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From a family homicide attempt to a magnificent monologue and an artistic ending. The girls conclude their trip to White Lotus Thailand.
Lots of White Lotus insightful identity theories from this girlie here
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Transcription
that never gets old thank you clara coming into you live from london town i'm sophie lions i'm here with the gorgeous clara kavanaugh and we are on the final episode of our white lotus season three academic analysis i'm going to call it again we're very excited to record this i went off the grids It was available for us in the UK on Monday. So on Sunday morning, I was like, I'm going off everything. I went off the internet. I didn't look at anything because I said, no spoilers. Clara did the same. I have remained off the grid until a few hours ago. And I just went on to use the World Wide Web. Wow, there's a load on there. And of course, Clara is very caught up on. the different theories and reals. So we've assumed the same roles as we always do. We're very excited to discuss. Now, Clara, I haven't really spoken to anyone really about it properly. And at the top of the episode, we thought it'd be a good idea. Just top line, how did you feel? I think we might feel different after talking about it together. But top line, how did you feel about the ending?
It was melodramatic in parts. The Star Wars, Luke, I am your father moment. The multiple deaths.
Were you happy with it in general?
I felt a bit shortchanged in parts. And I wish we can get into this. I wish certain stories ended differently. But looking back now, I think there's only one way a lot of it could have ended. So in reflection, maybe enjoyed it more than I thought. Yeah. What do we?
Everything kind of went to the last 10 minutes. And I wanted more detail out of certain things. But. on the hell yeah i thought it was really good but you know sometimes you want like a final answer i don't think mike white wants to give that to us ever he actually said he doesn't like he's like life has no resolutions or something like that okay so what we're gonna do is go through seven and eight like we did on our last last trip around the sun um and then you come in with all your bits that you always have episode seven so the gals are having another sad dinner in the hotel restaurant, The Gossip Girls. And it kind of comes to a head where Jacqueline is like, if you're not happy with your life, Laurie, I don't know, fucking change it. It's all very awkward.
You're always disappointed.
Yeah, she's like, when you know someone long enough, you see patterns, is what Kate said. So Leslie Bibb's character.
She really called her on her... What did she say? It was like, you can't always be the victim when you choose to be disappointed. Like... You have a part to play in how your life has turned out. It hasn't. You're not the victim here. Oh,
so not holiday chat.
Red to filth.
And then she decides to go to the Mai Tai fight. And the other two are like, Laurie does. And then the other two are like, no, we're not going. So then she goes and watches it with Valentine's buddy, Alexi. And it's all this kind of fighting and there's spit going everywhere. And then we see this very sexy, sexy. Oh, my. God, James and I were watching it being like, oh, my God, like she's on top and it's pretty aggressive.
Were you two clutching your pearls?
Totally.
I know. Yeah, it was a sexy, saucy sex scene.
And then afterwards, they're kind of lying there. And then Alex, he's like, he's like, I need a thousand, ten thousand dollars to help my sick mother. Yeah. And, you know, that moment when you realize who you're with, the person is like crazy or like borderline. And you're like, oh.
The veil is just ripped.
That bit gave me, like my heart dropped. I felt sick for her.
I know. Just the immediate regret and get me out of here. A homesick feeling. Get me home now. What were we talking about in the last episode? Just get me home.
Yeah, absolutely.
I hate these people.
Just back to the hotel because she'd feel safe with the other two girls. Yeah. They were annoying her.
Hotel sick.
So elsewhere, our favorite pic. so the employee who's on a performance improvement plan Gay Tuck is at the Mai Tai fight as well on his date very depressing date and realises that the Russian guys were actually the burglars from episode 2 we can talk about that later but that's never resolved either no I think that's more built into how Gay Tuck surrenders his beliefs for
power copy and maybe or just shows his sensitivity because he didn't want Valentin to die yeah is he still a nice guy because he didn't write in
Valentin he still gets his promotion he's he got what he wanted out of it yeah and the date is really depressing that whole storyline is very Mook really showed her non-negotiables when she's like oh well you know you're not going to be anything so yeah and then she just kind of walks off she's like you can't Change careers. Let Gay Talk do what Gay Talk wants. Poor guy. They were having no crack. That was very, very akin to the many relationships I've been in. Then, Bangkok. I'm dying to know what you thought about the Bangkok stuff. So Rick finally confronts the man who he thinks killed his dad. Jim is his name. And he gets him into the den. He has his gun ready and he's basically like, I've waited my entire life to do it. And then he's like, I can't because he's an older gentleman. It's not what he's expecting. And he just knocks him off his chair. And then him and Frank, played by Sam Rockwell, run out and run onto the boat. And they're like, get out of here. And then they get off and they're like, I suppose we're hitting the town now. And then I'm like, this is where the movie, The Hangover, kind of, that's where you're getting the vibe. I was enjoying that. There was like booze, just prostitutes. and boobs strip clubs everything I was like this is the night out like the White Lotus is great but like it's so chilled out and like they were doing drugs and like the penthouse with prostitutes
Sam Rockwell was going nuts even though he's supposed to be sober and all this kind of stuff and little leopard prince underwear yeah tiny underpants and then Rick's just getting more cranky again classic they really didn't think through that plan going to the to the hotel owner's home like They didn't really go like, oh, maybe we should check her IMDB and see what movie she's been in, or maybe we should like get our names right. When Rick calls Frank the wrong name, it's like, oh my god,
the zombie ambassadors. And he's like, was there a movie where you, did you play a royal or something like that? Like, it's just, he's brilliant at it. And then they go to the hotel and then Rick gets really irritated and then he decides to leave the next morning. And Sam Rockwell does this darling little tumble roll down the...
Yeah.
I loved that. I thought it was excellent for his character. And Rick's like, I need to get out of here. Rick's like, I need to get out of here. And Sam's like, oh, well, I'm going back with the prostitutes. And Rick just leaves cranky, classic.
Just on the bit when they were in the hotel owner's house, I cannot stop laughing at, you know, when they... they start watching the hotel owners the wife's old music videos oh yeah yeah and then he's like oh it's like a mix between emcee hammer peter pan and pippin we had to google pippin and oh my god it's so accurate oh i need to get that it's
oh my god pippin it was so funny and moving to the rat cliffs we're still kind of like what's the incest thing going on Timothy's still having his lorazepam alcohol cloudy nightmare and he's trying to figure it out then he's like the gun is gone how am I going to get out of here and he's just a mess
I saw the you know that chest of drawers that the gun was in I know they'd had loads of drawers apparently that was a metaphor for like who gets the gun and how the story will end oh gosh I love that because it's like a magic drawer chest I really liked that
cabinet and just as a woman it's an appreciation then also it's all leading up to greg having this private party and he's like everyone needs to come to my party and we're like what's the party about belinda's gonna go her son zion's gonna go zion's very hot the ratcliffs go of course timothy's just having a nightmare chloe's then talking about inviting saxon to like have sex with her so greg can watch Yeah. Because that's something from his childhood, really long and rambly. It's very odd. And Saxon's like absolutely disgusted. He plays disgusted very well.
He does. With that scene in particular, after the soulless comment that Chelsea serves up to Saxon.
That was really mean.
I think Saxon goes, this is where his character arc post-incest, goes to a place I didn't think it would go. When he sees how like illogical Rick and Chelsea's love is, he then realises that like, his life is empty he wants someone to love him at the beginning of the week if Chloe asked him to do that with herself and Gary slash Greg he would have definitely done that but now he's turned off by Chloe and that kind of stuff because he's starting to go inward a bit and realize that he wants to be with someone and he recognizes in himself that he's like oh my god maybe I'm a bit empty look remember when he goes up to Timothy and he's like I'm nothing without you my identity is you If you're gone, I'm gone. I'm tied to you, yeah. I have nothing. All my value system is tied up and Chelsea really breaks that open in Saxon.
Very delicately.
Very subtly.
It's not like she's like pushing it on him. No. But I thought that was very mean calling him soulless.
On the biggest hangover of his life.
On the worst hangover of his life. And then he goes to this party and then the girl's like, do you want to come and have sex with me? Of course he'd be freaked out.
But then he must be thinking, That's what you think of me.
Oh, I think he felt like dirt.
You think I'm that soulless. He now is recognising that part of himself and now rejecting it. And that's why he says no, which I thought was a win for Saxon and his...
Yeah, he plays it really well.
He does. God, he's a great actor. That tear when Rick and Chelsea are reunited on the beach. I think it's in episode eight. And he turns back.
I know that bit. That bit made me kind of cry. Not cry, but...
One little tear comes down. And I just thought that that was... He's had a huge big mirror put up in front of him.
Because he walks Chelsea back. And then he's like, I want to get into meditating. And then she throws all the books at him. Because he's obviously trying to kiss her. And then he starts reading them. And you kind of see him educating himself on a higher power and all that kind of stuff.
But the interesting thing there is Saxon is doing what Chelsea wishes Rick would. He's like opening his mind up to all the spirituality and all the like, oh, yeah, like I'd love to meditate. I finished that book you gave me. He's very like receptive and open to it. But Chelsea still stays loyal to Rick. But like what? And like a rom-com kind of tangent that could have gone on like two enemies, Chelsea versus Saxon. And then they turn into lovers and then she elevates them into this whole new spiritual realm. It could have gone down that avenue, but it doesn't because of Chelsea's loyalty. But I like the way they kind of played with that. Because if you look at Saxon and Rick's characters, their identities are built on their dads. So Rick, you know, my cup, it will never be full. I can't see the love that's in front of me with Chelsea. I'm so hung up on what my dad did to me. And then you have Saxon who's... all his value system is built, copied from his dad. And they're both still just as empty. So it's interesting how they kind of, Chelsea is their kind of middle woman there because it's, their identity is built off their dad and what the love that they did or didn't get.
Totally.
And how they react to that. Yeah.
Childhood traumatises you.
It really does.
Yeah, that's a very good point.
Rick is full of vengeance. Saxon realises that he's like super empty and like nothing without his dad. But they're both just as empty. And I thought that that was done quite well. They're kind of the opposite, but the same.
And the party's just a bit weird. And then we see Greg kind of sitting there. And then Belinda comes with her son Zion.
Greg is so weird. Like, imagine being the owner of that house. He's such a boring character. He's just sitting there on his own, kind of creepily, eerily staring at people. Like, oh my God, he's a psychopath.
And like, no way would he have the energy to stand up. and watch the two of them have sex because he's just so dull.
Imagine having sex and him wanting to watch you and he's sitting there like that. Speaking of boner killers.
Yeah, but purely for the like, the fact that he has no charisma or like any vibe, I would say no, even though I wouldn't do it anyway. But you know what I mean? Even if he was like a bit encouraging or it was kind of like, hey, you know, it would just be a bit easier to swallow. But like, he's just so dull. And Belinda's just like, she's getting real anxious about the whole thing. She's like, why does he want me here? And I just feel like that bit.
I can't believe they went. I found that bit unbelievable.
And then the son's trying to eat the food and she's like, we have to go and all that kind of stuff. And Greg basically is like, I want to pay you out, basically.
Yeah.
To shush her for knowing that he killed his wife, Jennifer Coolidge.
Blood money.
So friendly. Well, it was Zab named Piper. And Lachlan are at the monastery doing their overnight to see if they like the digs. Bloody. I mean, Lachlan is like, I want to come here. I'd be like, go away. And we see it later in his character why he doesn't have any thoughts of his own. He just.
He absorbs the family. Yeah. Anything they do.
Yeah. And you're like, what is your personality? Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
After the incest experience. Lachlan and Saxon both turn to women to absolve them or something like Lachlan goes to Piper to like try go to the monks Saxon goes to Chelsea and that was kind of interesting and also like so at the beginning of the series Piper and Saxon are like trying to influence Lachlan it's a bit of a tug of war and it's like come on be a man have your shake or come on be a buddhist and like let's just save each other from like mom and dad and our stressful family I can't remember what podcast I listened to it on but they were like Lachlan stress tests Piper and Saxon's identity. They try to push their ideology onto him, but he takes it to the extreme. So in one case, it's jacking off his brother. And the other case, it's like, I want to move here for your year with you. You know, he takes it to the extreme. So then the other two, Saxon and Piper, then both withdraw. Now Piper for her own materialistic reasons as well. Also Saxon who looks inward and becomes a bit more spiritual. So that creepy little boy is quite extreme.
Yeah, he's a funny little character. I saw this thing and it was like, elsewhere in the Rattlerverse, Saxon Moonlights as a human interested in self-improvement. and intermittently you kind of see Timothy Ratliff trying to figure out like what the family is going to do like who's going to be able to survive the fact that they have no money and he's trying to figure it out like can the wife do it absolutely not she's like I just think at this point yeah you know she has no interest in it and he thinks maybe Piper because she's like trying to join a monastery maybe she can do it but then it turns out we find out in episode 8 that she's really not into the monastery nope And that's why I think she aligns with the mum so well, because the mum's delighted that she didn't like it.
I love when they're hugging and the thumbs up.
And she's like, oh, you know, there's like a stained mattress and like,
yeah. Nothing's organic.
Yeah. And like, yeah, you can taste that the food isn't organic. And it is like that is so what you would do at like 22. I would do that now, but you know what I mean? Like you have this idea in your head and then you're like, no. That's kind of where it comes to the end of episode seven. So like they really did leave everything to the last episode, which I knew they would do. I was just like, just give us something.
Yeah.
Episode eight is called Amor Fati, which means embrace your fate with Chelsea says at the dinner table with Rick. And apparently that was a real sign that she was going to be the one who was killed.
It was a spoiler.
Which I didn't really see. But this is the whole thing about the fact that there's a monk at the top of the episode. And he's talking about resolution in life. And there's this real long piece. But then at the end of it, it says there is no resolution to life's questions. It is easier to be patient. Once we finally accept there is no resolution. So everything isn't always wrapped up and there's not always one final thing, which definitely is the way this series ended.
Yeah, that's Mike White talking there.
Totally. Apparently they're all like Laurie. What's her name? The girl who plays Laurie?
Carrie Coon, is it?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So she comes in with this powerful, bopping monologue the next night when the girls go to dinner. It's a lovely monologue.
It was such an unexpected end to that kind of frivolous, bitchy, catty dynamic that was going on. Mick described it as incisive. And I thought that was a good way. Like it was very just unexpected and kind of whipped it up.
Well, I think she kind of was the one to be like, OK. I'm not 100% happy. Neither are the other two. But I think she was the one to have like the balls to say it and just be like, it's not going very well for me. And like, I'm actually going to say it too, as opposed to having this facade, like because the other two definitely aren't 100%
content either. But they're happy to not say it.
Yeah. But the speech is like, I just feel like as you get older, you have to justify your life, you know, and I don't need religion to have meaning because time gives it reason. gives it meaning. It's all about maintaining longer friendships with people that you're in school with. And, you know, even though you might not have loads of stuff in common, that time of a friendship means a lot.
Yeah.
And then at the end, she said, I'm just happy to be at the table, which I thought was a lovely, a lovely line.
It was a good like reminder of...
Very monk-esque.
It was very monk-esque. Like it was a good reminder of like how time compounds and memories compound that meaning. And... I think we're all victims of this. It's a bit like when you go home to your family at Christmas, you revert back into that teenager, like you regress into that person because those people have known you for so long. You might all be living like in three different parts of the country, but those people and they hold you up to an identity you might be trying to hide in your new life or your older life, but they call you on your choices, don't they? And then like her search for meaning has kind of come up short, but then it kind of makes... her realise that like actually my friendships are what have given my life meaning it might not have been my job, my child or my marriage.
Well, I think she's like, oh, but they're still there because she's like, my job, I'm not happy there.
Yeah. That's done. It hasn't given me what I thought it would.
Love life. That's not what I wanted. Yeah.
And I think they're like in the underneath the identity umbrella of this season. Ageing comes in there and not in like, fuck, I'm old, Carrie Bradshaw style, but it's more like Who am I now? Who did I used to be? And having those friends from school definitely contrast that. Around them, there's chats of like success and then relationships that they're all in and then politics, motherhood to an extent. But one interesting thing Mike White said on the official White Lotus podcast was when he was first writing out the characters, he loved the idea of having one character split into three. So those three women are what... three different lives one person could have taken and like how those lives all ended up being so it's kind of like harking back to like who I used to be and who I am now you know it's a bit like a sliding doors moment for for those three characters they could have all started as one a kind of evolved into three which I thought was interesting yeah I heard that I found that quite confusing you explained it there if one went to Hollywood or if one kind of became a bit yeah it's like a Trump loving Texan and then the other one was like I'm gonna try in New York and be a lawyer you know when you look back on your life you're like well what if I did go to LA would I end up like Jacqueline like what if I did meet my husband and I moved to Texas you know When you're at 45, you might be looking back in your life and going, oh, what could I have done? Oh,
God. Yeah. That's very melancholic as well to think if you're not happy as in at that point.
But then that's what I think it laments the importance of those friendships, because they know you long enough that they can call you on your bullshit. And that's why it's important to have like good, well, in this case, really good female friends, because they can have that sisterly chat with you. And like the way I loved when Jacqueline called. Laurie out for being the, you have a part to play in being disappointed. You act the victim. You can't say you're always disappointed when you know you have a conscious choice in these decisions. So, you know, those kind of holding the mirror up for each other's identities. I thought that was really interesting. Yeah,
you're right.
They call you on your choices. So it's not all bad. And that's where the friendship adds the meaning and where time compounds that. It was just, yeah, it's great. Give her all the awards.
This academic analysis.
Glasses on my nose.
Pushing up my glasses. And then we get into this crazy thing where the fruit that hangs from the trees outside the Rackliff's room that has the poisonous seeds. Timothy is just having a nightmare still. I'm exhausted by Timothy. I'm like, could you just do something or leave?
yeah dead right you know it was teased out so long it was like every episode it was like lorazepam suicide lorazepam family homicide shouldn't someone be checking on you like you're clearly not well it's weird that Parker Posey didn't cop on
I'd be furious if I was that like out of it on lorazepam and my my significant other was just like mm-hmm what anyway so he comes up with his plan Your one, the hotel employee is like, oh yeah, if you grind the seeds inside, people call it a suicide plant or something. And I'm like, good one. If those plants are there, they should be removed.
Removed.
And so he's like, oh my God. And then he's out there last year and he's like, I've got that deal to make some pina coladas back to the ring. And the blender comes back into it. He's like, could you bring the pina coladas? He's narrowed it down to the fact that Lachlan could survive without the money. And no one else could. So he's like, well, you're too young, so you're not going to drink it. And then he makes these four quite delicious looking piquillatas and gives them out. And then they're all kind of sipping it. I was like, oh, gosh, like, is this what's going to happen? And then just when you think they're all going to poison themselves, he knocks it out of Saxon's hand. He's like, now the coconut milk's bad. But then leaves the blender dirty there. OK. And so none of that really happens. And they're all just like, what's wrong with you? Classic. Like they're all just like, what's wrong with Timothy? But no one's actually figuring it out. Yeah. Then we also see Belinda in conversation with Zion and Greg trying to get the money. And they're like, she needs five million.
The Zion actor, whilst beautiful, I think he was given some of the like cheesiest lines or maybe it's not the best of acting, but it was quite like gossip girl.
I heard something being like it was very Riverdale energy.
Yes, Riverdale or like, yeah, very CW, One Tree Hill energy, Teen Wolf.
Don't sit on One Tree Hill.
But it was, yeah, no, sorry. But, you know, it was very kind of like teen acting. It was quite cheesy. Even like the script he was given. I don't know. It was just.
Yeah, the lines and stuff. I agree.
NBA, baby. It was like it just jarred with the.
Beautiful though. beautiful beautiful I like the little trick though that Belinda played where she you think she's storming out because she's so moralistic when she got up and I was like Belinda would you just and then it turned out they were playing a game like good cop bad cop which I thought was great and she was like go in there and seal it anyway she ends up getting the five million and almost keels over fair so then she's like we need to get out of here like as in I need to run with my money so they're kind of running to get out and she Nothing really happens then with the kind of Russian thing. It's just kind of phased out. So that's not really one to touch on.
That was a bit of a red herring, wasn't it?
Yeah. So then Lachlan. Lachlan. Lachlan makes himself a smoothie and use the dirty blender and poisons himself.
I was like, there couldn't be a big shootout and somebody dying of poison. But it really looked like he died.
I found that very emotional.
Yeah.
I was like, the Ratcliffs are going to fall apart when they come back from Brackey.
Yeah. Dad's going to jail and they've lost a son.
And he was the one that they all kind of looked at. You know, they were all like, come on, Lachlan.
There's a great Guardian article about all the different books that the characters are reading and how it kind of foreshadows the future or kind of paints their characters in a certain light. Like Jacqueline reading Barbara Streisand's book, for example. Leslie Bibb just always being on her phone. And... Lachlan was reading a book called Tsunami. Did that kind of foreshadow his kind of death experience where he's under the water and he can't get up? Oh, Gazzer. It's only from that article. I didn't notice it. It's funny though, because when Lachlan goes to use the dirty blender, isn't it right after him and Saxon have that kind of like chat where he's like, I'm a people pleaser to kind of explain away the incest?
Yeah. I feel like we kind of knew that.
Yeah, but I can't believe he actually said it. The way he said it was so well done. It was the most creepiest. conversation but I thought it made sense yeah and it's like it and then it showed how innocent he was he was like I thought you felt left out just going back to like Lachlan being so influenced by their his older siblings so he goes then he was like okay I need to be a man like Saxon I'll make my smoothie even though that's something that like Saxon is starting to disengage from like this whole kind of hyper male belief system yeah I think he doesn't really know what to do himself and he's like I'll make a smoothie that he's he's looking for anyone to kind of Because Piper's told him, like, please don't come to the monastery with me. Or, you know, so then he's like, who do I kind of latch on to?
And then she's like, I'm not going anyway.
She got the ick from that monastery.
She totally did. Fair.
I thought, but it was interesting the way when Lachlan is underwater and he's like, you know, he's looking up and it's four figures. You assume it's the family, but as you get closer, it's actually like four monks. So then he's like, oh, I saw God. And the way. It happens with Rick and Chelsea, which we'll get into. But when Timothy is kind of resuscitating him, he's in this, you know, the Pieta. So it's like, you know, yeah, Michelangelo. So it's like Mary holding the dead Jesus. That's happening there. And he's like, but he gets to bring him back to life. And I think what's interesting about the Ratler family is while they all go through some serious shit, the men come out with like meaning. So like Timothy learns, OK, while he's tried to perform like a huge family homicide and he's tried to end his own life by nearly losing Lachlan. He knows that, oh, I can face what's happening at home because I haven't lost my child. And I know that that would be way worse. And life is more important than.
Yeah, it's a bit of perspective.
And then with Saxon, he's gone through all this stuff with Chelsea. He's become a bit more spiritual. And then with Lachlan, he comes out and he's like, I've just seen God. Whereas on the other hand, you have the women. Piper gets even more materialistic than she ever thought she was. She's going shopping with Parker Posey. She's not doing her year in the monastery. And then Victoria kind of stays the same.
Yeah, Victoria very much stays the same.
The women, yeah. The women. I thought that was interesting because the men all get the meaning. But the women aren't tested as much, I suppose.
No, you're right. That Pieta thing's mad. But then it all comes down to the final 10 minutes because we know someone is getting shot and someone's shooting because that's what happens at the opening scene in episode one. Rick basically is confronted by the older gentleman in the breakfast bar. The breakfast looks delicious, by the way. Chelsea's like, will you get me a donut?
Yeah, a donut for breakfast. Yum. But why does Rick go back? He must be on a serious high from like his great night out. He's like, I've finally been absolved by my dad. You know, I realized I didn't need to hurt him.
But going back to that hotel, it's like. Exactly. He mustn't have been thinking clearly. I think he was just so like gung ho.
He's just a classic guy who needs a lot of therapy,
isn't he? Yeah.
Because he gets confronted then by the older guy in the breakfast bar. And he basically is like, I knew your mother was a slut, but I didn't know she was a liar, which sends him into orbit. Walton Goggins plays that episode of sheer anger and like...
world collapsing upset he plays it extremely well because it was making me like feel like that well he's annoyed me all series that last episode the acting and that because it's just all in his face he doesn't say much but guess what all the actors get paid 40 grand an episode no matter who you are yeah so they get like say 320 320 thousand dollars a series but obviously you get so much press and accolades and blah blah but Woody Harrelson was meant to play Rick yeah yeah And imagine, I don't think Woody would have done such a good job as Walton did, I think. Nothing bad on Woody.
Apparently he's a bit of a prick in real life.
Yeah, and it didn't work because of the money, then it didn't work because of scheduling, but...
He said he had a family holiday.
I'd say he got asked to go on something. But I think Woody Harrelson is a kind of a cameo actor at this point. Whereas, like, I think... it's such a testament to Walton Goggins I'm so glad he was given that chance because especially as well because Chelsea's acting when she's like you know the donut and she cries and she's like please don't go remember when Walton comes back from the old man and then she's kind of like welling up and like her acting what are you going to do yeah like please like I'm here in front of you can you not just appreciate what you have and that was acted so beautifully and then of course I feel like Woody Harrelson I don't know because he's such a cameo actor I don't know would he have but able to add that tenderness to that role that Walton Goggins, which is the best name ever.
Definitely not. And I think we all think he's a bit of a goof. Yeah. Do you know, like he's very funny to laugh at. And it all comes down to the 10 minutes and Rick is like, oh my God. And he's going and he tries to find the lady who he did that session with before. And she's like kind of a therapist type thing. Yeah. Who kind of gave them a bit of insight and he tries to find her. And then she's giving Zion. a session and he's like I really need to talk to you he's sweating bullets like he looks manic yeah she was like I'll be with you in one hour it's like he clearly needed your assistance anyway then it all kind of just explodes and uh what's the older guy's name Jim is it he's a really famous actor he's been allowed to like 70s stuff oh is he yeah anyway Rick end up ends up shooting him on this bridge Fabian I think is his name the hotel worker is like and falls into the water, which is actually a bit of comic relief. Yeah. And everyone's running and ducking and hiding. And then Rick has shot your man. And then the hotel owner is like, he's your father. I don't know if I needed that.
That's where it got a bit melodramatic for me.
And then just when he pulls Chelsea then, I'm like, oh, no.
She knew, I think, what she was walking into, though, because she was like, I'm going to follow you. we're going to be together forever. I'm following you into the next life and the next life. Her spirituality really played a part in their love story. Oh,
just when he's like limping with her on the bridge. I just thought that was so sad.
Yeah. I know we've seen them at a bad point in their relationship, but she does make a few comments along the series going like, oh, can we not just have fun anymore? And like, let's have some fun. you know how it used to be so i do think their love goes a bit deeper than what we saw because what we saw was highly toxic and just really quite depressing i couldn't really but at the breakfast it really seemed because remember she's like oh we're a yin and a yang i'm hope he's pain and we'll just figure out who wins and i was like that's really toxic thing to say and
not fun but it seemed like hope was winning until obviously the hotel yeah you kind of thought there was a bit of relief and then gay doc comes out and uh shoots rick that That bit where Rick falls into the water with Chelsea, the eyes, is very haunting, isn't it?
That was based, apparently, another little art nod. Another example of the Pieta with Rick and Chelsea. This is from the lovely art lady, Meals and Art, who we've talked about before. She said that, like, so obviously Pieta is kind of like a parent-child. We saw it with Lachlan and Timothy. But with Rick and Chelsea, she was kind of his, she kind of mothered him. She was the parent of that relationship. But it was like, Like they twisted it and that he was carrying her. And then when he ends up dead in the water, another little art nod was she was flipped. Yeah. And he was face up. And that was another nod to like people saw a lot of like yin and yang in that, especially because she had the bullet in the back and he had the bullet in the front. You know, the yin and yang have the black dots and one is the white dot. And then there is this really famous painting by John Everett Miller called Ophelia. And that's the woman and she's like floating in the river and falling and he's wearing a really floral shirt. So there's another little, like, art nod there.
I'd love to know how they break this all down.
But I think, yeah, like, how does he do it? But, like, I felt with the Pieta bit where he was walking, like, it wasn't like he was carrying her to help. He was walking down, like, a jetty.
There was no direction there.
I thought that, like, maybe is he carrying her into the next life? He was just waiting for somebody to shoot him. Like, he was waiting for that bullet in the back. He knew that he was going to end up getting shot.
I would hope so.
And even there, like... bodies going back in like being repatriated going to the plane and how it ends there i thought that was very like somber and i did think like her spirituality and this whole like walking into the next life and the indiana it made her death less sad or something or like more transcendental like it goes back to she kind of got what she wanted yeah because the amor fati it's like i accept my fate i love my fate like she kind of knew not knew but like you know she was she had accepted what was going to happen to her like imagine if she was like cheated on Rick with Saxon and then ended up getting with Saxon that wouldn't have happened you know like she did play a role in how her life yeah went on and then ended will I tell you about the necklace the necklace what's the necklace Chelsea through in every single episode is wearing and I saw this on like the before the finale this is when I turned off Instagram so and someone was it was a theory that somebody was right but she wears this necklace right and it's a ten thousand dollar necklace and it's a pendant like almost like a dog tag and it says stay gold and It's from this London designer called Flo London. And it was inspired by the film The Outsiders. And the necklace itself means like a symbol of hope and being true to yourself. Very Chelsea. And it's inspired by the film The Outsiders. And in the film, the final words of one of the characters, Johnny Cade, says before he dies, he goes, stay gold, pony boy, stay gold. And then he dies. So then it's like... stay gold before you get shot and before you die. So it was kind of a, her necklace was kind of a premonition of her dying.
I wonder, do they have historians and stuff on it?
Yeah, they must. He must have a team. They must do.
There's too much going on.
Yeah, another one was, Chelsea had two encounters with snakes. She had the snake bracelet she was trying on. The robbers come in, they shoot up the gift shop. Then her second one is they go to the snake show. She gets bitten by a snake. And then the third snake. is well kind of rick the bad things happen in threes the three different snakes the snake now was i don't know rick at this point but that third snake is the transformational that's the death closing off of that snake trio oh gosh i wonder do the monkeys feel upset that they weren't involved the plot at all remember at the beginning we were like monkeys monkeys oh my god yeah sorry they did it must be they must be so upset it's they're definitely cgi yeah yeah so i think they're fine you
I have a few things that I'm like, I would have liked a bit of this to happen. Very top line. I wanted to see the Ratliffs when they got back home. Just a quick, I would watch a Ratliff spin-off.
Well, someone said it's Schitt's Creek.
That's what James told me. I would fully watch that.
Yeah. I wish we got more of a... Yeah, them realising on the boat or like you heard Parker Posey scream or like...
Something.
Something.
Like maybe she fell off the boat in shock.
Yeah. Is it too expected of her character to have this ridiculous reaction? Like, is that where it kind of like leaves us wanting more?
Like, I just, I really, really would have liked that. Then I never got any sort of answer on Kate, played by Leslie Bibb, when she talks to Victoria at the table and she's really rude. All I wanted was like a nod to what she's talking about.
One of the theories I saw was, you know, the way we see Leslie Bibb on her phone when she catches Jacqueline and Valentin hooking up. Yeah. One theory I saw was like, oh, maybe she was on the phone at home to somebody and they were like, oh, the Ratliffs are in loads of financial trouble and he's done something wrong. So then maybe Kate would have, Leslie Bibb would have confronted the Ratliffs and then that's how they all find out. But that obviously didn't happen. I would have liked if that happened.
yeah I love yeah hello Mike Weiss new ending also Mook like that was just such a weird storyline I have two pieces of like gossip from this. I don't know if you know. The first is that Chloe was who plays Greg's girlfriend. She was replaced a month into filming with a different actress. Oh wow. Can you imagine doing a month filming and then they just take you out? What was wrong? They swapped her back so they needed a bit of an older actress. The girl who was playing her was Francesca Corny. She was 32 and they replaced her with Charlotte Bond who was 38.
And she was
Francesca imagine leaving after a month that's devastating you can put up with the thing being like I'm checking out the white lotus and put up all these pictures of her like filming all that kind of stuff it's since been removed did she look too young maybe is that why because he is old I think that's what they said yeah but still that's terrible like and the final one which I heard is that Walton and Amy Lewood yes are not friends anymore
Yeah, I heard she unfollowed him.
And there's rumours that, is it he's blocked her? And basically the theory is that they may have taken their friendship a bit too far and now he's like overcompensating for his wife being like, I love you so much and such and such.
Oh, he's married.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh no, Walton.
And he, like, because he's like been gushing about her in the press.
Oh, Walton, not good.
No, which is really upsetting. wow and your one Jason Isaacs apparently is just such like he's like oh god some some relationships were really yeah something like that like he's real blabbermouth he's such a blabbermouth he's not like pure like media trained no and he got in all that trouble talking about the fake willy and all that and the appendage you wouldn't ask Mikey Madison about her fake vulva people were like this is morning television like please did he say that yes I think he's a bit of a
I think he's just not used to being in the spotlight long. One thing Mike White did say as well on that podcast was Zion and Piper were supposed to have a moment and she was supposed to lose her virginity to him. But then he said, we were already at 90 minutes. I couldn't add another 10 minutes to the final. Because her clothes totally changed. She stopped dressing like Wendy and she wears more out there clothes and that's meant to show, oh, I've lost my virginity. I'm a woman now. But then they kind of... run it under oh I'm actually just a materialistic concept I think loads of stuff was cut like loads of little things that would have maybe added on to it or something yeah just going back to Belinda's storyline like you really tested on when that money hits your bank account and like when they get that money and it hits her account and she's like can I just be rich for a second and in that moment I knew she was gonna ditch porn yeah that was really sad I know and we'd like to think we'd be better with money and like all this how much she hates rich people and has been like involved with so many She pulls a fucking Tanya. We might not be as good with money as we think we will. And she's like jets off. You know, I wonder how long that money would last. It seems like easy come, easy go a little bit.
Yeah. Also, that's not that much money.
No, that would go very quickly, especially in America.
Like, you could live off.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? Like that boat alone, they got back the speedboat.
Because it harks back to this thing where like the characters with higher moral compass and reject like the rich people values. They're the ones. that kind of lose the most. Like Rick chooses vengeance and he loses Chelsea. The one person who was like offering him the love that he's been chasing his whole life. Belinda chooses what might protect her, the money. So she lets peace go. She takes the blood money and she fucking runs. Pulls a Tanya. Gay talk gives up his principles and his religion to get the promotion and the girl. Piper tries to give up her frivolous lifestyle, but then realizes that she can't and she needs her selfish comforts. Chelsea. is probably the most innocent and person who doesn't need to change her values. She ends up dying. So it's kind of, I find that contrast kind of interesting, how we all choose to identify and like the people who cash in their morals end up getting what they want.
Yeah, but then what happens down the line?
Exactly. Like the gay toxic we all know is going to be haunted by that death, killing Rick. This one girl on Instagram, Megan Adele Parks, I'll link her. But she said like, we're all chasing something, but the outcome is still the same. And all these characters lose themselves in that chase. So she made a point of like, is this a metaphor for Western culture? And like, what if there is no enough? Like we're always chasing something, but when we get it, it's still not enough. And we still need to be in this like endless pursuit of more. Thinking that like the never enough. Yeah. And thinking that the next thing will complete us, but it actually just doesn't. And it comes back to the Buddhist thing of like making that our identity is toxic for us. And we should never want for anything.
because it's like not a destination basically.
It's the journey. My final point is Mike White. He closes out the, he's really quite funny. It's worth a listen of the White Lotus podcast. People were giving, he was like, people give out that like there's no plot in any of the things I write. And he's like, don't come into my bed and give out to me that you're in my bed. Oh, I love edging. You know what edging is in like the bedroom. So it's like you get close, close, close and then stop. So he's like, that is my thing. Get away from me, you bossy bottoms. Like, this is my thing which I thought was amazing I think you have to look at White Lotus as like a lot of stuff will be left to ask a question instead of provides an answer and it's like a character study with murder on the side that's just what happens I think yeah it's just meant to what does he say don't get into my bed what give out to me that you're in my bed get your bossy bottom out of here
I'd love that
Because it is like even like Victoria is such an amazing character study. Like, you know, she never her money, her values. She never wants to feel pain. She never wants to be poor. She's constantly like chasing pleasure, rejecting pain. She's constantly drunk or on lorazepam. She wants all that dopamine. The values are empty. She's never had to work for anything in her life. She doesn't know what real hard work pays off. You know,
she's just vacant.
She has a superiority complex that spills into the kids that like no one's ever good enough. yeah and sorry Mike White did say this about her superiority complex he was like no one's ever good enough for them so is that why they turn inward is that why they turn to the incest because you know no one's good enough for my kids I was like whoa Mike White god he sounds absolutely gas yeah it sounds like a good time I really like to grab a poison-free pina colada with Mike White oh my god totally it made me want a pina colada yeah oh my god so that was such a bumper episode fuck Wow. I thought that would take a half an hour. It's worth it though. So much to discuss.
You look proper revved up as well.
Revved up.
Your eyes are alive.
They're like all white.
We hope you enjoyed this analysis with all our symbolism and Clara's like depth of... a like higher meaning and all that kind of stuff mine was a bit more factual you steered us through you were the captain of the ship sorry not factual just like kind of commentary you were steering the ship and I was just along for the ride yeah just happy to be here I I'm just happy to be at the table ah full circle I have one that I'd like us something that I'd like us to review which I won't say but just well you know the one I watched last week
Oh, fuck. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to do that.
I think we should do that next.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for listening. Hopefully you enjoyed our White Lotus review episodes. We'll definitely pick it up on some other fabulous content if you've recommendations on what we should be doing. I think it should be something new and then every now and again we'll go back to something a bit older. Tell us. You can let us know at House of Gossip Pod on Instagram at Klaasie Cabana or at Soph underscore Alliance. And we'll catch you on our regularly scheduled programming.
Will I sing us out?
Ka kunká.
got a girl girl oh oh pina colada poison free
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From a family homicide attempt to a magnificent monologue and an artistic ending. The girls conclude their trip to White Lotus Thailand.
Lots of White Lotus insightful identity theories from this girlie here
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Transcription
that never gets old thank you clara coming into you live from london town i'm sophie lions i'm here with the gorgeous clara kavanaugh and we are on the final episode of our white lotus season three academic analysis i'm going to call it again we're very excited to record this i went off the grids It was available for us in the UK on Monday. So on Sunday morning, I was like, I'm going off everything. I went off the internet. I didn't look at anything because I said, no spoilers. Clara did the same. I have remained off the grid until a few hours ago. And I just went on to use the World Wide Web. Wow, there's a load on there. And of course, Clara is very caught up on. the different theories and reals. So we've assumed the same roles as we always do. We're very excited to discuss. Now, Clara, I haven't really spoken to anyone really about it properly. And at the top of the episode, we thought it'd be a good idea. Just top line, how did you feel? I think we might feel different after talking about it together. But top line, how did you feel about the ending?
It was melodramatic in parts. The Star Wars, Luke, I am your father moment. The multiple deaths.
Were you happy with it in general?
I felt a bit shortchanged in parts. And I wish we can get into this. I wish certain stories ended differently. But looking back now, I think there's only one way a lot of it could have ended. So in reflection, maybe enjoyed it more than I thought. Yeah. What do we?
Everything kind of went to the last 10 minutes. And I wanted more detail out of certain things. But. on the hell yeah i thought it was really good but you know sometimes you want like a final answer i don't think mike white wants to give that to us ever he actually said he doesn't like he's like life has no resolutions or something like that okay so what we're gonna do is go through seven and eight like we did on our last last trip around the sun um and then you come in with all your bits that you always have episode seven so the gals are having another sad dinner in the hotel restaurant, The Gossip Girls. And it kind of comes to a head where Jacqueline is like, if you're not happy with your life, Laurie, I don't know, fucking change it. It's all very awkward.
You're always disappointed.
Yeah, she's like, when you know someone long enough, you see patterns, is what Kate said. So Leslie Bibb's character.
She really called her on her... What did she say? It was like, you can't always be the victim when you choose to be disappointed. Like... You have a part to play in how your life has turned out. It hasn't. You're not the victim here. Oh,
so not holiday chat.
Red to filth.
And then she decides to go to the Mai Tai fight. And the other two are like, Laurie does. And then the other two are like, no, we're not going. So then she goes and watches it with Valentine's buddy, Alexi. And it's all this kind of fighting and there's spit going everywhere. And then we see this very sexy, sexy. Oh, my. God, James and I were watching it being like, oh, my God, like she's on top and it's pretty aggressive.
Were you two clutching your pearls?
Totally.
I know. Yeah, it was a sexy, saucy sex scene.
And then afterwards, they're kind of lying there. And then Alex, he's like, he's like, I need a thousand, ten thousand dollars to help my sick mother. Yeah. And, you know, that moment when you realize who you're with, the person is like crazy or like borderline. And you're like, oh.
The veil is just ripped.
That bit gave me, like my heart dropped. I felt sick for her.
I know. Just the immediate regret and get me out of here. A homesick feeling. Get me home now. What were we talking about in the last episode? Just get me home.
Yeah, absolutely.
I hate these people.
Just back to the hotel because she'd feel safe with the other two girls. Yeah. They were annoying her.
Hotel sick.
So elsewhere, our favorite pic. so the employee who's on a performance improvement plan Gay Tuck is at the Mai Tai fight as well on his date very depressing date and realises that the Russian guys were actually the burglars from episode 2 we can talk about that later but that's never resolved either no I think that's more built into how Gay Tuck surrenders his beliefs for
power copy and maybe or just shows his sensitivity because he didn't want Valentin to die yeah is he still a nice guy because he didn't write in
Valentin he still gets his promotion he's he got what he wanted out of it yeah and the date is really depressing that whole storyline is very Mook really showed her non-negotiables when she's like oh well you know you're not going to be anything so yeah and then she just kind of walks off she's like you can't Change careers. Let Gay Talk do what Gay Talk wants. Poor guy. They were having no crack. That was very, very akin to the many relationships I've been in. Then, Bangkok. I'm dying to know what you thought about the Bangkok stuff. So Rick finally confronts the man who he thinks killed his dad. Jim is his name. And he gets him into the den. He has his gun ready and he's basically like, I've waited my entire life to do it. And then he's like, I can't because he's an older gentleman. It's not what he's expecting. And he just knocks him off his chair. And then him and Frank, played by Sam Rockwell, run out and run onto the boat. And they're like, get out of here. And then they get off and they're like, I suppose we're hitting the town now. And then I'm like, this is where the movie, The Hangover, kind of, that's where you're getting the vibe. I was enjoying that. There was like booze, just prostitutes. and boobs strip clubs everything I was like this is the night out like the White Lotus is great but like it's so chilled out and like they were doing drugs and like the penthouse with prostitutes
Sam Rockwell was going nuts even though he's supposed to be sober and all this kind of stuff and little leopard prince underwear yeah tiny underpants and then Rick's just getting more cranky again classic they really didn't think through that plan going to the to the hotel owner's home like They didn't really go like, oh, maybe we should check her IMDB and see what movie she's been in, or maybe we should like get our names right. When Rick calls Frank the wrong name, it's like, oh my god,
the zombie ambassadors. And he's like, was there a movie where you, did you play a royal or something like that? Like, it's just, he's brilliant at it. And then they go to the hotel and then Rick gets really irritated and then he decides to leave the next morning. And Sam Rockwell does this darling little tumble roll down the...
Yeah.
I loved that. I thought it was excellent for his character. And Rick's like, I need to get out of here. Rick's like, I need to get out of here. And Sam's like, oh, well, I'm going back with the prostitutes. And Rick just leaves cranky, classic.
Just on the bit when they were in the hotel owner's house, I cannot stop laughing at, you know, when they... they start watching the hotel owners the wife's old music videos oh yeah yeah and then he's like oh it's like a mix between emcee hammer peter pan and pippin we had to google pippin and oh my god it's so accurate oh i need to get that it's
oh my god pippin it was so funny and moving to the rat cliffs we're still kind of like what's the incest thing going on Timothy's still having his lorazepam alcohol cloudy nightmare and he's trying to figure it out then he's like the gun is gone how am I going to get out of here and he's just a mess
I saw the you know that chest of drawers that the gun was in I know they'd had loads of drawers apparently that was a metaphor for like who gets the gun and how the story will end oh gosh I love that because it's like a magic drawer chest I really liked that
cabinet and just as a woman it's an appreciation then also it's all leading up to greg having this private party and he's like everyone needs to come to my party and we're like what's the party about belinda's gonna go her son zion's gonna go zion's very hot the ratcliffs go of course timothy's just having a nightmare chloe's then talking about inviting saxon to like have sex with her so greg can watch Yeah. Because that's something from his childhood, really long and rambly. It's very odd. And Saxon's like absolutely disgusted. He plays disgusted very well.
He does. With that scene in particular, after the soulless comment that Chelsea serves up to Saxon.
That was really mean.
I think Saxon goes, this is where his character arc post-incest, goes to a place I didn't think it would go. When he sees how like illogical Rick and Chelsea's love is, he then realises that like, his life is empty he wants someone to love him at the beginning of the week if Chloe asked him to do that with herself and Gary slash Greg he would have definitely done that but now he's turned off by Chloe and that kind of stuff because he's starting to go inward a bit and realize that he wants to be with someone and he recognizes in himself that he's like oh my god maybe I'm a bit empty look remember when he goes up to Timothy and he's like I'm nothing without you my identity is you If you're gone, I'm gone. I'm tied to you, yeah. I have nothing. All my value system is tied up and Chelsea really breaks that open in Saxon.
Very delicately.
Very subtly.
It's not like she's like pushing it on him. No. But I thought that was very mean calling him soulless.
On the biggest hangover of his life.
On the worst hangover of his life. And then he goes to this party and then the girl's like, do you want to come and have sex with me? Of course he'd be freaked out.
But then he must be thinking, That's what you think of me.
Oh, I think he felt like dirt.
You think I'm that soulless. He now is recognising that part of himself and now rejecting it. And that's why he says no, which I thought was a win for Saxon and his...
Yeah, he plays it really well.
He does. God, he's a great actor. That tear when Rick and Chelsea are reunited on the beach. I think it's in episode eight. And he turns back.
I know that bit. That bit made me kind of cry. Not cry, but...
One little tear comes down. And I just thought that that was... He's had a huge big mirror put up in front of him.
Because he walks Chelsea back. And then he's like, I want to get into meditating. And then she throws all the books at him. Because he's obviously trying to kiss her. And then he starts reading them. And you kind of see him educating himself on a higher power and all that kind of stuff.
But the interesting thing there is Saxon is doing what Chelsea wishes Rick would. He's like opening his mind up to all the spirituality and all the like, oh, yeah, like I'd love to meditate. I finished that book you gave me. He's very like receptive and open to it. But Chelsea still stays loyal to Rick. But like what? And like a rom-com kind of tangent that could have gone on like two enemies, Chelsea versus Saxon. And then they turn into lovers and then she elevates them into this whole new spiritual realm. It could have gone down that avenue, but it doesn't because of Chelsea's loyalty. But I like the way they kind of played with that. Because if you look at Saxon and Rick's characters, their identities are built on their dads. So Rick, you know, my cup, it will never be full. I can't see the love that's in front of me with Chelsea. I'm so hung up on what my dad did to me. And then you have Saxon who's... all his value system is built, copied from his dad. And they're both still just as empty. So it's interesting how they kind of, Chelsea is their kind of middle woman there because it's, their identity is built off their dad and what the love that they did or didn't get.
Totally.
And how they react to that. Yeah.
Childhood traumatises you.
It really does.
Yeah, that's a very good point.
Rick is full of vengeance. Saxon realises that he's like super empty and like nothing without his dad. But they're both just as empty. And I thought that that was done quite well. They're kind of the opposite, but the same.
And the party's just a bit weird. And then we see Greg kind of sitting there. And then Belinda comes with her son Zion.
Greg is so weird. Like, imagine being the owner of that house. He's such a boring character. He's just sitting there on his own, kind of creepily, eerily staring at people. Like, oh my God, he's a psychopath.
And like, no way would he have the energy to stand up. and watch the two of them have sex because he's just so dull.
Imagine having sex and him wanting to watch you and he's sitting there like that. Speaking of boner killers.
Yeah, but purely for the like, the fact that he has no charisma or like any vibe, I would say no, even though I wouldn't do it anyway. But you know what I mean? Even if he was like a bit encouraging or it was kind of like, hey, you know, it would just be a bit easier to swallow. But like, he's just so dull. And Belinda's just like, she's getting real anxious about the whole thing. She's like, why does he want me here? And I just feel like that bit.
I can't believe they went. I found that bit unbelievable.
And then the son's trying to eat the food and she's like, we have to go and all that kind of stuff. And Greg basically is like, I want to pay you out, basically.
Yeah.
To shush her for knowing that he killed his wife, Jennifer Coolidge.
Blood money.
So friendly. Well, it was Zab named Piper. And Lachlan are at the monastery doing their overnight to see if they like the digs. Bloody. I mean, Lachlan is like, I want to come here. I'd be like, go away. And we see it later in his character why he doesn't have any thoughts of his own. He just.
He absorbs the family. Yeah. Anything they do.
Yeah. And you're like, what is your personality? Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
After the incest experience. Lachlan and Saxon both turn to women to absolve them or something like Lachlan goes to Piper to like try go to the monks Saxon goes to Chelsea and that was kind of interesting and also like so at the beginning of the series Piper and Saxon are like trying to influence Lachlan it's a bit of a tug of war and it's like come on be a man have your shake or come on be a buddhist and like let's just save each other from like mom and dad and our stressful family I can't remember what podcast I listened to it on but they were like Lachlan stress tests Piper and Saxon's identity. They try to push their ideology onto him, but he takes it to the extreme. So in one case, it's jacking off his brother. And the other case, it's like, I want to move here for your year with you. You know, he takes it to the extreme. So then the other two, Saxon and Piper, then both withdraw. Now Piper for her own materialistic reasons as well. Also Saxon who looks inward and becomes a bit more spiritual. So that creepy little boy is quite extreme.
Yeah, he's a funny little character. I saw this thing and it was like, elsewhere in the Rattlerverse, Saxon Moonlights as a human interested in self-improvement. and intermittently you kind of see Timothy Ratliff trying to figure out like what the family is going to do like who's going to be able to survive the fact that they have no money and he's trying to figure it out like can the wife do it absolutely not she's like I just think at this point yeah you know she has no interest in it and he thinks maybe Piper because she's like trying to join a monastery maybe she can do it but then it turns out we find out in episode 8 that she's really not into the monastery nope And that's why I think she aligns with the mum so well, because the mum's delighted that she didn't like it.
I love when they're hugging and the thumbs up.
And she's like, oh, you know, there's like a stained mattress and like,
yeah. Nothing's organic.
Yeah. And like, yeah, you can taste that the food isn't organic. And it is like that is so what you would do at like 22. I would do that now, but you know what I mean? Like you have this idea in your head and then you're like, no. That's kind of where it comes to the end of episode seven. So like they really did leave everything to the last episode, which I knew they would do. I was just like, just give us something.
Yeah.
Episode eight is called Amor Fati, which means embrace your fate with Chelsea says at the dinner table with Rick. And apparently that was a real sign that she was going to be the one who was killed.
It was a spoiler.
Which I didn't really see. But this is the whole thing about the fact that there's a monk at the top of the episode. And he's talking about resolution in life. And there's this real long piece. But then at the end of it, it says there is no resolution to life's questions. It is easier to be patient. Once we finally accept there is no resolution. So everything isn't always wrapped up and there's not always one final thing, which definitely is the way this series ended.
Yeah, that's Mike White talking there.
Totally. Apparently they're all like Laurie. What's her name? The girl who plays Laurie?
Carrie Coon, is it?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So she comes in with this powerful, bopping monologue the next night when the girls go to dinner. It's a lovely monologue.
It was such an unexpected end to that kind of frivolous, bitchy, catty dynamic that was going on. Mick described it as incisive. And I thought that was a good way. Like it was very just unexpected and kind of whipped it up.
Well, I think she kind of was the one to be like, OK. I'm not 100% happy. Neither are the other two. But I think she was the one to have like the balls to say it and just be like, it's not going very well for me. And like, I'm actually going to say it too, as opposed to having this facade, like because the other two definitely aren't 100%
content either. But they're happy to not say it.
Yeah. But the speech is like, I just feel like as you get older, you have to justify your life, you know, and I don't need religion to have meaning because time gives it reason. gives it meaning. It's all about maintaining longer friendships with people that you're in school with. And, you know, even though you might not have loads of stuff in common, that time of a friendship means a lot.
Yeah.
And then at the end, she said, I'm just happy to be at the table, which I thought was a lovely, a lovely line.
It was a good like reminder of...
Very monk-esque.
It was very monk-esque. Like it was a good reminder of like how time compounds and memories compound that meaning. And... I think we're all victims of this. It's a bit like when you go home to your family at Christmas, you revert back into that teenager, like you regress into that person because those people have known you for so long. You might all be living like in three different parts of the country, but those people and they hold you up to an identity you might be trying to hide in your new life or your older life, but they call you on your choices, don't they? And then like her search for meaning has kind of come up short, but then it kind of makes... her realise that like actually my friendships are what have given my life meaning it might not have been my job, my child or my marriage.
Well, I think she's like, oh, but they're still there because she's like, my job, I'm not happy there.
Yeah. That's done. It hasn't given me what I thought it would.
Love life. That's not what I wanted. Yeah.
And I think they're like in the underneath the identity umbrella of this season. Ageing comes in there and not in like, fuck, I'm old, Carrie Bradshaw style, but it's more like Who am I now? Who did I used to be? And having those friends from school definitely contrast that. Around them, there's chats of like success and then relationships that they're all in and then politics, motherhood to an extent. But one interesting thing Mike White said on the official White Lotus podcast was when he was first writing out the characters, he loved the idea of having one character split into three. So those three women are what... three different lives one person could have taken and like how those lives all ended up being so it's kind of like harking back to like who I used to be and who I am now you know it's a bit like a sliding doors moment for for those three characters they could have all started as one a kind of evolved into three which I thought was interesting yeah I heard that I found that quite confusing you explained it there if one went to Hollywood or if one kind of became a bit yeah it's like a Trump loving Texan and then the other one was like I'm gonna try in New York and be a lawyer you know when you look back on your life you're like well what if I did go to LA would I end up like Jacqueline like what if I did meet my husband and I moved to Texas you know When you're at 45, you might be looking back in your life and going, oh, what could I have done? Oh,
God. Yeah. That's very melancholic as well to think if you're not happy as in at that point.
But then that's what I think it laments the importance of those friendships, because they know you long enough that they can call you on your bullshit. And that's why it's important to have like good, well, in this case, really good female friends, because they can have that sisterly chat with you. And like the way I loved when Jacqueline called. Laurie out for being the, you have a part to play in being disappointed. You act the victim. You can't say you're always disappointed when you know you have a conscious choice in these decisions. So, you know, those kind of holding the mirror up for each other's identities. I thought that was really interesting. Yeah,
you're right.
They call you on your choices. So it's not all bad. And that's where the friendship adds the meaning and where time compounds that. It was just, yeah, it's great. Give her all the awards.
This academic analysis.
Glasses on my nose.
Pushing up my glasses. And then we get into this crazy thing where the fruit that hangs from the trees outside the Rackliff's room that has the poisonous seeds. Timothy is just having a nightmare still. I'm exhausted by Timothy. I'm like, could you just do something or leave?
yeah dead right you know it was teased out so long it was like every episode it was like lorazepam suicide lorazepam family homicide shouldn't someone be checking on you like you're clearly not well it's weird that Parker Posey didn't cop on
I'd be furious if I was that like out of it on lorazepam and my my significant other was just like mm-hmm what anyway so he comes up with his plan Your one, the hotel employee is like, oh yeah, if you grind the seeds inside, people call it a suicide plant or something. And I'm like, good one. If those plants are there, they should be removed.
Removed.
And so he's like, oh my God. And then he's out there last year and he's like, I've got that deal to make some pina coladas back to the ring. And the blender comes back into it. He's like, could you bring the pina coladas? He's narrowed it down to the fact that Lachlan could survive without the money. And no one else could. So he's like, well, you're too young, so you're not going to drink it. And then he makes these four quite delicious looking piquillatas and gives them out. And then they're all kind of sipping it. I was like, oh, gosh, like, is this what's going to happen? And then just when you think they're all going to poison themselves, he knocks it out of Saxon's hand. He's like, now the coconut milk's bad. But then leaves the blender dirty there. OK. And so none of that really happens. And they're all just like, what's wrong with you? Classic. Like they're all just like, what's wrong with Timothy? But no one's actually figuring it out. Yeah. Then we also see Belinda in conversation with Zion and Greg trying to get the money. And they're like, she needs five million.
The Zion actor, whilst beautiful, I think he was given some of the like cheesiest lines or maybe it's not the best of acting, but it was quite like gossip girl.
I heard something being like it was very Riverdale energy.
Yes, Riverdale or like, yeah, very CW, One Tree Hill energy, Teen Wolf.
Don't sit on One Tree Hill.
But it was, yeah, no, sorry. But, you know, it was very kind of like teen acting. It was quite cheesy. Even like the script he was given. I don't know. It was just.
Yeah, the lines and stuff. I agree.
NBA, baby. It was like it just jarred with the.
Beautiful though. beautiful beautiful I like the little trick though that Belinda played where she you think she's storming out because she's so moralistic when she got up and I was like Belinda would you just and then it turned out they were playing a game like good cop bad cop which I thought was great and she was like go in there and seal it anyway she ends up getting the five million and almost keels over fair so then she's like we need to get out of here like as in I need to run with my money so they're kind of running to get out and she Nothing really happens then with the kind of Russian thing. It's just kind of phased out. So that's not really one to touch on.
That was a bit of a red herring, wasn't it?
Yeah. So then Lachlan. Lachlan. Lachlan makes himself a smoothie and use the dirty blender and poisons himself.
I was like, there couldn't be a big shootout and somebody dying of poison. But it really looked like he died.
I found that very emotional.
Yeah.
I was like, the Ratcliffs are going to fall apart when they come back from Brackey.
Yeah. Dad's going to jail and they've lost a son.
And he was the one that they all kind of looked at. You know, they were all like, come on, Lachlan.
There's a great Guardian article about all the different books that the characters are reading and how it kind of foreshadows the future or kind of paints their characters in a certain light. Like Jacqueline reading Barbara Streisand's book, for example. Leslie Bibb just always being on her phone. And... Lachlan was reading a book called Tsunami. Did that kind of foreshadow his kind of death experience where he's under the water and he can't get up? Oh, Gazzer. It's only from that article. I didn't notice it. It's funny though, because when Lachlan goes to use the dirty blender, isn't it right after him and Saxon have that kind of like chat where he's like, I'm a people pleaser to kind of explain away the incest?
Yeah. I feel like we kind of knew that.
Yeah, but I can't believe he actually said it. The way he said it was so well done. It was the most creepiest. conversation but I thought it made sense yeah and it's like it and then it showed how innocent he was he was like I thought you felt left out just going back to like Lachlan being so influenced by their his older siblings so he goes then he was like okay I need to be a man like Saxon I'll make my smoothie even though that's something that like Saxon is starting to disengage from like this whole kind of hyper male belief system yeah I think he doesn't really know what to do himself and he's like I'll make a smoothie that he's he's looking for anyone to kind of Because Piper's told him, like, please don't come to the monastery with me. Or, you know, so then he's like, who do I kind of latch on to?
And then she's like, I'm not going anyway.
She got the ick from that monastery.
She totally did. Fair.
I thought, but it was interesting the way when Lachlan is underwater and he's like, you know, he's looking up and it's four figures. You assume it's the family, but as you get closer, it's actually like four monks. So then he's like, oh, I saw God. And the way. It happens with Rick and Chelsea, which we'll get into. But when Timothy is kind of resuscitating him, he's in this, you know, the Pieta. So it's like, you know, yeah, Michelangelo. So it's like Mary holding the dead Jesus. That's happening there. And he's like, but he gets to bring him back to life. And I think what's interesting about the Ratler family is while they all go through some serious shit, the men come out with like meaning. So like Timothy learns, OK, while he's tried to perform like a huge family homicide and he's tried to end his own life by nearly losing Lachlan. He knows that, oh, I can face what's happening at home because I haven't lost my child. And I know that that would be way worse. And life is more important than.
Yeah, it's a bit of perspective.
And then with Saxon, he's gone through all this stuff with Chelsea. He's become a bit more spiritual. And then with Lachlan, he comes out and he's like, I've just seen God. Whereas on the other hand, you have the women. Piper gets even more materialistic than she ever thought she was. She's going shopping with Parker Posey. She's not doing her year in the monastery. And then Victoria kind of stays the same.
Yeah, Victoria very much stays the same.
The women, yeah. The women. I thought that was interesting because the men all get the meaning. But the women aren't tested as much, I suppose.
No, you're right. That Pieta thing's mad. But then it all comes down to the final 10 minutes because we know someone is getting shot and someone's shooting because that's what happens at the opening scene in episode one. Rick basically is confronted by the older gentleman in the breakfast bar. The breakfast looks delicious, by the way. Chelsea's like, will you get me a donut?
Yeah, a donut for breakfast. Yum. But why does Rick go back? He must be on a serious high from like his great night out. He's like, I've finally been absolved by my dad. You know, I realized I didn't need to hurt him.
But going back to that hotel, it's like. Exactly. He mustn't have been thinking clearly. I think he was just so like gung ho.
He's just a classic guy who needs a lot of therapy,
isn't he? Yeah.
Because he gets confronted then by the older guy in the breakfast bar. And he basically is like, I knew your mother was a slut, but I didn't know she was a liar, which sends him into orbit. Walton Goggins plays that episode of sheer anger and like...
world collapsing upset he plays it extremely well because it was making me like feel like that well he's annoyed me all series that last episode the acting and that because it's just all in his face he doesn't say much but guess what all the actors get paid 40 grand an episode no matter who you are yeah so they get like say 320 320 thousand dollars a series but obviously you get so much press and accolades and blah blah but Woody Harrelson was meant to play Rick yeah yeah And imagine, I don't think Woody would have done such a good job as Walton did, I think. Nothing bad on Woody.
Apparently he's a bit of a prick in real life.
Yeah, and it didn't work because of the money, then it didn't work because of scheduling, but...
He said he had a family holiday.
I'd say he got asked to go on something. But I think Woody Harrelson is a kind of a cameo actor at this point. Whereas, like, I think... it's such a testament to Walton Goggins I'm so glad he was given that chance because especially as well because Chelsea's acting when she's like you know the donut and she cries and she's like please don't go remember when Walton comes back from the old man and then she's kind of like welling up and like her acting what are you going to do yeah like please like I'm here in front of you can you not just appreciate what you have and that was acted so beautifully and then of course I feel like Woody Harrelson I don't know because he's such a cameo actor I don't know would he have but able to add that tenderness to that role that Walton Goggins, which is the best name ever.
Definitely not. And I think we all think he's a bit of a goof. Yeah. Do you know, like he's very funny to laugh at. And it all comes down to the 10 minutes and Rick is like, oh my God. And he's going and he tries to find the lady who he did that session with before. And she's like kind of a therapist type thing. Yeah. Who kind of gave them a bit of insight and he tries to find her. And then she's giving Zion. a session and he's like I really need to talk to you he's sweating bullets like he looks manic yeah she was like I'll be with you in one hour it's like he clearly needed your assistance anyway then it all kind of just explodes and uh what's the older guy's name Jim is it he's a really famous actor he's been allowed to like 70s stuff oh is he yeah anyway Rick end up ends up shooting him on this bridge Fabian I think is his name the hotel worker is like and falls into the water, which is actually a bit of comic relief. Yeah. And everyone's running and ducking and hiding. And then Rick has shot your man. And then the hotel owner is like, he's your father. I don't know if I needed that.
That's where it got a bit melodramatic for me.
And then just when he pulls Chelsea then, I'm like, oh, no.
She knew, I think, what she was walking into, though, because she was like, I'm going to follow you. we're going to be together forever. I'm following you into the next life and the next life. Her spirituality really played a part in their love story. Oh,
just when he's like limping with her on the bridge. I just thought that was so sad.
Yeah. I know we've seen them at a bad point in their relationship, but she does make a few comments along the series going like, oh, can we not just have fun anymore? And like, let's have some fun. you know how it used to be so i do think their love goes a bit deeper than what we saw because what we saw was highly toxic and just really quite depressing i couldn't really but at the breakfast it really seemed because remember she's like oh we're a yin and a yang i'm hope he's pain and we'll just figure out who wins and i was like that's really toxic thing to say and
not fun but it seemed like hope was winning until obviously the hotel yeah you kind of thought there was a bit of relief and then gay doc comes out and uh shoots rick that That bit where Rick falls into the water with Chelsea, the eyes, is very haunting, isn't it?
That was based, apparently, another little art nod. Another example of the Pieta with Rick and Chelsea. This is from the lovely art lady, Meals and Art, who we've talked about before. She said that, like, so obviously Pieta is kind of like a parent-child. We saw it with Lachlan and Timothy. But with Rick and Chelsea, she was kind of his, she kind of mothered him. She was the parent of that relationship. But it was like, Like they twisted it and that he was carrying her. And then when he ends up dead in the water, another little art nod was she was flipped. Yeah. And he was face up. And that was another nod to like people saw a lot of like yin and yang in that, especially because she had the bullet in the back and he had the bullet in the front. You know, the yin and yang have the black dots and one is the white dot. And then there is this really famous painting by John Everett Miller called Ophelia. And that's the woman and she's like floating in the river and falling and he's wearing a really floral shirt. So there's another little, like, art nod there.
I'd love to know how they break this all down.
But I think, yeah, like, how does he do it? But, like, I felt with the Pieta bit where he was walking, like, it wasn't like he was carrying her to help. He was walking down, like, a jetty.
There was no direction there.
I thought that, like, maybe is he carrying her into the next life? He was just waiting for somebody to shoot him. Like, he was waiting for that bullet in the back. He knew that he was going to end up getting shot.
I would hope so.
And even there, like... bodies going back in like being repatriated going to the plane and how it ends there i thought that was very like somber and i did think like her spirituality and this whole like walking into the next life and the indiana it made her death less sad or something or like more transcendental like it goes back to she kind of got what she wanted yeah because the amor fati it's like i accept my fate i love my fate like she kind of knew not knew but like you know she was she had accepted what was going to happen to her like imagine if she was like cheated on Rick with Saxon and then ended up getting with Saxon that wouldn't have happened you know like she did play a role in how her life yeah went on and then ended will I tell you about the necklace the necklace what's the necklace Chelsea through in every single episode is wearing and I saw this on like the before the finale this is when I turned off Instagram so and someone was it was a theory that somebody was right but she wears this necklace right and it's a ten thousand dollar necklace and it's a pendant like almost like a dog tag and it says stay gold and It's from this London designer called Flo London. And it was inspired by the film The Outsiders. And the necklace itself means like a symbol of hope and being true to yourself. Very Chelsea. And it's inspired by the film The Outsiders. And in the film, the final words of one of the characters, Johnny Cade, says before he dies, he goes, stay gold, pony boy, stay gold. And then he dies. So then it's like... stay gold before you get shot and before you die. So it was kind of a, her necklace was kind of a premonition of her dying.
I wonder, do they have historians and stuff on it?
Yeah, they must. He must have a team. They must do.
There's too much going on.
Yeah, another one was, Chelsea had two encounters with snakes. She had the snake bracelet she was trying on. The robbers come in, they shoot up the gift shop. Then her second one is they go to the snake show. She gets bitten by a snake. And then the third snake. is well kind of rick the bad things happen in threes the three different snakes the snake now was i don't know rick at this point but that third snake is the transformational that's the death closing off of that snake trio oh gosh i wonder do the monkeys feel upset that they weren't involved the plot at all remember at the beginning we were like monkeys monkeys oh my god yeah sorry they did it must be they must be so upset it's they're definitely cgi yeah yeah so i think they're fine you
I have a few things that I'm like, I would have liked a bit of this to happen. Very top line. I wanted to see the Ratliffs when they got back home. Just a quick, I would watch a Ratliff spin-off.
Well, someone said it's Schitt's Creek.
That's what James told me. I would fully watch that.
Yeah. I wish we got more of a... Yeah, them realising on the boat or like you heard Parker Posey scream or like...
Something.
Something.
Like maybe she fell off the boat in shock.
Yeah. Is it too expected of her character to have this ridiculous reaction? Like, is that where it kind of like leaves us wanting more?
Like, I just, I really, really would have liked that. Then I never got any sort of answer on Kate, played by Leslie Bibb, when she talks to Victoria at the table and she's really rude. All I wanted was like a nod to what she's talking about.
One of the theories I saw was, you know, the way we see Leslie Bibb on her phone when she catches Jacqueline and Valentin hooking up. Yeah. One theory I saw was like, oh, maybe she was on the phone at home to somebody and they were like, oh, the Ratliffs are in loads of financial trouble and he's done something wrong. So then maybe Kate would have, Leslie Bibb would have confronted the Ratliffs and then that's how they all find out. But that obviously didn't happen. I would have liked if that happened.
yeah I love yeah hello Mike Weiss new ending also Mook like that was just such a weird storyline I have two pieces of like gossip from this. I don't know if you know. The first is that Chloe was who plays Greg's girlfriend. She was replaced a month into filming with a different actress. Oh wow. Can you imagine doing a month filming and then they just take you out? What was wrong? They swapped her back so they needed a bit of an older actress. The girl who was playing her was Francesca Corny. She was 32 and they replaced her with Charlotte Bond who was 38.
And she was
Francesca imagine leaving after a month that's devastating you can put up with the thing being like I'm checking out the white lotus and put up all these pictures of her like filming all that kind of stuff it's since been removed did she look too young maybe is that why because he is old I think that's what they said yeah but still that's terrible like and the final one which I heard is that Walton and Amy Lewood yes are not friends anymore
Yeah, I heard she unfollowed him.
And there's rumours that, is it he's blocked her? And basically the theory is that they may have taken their friendship a bit too far and now he's like overcompensating for his wife being like, I love you so much and such and such.
Oh, he's married.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh no, Walton.
And he, like, because he's like been gushing about her in the press.
Oh, Walton, not good.
No, which is really upsetting. wow and your one Jason Isaacs apparently is just such like he's like oh god some some relationships were really yeah something like that like he's real blabbermouth he's such a blabbermouth he's not like pure like media trained no and he got in all that trouble talking about the fake willy and all that and the appendage you wouldn't ask Mikey Madison about her fake vulva people were like this is morning television like please did he say that yes I think he's a bit of a
I think he's just not used to being in the spotlight long. One thing Mike White did say as well on that podcast was Zion and Piper were supposed to have a moment and she was supposed to lose her virginity to him. But then he said, we were already at 90 minutes. I couldn't add another 10 minutes to the final. Because her clothes totally changed. She stopped dressing like Wendy and she wears more out there clothes and that's meant to show, oh, I've lost my virginity. I'm a woman now. But then they kind of... run it under oh I'm actually just a materialistic concept I think loads of stuff was cut like loads of little things that would have maybe added on to it or something yeah just going back to Belinda's storyline like you really tested on when that money hits your bank account and like when they get that money and it hits her account and she's like can I just be rich for a second and in that moment I knew she was gonna ditch porn yeah that was really sad I know and we'd like to think we'd be better with money and like all this how much she hates rich people and has been like involved with so many She pulls a fucking Tanya. We might not be as good with money as we think we will. And she's like jets off. You know, I wonder how long that money would last. It seems like easy come, easy go a little bit.
Yeah. Also, that's not that much money.
No, that would go very quickly, especially in America.
Like, you could live off.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? Like that boat alone, they got back the speedboat.
Because it harks back to this thing where like the characters with higher moral compass and reject like the rich people values. They're the ones. that kind of lose the most. Like Rick chooses vengeance and he loses Chelsea. The one person who was like offering him the love that he's been chasing his whole life. Belinda chooses what might protect her, the money. So she lets peace go. She takes the blood money and she fucking runs. Pulls a Tanya. Gay talk gives up his principles and his religion to get the promotion and the girl. Piper tries to give up her frivolous lifestyle, but then realizes that she can't and she needs her selfish comforts. Chelsea. is probably the most innocent and person who doesn't need to change her values. She ends up dying. So it's kind of, I find that contrast kind of interesting, how we all choose to identify and like the people who cash in their morals end up getting what they want.
Yeah, but then what happens down the line?
Exactly. Like the gay toxic we all know is going to be haunted by that death, killing Rick. This one girl on Instagram, Megan Adele Parks, I'll link her. But she said like, we're all chasing something, but the outcome is still the same. And all these characters lose themselves in that chase. So she made a point of like, is this a metaphor for Western culture? And like, what if there is no enough? Like we're always chasing something, but when we get it, it's still not enough. And we still need to be in this like endless pursuit of more. Thinking that like the never enough. Yeah. And thinking that the next thing will complete us, but it actually just doesn't. And it comes back to the Buddhist thing of like making that our identity is toxic for us. And we should never want for anything.
because it's like not a destination basically.
It's the journey. My final point is Mike White. He closes out the, he's really quite funny. It's worth a listen of the White Lotus podcast. People were giving, he was like, people give out that like there's no plot in any of the things I write. And he's like, don't come into my bed and give out to me that you're in my bed. Oh, I love edging. You know what edging is in like the bedroom. So it's like you get close, close, close and then stop. So he's like, that is my thing. Get away from me, you bossy bottoms. Like, this is my thing which I thought was amazing I think you have to look at White Lotus as like a lot of stuff will be left to ask a question instead of provides an answer and it's like a character study with murder on the side that's just what happens I think yeah it's just meant to what does he say don't get into my bed what give out to me that you're in my bed get your bossy bottom out of here
I'd love that
Because it is like even like Victoria is such an amazing character study. Like, you know, she never her money, her values. She never wants to feel pain. She never wants to be poor. She's constantly like chasing pleasure, rejecting pain. She's constantly drunk or on lorazepam. She wants all that dopamine. The values are empty. She's never had to work for anything in her life. She doesn't know what real hard work pays off. You know,
she's just vacant.
She has a superiority complex that spills into the kids that like no one's ever good enough. yeah and sorry Mike White did say this about her superiority complex he was like no one's ever good enough for them so is that why they turn inward is that why they turn to the incest because you know no one's good enough for my kids I was like whoa Mike White god he sounds absolutely gas yeah it sounds like a good time I really like to grab a poison-free pina colada with Mike White oh my god totally it made me want a pina colada yeah oh my god so that was such a bumper episode fuck Wow. I thought that would take a half an hour. It's worth it though. So much to discuss.
You look proper revved up as well.
Revved up.
Your eyes are alive.
They're like all white.
We hope you enjoyed this analysis with all our symbolism and Clara's like depth of... a like higher meaning and all that kind of stuff mine was a bit more factual you steered us through you were the captain of the ship sorry not factual just like kind of commentary you were steering the ship and I was just along for the ride yeah just happy to be here I I'm just happy to be at the table ah full circle I have one that I'd like us something that I'd like us to review which I won't say but just well you know the one I watched last week
Oh, fuck. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to do that.
I think we should do that next.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for listening. Hopefully you enjoyed our White Lotus review episodes. We'll definitely pick it up on some other fabulous content if you've recommendations on what we should be doing. I think it should be something new and then every now and again we'll go back to something a bit older. Tell us. You can let us know at House of Gossip Pod on Instagram at Klaasie Cabana or at Soph underscore Alliance. And we'll catch you on our regularly scheduled programming.
Will I sing us out?
Ka kunká.
got a girl girl oh oh pina colada poison free
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From a family homicide attempt to a magnificent monologue and an artistic ending. The girls conclude their trip to White Lotus Thailand.
Lots of White Lotus insightful identity theories from this girlie here
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Transcription
that never gets old thank you clara coming into you live from london town i'm sophie lions i'm here with the gorgeous clara kavanaugh and we are on the final episode of our white lotus season three academic analysis i'm going to call it again we're very excited to record this i went off the grids It was available for us in the UK on Monday. So on Sunday morning, I was like, I'm going off everything. I went off the internet. I didn't look at anything because I said, no spoilers. Clara did the same. I have remained off the grid until a few hours ago. And I just went on to use the World Wide Web. Wow, there's a load on there. And of course, Clara is very caught up on. the different theories and reals. So we've assumed the same roles as we always do. We're very excited to discuss. Now, Clara, I haven't really spoken to anyone really about it properly. And at the top of the episode, we thought it'd be a good idea. Just top line, how did you feel? I think we might feel different after talking about it together. But top line, how did you feel about the ending?
It was melodramatic in parts. The Star Wars, Luke, I am your father moment. The multiple deaths.
Were you happy with it in general?
I felt a bit shortchanged in parts. And I wish we can get into this. I wish certain stories ended differently. But looking back now, I think there's only one way a lot of it could have ended. So in reflection, maybe enjoyed it more than I thought. Yeah. What do we?
Everything kind of went to the last 10 minutes. And I wanted more detail out of certain things. But. on the hell yeah i thought it was really good but you know sometimes you want like a final answer i don't think mike white wants to give that to us ever he actually said he doesn't like he's like life has no resolutions or something like that okay so what we're gonna do is go through seven and eight like we did on our last last trip around the sun um and then you come in with all your bits that you always have episode seven so the gals are having another sad dinner in the hotel restaurant, The Gossip Girls. And it kind of comes to a head where Jacqueline is like, if you're not happy with your life, Laurie, I don't know, fucking change it. It's all very awkward.
You're always disappointed.
Yeah, she's like, when you know someone long enough, you see patterns, is what Kate said. So Leslie Bibb's character.
She really called her on her... What did she say? It was like, you can't always be the victim when you choose to be disappointed. Like... You have a part to play in how your life has turned out. It hasn't. You're not the victim here. Oh,
so not holiday chat.
Red to filth.
And then she decides to go to the Mai Tai fight. And the other two are like, Laurie does. And then the other two are like, no, we're not going. So then she goes and watches it with Valentine's buddy, Alexi. And it's all this kind of fighting and there's spit going everywhere. And then we see this very sexy, sexy. Oh, my. God, James and I were watching it being like, oh, my God, like she's on top and it's pretty aggressive.
Were you two clutching your pearls?
Totally.
I know. Yeah, it was a sexy, saucy sex scene.
And then afterwards, they're kind of lying there. And then Alex, he's like, he's like, I need a thousand, ten thousand dollars to help my sick mother. Yeah. And, you know, that moment when you realize who you're with, the person is like crazy or like borderline. And you're like, oh.
The veil is just ripped.
That bit gave me, like my heart dropped. I felt sick for her.
I know. Just the immediate regret and get me out of here. A homesick feeling. Get me home now. What were we talking about in the last episode? Just get me home.
Yeah, absolutely.
I hate these people.
Just back to the hotel because she'd feel safe with the other two girls. Yeah. They were annoying her.
Hotel sick.
So elsewhere, our favorite pic. so the employee who's on a performance improvement plan Gay Tuck is at the Mai Tai fight as well on his date very depressing date and realises that the Russian guys were actually the burglars from episode 2 we can talk about that later but that's never resolved either no I think that's more built into how Gay Tuck surrenders his beliefs for
power copy and maybe or just shows his sensitivity because he didn't want Valentin to die yeah is he still a nice guy because he didn't write in
Valentin he still gets his promotion he's he got what he wanted out of it yeah and the date is really depressing that whole storyline is very Mook really showed her non-negotiables when she's like oh well you know you're not going to be anything so yeah and then she just kind of walks off she's like you can't Change careers. Let Gay Talk do what Gay Talk wants. Poor guy. They were having no crack. That was very, very akin to the many relationships I've been in. Then, Bangkok. I'm dying to know what you thought about the Bangkok stuff. So Rick finally confronts the man who he thinks killed his dad. Jim is his name. And he gets him into the den. He has his gun ready and he's basically like, I've waited my entire life to do it. And then he's like, I can't because he's an older gentleman. It's not what he's expecting. And he just knocks him off his chair. And then him and Frank, played by Sam Rockwell, run out and run onto the boat. And they're like, get out of here. And then they get off and they're like, I suppose we're hitting the town now. And then I'm like, this is where the movie, The Hangover, kind of, that's where you're getting the vibe. I was enjoying that. There was like booze, just prostitutes. and boobs strip clubs everything I was like this is the night out like the White Lotus is great but like it's so chilled out and like they were doing drugs and like the penthouse with prostitutes
Sam Rockwell was going nuts even though he's supposed to be sober and all this kind of stuff and little leopard prince underwear yeah tiny underpants and then Rick's just getting more cranky again classic they really didn't think through that plan going to the to the hotel owner's home like They didn't really go like, oh, maybe we should check her IMDB and see what movie she's been in, or maybe we should like get our names right. When Rick calls Frank the wrong name, it's like, oh my god,
the zombie ambassadors. And he's like, was there a movie where you, did you play a royal or something like that? Like, it's just, he's brilliant at it. And then they go to the hotel and then Rick gets really irritated and then he decides to leave the next morning. And Sam Rockwell does this darling little tumble roll down the...
Yeah.
I loved that. I thought it was excellent for his character. And Rick's like, I need to get out of here. Rick's like, I need to get out of here. And Sam's like, oh, well, I'm going back with the prostitutes. And Rick just leaves cranky, classic.
Just on the bit when they were in the hotel owner's house, I cannot stop laughing at, you know, when they... they start watching the hotel owners the wife's old music videos oh yeah yeah and then he's like oh it's like a mix between emcee hammer peter pan and pippin we had to google pippin and oh my god it's so accurate oh i need to get that it's
oh my god pippin it was so funny and moving to the rat cliffs we're still kind of like what's the incest thing going on Timothy's still having his lorazepam alcohol cloudy nightmare and he's trying to figure it out then he's like the gun is gone how am I going to get out of here and he's just a mess
I saw the you know that chest of drawers that the gun was in I know they'd had loads of drawers apparently that was a metaphor for like who gets the gun and how the story will end oh gosh I love that because it's like a magic drawer chest I really liked that
cabinet and just as a woman it's an appreciation then also it's all leading up to greg having this private party and he's like everyone needs to come to my party and we're like what's the party about belinda's gonna go her son zion's gonna go zion's very hot the ratcliffs go of course timothy's just having a nightmare chloe's then talking about inviting saxon to like have sex with her so greg can watch Yeah. Because that's something from his childhood, really long and rambly. It's very odd. And Saxon's like absolutely disgusted. He plays disgusted very well.
He does. With that scene in particular, after the soulless comment that Chelsea serves up to Saxon.
That was really mean.
I think Saxon goes, this is where his character arc post-incest, goes to a place I didn't think it would go. When he sees how like illogical Rick and Chelsea's love is, he then realises that like, his life is empty he wants someone to love him at the beginning of the week if Chloe asked him to do that with herself and Gary slash Greg he would have definitely done that but now he's turned off by Chloe and that kind of stuff because he's starting to go inward a bit and realize that he wants to be with someone and he recognizes in himself that he's like oh my god maybe I'm a bit empty look remember when he goes up to Timothy and he's like I'm nothing without you my identity is you If you're gone, I'm gone. I'm tied to you, yeah. I have nothing. All my value system is tied up and Chelsea really breaks that open in Saxon.
Very delicately.
Very subtly.
It's not like she's like pushing it on him. No. But I thought that was very mean calling him soulless.
On the biggest hangover of his life.
On the worst hangover of his life. And then he goes to this party and then the girl's like, do you want to come and have sex with me? Of course he'd be freaked out.
But then he must be thinking, That's what you think of me.
Oh, I think he felt like dirt.
You think I'm that soulless. He now is recognising that part of himself and now rejecting it. And that's why he says no, which I thought was a win for Saxon and his...
Yeah, he plays it really well.
He does. God, he's a great actor. That tear when Rick and Chelsea are reunited on the beach. I think it's in episode eight. And he turns back.
I know that bit. That bit made me kind of cry. Not cry, but...
One little tear comes down. And I just thought that that was... He's had a huge big mirror put up in front of him.
Because he walks Chelsea back. And then he's like, I want to get into meditating. And then she throws all the books at him. Because he's obviously trying to kiss her. And then he starts reading them. And you kind of see him educating himself on a higher power and all that kind of stuff.
But the interesting thing there is Saxon is doing what Chelsea wishes Rick would. He's like opening his mind up to all the spirituality and all the like, oh, yeah, like I'd love to meditate. I finished that book you gave me. He's very like receptive and open to it. But Chelsea still stays loyal to Rick. But like what? And like a rom-com kind of tangent that could have gone on like two enemies, Chelsea versus Saxon. And then they turn into lovers and then she elevates them into this whole new spiritual realm. It could have gone down that avenue, but it doesn't because of Chelsea's loyalty. But I like the way they kind of played with that. Because if you look at Saxon and Rick's characters, their identities are built on their dads. So Rick, you know, my cup, it will never be full. I can't see the love that's in front of me with Chelsea. I'm so hung up on what my dad did to me. And then you have Saxon who's... all his value system is built, copied from his dad. And they're both still just as empty. So it's interesting how they kind of, Chelsea is their kind of middle woman there because it's, their identity is built off their dad and what the love that they did or didn't get.
Totally.
And how they react to that. Yeah.
Childhood traumatises you.
It really does.
Yeah, that's a very good point.
Rick is full of vengeance. Saxon realises that he's like super empty and like nothing without his dad. But they're both just as empty. And I thought that that was done quite well. They're kind of the opposite, but the same.
And the party's just a bit weird. And then we see Greg kind of sitting there. And then Belinda comes with her son Zion.
Greg is so weird. Like, imagine being the owner of that house. He's such a boring character. He's just sitting there on his own, kind of creepily, eerily staring at people. Like, oh my God, he's a psychopath.
And like, no way would he have the energy to stand up. and watch the two of them have sex because he's just so dull.
Imagine having sex and him wanting to watch you and he's sitting there like that. Speaking of boner killers.
Yeah, but purely for the like, the fact that he has no charisma or like any vibe, I would say no, even though I wouldn't do it anyway. But you know what I mean? Even if he was like a bit encouraging or it was kind of like, hey, you know, it would just be a bit easier to swallow. But like, he's just so dull. And Belinda's just like, she's getting real anxious about the whole thing. She's like, why does he want me here? And I just feel like that bit.
I can't believe they went. I found that bit unbelievable.
And then the son's trying to eat the food and she's like, we have to go and all that kind of stuff. And Greg basically is like, I want to pay you out, basically.
Yeah.
To shush her for knowing that he killed his wife, Jennifer Coolidge.
Blood money.
So friendly. Well, it was Zab named Piper. And Lachlan are at the monastery doing their overnight to see if they like the digs. Bloody. I mean, Lachlan is like, I want to come here. I'd be like, go away. And we see it later in his character why he doesn't have any thoughts of his own. He just.
He absorbs the family. Yeah. Anything they do.
Yeah. And you're like, what is your personality? Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
After the incest experience. Lachlan and Saxon both turn to women to absolve them or something like Lachlan goes to Piper to like try go to the monks Saxon goes to Chelsea and that was kind of interesting and also like so at the beginning of the series Piper and Saxon are like trying to influence Lachlan it's a bit of a tug of war and it's like come on be a man have your shake or come on be a buddhist and like let's just save each other from like mom and dad and our stressful family I can't remember what podcast I listened to it on but they were like Lachlan stress tests Piper and Saxon's identity. They try to push their ideology onto him, but he takes it to the extreme. So in one case, it's jacking off his brother. And the other case, it's like, I want to move here for your year with you. You know, he takes it to the extreme. So then the other two, Saxon and Piper, then both withdraw. Now Piper for her own materialistic reasons as well. Also Saxon who looks inward and becomes a bit more spiritual. So that creepy little boy is quite extreme.
Yeah, he's a funny little character. I saw this thing and it was like, elsewhere in the Rattlerverse, Saxon Moonlights as a human interested in self-improvement. and intermittently you kind of see Timothy Ratliff trying to figure out like what the family is going to do like who's going to be able to survive the fact that they have no money and he's trying to figure it out like can the wife do it absolutely not she's like I just think at this point yeah you know she has no interest in it and he thinks maybe Piper because she's like trying to join a monastery maybe she can do it but then it turns out we find out in episode 8 that she's really not into the monastery nope And that's why I think she aligns with the mum so well, because the mum's delighted that she didn't like it.
I love when they're hugging and the thumbs up.
And she's like, oh, you know, there's like a stained mattress and like,
yeah. Nothing's organic.
Yeah. And like, yeah, you can taste that the food isn't organic. And it is like that is so what you would do at like 22. I would do that now, but you know what I mean? Like you have this idea in your head and then you're like, no. That's kind of where it comes to the end of episode seven. So like they really did leave everything to the last episode, which I knew they would do. I was just like, just give us something.
Yeah.
Episode eight is called Amor Fati, which means embrace your fate with Chelsea says at the dinner table with Rick. And apparently that was a real sign that she was going to be the one who was killed.
It was a spoiler.
Which I didn't really see. But this is the whole thing about the fact that there's a monk at the top of the episode. And he's talking about resolution in life. And there's this real long piece. But then at the end of it, it says there is no resolution to life's questions. It is easier to be patient. Once we finally accept there is no resolution. So everything isn't always wrapped up and there's not always one final thing, which definitely is the way this series ended.
Yeah, that's Mike White talking there.
Totally. Apparently they're all like Laurie. What's her name? The girl who plays Laurie?
Carrie Coon, is it?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So she comes in with this powerful, bopping monologue the next night when the girls go to dinner. It's a lovely monologue.
It was such an unexpected end to that kind of frivolous, bitchy, catty dynamic that was going on. Mick described it as incisive. And I thought that was a good way. Like it was very just unexpected and kind of whipped it up.
Well, I think she kind of was the one to be like, OK. I'm not 100% happy. Neither are the other two. But I think she was the one to have like the balls to say it and just be like, it's not going very well for me. And like, I'm actually going to say it too, as opposed to having this facade, like because the other two definitely aren't 100%
content either. But they're happy to not say it.
Yeah. But the speech is like, I just feel like as you get older, you have to justify your life, you know, and I don't need religion to have meaning because time gives it reason. gives it meaning. It's all about maintaining longer friendships with people that you're in school with. And, you know, even though you might not have loads of stuff in common, that time of a friendship means a lot.
Yeah.
And then at the end, she said, I'm just happy to be at the table, which I thought was a lovely, a lovely line.
It was a good like reminder of...
Very monk-esque.
It was very monk-esque. Like it was a good reminder of like how time compounds and memories compound that meaning. And... I think we're all victims of this. It's a bit like when you go home to your family at Christmas, you revert back into that teenager, like you regress into that person because those people have known you for so long. You might all be living like in three different parts of the country, but those people and they hold you up to an identity you might be trying to hide in your new life or your older life, but they call you on your choices, don't they? And then like her search for meaning has kind of come up short, but then it kind of makes... her realise that like actually my friendships are what have given my life meaning it might not have been my job, my child or my marriage.
Well, I think she's like, oh, but they're still there because she's like, my job, I'm not happy there.
Yeah. That's done. It hasn't given me what I thought it would.
Love life. That's not what I wanted. Yeah.
And I think they're like in the underneath the identity umbrella of this season. Ageing comes in there and not in like, fuck, I'm old, Carrie Bradshaw style, but it's more like Who am I now? Who did I used to be? And having those friends from school definitely contrast that. Around them, there's chats of like success and then relationships that they're all in and then politics, motherhood to an extent. But one interesting thing Mike White said on the official White Lotus podcast was when he was first writing out the characters, he loved the idea of having one character split into three. So those three women are what... three different lives one person could have taken and like how those lives all ended up being so it's kind of like harking back to like who I used to be and who I am now you know it's a bit like a sliding doors moment for for those three characters they could have all started as one a kind of evolved into three which I thought was interesting yeah I heard that I found that quite confusing you explained it there if one went to Hollywood or if one kind of became a bit yeah it's like a Trump loving Texan and then the other one was like I'm gonna try in New York and be a lawyer you know when you look back on your life you're like well what if I did go to LA would I end up like Jacqueline like what if I did meet my husband and I moved to Texas you know When you're at 45, you might be looking back in your life and going, oh, what could I have done? Oh,
God. Yeah. That's very melancholic as well to think if you're not happy as in at that point.
But then that's what I think it laments the importance of those friendships, because they know you long enough that they can call you on your bullshit. And that's why it's important to have like good, well, in this case, really good female friends, because they can have that sisterly chat with you. And like the way I loved when Jacqueline called. Laurie out for being the, you have a part to play in being disappointed. You act the victim. You can't say you're always disappointed when you know you have a conscious choice in these decisions. So, you know, those kind of holding the mirror up for each other's identities. I thought that was really interesting. Yeah,
you're right.
They call you on your choices. So it's not all bad. And that's where the friendship adds the meaning and where time compounds that. It was just, yeah, it's great. Give her all the awards.
This academic analysis.
Glasses on my nose.
Pushing up my glasses. And then we get into this crazy thing where the fruit that hangs from the trees outside the Rackliff's room that has the poisonous seeds. Timothy is just having a nightmare still. I'm exhausted by Timothy. I'm like, could you just do something or leave?
yeah dead right you know it was teased out so long it was like every episode it was like lorazepam suicide lorazepam family homicide shouldn't someone be checking on you like you're clearly not well it's weird that Parker Posey didn't cop on
I'd be furious if I was that like out of it on lorazepam and my my significant other was just like mm-hmm what anyway so he comes up with his plan Your one, the hotel employee is like, oh yeah, if you grind the seeds inside, people call it a suicide plant or something. And I'm like, good one. If those plants are there, they should be removed.
Removed.
And so he's like, oh my God. And then he's out there last year and he's like, I've got that deal to make some pina coladas back to the ring. And the blender comes back into it. He's like, could you bring the pina coladas? He's narrowed it down to the fact that Lachlan could survive without the money. And no one else could. So he's like, well, you're too young, so you're not going to drink it. And then he makes these four quite delicious looking piquillatas and gives them out. And then they're all kind of sipping it. I was like, oh, gosh, like, is this what's going to happen? And then just when you think they're all going to poison themselves, he knocks it out of Saxon's hand. He's like, now the coconut milk's bad. But then leaves the blender dirty there. OK. And so none of that really happens. And they're all just like, what's wrong with you? Classic. Like they're all just like, what's wrong with Timothy? But no one's actually figuring it out. Yeah. Then we also see Belinda in conversation with Zion and Greg trying to get the money. And they're like, she needs five million.
The Zion actor, whilst beautiful, I think he was given some of the like cheesiest lines or maybe it's not the best of acting, but it was quite like gossip girl.
I heard something being like it was very Riverdale energy.
Yes, Riverdale or like, yeah, very CW, One Tree Hill energy, Teen Wolf.
Don't sit on One Tree Hill.
But it was, yeah, no, sorry. But, you know, it was very kind of like teen acting. It was quite cheesy. Even like the script he was given. I don't know. It was just.
Yeah, the lines and stuff. I agree.
NBA, baby. It was like it just jarred with the.
Beautiful though. beautiful beautiful I like the little trick though that Belinda played where she you think she's storming out because she's so moralistic when she got up and I was like Belinda would you just and then it turned out they were playing a game like good cop bad cop which I thought was great and she was like go in there and seal it anyway she ends up getting the five million and almost keels over fair so then she's like we need to get out of here like as in I need to run with my money so they're kind of running to get out and she Nothing really happens then with the kind of Russian thing. It's just kind of phased out. So that's not really one to touch on.
That was a bit of a red herring, wasn't it?
Yeah. So then Lachlan. Lachlan. Lachlan makes himself a smoothie and use the dirty blender and poisons himself.
I was like, there couldn't be a big shootout and somebody dying of poison. But it really looked like he died.
I found that very emotional.
Yeah.
I was like, the Ratcliffs are going to fall apart when they come back from Brackey.
Yeah. Dad's going to jail and they've lost a son.
And he was the one that they all kind of looked at. You know, they were all like, come on, Lachlan.
There's a great Guardian article about all the different books that the characters are reading and how it kind of foreshadows the future or kind of paints their characters in a certain light. Like Jacqueline reading Barbara Streisand's book, for example. Leslie Bibb just always being on her phone. And... Lachlan was reading a book called Tsunami. Did that kind of foreshadow his kind of death experience where he's under the water and he can't get up? Oh, Gazzer. It's only from that article. I didn't notice it. It's funny though, because when Lachlan goes to use the dirty blender, isn't it right after him and Saxon have that kind of like chat where he's like, I'm a people pleaser to kind of explain away the incest?
Yeah. I feel like we kind of knew that.
Yeah, but I can't believe he actually said it. The way he said it was so well done. It was the most creepiest. conversation but I thought it made sense yeah and it's like it and then it showed how innocent he was he was like I thought you felt left out just going back to like Lachlan being so influenced by their his older siblings so he goes then he was like okay I need to be a man like Saxon I'll make my smoothie even though that's something that like Saxon is starting to disengage from like this whole kind of hyper male belief system yeah I think he doesn't really know what to do himself and he's like I'll make a smoothie that he's he's looking for anyone to kind of Because Piper's told him, like, please don't come to the monastery with me. Or, you know, so then he's like, who do I kind of latch on to?
And then she's like, I'm not going anyway.
She got the ick from that monastery.
She totally did. Fair.
I thought, but it was interesting the way when Lachlan is underwater and he's like, you know, he's looking up and it's four figures. You assume it's the family, but as you get closer, it's actually like four monks. So then he's like, oh, I saw God. And the way. It happens with Rick and Chelsea, which we'll get into. But when Timothy is kind of resuscitating him, he's in this, you know, the Pieta. So it's like, you know, yeah, Michelangelo. So it's like Mary holding the dead Jesus. That's happening there. And he's like, but he gets to bring him back to life. And I think what's interesting about the Ratler family is while they all go through some serious shit, the men come out with like meaning. So like Timothy learns, OK, while he's tried to perform like a huge family homicide and he's tried to end his own life by nearly losing Lachlan. He knows that, oh, I can face what's happening at home because I haven't lost my child. And I know that that would be way worse. And life is more important than.
Yeah, it's a bit of perspective.
And then with Saxon, he's gone through all this stuff with Chelsea. He's become a bit more spiritual. And then with Lachlan, he comes out and he's like, I've just seen God. Whereas on the other hand, you have the women. Piper gets even more materialistic than she ever thought she was. She's going shopping with Parker Posey. She's not doing her year in the monastery. And then Victoria kind of stays the same.
Yeah, Victoria very much stays the same.
The women, yeah. The women. I thought that was interesting because the men all get the meaning. But the women aren't tested as much, I suppose.
No, you're right. That Pieta thing's mad. But then it all comes down to the final 10 minutes because we know someone is getting shot and someone's shooting because that's what happens at the opening scene in episode one. Rick basically is confronted by the older gentleman in the breakfast bar. The breakfast looks delicious, by the way. Chelsea's like, will you get me a donut?
Yeah, a donut for breakfast. Yum. But why does Rick go back? He must be on a serious high from like his great night out. He's like, I've finally been absolved by my dad. You know, I realized I didn't need to hurt him.
But going back to that hotel, it's like. Exactly. He mustn't have been thinking clearly. I think he was just so like gung ho.
He's just a classic guy who needs a lot of therapy,
isn't he? Yeah.
Because he gets confronted then by the older guy in the breakfast bar. And he basically is like, I knew your mother was a slut, but I didn't know she was a liar, which sends him into orbit. Walton Goggins plays that episode of sheer anger and like...
world collapsing upset he plays it extremely well because it was making me like feel like that well he's annoyed me all series that last episode the acting and that because it's just all in his face he doesn't say much but guess what all the actors get paid 40 grand an episode no matter who you are yeah so they get like say 320 320 thousand dollars a series but obviously you get so much press and accolades and blah blah but Woody Harrelson was meant to play Rick yeah yeah And imagine, I don't think Woody would have done such a good job as Walton did, I think. Nothing bad on Woody.
Apparently he's a bit of a prick in real life.
Yeah, and it didn't work because of the money, then it didn't work because of scheduling, but...
He said he had a family holiday.
I'd say he got asked to go on something. But I think Woody Harrelson is a kind of a cameo actor at this point. Whereas, like, I think... it's such a testament to Walton Goggins I'm so glad he was given that chance because especially as well because Chelsea's acting when she's like you know the donut and she cries and she's like please don't go remember when Walton comes back from the old man and then she's kind of like welling up and like her acting what are you going to do yeah like please like I'm here in front of you can you not just appreciate what you have and that was acted so beautifully and then of course I feel like Woody Harrelson I don't know because he's such a cameo actor I don't know would he have but able to add that tenderness to that role that Walton Goggins, which is the best name ever.
Definitely not. And I think we all think he's a bit of a goof. Yeah. Do you know, like he's very funny to laugh at. And it all comes down to the 10 minutes and Rick is like, oh my God. And he's going and he tries to find the lady who he did that session with before. And she's like kind of a therapist type thing. Yeah. Who kind of gave them a bit of insight and he tries to find her. And then she's giving Zion. a session and he's like I really need to talk to you he's sweating bullets like he looks manic yeah she was like I'll be with you in one hour it's like he clearly needed your assistance anyway then it all kind of just explodes and uh what's the older guy's name Jim is it he's a really famous actor he's been allowed to like 70s stuff oh is he yeah anyway Rick end up ends up shooting him on this bridge Fabian I think is his name the hotel worker is like and falls into the water, which is actually a bit of comic relief. Yeah. And everyone's running and ducking and hiding. And then Rick has shot your man. And then the hotel owner is like, he's your father. I don't know if I needed that.
That's where it got a bit melodramatic for me.
And then just when he pulls Chelsea then, I'm like, oh, no.
She knew, I think, what she was walking into, though, because she was like, I'm going to follow you. we're going to be together forever. I'm following you into the next life and the next life. Her spirituality really played a part in their love story. Oh,
just when he's like limping with her on the bridge. I just thought that was so sad.
Yeah. I know we've seen them at a bad point in their relationship, but she does make a few comments along the series going like, oh, can we not just have fun anymore? And like, let's have some fun. you know how it used to be so i do think their love goes a bit deeper than what we saw because what we saw was highly toxic and just really quite depressing i couldn't really but at the breakfast it really seemed because remember she's like oh we're a yin and a yang i'm hope he's pain and we'll just figure out who wins and i was like that's really toxic thing to say and
not fun but it seemed like hope was winning until obviously the hotel yeah you kind of thought there was a bit of relief and then gay doc comes out and uh shoots rick that That bit where Rick falls into the water with Chelsea, the eyes, is very haunting, isn't it?
That was based, apparently, another little art nod. Another example of the Pieta with Rick and Chelsea. This is from the lovely art lady, Meals and Art, who we've talked about before. She said that, like, so obviously Pieta is kind of like a parent-child. We saw it with Lachlan and Timothy. But with Rick and Chelsea, she was kind of his, she kind of mothered him. She was the parent of that relationship. But it was like, Like they twisted it and that he was carrying her. And then when he ends up dead in the water, another little art nod was she was flipped. Yeah. And he was face up. And that was another nod to like people saw a lot of like yin and yang in that, especially because she had the bullet in the back and he had the bullet in the front. You know, the yin and yang have the black dots and one is the white dot. And then there is this really famous painting by John Everett Miller called Ophelia. And that's the woman and she's like floating in the river and falling and he's wearing a really floral shirt. So there's another little, like, art nod there.
I'd love to know how they break this all down.
But I think, yeah, like, how does he do it? But, like, I felt with the Pieta bit where he was walking, like, it wasn't like he was carrying her to help. He was walking down, like, a jetty.
There was no direction there.
I thought that, like, maybe is he carrying her into the next life? He was just waiting for somebody to shoot him. Like, he was waiting for that bullet in the back. He knew that he was going to end up getting shot.
I would hope so.
And even there, like... bodies going back in like being repatriated going to the plane and how it ends there i thought that was very like somber and i did think like her spirituality and this whole like walking into the next life and the indiana it made her death less sad or something or like more transcendental like it goes back to she kind of got what she wanted yeah because the amor fati it's like i accept my fate i love my fate like she kind of knew not knew but like you know she was she had accepted what was going to happen to her like imagine if she was like cheated on Rick with Saxon and then ended up getting with Saxon that wouldn't have happened you know like she did play a role in how her life yeah went on and then ended will I tell you about the necklace the necklace what's the necklace Chelsea through in every single episode is wearing and I saw this on like the before the finale this is when I turned off Instagram so and someone was it was a theory that somebody was right but she wears this necklace right and it's a ten thousand dollar necklace and it's a pendant like almost like a dog tag and it says stay gold and It's from this London designer called Flo London. And it was inspired by the film The Outsiders. And the necklace itself means like a symbol of hope and being true to yourself. Very Chelsea. And it's inspired by the film The Outsiders. And in the film, the final words of one of the characters, Johnny Cade, says before he dies, he goes, stay gold, pony boy, stay gold. And then he dies. So then it's like... stay gold before you get shot and before you die. So it was kind of a, her necklace was kind of a premonition of her dying.
I wonder, do they have historians and stuff on it?
Yeah, they must. He must have a team. They must do.
There's too much going on.
Yeah, another one was, Chelsea had two encounters with snakes. She had the snake bracelet she was trying on. The robbers come in, they shoot up the gift shop. Then her second one is they go to the snake show. She gets bitten by a snake. And then the third snake. is well kind of rick the bad things happen in threes the three different snakes the snake now was i don't know rick at this point but that third snake is the transformational that's the death closing off of that snake trio oh gosh i wonder do the monkeys feel upset that they weren't involved the plot at all remember at the beginning we were like monkeys monkeys oh my god yeah sorry they did it must be they must be so upset it's they're definitely cgi yeah yeah so i think they're fine you
I have a few things that I'm like, I would have liked a bit of this to happen. Very top line. I wanted to see the Ratliffs when they got back home. Just a quick, I would watch a Ratliff spin-off.
Well, someone said it's Schitt's Creek.
That's what James told me. I would fully watch that.
Yeah. I wish we got more of a... Yeah, them realising on the boat or like you heard Parker Posey scream or like...
Something.
Something.
Like maybe she fell off the boat in shock.
Yeah. Is it too expected of her character to have this ridiculous reaction? Like, is that where it kind of like leaves us wanting more?
Like, I just, I really, really would have liked that. Then I never got any sort of answer on Kate, played by Leslie Bibb, when she talks to Victoria at the table and she's really rude. All I wanted was like a nod to what she's talking about.
One of the theories I saw was, you know, the way we see Leslie Bibb on her phone when she catches Jacqueline and Valentin hooking up. Yeah. One theory I saw was like, oh, maybe she was on the phone at home to somebody and they were like, oh, the Ratliffs are in loads of financial trouble and he's done something wrong. So then maybe Kate would have, Leslie Bibb would have confronted the Ratliffs and then that's how they all find out. But that obviously didn't happen. I would have liked if that happened.
yeah I love yeah hello Mike Weiss new ending also Mook like that was just such a weird storyline I have two pieces of like gossip from this. I don't know if you know. The first is that Chloe was who plays Greg's girlfriend. She was replaced a month into filming with a different actress. Oh wow. Can you imagine doing a month filming and then they just take you out? What was wrong? They swapped her back so they needed a bit of an older actress. The girl who was playing her was Francesca Corny. She was 32 and they replaced her with Charlotte Bond who was 38.
And she was
Francesca imagine leaving after a month that's devastating you can put up with the thing being like I'm checking out the white lotus and put up all these pictures of her like filming all that kind of stuff it's since been removed did she look too young maybe is that why because he is old I think that's what they said yeah but still that's terrible like and the final one which I heard is that Walton and Amy Lewood yes are not friends anymore
Yeah, I heard she unfollowed him.
And there's rumours that, is it he's blocked her? And basically the theory is that they may have taken their friendship a bit too far and now he's like overcompensating for his wife being like, I love you so much and such and such.
Oh, he's married.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh no, Walton.
And he, like, because he's like been gushing about her in the press.
Oh, Walton, not good.
No, which is really upsetting. wow and your one Jason Isaacs apparently is just such like he's like oh god some some relationships were really yeah something like that like he's real blabbermouth he's such a blabbermouth he's not like pure like media trained no and he got in all that trouble talking about the fake willy and all that and the appendage you wouldn't ask Mikey Madison about her fake vulva people were like this is morning television like please did he say that yes I think he's a bit of a
I think he's just not used to being in the spotlight long. One thing Mike White did say as well on that podcast was Zion and Piper were supposed to have a moment and she was supposed to lose her virginity to him. But then he said, we were already at 90 minutes. I couldn't add another 10 minutes to the final. Because her clothes totally changed. She stopped dressing like Wendy and she wears more out there clothes and that's meant to show, oh, I've lost my virginity. I'm a woman now. But then they kind of... run it under oh I'm actually just a materialistic concept I think loads of stuff was cut like loads of little things that would have maybe added on to it or something yeah just going back to Belinda's storyline like you really tested on when that money hits your bank account and like when they get that money and it hits her account and she's like can I just be rich for a second and in that moment I knew she was gonna ditch porn yeah that was really sad I know and we'd like to think we'd be better with money and like all this how much she hates rich people and has been like involved with so many She pulls a fucking Tanya. We might not be as good with money as we think we will. And she's like jets off. You know, I wonder how long that money would last. It seems like easy come, easy go a little bit.
Yeah. Also, that's not that much money.
No, that would go very quickly, especially in America.
Like, you could live off.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? Like that boat alone, they got back the speedboat.
Because it harks back to this thing where like the characters with higher moral compass and reject like the rich people values. They're the ones. that kind of lose the most. Like Rick chooses vengeance and he loses Chelsea. The one person who was like offering him the love that he's been chasing his whole life. Belinda chooses what might protect her, the money. So she lets peace go. She takes the blood money and she fucking runs. Pulls a Tanya. Gay talk gives up his principles and his religion to get the promotion and the girl. Piper tries to give up her frivolous lifestyle, but then realizes that she can't and she needs her selfish comforts. Chelsea. is probably the most innocent and person who doesn't need to change her values. She ends up dying. So it's kind of, I find that contrast kind of interesting, how we all choose to identify and like the people who cash in their morals end up getting what they want.
Yeah, but then what happens down the line?
Exactly. Like the gay toxic we all know is going to be haunted by that death, killing Rick. This one girl on Instagram, Megan Adele Parks, I'll link her. But she said like, we're all chasing something, but the outcome is still the same. And all these characters lose themselves in that chase. So she made a point of like, is this a metaphor for Western culture? And like, what if there is no enough? Like we're always chasing something, but when we get it, it's still not enough. And we still need to be in this like endless pursuit of more. Thinking that like the never enough. Yeah. And thinking that the next thing will complete us, but it actually just doesn't. And it comes back to the Buddhist thing of like making that our identity is toxic for us. And we should never want for anything.
because it's like not a destination basically.
It's the journey. My final point is Mike White. He closes out the, he's really quite funny. It's worth a listen of the White Lotus podcast. People were giving, he was like, people give out that like there's no plot in any of the things I write. And he's like, don't come into my bed and give out to me that you're in my bed. Oh, I love edging. You know what edging is in like the bedroom. So it's like you get close, close, close and then stop. So he's like, that is my thing. Get away from me, you bossy bottoms. Like, this is my thing which I thought was amazing I think you have to look at White Lotus as like a lot of stuff will be left to ask a question instead of provides an answer and it's like a character study with murder on the side that's just what happens I think yeah it's just meant to what does he say don't get into my bed what give out to me that you're in my bed get your bossy bottom out of here
I'd love that
Because it is like even like Victoria is such an amazing character study. Like, you know, she never her money, her values. She never wants to feel pain. She never wants to be poor. She's constantly like chasing pleasure, rejecting pain. She's constantly drunk or on lorazepam. She wants all that dopamine. The values are empty. She's never had to work for anything in her life. She doesn't know what real hard work pays off. You know,
she's just vacant.
She has a superiority complex that spills into the kids that like no one's ever good enough. yeah and sorry Mike White did say this about her superiority complex he was like no one's ever good enough for them so is that why they turn inward is that why they turn to the incest because you know no one's good enough for my kids I was like whoa Mike White god he sounds absolutely gas yeah it sounds like a good time I really like to grab a poison-free pina colada with Mike White oh my god totally it made me want a pina colada yeah oh my god so that was such a bumper episode fuck Wow. I thought that would take a half an hour. It's worth it though. So much to discuss.
You look proper revved up as well.
Revved up.
Your eyes are alive.
They're like all white.
We hope you enjoyed this analysis with all our symbolism and Clara's like depth of... a like higher meaning and all that kind of stuff mine was a bit more factual you steered us through you were the captain of the ship sorry not factual just like kind of commentary you were steering the ship and I was just along for the ride yeah just happy to be here I I'm just happy to be at the table ah full circle I have one that I'd like us something that I'd like us to review which I won't say but just well you know the one I watched last week
Oh, fuck. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to do that.
I think we should do that next.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for listening. Hopefully you enjoyed our White Lotus review episodes. We'll definitely pick it up on some other fabulous content if you've recommendations on what we should be doing. I think it should be something new and then every now and again we'll go back to something a bit older. Tell us. You can let us know at House of Gossip Pod on Instagram at Klaasie Cabana or at Soph underscore Alliance. And we'll catch you on our regularly scheduled programming.
Will I sing us out?
Ka kunká.
got a girl girl oh oh pina colada poison free
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From a family homicide attempt to a magnificent monologue and an artistic ending. The girls conclude their trip to White Lotus Thailand.
Lots of White Lotus insightful identity theories from this girlie here
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Transcription
that never gets old thank you clara coming into you live from london town i'm sophie lions i'm here with the gorgeous clara kavanaugh and we are on the final episode of our white lotus season three academic analysis i'm going to call it again we're very excited to record this i went off the grids It was available for us in the UK on Monday. So on Sunday morning, I was like, I'm going off everything. I went off the internet. I didn't look at anything because I said, no spoilers. Clara did the same. I have remained off the grid until a few hours ago. And I just went on to use the World Wide Web. Wow, there's a load on there. And of course, Clara is very caught up on. the different theories and reals. So we've assumed the same roles as we always do. We're very excited to discuss. Now, Clara, I haven't really spoken to anyone really about it properly. And at the top of the episode, we thought it'd be a good idea. Just top line, how did you feel? I think we might feel different after talking about it together. But top line, how did you feel about the ending?
It was melodramatic in parts. The Star Wars, Luke, I am your father moment. The multiple deaths.
Were you happy with it in general?
I felt a bit shortchanged in parts. And I wish we can get into this. I wish certain stories ended differently. But looking back now, I think there's only one way a lot of it could have ended. So in reflection, maybe enjoyed it more than I thought. Yeah. What do we?
Everything kind of went to the last 10 minutes. And I wanted more detail out of certain things. But. on the hell yeah i thought it was really good but you know sometimes you want like a final answer i don't think mike white wants to give that to us ever he actually said he doesn't like he's like life has no resolutions or something like that okay so what we're gonna do is go through seven and eight like we did on our last last trip around the sun um and then you come in with all your bits that you always have episode seven so the gals are having another sad dinner in the hotel restaurant, The Gossip Girls. And it kind of comes to a head where Jacqueline is like, if you're not happy with your life, Laurie, I don't know, fucking change it. It's all very awkward.
You're always disappointed.
Yeah, she's like, when you know someone long enough, you see patterns, is what Kate said. So Leslie Bibb's character.
She really called her on her... What did she say? It was like, you can't always be the victim when you choose to be disappointed. Like... You have a part to play in how your life has turned out. It hasn't. You're not the victim here. Oh,
so not holiday chat.
Red to filth.
And then she decides to go to the Mai Tai fight. And the other two are like, Laurie does. And then the other two are like, no, we're not going. So then she goes and watches it with Valentine's buddy, Alexi. And it's all this kind of fighting and there's spit going everywhere. And then we see this very sexy, sexy. Oh, my. God, James and I were watching it being like, oh, my God, like she's on top and it's pretty aggressive.
Were you two clutching your pearls?
Totally.
I know. Yeah, it was a sexy, saucy sex scene.
And then afterwards, they're kind of lying there. And then Alex, he's like, he's like, I need a thousand, ten thousand dollars to help my sick mother. Yeah. And, you know, that moment when you realize who you're with, the person is like crazy or like borderline. And you're like, oh.
The veil is just ripped.
That bit gave me, like my heart dropped. I felt sick for her.
I know. Just the immediate regret and get me out of here. A homesick feeling. Get me home now. What were we talking about in the last episode? Just get me home.
Yeah, absolutely.
I hate these people.
Just back to the hotel because she'd feel safe with the other two girls. Yeah. They were annoying her.
Hotel sick.
So elsewhere, our favorite pic. so the employee who's on a performance improvement plan Gay Tuck is at the Mai Tai fight as well on his date very depressing date and realises that the Russian guys were actually the burglars from episode 2 we can talk about that later but that's never resolved either no I think that's more built into how Gay Tuck surrenders his beliefs for
power copy and maybe or just shows his sensitivity because he didn't want Valentin to die yeah is he still a nice guy because he didn't write in
Valentin he still gets his promotion he's he got what he wanted out of it yeah and the date is really depressing that whole storyline is very Mook really showed her non-negotiables when she's like oh well you know you're not going to be anything so yeah and then she just kind of walks off she's like you can't Change careers. Let Gay Talk do what Gay Talk wants. Poor guy. They were having no crack. That was very, very akin to the many relationships I've been in. Then, Bangkok. I'm dying to know what you thought about the Bangkok stuff. So Rick finally confronts the man who he thinks killed his dad. Jim is his name. And he gets him into the den. He has his gun ready and he's basically like, I've waited my entire life to do it. And then he's like, I can't because he's an older gentleman. It's not what he's expecting. And he just knocks him off his chair. And then him and Frank, played by Sam Rockwell, run out and run onto the boat. And they're like, get out of here. And then they get off and they're like, I suppose we're hitting the town now. And then I'm like, this is where the movie, The Hangover, kind of, that's where you're getting the vibe. I was enjoying that. There was like booze, just prostitutes. and boobs strip clubs everything I was like this is the night out like the White Lotus is great but like it's so chilled out and like they were doing drugs and like the penthouse with prostitutes
Sam Rockwell was going nuts even though he's supposed to be sober and all this kind of stuff and little leopard prince underwear yeah tiny underpants and then Rick's just getting more cranky again classic they really didn't think through that plan going to the to the hotel owner's home like They didn't really go like, oh, maybe we should check her IMDB and see what movie she's been in, or maybe we should like get our names right. When Rick calls Frank the wrong name, it's like, oh my god,
the zombie ambassadors. And he's like, was there a movie where you, did you play a royal or something like that? Like, it's just, he's brilliant at it. And then they go to the hotel and then Rick gets really irritated and then he decides to leave the next morning. And Sam Rockwell does this darling little tumble roll down the...
Yeah.
I loved that. I thought it was excellent for his character. And Rick's like, I need to get out of here. Rick's like, I need to get out of here. And Sam's like, oh, well, I'm going back with the prostitutes. And Rick just leaves cranky, classic.
Just on the bit when they were in the hotel owner's house, I cannot stop laughing at, you know, when they... they start watching the hotel owners the wife's old music videos oh yeah yeah and then he's like oh it's like a mix between emcee hammer peter pan and pippin we had to google pippin and oh my god it's so accurate oh i need to get that it's
oh my god pippin it was so funny and moving to the rat cliffs we're still kind of like what's the incest thing going on Timothy's still having his lorazepam alcohol cloudy nightmare and he's trying to figure it out then he's like the gun is gone how am I going to get out of here and he's just a mess
I saw the you know that chest of drawers that the gun was in I know they'd had loads of drawers apparently that was a metaphor for like who gets the gun and how the story will end oh gosh I love that because it's like a magic drawer chest I really liked that
cabinet and just as a woman it's an appreciation then also it's all leading up to greg having this private party and he's like everyone needs to come to my party and we're like what's the party about belinda's gonna go her son zion's gonna go zion's very hot the ratcliffs go of course timothy's just having a nightmare chloe's then talking about inviting saxon to like have sex with her so greg can watch Yeah. Because that's something from his childhood, really long and rambly. It's very odd. And Saxon's like absolutely disgusted. He plays disgusted very well.
He does. With that scene in particular, after the soulless comment that Chelsea serves up to Saxon.
That was really mean.
I think Saxon goes, this is where his character arc post-incest, goes to a place I didn't think it would go. When he sees how like illogical Rick and Chelsea's love is, he then realises that like, his life is empty he wants someone to love him at the beginning of the week if Chloe asked him to do that with herself and Gary slash Greg he would have definitely done that but now he's turned off by Chloe and that kind of stuff because he's starting to go inward a bit and realize that he wants to be with someone and he recognizes in himself that he's like oh my god maybe I'm a bit empty look remember when he goes up to Timothy and he's like I'm nothing without you my identity is you If you're gone, I'm gone. I'm tied to you, yeah. I have nothing. All my value system is tied up and Chelsea really breaks that open in Saxon.
Very delicately.
Very subtly.
It's not like she's like pushing it on him. No. But I thought that was very mean calling him soulless.
On the biggest hangover of his life.
On the worst hangover of his life. And then he goes to this party and then the girl's like, do you want to come and have sex with me? Of course he'd be freaked out.
But then he must be thinking, That's what you think of me.
Oh, I think he felt like dirt.
You think I'm that soulless. He now is recognising that part of himself and now rejecting it. And that's why he says no, which I thought was a win for Saxon and his...
Yeah, he plays it really well.
He does. God, he's a great actor. That tear when Rick and Chelsea are reunited on the beach. I think it's in episode eight. And he turns back.
I know that bit. That bit made me kind of cry. Not cry, but...
One little tear comes down. And I just thought that that was... He's had a huge big mirror put up in front of him.
Because he walks Chelsea back. And then he's like, I want to get into meditating. And then she throws all the books at him. Because he's obviously trying to kiss her. And then he starts reading them. And you kind of see him educating himself on a higher power and all that kind of stuff.
But the interesting thing there is Saxon is doing what Chelsea wishes Rick would. He's like opening his mind up to all the spirituality and all the like, oh, yeah, like I'd love to meditate. I finished that book you gave me. He's very like receptive and open to it. But Chelsea still stays loyal to Rick. But like what? And like a rom-com kind of tangent that could have gone on like two enemies, Chelsea versus Saxon. And then they turn into lovers and then she elevates them into this whole new spiritual realm. It could have gone down that avenue, but it doesn't because of Chelsea's loyalty. But I like the way they kind of played with that. Because if you look at Saxon and Rick's characters, their identities are built on their dads. So Rick, you know, my cup, it will never be full. I can't see the love that's in front of me with Chelsea. I'm so hung up on what my dad did to me. And then you have Saxon who's... all his value system is built, copied from his dad. And they're both still just as empty. So it's interesting how they kind of, Chelsea is their kind of middle woman there because it's, their identity is built off their dad and what the love that they did or didn't get.
Totally.
And how they react to that. Yeah.
Childhood traumatises you.
It really does.
Yeah, that's a very good point.
Rick is full of vengeance. Saxon realises that he's like super empty and like nothing without his dad. But they're both just as empty. And I thought that that was done quite well. They're kind of the opposite, but the same.
And the party's just a bit weird. And then we see Greg kind of sitting there. And then Belinda comes with her son Zion.
Greg is so weird. Like, imagine being the owner of that house. He's such a boring character. He's just sitting there on his own, kind of creepily, eerily staring at people. Like, oh my God, he's a psychopath.
And like, no way would he have the energy to stand up. and watch the two of them have sex because he's just so dull.
Imagine having sex and him wanting to watch you and he's sitting there like that. Speaking of boner killers.
Yeah, but purely for the like, the fact that he has no charisma or like any vibe, I would say no, even though I wouldn't do it anyway. But you know what I mean? Even if he was like a bit encouraging or it was kind of like, hey, you know, it would just be a bit easier to swallow. But like, he's just so dull. And Belinda's just like, she's getting real anxious about the whole thing. She's like, why does he want me here? And I just feel like that bit.
I can't believe they went. I found that bit unbelievable.
And then the son's trying to eat the food and she's like, we have to go and all that kind of stuff. And Greg basically is like, I want to pay you out, basically.
Yeah.
To shush her for knowing that he killed his wife, Jennifer Coolidge.
Blood money.
So friendly. Well, it was Zab named Piper. And Lachlan are at the monastery doing their overnight to see if they like the digs. Bloody. I mean, Lachlan is like, I want to come here. I'd be like, go away. And we see it later in his character why he doesn't have any thoughts of his own. He just.
He absorbs the family. Yeah. Anything they do.
Yeah. And you're like, what is your personality? Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
After the incest experience. Lachlan and Saxon both turn to women to absolve them or something like Lachlan goes to Piper to like try go to the monks Saxon goes to Chelsea and that was kind of interesting and also like so at the beginning of the series Piper and Saxon are like trying to influence Lachlan it's a bit of a tug of war and it's like come on be a man have your shake or come on be a buddhist and like let's just save each other from like mom and dad and our stressful family I can't remember what podcast I listened to it on but they were like Lachlan stress tests Piper and Saxon's identity. They try to push their ideology onto him, but he takes it to the extreme. So in one case, it's jacking off his brother. And the other case, it's like, I want to move here for your year with you. You know, he takes it to the extreme. So then the other two, Saxon and Piper, then both withdraw. Now Piper for her own materialistic reasons as well. Also Saxon who looks inward and becomes a bit more spiritual. So that creepy little boy is quite extreme.
Yeah, he's a funny little character. I saw this thing and it was like, elsewhere in the Rattlerverse, Saxon Moonlights as a human interested in self-improvement. and intermittently you kind of see Timothy Ratliff trying to figure out like what the family is going to do like who's going to be able to survive the fact that they have no money and he's trying to figure it out like can the wife do it absolutely not she's like I just think at this point yeah you know she has no interest in it and he thinks maybe Piper because she's like trying to join a monastery maybe she can do it but then it turns out we find out in episode 8 that she's really not into the monastery nope And that's why I think she aligns with the mum so well, because the mum's delighted that she didn't like it.
I love when they're hugging and the thumbs up.
And she's like, oh, you know, there's like a stained mattress and like,
yeah. Nothing's organic.
Yeah. And like, yeah, you can taste that the food isn't organic. And it is like that is so what you would do at like 22. I would do that now, but you know what I mean? Like you have this idea in your head and then you're like, no. That's kind of where it comes to the end of episode seven. So like they really did leave everything to the last episode, which I knew they would do. I was just like, just give us something.
Yeah.
Episode eight is called Amor Fati, which means embrace your fate with Chelsea says at the dinner table with Rick. And apparently that was a real sign that she was going to be the one who was killed.
It was a spoiler.
Which I didn't really see. But this is the whole thing about the fact that there's a monk at the top of the episode. And he's talking about resolution in life. And there's this real long piece. But then at the end of it, it says there is no resolution to life's questions. It is easier to be patient. Once we finally accept there is no resolution. So everything isn't always wrapped up and there's not always one final thing, which definitely is the way this series ended.
Yeah, that's Mike White talking there.
Totally. Apparently they're all like Laurie. What's her name? The girl who plays Laurie?
Carrie Coon, is it?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So she comes in with this powerful, bopping monologue the next night when the girls go to dinner. It's a lovely monologue.
It was such an unexpected end to that kind of frivolous, bitchy, catty dynamic that was going on. Mick described it as incisive. And I thought that was a good way. Like it was very just unexpected and kind of whipped it up.
Well, I think she kind of was the one to be like, OK. I'm not 100% happy. Neither are the other two. But I think she was the one to have like the balls to say it and just be like, it's not going very well for me. And like, I'm actually going to say it too, as opposed to having this facade, like because the other two definitely aren't 100%
content either. But they're happy to not say it.
Yeah. But the speech is like, I just feel like as you get older, you have to justify your life, you know, and I don't need religion to have meaning because time gives it reason. gives it meaning. It's all about maintaining longer friendships with people that you're in school with. And, you know, even though you might not have loads of stuff in common, that time of a friendship means a lot.
Yeah.
And then at the end, she said, I'm just happy to be at the table, which I thought was a lovely, a lovely line.
It was a good like reminder of...
Very monk-esque.
It was very monk-esque. Like it was a good reminder of like how time compounds and memories compound that meaning. And... I think we're all victims of this. It's a bit like when you go home to your family at Christmas, you revert back into that teenager, like you regress into that person because those people have known you for so long. You might all be living like in three different parts of the country, but those people and they hold you up to an identity you might be trying to hide in your new life or your older life, but they call you on your choices, don't they? And then like her search for meaning has kind of come up short, but then it kind of makes... her realise that like actually my friendships are what have given my life meaning it might not have been my job, my child or my marriage.
Well, I think she's like, oh, but they're still there because she's like, my job, I'm not happy there.
Yeah. That's done. It hasn't given me what I thought it would.
Love life. That's not what I wanted. Yeah.
And I think they're like in the underneath the identity umbrella of this season. Ageing comes in there and not in like, fuck, I'm old, Carrie Bradshaw style, but it's more like Who am I now? Who did I used to be? And having those friends from school definitely contrast that. Around them, there's chats of like success and then relationships that they're all in and then politics, motherhood to an extent. But one interesting thing Mike White said on the official White Lotus podcast was when he was first writing out the characters, he loved the idea of having one character split into three. So those three women are what... three different lives one person could have taken and like how those lives all ended up being so it's kind of like harking back to like who I used to be and who I am now you know it's a bit like a sliding doors moment for for those three characters they could have all started as one a kind of evolved into three which I thought was interesting yeah I heard that I found that quite confusing you explained it there if one went to Hollywood or if one kind of became a bit yeah it's like a Trump loving Texan and then the other one was like I'm gonna try in New York and be a lawyer you know when you look back on your life you're like well what if I did go to LA would I end up like Jacqueline like what if I did meet my husband and I moved to Texas you know When you're at 45, you might be looking back in your life and going, oh, what could I have done? Oh,
God. Yeah. That's very melancholic as well to think if you're not happy as in at that point.
But then that's what I think it laments the importance of those friendships, because they know you long enough that they can call you on your bullshit. And that's why it's important to have like good, well, in this case, really good female friends, because they can have that sisterly chat with you. And like the way I loved when Jacqueline called. Laurie out for being the, you have a part to play in being disappointed. You act the victim. You can't say you're always disappointed when you know you have a conscious choice in these decisions. So, you know, those kind of holding the mirror up for each other's identities. I thought that was really interesting. Yeah,
you're right.
They call you on your choices. So it's not all bad. And that's where the friendship adds the meaning and where time compounds that. It was just, yeah, it's great. Give her all the awards.
This academic analysis.
Glasses on my nose.
Pushing up my glasses. And then we get into this crazy thing where the fruit that hangs from the trees outside the Rackliff's room that has the poisonous seeds. Timothy is just having a nightmare still. I'm exhausted by Timothy. I'm like, could you just do something or leave?
yeah dead right you know it was teased out so long it was like every episode it was like lorazepam suicide lorazepam family homicide shouldn't someone be checking on you like you're clearly not well it's weird that Parker Posey didn't cop on
I'd be furious if I was that like out of it on lorazepam and my my significant other was just like mm-hmm what anyway so he comes up with his plan Your one, the hotel employee is like, oh yeah, if you grind the seeds inside, people call it a suicide plant or something. And I'm like, good one. If those plants are there, they should be removed.
Removed.
And so he's like, oh my God. And then he's out there last year and he's like, I've got that deal to make some pina coladas back to the ring. And the blender comes back into it. He's like, could you bring the pina coladas? He's narrowed it down to the fact that Lachlan could survive without the money. And no one else could. So he's like, well, you're too young, so you're not going to drink it. And then he makes these four quite delicious looking piquillatas and gives them out. And then they're all kind of sipping it. I was like, oh, gosh, like, is this what's going to happen? And then just when you think they're all going to poison themselves, he knocks it out of Saxon's hand. He's like, now the coconut milk's bad. But then leaves the blender dirty there. OK. And so none of that really happens. And they're all just like, what's wrong with you? Classic. Like they're all just like, what's wrong with Timothy? But no one's actually figuring it out. Yeah. Then we also see Belinda in conversation with Zion and Greg trying to get the money. And they're like, she needs five million.
The Zion actor, whilst beautiful, I think he was given some of the like cheesiest lines or maybe it's not the best of acting, but it was quite like gossip girl.
I heard something being like it was very Riverdale energy.
Yes, Riverdale or like, yeah, very CW, One Tree Hill energy, Teen Wolf.
Don't sit on One Tree Hill.
But it was, yeah, no, sorry. But, you know, it was very kind of like teen acting. It was quite cheesy. Even like the script he was given. I don't know. It was just.
Yeah, the lines and stuff. I agree.
NBA, baby. It was like it just jarred with the.
Beautiful though. beautiful beautiful I like the little trick though that Belinda played where she you think she's storming out because she's so moralistic when she got up and I was like Belinda would you just and then it turned out they were playing a game like good cop bad cop which I thought was great and she was like go in there and seal it anyway she ends up getting the five million and almost keels over fair so then she's like we need to get out of here like as in I need to run with my money so they're kind of running to get out and she Nothing really happens then with the kind of Russian thing. It's just kind of phased out. So that's not really one to touch on.
That was a bit of a red herring, wasn't it?
Yeah. So then Lachlan. Lachlan. Lachlan makes himself a smoothie and use the dirty blender and poisons himself.
I was like, there couldn't be a big shootout and somebody dying of poison. But it really looked like he died.
I found that very emotional.
Yeah.
I was like, the Ratcliffs are going to fall apart when they come back from Brackey.
Yeah. Dad's going to jail and they've lost a son.
And he was the one that they all kind of looked at. You know, they were all like, come on, Lachlan.
There's a great Guardian article about all the different books that the characters are reading and how it kind of foreshadows the future or kind of paints their characters in a certain light. Like Jacqueline reading Barbara Streisand's book, for example. Leslie Bibb just always being on her phone. And... Lachlan was reading a book called Tsunami. Did that kind of foreshadow his kind of death experience where he's under the water and he can't get up? Oh, Gazzer. It's only from that article. I didn't notice it. It's funny though, because when Lachlan goes to use the dirty blender, isn't it right after him and Saxon have that kind of like chat where he's like, I'm a people pleaser to kind of explain away the incest?
Yeah. I feel like we kind of knew that.
Yeah, but I can't believe he actually said it. The way he said it was so well done. It was the most creepiest. conversation but I thought it made sense yeah and it's like it and then it showed how innocent he was he was like I thought you felt left out just going back to like Lachlan being so influenced by their his older siblings so he goes then he was like okay I need to be a man like Saxon I'll make my smoothie even though that's something that like Saxon is starting to disengage from like this whole kind of hyper male belief system yeah I think he doesn't really know what to do himself and he's like I'll make a smoothie that he's he's looking for anyone to kind of Because Piper's told him, like, please don't come to the monastery with me. Or, you know, so then he's like, who do I kind of latch on to?
And then she's like, I'm not going anyway.
She got the ick from that monastery.
She totally did. Fair.
I thought, but it was interesting the way when Lachlan is underwater and he's like, you know, he's looking up and it's four figures. You assume it's the family, but as you get closer, it's actually like four monks. So then he's like, oh, I saw God. And the way. It happens with Rick and Chelsea, which we'll get into. But when Timothy is kind of resuscitating him, he's in this, you know, the Pieta. So it's like, you know, yeah, Michelangelo. So it's like Mary holding the dead Jesus. That's happening there. And he's like, but he gets to bring him back to life. And I think what's interesting about the Ratler family is while they all go through some serious shit, the men come out with like meaning. So like Timothy learns, OK, while he's tried to perform like a huge family homicide and he's tried to end his own life by nearly losing Lachlan. He knows that, oh, I can face what's happening at home because I haven't lost my child. And I know that that would be way worse. And life is more important than.
Yeah, it's a bit of perspective.
And then with Saxon, he's gone through all this stuff with Chelsea. He's become a bit more spiritual. And then with Lachlan, he comes out and he's like, I've just seen God. Whereas on the other hand, you have the women. Piper gets even more materialistic than she ever thought she was. She's going shopping with Parker Posey. She's not doing her year in the monastery. And then Victoria kind of stays the same.
Yeah, Victoria very much stays the same.
The women, yeah. The women. I thought that was interesting because the men all get the meaning. But the women aren't tested as much, I suppose.
No, you're right. That Pieta thing's mad. But then it all comes down to the final 10 minutes because we know someone is getting shot and someone's shooting because that's what happens at the opening scene in episode one. Rick basically is confronted by the older gentleman in the breakfast bar. The breakfast looks delicious, by the way. Chelsea's like, will you get me a donut?
Yeah, a donut for breakfast. Yum. But why does Rick go back? He must be on a serious high from like his great night out. He's like, I've finally been absolved by my dad. You know, I realized I didn't need to hurt him.
But going back to that hotel, it's like. Exactly. He mustn't have been thinking clearly. I think he was just so like gung ho.
He's just a classic guy who needs a lot of therapy,
isn't he? Yeah.
Because he gets confronted then by the older guy in the breakfast bar. And he basically is like, I knew your mother was a slut, but I didn't know she was a liar, which sends him into orbit. Walton Goggins plays that episode of sheer anger and like...
world collapsing upset he plays it extremely well because it was making me like feel like that well he's annoyed me all series that last episode the acting and that because it's just all in his face he doesn't say much but guess what all the actors get paid 40 grand an episode no matter who you are yeah so they get like say 320 320 thousand dollars a series but obviously you get so much press and accolades and blah blah but Woody Harrelson was meant to play Rick yeah yeah And imagine, I don't think Woody would have done such a good job as Walton did, I think. Nothing bad on Woody.
Apparently he's a bit of a prick in real life.
Yeah, and it didn't work because of the money, then it didn't work because of scheduling, but...
He said he had a family holiday.
I'd say he got asked to go on something. But I think Woody Harrelson is a kind of a cameo actor at this point. Whereas, like, I think... it's such a testament to Walton Goggins I'm so glad he was given that chance because especially as well because Chelsea's acting when she's like you know the donut and she cries and she's like please don't go remember when Walton comes back from the old man and then she's kind of like welling up and like her acting what are you going to do yeah like please like I'm here in front of you can you not just appreciate what you have and that was acted so beautifully and then of course I feel like Woody Harrelson I don't know because he's such a cameo actor I don't know would he have but able to add that tenderness to that role that Walton Goggins, which is the best name ever.
Definitely not. And I think we all think he's a bit of a goof. Yeah. Do you know, like he's very funny to laugh at. And it all comes down to the 10 minutes and Rick is like, oh my God. And he's going and he tries to find the lady who he did that session with before. And she's like kind of a therapist type thing. Yeah. Who kind of gave them a bit of insight and he tries to find her. And then she's giving Zion. a session and he's like I really need to talk to you he's sweating bullets like he looks manic yeah she was like I'll be with you in one hour it's like he clearly needed your assistance anyway then it all kind of just explodes and uh what's the older guy's name Jim is it he's a really famous actor he's been allowed to like 70s stuff oh is he yeah anyway Rick end up ends up shooting him on this bridge Fabian I think is his name the hotel worker is like and falls into the water, which is actually a bit of comic relief. Yeah. And everyone's running and ducking and hiding. And then Rick has shot your man. And then the hotel owner is like, he's your father. I don't know if I needed that.
That's where it got a bit melodramatic for me.
And then just when he pulls Chelsea then, I'm like, oh, no.
She knew, I think, what she was walking into, though, because she was like, I'm going to follow you. we're going to be together forever. I'm following you into the next life and the next life. Her spirituality really played a part in their love story. Oh,
just when he's like limping with her on the bridge. I just thought that was so sad.
Yeah. I know we've seen them at a bad point in their relationship, but she does make a few comments along the series going like, oh, can we not just have fun anymore? And like, let's have some fun. you know how it used to be so i do think their love goes a bit deeper than what we saw because what we saw was highly toxic and just really quite depressing i couldn't really but at the breakfast it really seemed because remember she's like oh we're a yin and a yang i'm hope he's pain and we'll just figure out who wins and i was like that's really toxic thing to say and
not fun but it seemed like hope was winning until obviously the hotel yeah you kind of thought there was a bit of relief and then gay doc comes out and uh shoots rick that That bit where Rick falls into the water with Chelsea, the eyes, is very haunting, isn't it?
That was based, apparently, another little art nod. Another example of the Pieta with Rick and Chelsea. This is from the lovely art lady, Meals and Art, who we've talked about before. She said that, like, so obviously Pieta is kind of like a parent-child. We saw it with Lachlan and Timothy. But with Rick and Chelsea, she was kind of his, she kind of mothered him. She was the parent of that relationship. But it was like, Like they twisted it and that he was carrying her. And then when he ends up dead in the water, another little art nod was she was flipped. Yeah. And he was face up. And that was another nod to like people saw a lot of like yin and yang in that, especially because she had the bullet in the back and he had the bullet in the front. You know, the yin and yang have the black dots and one is the white dot. And then there is this really famous painting by John Everett Miller called Ophelia. And that's the woman and she's like floating in the river and falling and he's wearing a really floral shirt. So there's another little, like, art nod there.
I'd love to know how they break this all down.
But I think, yeah, like, how does he do it? But, like, I felt with the Pieta bit where he was walking, like, it wasn't like he was carrying her to help. He was walking down, like, a jetty.
There was no direction there.
I thought that, like, maybe is he carrying her into the next life? He was just waiting for somebody to shoot him. Like, he was waiting for that bullet in the back. He knew that he was going to end up getting shot.
I would hope so.
And even there, like... bodies going back in like being repatriated going to the plane and how it ends there i thought that was very like somber and i did think like her spirituality and this whole like walking into the next life and the indiana it made her death less sad or something or like more transcendental like it goes back to she kind of got what she wanted yeah because the amor fati it's like i accept my fate i love my fate like she kind of knew not knew but like you know she was she had accepted what was going to happen to her like imagine if she was like cheated on Rick with Saxon and then ended up getting with Saxon that wouldn't have happened you know like she did play a role in how her life yeah went on and then ended will I tell you about the necklace the necklace what's the necklace Chelsea through in every single episode is wearing and I saw this on like the before the finale this is when I turned off Instagram so and someone was it was a theory that somebody was right but she wears this necklace right and it's a ten thousand dollar necklace and it's a pendant like almost like a dog tag and it says stay gold and It's from this London designer called Flo London. And it was inspired by the film The Outsiders. And the necklace itself means like a symbol of hope and being true to yourself. Very Chelsea. And it's inspired by the film The Outsiders. And in the film, the final words of one of the characters, Johnny Cade, says before he dies, he goes, stay gold, pony boy, stay gold. And then he dies. So then it's like... stay gold before you get shot and before you die. So it was kind of a, her necklace was kind of a premonition of her dying.
I wonder, do they have historians and stuff on it?
Yeah, they must. He must have a team. They must do.
There's too much going on.
Yeah, another one was, Chelsea had two encounters with snakes. She had the snake bracelet she was trying on. The robbers come in, they shoot up the gift shop. Then her second one is they go to the snake show. She gets bitten by a snake. And then the third snake. is well kind of rick the bad things happen in threes the three different snakes the snake now was i don't know rick at this point but that third snake is the transformational that's the death closing off of that snake trio oh gosh i wonder do the monkeys feel upset that they weren't involved the plot at all remember at the beginning we were like monkeys monkeys oh my god yeah sorry they did it must be they must be so upset it's they're definitely cgi yeah yeah so i think they're fine you
I have a few things that I'm like, I would have liked a bit of this to happen. Very top line. I wanted to see the Ratliffs when they got back home. Just a quick, I would watch a Ratliff spin-off.
Well, someone said it's Schitt's Creek.
That's what James told me. I would fully watch that.
Yeah. I wish we got more of a... Yeah, them realising on the boat or like you heard Parker Posey scream or like...
Something.
Something.
Like maybe she fell off the boat in shock.
Yeah. Is it too expected of her character to have this ridiculous reaction? Like, is that where it kind of like leaves us wanting more?
Like, I just, I really, really would have liked that. Then I never got any sort of answer on Kate, played by Leslie Bibb, when she talks to Victoria at the table and she's really rude. All I wanted was like a nod to what she's talking about.
One of the theories I saw was, you know, the way we see Leslie Bibb on her phone when she catches Jacqueline and Valentin hooking up. Yeah. One theory I saw was like, oh, maybe she was on the phone at home to somebody and they were like, oh, the Ratliffs are in loads of financial trouble and he's done something wrong. So then maybe Kate would have, Leslie Bibb would have confronted the Ratliffs and then that's how they all find out. But that obviously didn't happen. I would have liked if that happened.
yeah I love yeah hello Mike Weiss new ending also Mook like that was just such a weird storyline I have two pieces of like gossip from this. I don't know if you know. The first is that Chloe was who plays Greg's girlfriend. She was replaced a month into filming with a different actress. Oh wow. Can you imagine doing a month filming and then they just take you out? What was wrong? They swapped her back so they needed a bit of an older actress. The girl who was playing her was Francesca Corny. She was 32 and they replaced her with Charlotte Bond who was 38.
And she was
Francesca imagine leaving after a month that's devastating you can put up with the thing being like I'm checking out the white lotus and put up all these pictures of her like filming all that kind of stuff it's since been removed did she look too young maybe is that why because he is old I think that's what they said yeah but still that's terrible like and the final one which I heard is that Walton and Amy Lewood yes are not friends anymore
Yeah, I heard she unfollowed him.
And there's rumours that, is it he's blocked her? And basically the theory is that they may have taken their friendship a bit too far and now he's like overcompensating for his wife being like, I love you so much and such and such.
Oh, he's married.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh no, Walton.
And he, like, because he's like been gushing about her in the press.
Oh, Walton, not good.
No, which is really upsetting. wow and your one Jason Isaacs apparently is just such like he's like oh god some some relationships were really yeah something like that like he's real blabbermouth he's such a blabbermouth he's not like pure like media trained no and he got in all that trouble talking about the fake willy and all that and the appendage you wouldn't ask Mikey Madison about her fake vulva people were like this is morning television like please did he say that yes I think he's a bit of a
I think he's just not used to being in the spotlight long. One thing Mike White did say as well on that podcast was Zion and Piper were supposed to have a moment and she was supposed to lose her virginity to him. But then he said, we were already at 90 minutes. I couldn't add another 10 minutes to the final. Because her clothes totally changed. She stopped dressing like Wendy and she wears more out there clothes and that's meant to show, oh, I've lost my virginity. I'm a woman now. But then they kind of... run it under oh I'm actually just a materialistic concept I think loads of stuff was cut like loads of little things that would have maybe added on to it or something yeah just going back to Belinda's storyline like you really tested on when that money hits your bank account and like when they get that money and it hits her account and she's like can I just be rich for a second and in that moment I knew she was gonna ditch porn yeah that was really sad I know and we'd like to think we'd be better with money and like all this how much she hates rich people and has been like involved with so many She pulls a fucking Tanya. We might not be as good with money as we think we will. And she's like jets off. You know, I wonder how long that money would last. It seems like easy come, easy go a little bit.
Yeah. Also, that's not that much money.
No, that would go very quickly, especially in America.
Like, you could live off.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? Like that boat alone, they got back the speedboat.
Because it harks back to this thing where like the characters with higher moral compass and reject like the rich people values. They're the ones. that kind of lose the most. Like Rick chooses vengeance and he loses Chelsea. The one person who was like offering him the love that he's been chasing his whole life. Belinda chooses what might protect her, the money. So she lets peace go. She takes the blood money and she fucking runs. Pulls a Tanya. Gay talk gives up his principles and his religion to get the promotion and the girl. Piper tries to give up her frivolous lifestyle, but then realizes that she can't and she needs her selfish comforts. Chelsea. is probably the most innocent and person who doesn't need to change her values. She ends up dying. So it's kind of, I find that contrast kind of interesting, how we all choose to identify and like the people who cash in their morals end up getting what they want.
Yeah, but then what happens down the line?
Exactly. Like the gay toxic we all know is going to be haunted by that death, killing Rick. This one girl on Instagram, Megan Adele Parks, I'll link her. But she said like, we're all chasing something, but the outcome is still the same. And all these characters lose themselves in that chase. So she made a point of like, is this a metaphor for Western culture? And like, what if there is no enough? Like we're always chasing something, but when we get it, it's still not enough. And we still need to be in this like endless pursuit of more. Thinking that like the never enough. Yeah. And thinking that the next thing will complete us, but it actually just doesn't. And it comes back to the Buddhist thing of like making that our identity is toxic for us. And we should never want for anything.
because it's like not a destination basically.
It's the journey. My final point is Mike White. He closes out the, he's really quite funny. It's worth a listen of the White Lotus podcast. People were giving, he was like, people give out that like there's no plot in any of the things I write. And he's like, don't come into my bed and give out to me that you're in my bed. Oh, I love edging. You know what edging is in like the bedroom. So it's like you get close, close, close and then stop. So he's like, that is my thing. Get away from me, you bossy bottoms. Like, this is my thing which I thought was amazing I think you have to look at White Lotus as like a lot of stuff will be left to ask a question instead of provides an answer and it's like a character study with murder on the side that's just what happens I think yeah it's just meant to what does he say don't get into my bed what give out to me that you're in my bed get your bossy bottom out of here
I'd love that
Because it is like even like Victoria is such an amazing character study. Like, you know, she never her money, her values. She never wants to feel pain. She never wants to be poor. She's constantly like chasing pleasure, rejecting pain. She's constantly drunk or on lorazepam. She wants all that dopamine. The values are empty. She's never had to work for anything in her life. She doesn't know what real hard work pays off. You know,
she's just vacant.
She has a superiority complex that spills into the kids that like no one's ever good enough. yeah and sorry Mike White did say this about her superiority complex he was like no one's ever good enough for them so is that why they turn inward is that why they turn to the incest because you know no one's good enough for my kids I was like whoa Mike White god he sounds absolutely gas yeah it sounds like a good time I really like to grab a poison-free pina colada with Mike White oh my god totally it made me want a pina colada yeah oh my god so that was such a bumper episode fuck Wow. I thought that would take a half an hour. It's worth it though. So much to discuss.
You look proper revved up as well.
Revved up.
Your eyes are alive.
They're like all white.
We hope you enjoyed this analysis with all our symbolism and Clara's like depth of... a like higher meaning and all that kind of stuff mine was a bit more factual you steered us through you were the captain of the ship sorry not factual just like kind of commentary you were steering the ship and I was just along for the ride yeah just happy to be here I I'm just happy to be at the table ah full circle I have one that I'd like us something that I'd like us to review which I won't say but just well you know the one I watched last week
Oh, fuck. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to do that.
I think we should do that next.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for listening. Hopefully you enjoyed our White Lotus review episodes. We'll definitely pick it up on some other fabulous content if you've recommendations on what we should be doing. I think it should be something new and then every now and again we'll go back to something a bit older. Tell us. You can let us know at House of Gossip Pod on Instagram at Klaasie Cabana or at Soph underscore Alliance. And we'll catch you on our regularly scheduled programming.
Will I sing us out?
Ka kunká.
got a girl girl oh oh pina colada poison free
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