Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
Editor's note: Spoilers ahead.
It’s the dead of winter in New York City but mentally, I’ve checked into a balmy tropical resort in Ko Samui, Thailand. The highly anticipated season three of The White Lotus has finally arrived, and it’s already shaping up to be a wild ride: monkeys, an age-gap relationship, a Brunei-related scandal brewing on the horizon, a foreboding and ominous-sounding “wellness” program, and a climax that will somehow lead to a mass shooting — and that’s just the details we’ve gleaned from the first episode.
Like with its previous seasons set in Maui and Taormina, Sicily, the season three premiere offered the who's who of this year’s cast of wealthy miscreants, setting the scene and sharing a glimpse into each character’s motivations and ethical weak points. And not to disappoint, the cast, which might be the biggest to date, holds quite the variety of personalities. Kate (Leslie Bibb), Laurie (Carrie Coon), and Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan) are three friends reuniting for a girl’s trip, with Lemon notably being a TV celebrity. There’s the fascinating Ratliff family, consisting of an airy-headed mom (Parker Posey), power-broker dad (Jason Isaacs), and three disaffected adult kids (Patrick Schwartznegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola) — the oldest seems to have a giga-Chad complex of some sort; Finally, we meet the mismatched couple of Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), whose age difference is only superseded by their personality gap.
Things seem chiller on the resort side. Blackpink’s LISA plays Mook, the hotel’s “health mentor;” there’s the mysterious Sritala Hollinger (Lek Patravadi) who owns the resort as well as pioneered its award-winning health program; and then there’s the triumphant return of Belinda Lindsey. Those who watched season one will remember Natasha Rothwell’s level-headed portrayal of the wellness guru. Well, she’s back this season as a trainee in Hollinger’s wellness program — with her (hot, young) son in tow, too.
We’ve now got eight episodes to watch the glorious symphony The White Lotus creator Mike White has composed kick into play. Before that happens, we prematurely took stock of who we think will be the biggest power players of the season — the instigators, drama queens, and villains — and who we’ll be rooting for when it comes time for everyone to check out.
12. Piper Ratliff (Sarah Catherine Hook)
Courtesy of HBO
Piper Ratliff is like Sydney Sweeney’s character this season but much less interesting and witty. So far, all she’s done is read a book, talk about religion, and… ? I’m having trouble remembering what else. Unless she starts showing some actual signs of life in the next episodes, we’re ranking her last.
11. Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan)
Courtesy of HBO
The celebrity of this season, Michelle Monaghan’s Jaclyn Lemon is famous on TV but her real-life personality is remarkably bland. Notably, resort owner Sritala Hollinger is a fan and showers her with praise, but Lemon is giving nothing in return. She’ll probably be a character where a lot of things will be happening to her — good and bad.
10. Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola)
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The youngest of the Ratliff family, Lochlan gives me super strong Quinn Mossbacher vibes, the son of the Mossbacher family from season 1. Lochlan’s biggest quandary this season is deciding which college he wants to go to, but his bookish demeanor feels like it could be subtly influential. Quinn Mossbacher ended up becoming a fan favorite in season 1, and I can see Lochlan following a similar path.
9. Mook (Lalisa Manobal a.k.a. LISA)
Courtesy of HBO
The resort’s “health mentor” Mook is sweet, kind, and very pretty, as repeated by many different members of the resort staff in this season’s premiere. Beauty will get you far in most of the world but especially in Asia, and I have a feeling her looks will be getting her into some sticky situations this season.
8. Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs)
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The patriarch of the Ratliff family already has beef brewing with Rick Hatchett plus what sounds like a potentially disastrous exposé getting published in The Wall Street Journal soon — yeah, his vacation is not off to a good start. White may very well be positioning him as the leading villain of the season, but something about his character feels lacking to me; his evilness is too on-the-nose and tropeish to actually feel powerful, which explains his lower place in this power ranking.
7. Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood)
Courtesy of HBO
Rick Hatchett’s younger girlfriend is not ditzy or dumb but refreshingly self-assured and equipped with her own dose of wit. She doesn’t entertain his delusions and immediately shuts down a conversation instigated by Saxon Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger’s nepo baby with an alpha complex. If she’s meant to be the middle-class outsider that the audience can relate to, she’s already 1000 times more likeable than season 2’s Portia — and with more common sense, too.
6. Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger)
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The eldest son of the Ratliff family, Saxon is every horrible rich kid you’ve ever met in one body. He’s got a bloated sense of confidence (by the way he was lounging by the pool watching women like a hawk) and a lot of bad life advice for his younger brother as someone who’s working at his father’s company. Uhhh, was that him suggesting that his younger brother hit on their sister? Either way, he feels unpredictable, plus Patrick Schwarzenegger just has a face you want to punch.
5. Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey)
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To be honest, I need to see more of Victoria Ratliff, the matriarch of this season’s central family played by the indie legend Parker Posey, to really suss out her character. But so far she’s the only one out of the Ratliff family that’s offered some intrigue. I’m predicting she’ll be the family’s biggest power player, judging by her two scenes defending Saxon to the hotel clerk and pushing Lochlan to confront his dad about going to Duke. Otherwise, in the premiere, she’s just slept and lounged and slept some more — obviously resting up for an iconic arc later this season.
4. Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell)
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White wouldn’t have brought Belinda Lindsey back if he didn’t have big plans for her, which partially informs why I’ve placed her so high on the list. As a visiting trainee this season, she occupies a fascinating area that’s not quite staff and not hotel guest, which will hopefully lend her entry — and agency — into places other staff can’t go. As season 1 proved, she’s prone to her own sorts of delusions, too, but this time her son will be with her, hopefully as an empowering force.
3. Laurie (Carrie Coon)
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Laurie’s dramatic open-mouthed, wailing-her-heart-out crying scene at the end of the episode sealed the deal for me: Welcome back Tanya McQuoid. A corporate lawyer suffering a recent divorce who also feels like the odd one out in her friendship of three? The eventual meltdown is being concocted as we speak.
2. Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins)
Courtesy of HBO
He has a guarded past, he’s got a young baddie girlfriend, he leaves mysteriously during dinner. Rick Hatchett gives off some unsavory vibes but something about him feels unshakeable, like I kinda want to root for him. The fact that he’s also portrayed by the inimitable Walton Goggins obviously helps and makes me think the eventual peeling of his layers will be one of the most fascinating of this season.
1. Sritala Hollinger (Lek Patravadi)
Courtesy of HBO
Sritala Hollinger is a co-owner of the resort and the mastermind of its pioneering wellness program, and unlike the previous two seasons’ hotel honchos in charge, she exudes mysterious power. Maybe it’s the way she casually commands her staff or how she dropped mention of her autoimmune disease (I can’t explain it but it was a power move), but she’s not playing around. Her wellness program is also the talk of the hotel so that automatically puts all the visitors right inside her palm.
