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SPOILERS for The White Lotus season finale.
Congrats to everyone who clocked the fact that Rick (Walton Goggins) was a dumbass in earlier episodes. Rick went all the way to Bangkok to “get revenge” by pushing Scott Glenn’s Jim Hollinger out of his chair. Rick did so without asking any obvious questions, especially when it was abundantly clear that Hollinger absolutely knew Rick’s mother. Hollinger and his wife had to come all the way to the White Lotus resort so Jim and Rick could have yet another confrontation in which neither asked or spoke the vital information. I’ll give it to Scott Glenn though – 86 years old and he can still drop a line of dialogue so brutal, it feels like a gut punch: “I remember your mother. I knew she was a drunk and a slut. I didn’t know she was a liar too.” And then the plot twist many of us could figure out: Rick shoots Hollinger, only to be told by Sritala that he just killed his father.
What followed after that was what many of us predicted too: Rick and Chelsea died together. Chelsea got shot in some of the crossfire between Rick and Hollinger’s bodyguards. Rick is trying to carry her body… somewhere. Then Good-Shot Gaitok runs to Sritala, only to be told to shoot Rick. Gaitok does the thing (and ends up getting a promotion). Rick dies face up in the water, yin to Chelsea’s dead yang. The only unexpected part of the shootout was the fact that the blonde friends were so close to the action, although Laurie got the f–k out of Dodge as soon as gunshots rang out.
As for the Blondes – I loved them, I loved their storylines, I loved their cattiness towards one another, and I loved the emotional wrap-up by Carrie Coon’s Laurie/Lori. It was all so “the white women will be okay, no matter what.” It was beautiful and funny. Their storyline was so compelling because their dynamic felt incredibly real.
As for the Ratliff family… I never thought that I would find their antics so interesting, but Timothy’s disgust at Piper’s revelation that she’s a princess who loves AC and organic food was incredible, as was Victoria’s uncontained pleasure that her gambit worked. The Saxon character surprised me, and I’m now a genuine fan of Patrick Schwarzenegger – he went from dull, ugly finance bro to someone who was actually trying to understand his place in the universe, someone who yearned, someone with the sadness of never knowing a real love. Did you notice that Saxon’s whole look even changed after the Full Moon party? It was like his face changed overnight. As for Lochlan… accidentally drinking a smoothie laced with death seeds is insane and I really thought the kid was a goner. That was so sad, but I’m glad he survived and he “saw God.” I’m also glad that after Timothy spent the week having a Lorazepam-induced nervous breakdown in which he came close to killing his entire fam, he decided that everyone could live and they would just have to get through the rest of their lives without money.
Last thing… Belinda, Greg and the money… I didn’t expect Belinda’s son to suggest $5 million!! Nor did I think Greg would give it to her, but look at that. Is Belinda finally getting her happy ending? She got the f–k out of Thailand in a hurry, and left her poor Thai bae behind, even though he wanted to start a wellness center with her.
Anyway, I enjoyed this season, I enjoyed the characters and storylines a lot. The second season is GOATed to me, but I was rooting for several characters this season and I enjoyed seeing everything play out in the finale.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red/HBO.
Patrick Schwarzenegger in Season 3 Episode 1 of The White Lotus,Image: 965131188, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Fabio Lovino/HBO/Avalon
Aimee Lou Wood in Season 3 Episode 1 of The White Lotus,Image: 965131282, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Fabio Lovino/HBO/Avalon
Walton Goggins in Season 3 Episode 2 of The White Lotus,Image: 968117288, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Fabio Lovino/HBO/Avalon
Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola in Season 3 Episode 4 of The White Lotus,Image: 974260725, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefano Delia/HBO/Avalon
Walton Goggins in Season 3 Episode 7 of The White Lotus,Image: 981264108, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: HBO/Avalon
Parker Posey in Season 3 Episode 7 of The White Lotus,Image: 981264128, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Fabio Lovino/HBO/Avalon
Carrie Coon in Season 3 Episode 7 of The White Lotus,Image: 981264169, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Fabio Lovino/HBO/Avalon
Jason Isaacs in Season 3 Episode 6 of The White Lotus,Image: 981265579, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: HBO/Avalon
Lek Patravadi in Season 3 Episode 6 of The White Lotus,Image: 981265589, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: HBO/Avalon
Sam Rockwell, Walton Goggins in Season 3 Episode 6 of The White Lotus,Image: 981265607, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: HBO/Avalon
Natasha Rothwell, Jon Gries in Season 3 Episode 7 of The White Lotus,Image: 983019033, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: HBO/Avalon
