staring at the handgun, Mook (Lalisa Manobal) walks in, dressed in an elaborate costume and looking quite lovely. Gaitok is twitterpated, and forgets everything else. He offers to walk Mook back when she says it’s time to go, and all he can think of is how badly he wants to go on a date with her. He doesn’t think about putting the gun back.
So there it is, on the desk, when Timothy Ratliff looks up. Gaitok passes him on the way back to the security guard station, but it’s doubtful he’ll put two and two together. The gun is gone, and Gaitok’s world comes crashing down around him.
I Want My Father Back, You S.O.B.
The White Lotus
Credit: HBO
For some time now, I’ve suspected that Rick (Walton Goggins) hasn’t brought Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) to The White Lotus for R&R, though lord knows he could use some. In “Hide or Seek” we confirm our suspicions. After much pouting and begging, Rick tells Chelsea the truth. The man who (allegedly) murdered his father while his father was (allegedly) just trying to help people in Thailand is the owner of the hotel. That’s why they’re here and that’s why Rick has to go to Bangkok.
She doesn’t want him to go because she knows he’ll likely do something stupid and try to take revenge. Is this like a “You killed my father, prepare to die thing?” she asks, in a very funny little reference to one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. He assures her that it is not, that he just wants to look the man in the eyes and tell him what he’s done, how he’s ruined his life, but it seems unlikely that Rick will be calm enough to leave it at that, should he find his father’s killer.
Rick also bumps into Amrita (Shalini Peiris) who tells him that he’s touched her heart, and urges him to continue to come to meditation sessions. You can break the karmic cycle, she says. He can walk a new path. This has an impact on him, clearly, but he tells her he’s off to Bangkok and leaves it at that.
It’s All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Soaked
The White Lotus
Credit: HBO
Much of the comic relief this episode comes from the Gossip Girls: Kate (Leslie Bib), Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan). Jaclyn is stressing out about her husband’s lack of communication. He isn’t answering her calls or returning her texts. She’s half-convinced herself that he’s just busy shooting a movie, but she has her doubts. These manifest as anstiness. Jaclyn wants to get out of the hotel and go do something fun.
The Gossip Girls turn to Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius) for suggestions and he sends them first to a nearby beach pool and bar. Here, Jaclyn runs into some older women who ask if she’s on TV. After a brief and deeply awkward conversation, Jaclyn begins to notice her surroundings: Almost all of the guests are old. She grows increasingly flustered and then gathers her friends and makes a speedy retreat, hollering at them to hurry up.
She finds Valentin and asks him why he sent them there. It’s a good question. This was clearly not the vibe she was looking for and Valentin certainly knew that. They force him to join them on their next endeavor and the quartet heads into town where he departs to go track down his friends to join them. Before he goes, they notice that everyone in the crowd has water-guns and he says not to worry. The locals are celebrating Songkran, a holiday that is traditionally celebrated with water fights. This takes place during the hottest, driest time of the year in Thailand, and it actually gives us a precise date for when this story is taking place: Between April 13th and April 15th.
In any case, this all seems kind of curious to them until some mischievous children take an interest in these three white women, so clearly not participating in the festivities. Soon, the Gossip Girls are surrounded by kids with super-soakers, blasting them as they first beg, then scold, then run screaming through the streets. Honestly, in that heat why not just enjoy it? If they’d simply ignored their attackers, the kids would have gotten bored and moved on, but instead they did everything possible to ensure they’d get a good spray-down, before finally hiding in a little shop to escape. When they look out, the kids are waiting for them. It’s probably the most hilarious moment yet this season, and the funniest this show has been since Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) tried to climb off the boat in Season 2 and derped her way to an early grave.
Finally, our trio makes their way to a beachside bar where Valentin and two of his friends await. These are, I assume, the two thieves from the second episode. The first is Biković (Julian Kostov) whose eyes and brow match the masked gunman’s. The second is Vlad (Yuri Kolokolnikov) who’s wearing a hat, but who looks like he could easily be the driver from the jewelry heist due to his lack of hair. $%*^’s about to get crazy, alright!
The Curious Incident Of The Gary In The Night-Time
The White Lotus
Credit: HBO
Finally, we have Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) who can’t stop thinking about Greg/Gary and how she knows she knows him and can’t shake how weird the whole thing is. She hears another noise in her room, but I don’t think this is Greg/Gary. Maybe it’s a monkey. I don’t think it’s him because he doesn’t start investigating her until the end of the episode, and the noises she’s been hearing were at the end of last week’s episode and beginning of this week’s.
In any case, she looks up Tanya and learns about her untimely and suspicious death. She also learns that her husband was wanted for questioning by Italian authorities but never showed up. He’s off hiding in Thailand, up to no good. She’s shocked by these revelations, though it’s unclear what she plans to do about it, or whether she’ll be able to before Greg/Gary does something to silence her.
Her son, Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) is set to arrive the next day. We already met him, of course, when we see him and Amrita during a meditation session when the gunshots start ringing out in the jungle.
Who’s shooting the gun? Is it Timothy, finally off his rocker with stress going on a suicide shooting spree? Could it be one of the thieves? Or perhaps Rick, hunting down his father’s killer? Maybe one of the Gossip Girls has a mental breakdown and goes on a rampage. Then again, it could be Gaitok chasing down Valentin’s cronies.
Or perhaps . . . just maybe . . . it’s a monkey with a gun. If you introduce a monkey in the first act, you have to have it fire a gun in the third. Chekov’s Monkey.
Scattered Thoughts
- What if Sritala (Lek Patravadi) and her husband are mixed up in the robbery? They could be pulling an insurance scam. Who better knows just how lax the security is at the hotel?
- I am starting to suspect that when Rick finds his father’s killer, the man will be in such bad health that exacting revenge will not seem as appealing. But I also believe that Rick will get in some kind of trouble in Bangkok.
- The full moon party is going to be crazy. Saxon and Lachlan (Sam Nivola) are hoping for a good time, but I wonder if they’re getting in over their heads. We all are sort of rooting for Saxon to get smacked down in some form or another, but I worry about Lachlan, who is too easily influenced by his crummy big brother.
- Piper also reveals this episode that she’s planning on moving to Thailand to join the Buddhist retreat. She wants to reveal this at dinner, but her timing could not be worse. It appears she won’t that conversation just yet. She’s also the first to notice that her father is acting not just strangely, but that something is wrong. She asks him and he just stares at her, then sort of caresses her hair and face and tells her he loves her so much, that she’s perfect, until he’s interrupted by Victoria’s arrival and news that her pills are missing. It’s . . . uncomfortable. I think all the weird incestuous stuff we’ve noticed with the Ratliff family is making me see every interaction of theirs through that lens, even if there isn’t anything going on.
- I’ll add any other scattered thoughts I come up with to this section if and when I have them.
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