The White Lotus Season 3 finale opens with a narration from monk Luang Por Teera (Suthichai Yoon), stating, "Our solutions are temporary — they are a quick fix, they create more anxiety, more suffering. There is no resolution to life's question."
A little heavy handed for a finale, yes?
But that is almost always the point of White Lotus — a collection of short stories looking into people's lives while on vacation. A collection of short stories where not every thread has a satisfying conclusion — hell, barely any of them usually get satisfying conclusions. The show usually shows us people's lives while they're on vacation and, while I would never in my life be able to afford a resort like White Lotus, I know my vacations rarely end with some life-altering revelation.
But, also, this is a fictional world so we do need a story — and folks seem split on if we got one or not this season. I think we did but also can understand why folks were left feeling like we needed more.
The most engaging plots this season focused on the group of lifelong frenemies (Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, and Leslie Bibb) with their Real Housewives-type dinners; and on the Ratliff brothers, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola), with their will-they-or-won't-they unhinged incest storyline. I watched the poolside discussion of that Saxon/Lochlan moment with my hoodie pulled up to my eyes. It's impressive how stressed out a show about privileged rich folks can make me feel — Ghostface ain't got nothing on Mike White.
Meanwhile, Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) were main characters with a story that never felt as engaging as Mike White seemed to think. Chelsea was one of the standout characters of the season and a delight to watch on screen, but she didn't have much of a plot other than loving Rick and having to hear the most unhinged sex stories from everyone around her. Chelsea and Rick spending half the season apart didn't exactly help drive home their love. Rick's plot of wanting to find and kill Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) was kind of a dud since it was incredibly obvious that he was actually his father. Chelsea is absolutely the person I would've befriended on vacation but also I would've been constantly telling her she needed to dump her hot mean grumpy man. Chelsea's plot was her devotion to Rick and it ended up literally killing her. Chelsea deserved better — but that was the point, however unfulfilling.
To quote Kurt Vonnegut, in a context he'd probably hate, White Lotus constantly shows us that to these rich people, everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. Even if it should hurt, they will be absolutely be fine after their season ends (unless of course they're literally dead).
Speaking of death, Chelsea felt like the most obvious choice for character who ends up dead. Mike White loves to show us how life doesn't often reward kindness. It rewards wealth. When Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) informs her boss she thinks a murderer is staying at the resort, he simply tells her she's incorrect and moves on. When Belinda is offered hush money, her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) correctly tells her if she doesn't take it, they could both end up dead. Belinda and Chelsea were both in my the top 5 of my death watch list — but once Belinda took the money, I knew she was making it out of there. Chelsea staying herself the entire season, supporting her new friends and even teaching Saxon a little bit about himself — I knew she was toast just like I knew Rick was unaware he was hunting his dad, not the man who killed his dad.
This season caught a lot of heat for not having a plot — but I don't think any of the seasons really have plots, just stellar character moments. Each character has their own story going on and sometimes they develop but most of the time they don't. Think about Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya at the end of season 1 — leaving Belinda high and dry after planning a business with her (okay, she left her an envelope with some cash but still).
The meme-able moments could come off cheap and, some may disagree, but I don't think they ever do. Jennifer Coolidge's character was basically a meme come to life by season 2 of the show — which is why her character needed to be the one to die. Anytime someone brings up the show Ted Lasso, I can't not hear Aubrey Plaza saying she doesn't watch it. I think the show is meme-able because it's so good.
But, as anyone who has ever taken a single writing class can tell you, it's the way the story is told that makes it interesting, not just the story itself. Sure, it's TV and it's fiction, so the story itself has to be engaging but I come to White Lotus for the dialogue and actors delivering said dialogue. The show is basically just vibes and scenes of great actors doing some great acting. It's like a David Lynch show, only way more straight forward.
We always open each season on a death and then the rest of the season we just see flashbacks of these folks existing on vacation while we wait for one of them to die. That's the show! To paraphrase one Twitter user, White Lotus was made for people who are nosey — there's really no plot, aside from getting a look into these people's private life. And there's nothing wrong with that!
But, if we're looking for a point or message for this season, I'd say Laurie's dinner monologue is it — she says, "I don't need religion or God to give my life meaning because time gives it meaning … and I'm just happy to be at the table." And, as someone who overly related to her all season, I hope I can soon feel the same way she does. The sentiment really hit hard — she'd been comparing herself to her two best friends all season and allowing herself feel less than for being the single one who devoted herself to a job that never paid off. Much like Piper's later quote — "Stop worrying about the love you didn't get, think about the love you have" — the show's message this season was to appreciate what you have, not what you want or what you missed out on. Corny? Maybe. True? Absolutely.
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