‘The White Lotus’: Inside the “Juicy Cringe” of Season 3’s Female Friendships
[This story contains spoilers from the second episode of The White Lotus season three, “Special Treatments.”]
It’s only the second day of vacation and tensions are already bubbling to the surface at the White Lotus: Thailand resort.
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Over the course of The White Lotus season three‘s second episode, “Special Treatments,” we watch as all of the various characters explore different forms of wellness, or lack thereof. The Ratliff family participates in all manner of massage and therapies, with the exception of embattled finance guy Timothy (Jason Isaacs), who feels the walls closing in as news of his shady dealings is about to go public. Event Walton Goggins’ rough-and-tumble Rick sits down for a spiritual session, in which he claims he’s already released all notions of the self: “Nothing comes from nothing.”
In another corner of the resort, however, three women all enjoy the same wellness lessons from the same wellness instructor: Valentin, played by Arnas Fedaravi?ius. He’s the one and only Russian guru for longtime BFFs and tourists Jaclyn, Laurie and Kate, played by Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon and Leslie Bibb, respectively. Both Jaclyn and Laurie receive glowing wellness reports from Valentin, while Kate’s left on the outside looking in with a very average performance review.
It’s not the first time these women are divided into sides — nor will it be the last time. As season three rolls on, The White Lotus will challenge the friendship between TV star Jaclyn, attorney Laurie and average Kate (that’s Valentin’s review, not mine!), as their views of one another continue to shift.
“I had this idea of three friends that are almost interchangeable at the beginning,” says Mike White, in comments released by HBO. “They’re all blondes. They all have this voluble, excitable energy. And then you start to see how they’re all just slightly different, and the differences start to really unravel their time there together.”
He continues, “I just remember that there have been times where I’ve been on vacations, and you’d see women friends together, and you were just like, ‘I can’t really get a vibe of what’s going on?’ And then one would leave and the other two would start talking. They’re triangulating in some way. And so there’s some of that in the early episodes. But it’s this sense of sameness and then focusing on the differences, and how you have to justify your life to certain types of people that have that history with you.”
For their part, Bibb, Coon and Monaghan all see their characters carrying different roles within the friend group, all at different times.
“That dynamic was really on the page,” Monaghan tells The Hollywood Reporter. “One thing I loved and created in my own mind was this idea that the trio always had a victim, a perpetrator and a peacekeeper. That shifting dynamic keeps shifting from each and every scene.”
Scouting out where Kate fits in the dynamic, Bibb says, “Kate needs the approval of these two women. She has decided on a life where she’ll marry the right person, she’ll have the two kids, and she’ll make it all perfect. I think she feels far away from who she was, this fearless person she used to be, this fun person.”
Kate might feel that way, but her friends might feel differently, or at least, they might cast themselves as the needy one in their own story.
“I think Mike was really keen to explore friendships with women, the things he’s been witness to,” says Monaghan. “What do women do to perpetuate or endure the constant comparisons that we’ve been conditioned to make with each other? The constant judgment, the self-doubt, the grass always being greener. These are three women who are very accomplished in their own right with a shared history who are on this vacation to see if their relationship is as authentic as it used to be. And what you see are these women putting their best feet forward with each other. But in White Lotus fashion, we see the facade start to melt away cracks in their perfect lives.”
Pondering the point of Laurie’s story, Coon brings her own personal take as a means of comparison: “I have young children, and I try not to put too much onto them, to give them space and to really see them. But I don’t do that with my family, because I have a history with them. The question is, can you see the actual person who is behind your assumptions? And are you willing to drop that story, and really engage with the person in front of you? That’s a thing these women are not doing.”
Bibb wonders, “Why is it that the people who know you the best are the ones you lash out at? A new friend, you would never do that to them. But an old friend? You’ll not hold them in this same sacred place.”
Monaghan agrees. “They’re holding onto patterns and their own neuroses,” she says. “And so things are going to devolve rather quickly. It’s sad for them, but it makes for great television — and a lot of ooey, gooey, juicy cringe.”
The White Lotus season three releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max. Follow along with THR‘s season coverage, including on that deadly opening and surprising character return.
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