The White Lotus
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Sweat and pain, but also prayer.
The bumping of gloved fists.
Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, a country that identifies as 90 percent Buddhist.
Life is suffering, and so is boxing.
The only good-faith response to violence, Teera tells his faithful, is to sit with your feelings.
Nonviolence isnt just the righteous path but the self-interested one.
Violence does spiritual harm to the victim and to the perpetrator, Teera says.
The most menacing thing about Jim Hollinger is the cane he hobbles around on.
Rick cant shoot this man dead; he cant even bring himself to punch the dusty bag of bones.
At the critical moment, Rick just about musters the vengeance to tip over his desk chair.
You killed my father.
Prepare to flop over backward.
To more capably play the role of a big Hollywood director, Frank has a drink in Sritalas courtyard.
If we know Frank, hes thinking about fucking her, and/or being her, and/or having her watch.
Its Frank who doesnt know when to say when.
He gives himself a karma hall pass.
Strippers, shots, lines, and what have you.
Will Rick have to answer for this violence, too?
Whats the spiritual harm assessed for inciting spiritual harm?
And what does the Buddha say about silencing your girlfriends calls?
Garys boring dinner party on Koh Samui cant distract Chelsea from Ricks harrowing absence.
She splits the evening between phone-stalking Rick and insulting Saxon.
The reality is sadder and more futile.
I want to heal him, Chelsea tells Saxon, whos completely flummoxed.
For example, he declines to play Garys sex games.
His worst nightmare was actually his erotic fantasy, Chloe confides pleadingly.
Lochlan would have said yes.
Perhaps Chelsea does see something in Saxon worth healing.
When he makes a move a little light hand-holding Chelsea doesnt berate him.
Lorazepam made her loopy, but gin and bad company make her hilarious.
She wants to save all these women from the rich weirdos they live off.
Come to North Carolina, she tells Ruperts gorgeous Thai girlfriend.
Are you scared of him?
Rounding out the party are Belinda and Zion, who convinces his mother to attend.
To me, this sounds like a great starting offer.
Rather than kick off negotiations, Belinda asks for a night to think about it.
Even if your plan is to call the police, just lie!
You dont spook a dangerous man.
Cant I get one fucking break?
it’s possible for you to, BELINDA!
THIS IS THE BREAK!
Put the money under the mattress.
Or put it into Thai Bliss, a boutique spa from Belinda and Pornchai.
Its not like BelindaknowsGreg did it.
Hes got three options here.
One is to hide.
Join the ranks of LBHs and hope Victoria deigns to join him.
As much as Tim loves his family, his wife can be a real pill, especially without pills.
The second is to seek.
Tragically, though, Tims imagination fixates on option three: Die.
In Tims mind, these are mercy killings.
Let everyone he loves return to the sea.
When Tim goes to do the deed, however, the weapon is missing from its hiding place.
Gaitok is a Buddhist.
He doesnt have to hang at Teeras feet or actively make Buddhist decisions because Buddhism infuses his instincts.
He confesses to Mook that hes not getting a promotion at work after all because hes too soft.
And while I dont recommend using that particular word on a first date, I admire his self-knowledge.
Gaitok did not stop the hotel burglary, nor did he want to.
I dont want to hurt people, he says.
Hes a good man in the wrong line of work, but Mook wont take pacifism for an answer.
At the Muay Thai fights, she eggs Gaitok on.
Violence is ingrained in us.
Kneeing another person is human nature.
Theyre not a good match.
You know what else the Buddha condemned besides violence?
Back at the White Lotus, the girls are drowning in rose and resentment.
Laurie thinks Jaclyns a slut, but everyone, including me, thinks Lauries a sad sack.
Even Kate cant resist joining in.
Like any self-respecting depressive whos unready to address her self-sabotaging, Laurie bails on their impromptu intervention before entrees.
Instead, she meets Val & Co. at the boxing, where Laurie magically transforms.
It made me doubt whether these women really havent changed in the 25 years since high-school graduation.
Are they the same people, or are they just the same people to one another?
Is Kate this dull in Austin?
Is Jaclyn so defensive in Santa Monica?
Because as soon as Laurie defects, shes fun.
Not for services rendered, of course.
He just needs the money to clear his old, frail mothers debts.
Lauries not lying when she tells him shes notthatrich shes got palimony problems!
Regardless, Aleksei ticks off the forms of payment he accepts: bank transfer, PayPal, and Zelle.
No Amex, but what about Cash App, Laurie?
Laurie jumps out a window but not before spotting the stolen jewels on the daybed in Alekseis walk-in closet.
Some observations: One, why is this dudes place so nice?
And two, even for the plunder of a smash and grab, that seems a sloppy hiding place.
The monastery isnt the White Lotus, and its not the real world that Laurie has ventured into either.
The real world is where a middle-aged law-firm associate just banged the hotel bandit.
Its where her dad screwed over his investors.
Its where Lochlan hand-fucked his older brother.
Which explains why Lochlan is keen to stay in the monasterys insulating cocoon.
Its a gap year or a postgrad diploma in avoiding your parents.
You cant gatekeep enlightenment, Pipes.
Or Thailand or India or any of the other places people travel in hopes of shedding their enervating Westerness.
Do we know for sure that the gun belonging to the Vladivostok set is real?
Rick throws his gun away without using it!
(What would Chekhov have to say about that?)
Does Gaitok confront Val to win Mooks heart?
Do Sritalas armed bodyguards come looking for the man who rendered their boss akimbo?
Does Fabian lose it because none of his colleagues turned up to his recital?
As it was after theseason premiere, my money is on the monkeys.
