White Lotus season 3 episodes 1-3 were available for review.
The White Lotus's season-two finale, two and a half years ago, was a TV event for the digital age, conjuring internet memes, musings and a 'mother' crowning movement for Jennifer Coolidge as the ill-fated Tanya McQuoid.
Following up its success with a third season was a no-brainer, but as with any lauded show, it's natural for a touch of trepidation to creep in ahead of another instalment, hopeful that the five-star service hasn't slipped.
Thankfully we're pleased to report that Mike White's social commentary show returns with aplomb, his writing and plotting as sharp and slick as the last, delivering us more surprises and salaciousness to sink our teeth into.
Season three sees us check into Thailand, at another sickeningly stunning White Lotus resort, where wellness and healing are high on the menu.
Like its predecessors, the opening scene sees another guest departing in cold blood, this time a body floating in a tranquil healing pond overlooked by a Buddhist figurine, as gunshots continue to go off in the background. The tease ends, the casualties as yet unknown and we're whisked back to a week earlier when White's latest all-star cast arrive for their holiday.
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First to be introduced is a familiar face, Natasha Rothwell's Belinda, the spa manager from season one who has swapped the Maui resort for this East Asian oasis as part of a work-exchange programme. She's the same bubbly Belinda, tentatively looking to trust in the universe again, clearly still a little bruised by Tanya's business betrayal in season one.
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Once again, she comes across as the audience's human decency checker, with her hospitality background making her unfailingly nice in her treatment to staff, showing up the ghastlier guests at the resort.
Top of the list are the Ratcliffs, a family of five hailed from the Deep South who are a very watchable set of wealthy walking cliches. Mum Victoria (Parker Posey) is in a permanent state of sedation, popping a pill at the smallest sign of inconvenience, while dad Timothy (Jason Isaacs) is the family bank who doesn't divulge his business dealings with the brood.
Patrick Schwarzenneger's Saxon, the oldest child, unsurprisingly works for his dad and is an outright sex pest, always warring with sister Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) who likes to think she is somewhat superior for her interest in leading a religious, authentic life.
"It's like Disneyland for rich bohemians from Malibu and their LuLuLemon yoga pants," she says cuttingly (and accurately) of the hotel's clientele, though unaware of her privilege and position in it. Both siblings are also desperate to rub off on youngest brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola), a somewhat lost lamb who draws comparisons to Fred Hechinger's Quinn in season one.
While season two gave us the gays, season three gives us the girls, who deliver equal amounts of delicious bitchiness. Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Kate (Leslie Bibb) are childhood friends reconvening after years of conflicting life paths.
They seem to slip back into their high-school cheer-squad roles, with Jaclyn the undisputed captain whose Hollywood career is funding the vacation. They're supportive and sickly sweet towards one another, so long as one of the party doesn't step away, leaving two of them left to titter. Comparisons and competitiveness are constantly, quietly simmering, which we can only assume will come to an ugly climax befitting of White Lotus guests.
Rounding out the line-up are 'lovebirds' Rick (Fallout star Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Sex Education's Aimee Lou Wood), with the latter providing the comedic lines this season. She's the glass-half-full girl you'll root for, batting away Rick's endless insults and enduring the toxic relationship she's in for a taste of the suite life.
Rick couldn't be less at home in the wellness setting, with a bullshit attitude to boot, but there's a deliberate reason behind his accommodation choice.
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Despite the sheer size of the ensemble cast, their storylines interweave and intrigue as flawlessly as the first two seasons. They might also be the most unlikeable of the lot so far, all vacuous, vain and at times outright nasty to one another. But it's fun to watch and thrilling to await their demise that's constantly foreboded by the smirking buddha statues that are nestled in the greenery.
Then there's episode one's jaw-dropper moment, which nicely marries the season into the wider White Lotus story and demonstrates White's ability to still shock audiences three outings in. The same drama and conventions are at play, but they've earned a place to stay, with season three showing there's plenty more to explore in this delectably rich, dark comedy series.
The White Lotus season three is set to premiere on February 16 on HBO and Max in the US and February 17 on Sky and NOW in the UK. Seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Sky and NOW.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
