Sam Nivola; Patrick Schwarzenegger in the premiere episode of 'The White Lotus' season 3.
cornbreadsays
Subscribe To
OUT MAGAZINE
OUT MAGAZINE
Subscribe To
OUT MAGAZINE
OUT MAGAZINE
Editor's note: This article contains SPOILERS for episode 1 of The White Lotus season 3, titled "Same Spirits, New Forms."
The third season of The White Lotus has started with a bang... a literal bang!
Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment — delivered three times a week straight (well…) to your inbox!
In the middle of meditation, a mass shooting breaks out at the Thailand location of the fictional White Lotus hotel. A young man frantically runs back into the resort to look for his mom but stops to offer up a prayer to... God? Buddha? Does it matter?
As creator Mike White teased at a press conference on Monday, Season 3 is set to explore "religion, God, spirituality." Star Aimee Lou Wood agreed, adding, "It's about fate versus free will. How much is destined and how much choice and agency do we have? Some people have the fatal flaw, the pride. And is that destined, that downfall, or do we have a choice?"
The episode then flashes back to a week before. We watch as the wealthy guests arrive via sailboat: the boisterous Ratliff family, a sketchy middle-aged man with his young girlfriend, three cackling childhood besties, and season 1 fan-favorite character Belinda.
Played by charming Natasha Rothwell, Belinda's return to the series is more than welcome. And she's not on the click this time. She's in Thailand on a wellness retreat and intends to bring knowledge and skills back with her to Hawaii.
Trending stories
The guests check in, and the episode slows as the character and world-building begin. The dynamic among the three friends, played by Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, and Michelle Monaghan, is visibly off. Rick Hatchett has very obviously hidden his real reason for coming to Thailand from his girlfriend, Chelsea. And something is not quite right with the Ratcliff family of 5, and it's not just the calls Timothy receives from the Wall Street Journal.
We also meet locals Gaitok and Mook, Thai natives who have a flirtatious relationship. Global superstar Lisa, from Blackpink, plays the latter and discussed her acting debut at Monday's press conference.
"I was so nervous. I don't know what to do. I have to act in English. It's not my first language at all," said Lisa, whose real name is Lalisa Manobal. "I really had fun doing this. In the future, I want to do this more."
Amid the slow-building chaos, we get our first big surprise of the season: the return of Greg Hunt!
You might remember the slimy bald man as Tanya's (the Emmy Award-winning character played by Jennifer Coolidge) husband from season 2. Greg and Tanya actually met in Hawaii back in Season 1, and their relationship led to her (iconic) untimely demise last season.
We're gagged, but no one near as gagged as Belinda's going to be. It's unclear how much she knows about Greg, or Tanya's death, but she'll undoubtedly have her suspicions when the two inevitably bump into each other.
The second biggest twist of the episode came from Saxon and Lochlan, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola.
Lochlan, who made a point to take a long gander at a muscled man lounging by the pool, is sharing a room with his brother. After the two unpack their days in bed, Saxon asks Lochlan what kind of porn he likes. Before it gets too weird, Saxon makes a show out of going to the bathroom to masturbate, which is where we get our first butt shot of the season (shout out to those Schwarzenegger genes!). And though Saxon claims to want privacy, he leaves the door open long enough for his brother to ogle. The sexual tension is thick in the air as Lochlan watches Saxon get things.... warmed up. Then Saxon catches Locklan in the mirror and slams the door with a laugh, as if he didn't know the door was open.
Things are getting weird, and what Schwarzenegger and Nivola teased at Monday's press conference makes the scene even more ominous.
"There are some uncomfortable conversations between us in the bed that are a little weird to show in front of your family," said Schwarzenegger. "Episodes 5 and 6, there will be some times that I take some bathroom breaks from the family, or maybe I won't watch that episode."
Nivola also spoke about his first nude scene as an actor, as well as his first on-camera kiss. "Of course, that comes along with a lot of fear and anxiety," said the 21-year-old. But "there's a few people that I would trust more with footage of my buttocks" than creator Mike White. "He made us feel so comfortable."
So... incest? Stay tuned to find out.
HBO's The White Lotus season 3 drops new episodes every Sunday on Max.
Recommended Stories for You
Latest Stories
