The White Lotus
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Yesterday was lost to a haze of jet lag and tiki drinks.
God created these holidaymakers from dust and breathed into their nostrils the (Ujjayi) breath of life.
(Except for the lethal seeds of the pong-pong, Pam warns us dont eat that one.)
But in Special Treatments, Mike White offers us a glimpse into the effort of remaking paradise every morning.
The man who paddleboards out to the bollards to hang the over-the-water hammocks.
The breakfast tables being laid.
In a few hours, well catch up with her in a hammock.
As if religious pilgrimage isnt the oldest (not to mention the most plundering) form of mass tourism.
Tim is the familys preoccupation with wealth.
Saxon, with status.
Victoria, for her part, distrusts the external world.
(Though at the rate shes popping benzos, its also possible Victoria genuinely cant remember meeting her.)
They dont deserve what they have just because they already have it.
Footprints in the sand, swept out of existence.
After breakfast, the castaways set off for their first wellness appointments.
An LBH leers at Piper during group yoga.
Tim hits the gym and then spends the time left over attempting to tidy up after his financial crimes.
Except its already too late for that.
By the time Tim wakes up in Thailand, the WashingtonPosthas the story, too.
The details of what happened are foggy some kind of foreign bribery or money-laundering scheme.
In reality, Tim chooses a safer path: He lawyers up.
This is ourSliding Doorsstory line.
Keeping it hasnt allowed him to get ahead of this maelstrom.
Its hitting him in the face and pulling him under.
But what if Tim could have had one last week in paradise with his family?
What have our devices given us, and what do they steal?
In Buddhism, there is no creation story, but there are forces of evil.
Not to mention the fact that Kate is still mourning her numbers.
How can this be happening when Kate eats chicken!
Id say Chelsea and Rick are the guests I feel the most confused by at this point.
She seems to genuinely care about this old misanthrope.
He tells Amrita things about himself that I cant imagine hes confided in Chelsea.
Like how, when hes not medicating with weed, his baseline stress level is an eight.
His mother ODed when he was 10 years old.
His father was murdered before he was born.
Maybe hes not an asshole.
Maybe some people are just eights.
Amrita tells Rick that meditation can bring relief to psychic pain.
But Rick isnt in pain, he insists.
Hes a half-buttoned shirt.
There are no limits to what hell say because he never imagined saying anything.
He signs up for another session.
Despite his surliness, there are signs that Rick cares for Chelsea, too.
They sleep tangled up together.
When Chloe says a matchmaking service, only sweet Chelsea doesnt hear the word escort swimming between the lines.
If anything, the dinner is bonding for Chelsea and Rick.
No one inside the shop is hurt, though Chelsea will insist she nearly died.
Gaitok is distracted talking to Valentin when the thief enters the resort is Valentin the decoy?
but he heroically attempts to stop his getaway.
Poor Gaitok gets pistol-whipped for his troubles.
Earlier in the episode, he attempts to woo Mook.
He fixes her bike and brings her lunch that, admittedly, his mother cooked.
So Im pretty sure its on.
This season is less funny than previous seasons ofThe White Lotus, and thats natural.
But this season is also darker.
Its characters have come to the White Lotus not just with personal baggage weighing them down, but secrets.
Tim is a crook.
Piper hasnt even set up the meeting her family was told was critical to her senior thesis.
And then theres Greg, who has rebuilt himself as Gary far from where he started.
At dinner, Belinda spots him sipping whiskey neat at a table with Chloe, Rick, and Chelsea.
She recognizes, but Im not sure she can place him.
What happens to him and his life of secrets when she does?
Or darker yet, what happens to her?
