This review contains spoilers for season three of White Lotus.

Over the past eight weeks, HBO Sundays have made a comeback at Kenyon with the debut of White Lotus’ third season. Created by Mike White, this dramedy series mocks the lives of the ultra-wealthy who vacation at the White Lotus hotel franchise. Each season is set in a different destination with an entirely new cast. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, the first episode of each season begins with a glimpse of a death scene at the hotel, then rewinds a week earlier, showing the arrival of the guests by boat. The rest of the season depicts the characters’ emotional deterioration, ultimately leading to the dramatic reveal of who died. Personally, what really drove me to keep up with this season was my love for the ritual of being with my friends every Sunday night for an hour and tuning out the stresses of the upcoming week. 

 Season three is set at a luxury resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, and opens with a scene of a wellness consultation between the spiritual guide Amrita (Shalini Peiris) and Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), the son of the returning character Belinda (Natasha Rothwell). All hell breaks loose when their session is interrupted by gunshots that send the characters into a state of panic. We’re left with the sight of Zion in utter shock as he lays eyes on a dead body floating in the water. For the next eight episodes, I found myself frustrated, confused, laughing, yawning and even on the verge of tears at one point — all signature emotions of watching White’s creative process unfold. 

Season three emphasizes the contrasts between greed, violence and spirituality, a conflict that consumes each of the characters. The Ratliff family comes to Thailand from North Carolina so that the daughter, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), can interview a monk at a local monastery for her undergraduate thesis. Throughout the season, the Ratliffs completely unravel in the midst of a financial crisis, a sadistic night of incest between the two brothers and an attempt at a murder-suicide carried out by the father, Timothy (Jason Isaacs). In an effort to escape the materialism perpetuated by her family, Piper plans on joining the monastery after college – a decision that her mother, Victoria (Parker Posey), strongly opposes. Just when I thought she was morally superior, Piper opts to back out in the final episode after spending a night at the monastery and realizing that the food isn’t “organic” enough. 

Another significant character who manifests the internal battle between spirituality and aggression is Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), the warm-hearted hotel security guard who feels conflicted by the violent aspects of his job that Buddhism condemns. In the season finale, he is faced with a choice to either quit his job and escape the cycle of violence or to fit the mold that society makes for “real men” by firing his gun and eliminating a security threat to the hotel. Both Piper and Gaitok represent two characters that fail White’s moral test and subsequently reap the rewards of succumbing to greed. 

While I would recommend the third season to any White Lotus fan, I thought the sharpness of the script fell flat at times leading up to the finale. There were several episodes where it felt like the plot and character development completely stagnated. For example, Timothy spends the whole season grappling with being in financial ruin and how to share this burden with his family. With all this buildup to the family’s destruction, White concludes their storyline without even showing their reactions to the news of facing bankruptcy. 

Another noticeable difference in season three was the murder of a truly innocent character, the fan-favorite Chelsea (Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood). She is ultimately brought down by her partner Rick (Walton Goggins), who comes to Thailand with a secret agenda to confront the man who murdered his father. In the final episode, his plan backfires (literally) when Chelsea is caught in the crossfire and is tragically killed. I thought killing off Chelsea, a representation of hope, reached a new level of cynicism that the deaths from previous seasons hadn’t. After watching the finale, I was left wondering what White wanted the audience to take away from Chelsea’s death.

In my opinion, season three’s most compelling storyline was the toxic trio dynamic between Kate (Leslie Bibb), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Laurie (Carrie Coon), three lifelong friends who reunite for a luxury vacation. At different points, each woman becomes the odd man out with the other two talking behind her back. As the divorcée who doesn’t have a seemingly perfect life like the others, Laurie continuously feels alienated from the trio. While the week nearly pushes Laurie over the edge, she delivers a heartfelt monologue during the final dinner scene about her life’s failures and finding meaning in her friendships despite its many flaws. While I was initially frustrated that Laurie didn’t sever ties with Jaclyn and Kate, I realized that it was more meaningful for her to be vulnerable and rise above the petty competition that long fueled her insecurities. 

This gossipy trio illustrates the greatest strength of White Lotus, which is the rawness in which White captures human dynamics. Along with numerous characters from the previous seasons, the trio left me wondering — where have I seen these people before? This is not a feeling that every show leaves you with. The identity crises that the characters reconcile feels very profound, which makes the show both difficult and illuminating to watch. If you’re expecting season three to match the level of excitement and intrigue of those that came before it, you should manage your expectations. However, if you’re drawn to White Lotus because of its beautiful visuals and murder-mystery plot structure, season three is definitely worth watching.