The White Lotus Thailand: Ep5-6
Taking WTF to a whole new level
“Really? “Really.” “Really.” “Really.” - Rick & Frank
I was going to write about the back half of White Lotus in one article. But after the last two episodes……………………. there’s just a lot going on.
Pleasure
Pleasure turns to perversion under the Thai full moon.
Frank’s monologue sums it up. First he has an insatiable desire for Asian girls. He takes that to the max, over and over and over. But then what? He tries to become the Asian girl. He takes that to the max, over and over and over. But then what???
When we treat pleasure as a vehicle that can take us from unfulfilled to transformed, it becomes empty and addictive. Characters take things too far.
Tim can’t just be rich and successful. He has to embezzle.
Saxon and Lochlan can’t just party and have sex with girls. They have to….interact…with each other.
Our trio of ladies can’t just have fun on a girls trip. They have to orchestrate a good time with guys at the club, then at the hotel pool, then at the cost of each other.
Once characters realize they’re on a hamster wheel to self-destruction, they don’t know what to do. That is when they turn to spirituality. Frank seeks god in Buddhism and celibacy. Tim doesn’t shoot himself—he prays.
Will other characters have similar come-to-Jesus-moments?
“I moved here because, well I had to leave the States, but I picked Thailand because I always had a thing for Asian girls, you know?” - Frank
Pain
Saxon’s emotional hangover is profound after the threesome with his brother. The morning-after scenes play like he’s the victim of sexual assault. Hunched, vomiting, skin crawling, trying to forget. Lochlan walking upstairs with his head high reinforces this dominator-victim dynamic.
It’s also a bit Frankenstein-esque. Saxon hyped up Lochlan to be selfish and to use people. He didn’t foresee that getting turned on himself.
I found myself wanting to know where Mike White was going with this. Like, okay, we have done the most heinous thing two brothers can do to each other. But for what end? What are we trying to say here?
Cain killing Abel was the ultimate fraternal betrayal. But murder isn’t surprising on a ‘who-dunit’ TV show. If Mike White wants to drill home the ultimate sibling betrayal, he has to go beyond murder.
That’s not to say Saxon will get out alive. I think the shame of this sexual encounter will kill him. Or he’ll be psychologically maimed for life.
“We both blacked out last night.” - Saxon
Saxon is losing his identity. Last night proved he’s not a ladies man, he’s a hot-mess whose “thing” is homosexual incest. Soon, he’s going to learn he’s not a successful businessman either. He’s the newly impoverished nepo-baby of a disgraced businessman.
Saxon’s self-assurance was strong. I believe it would take something as wicked as incest and financial ruin to truly shake him.
The question remains: then what? Chelsea’s comment hits home, that Saxon is soulless. Maybe with his identity, reputation, sexuality, and money stripped away, he will finally find his soul. Or maybe he’ll get killed.
Predictions:
I think Lochlan and Piper will…interact…during their sleepover at the monastery.
I think Piper will become her mother. Maybe she’ll take benzos to numb out or maybe she’ll run home to marry a southern rich man.
I think Tim is going to have a mega-freak-out when he realizes that gun is gone. Death sounded like a warm cuddly escape after his talk with the monk. It' won’t be so easy to achieve without a gun (cue the pong-pong fruit!!!). I could also see him joining the monastery.
“It means we’re not dead!” - Jaclyn
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Hook-Up
Oh Laurie.
When roles in a system are created at a young age, they’re hard to shake. This trio if ladies has been playing the same roles for 30 years. Jaclyn is the star, Laurie is the jealous outcast, and Kate is the pot-stirrer (who believes she’s the peace-keeper).
If Laurie wants these roles to change, she has to change. She let Jaclyn build up her hopes for Valentin, then she chose not to make a move. This is their friendship dance—Jaclyn marks something as desirable, Laurie is too scared to go for it—but doesn’t want anybody else to go for it either—and then Jaclyn takes it for herself. If Laurie either went for Valentin or laid off entirely, the dynamic would have changed.
Was it wrong for Jaclyn to hook up with Valentin??? She waited until after the party ended. She gave Laurie a chance. Why not go for it yourself?
Yes, Jaclyn cheated on her husband (whose excuse “I forgot to charge my phone” made me laugh out loud). But she also cheated on Laurie.
“We have to honor the local traditions.” - Chloe
Make no mistake, Jaclyn doesn’t give a shit about Valentin. She wants to yield power by betraying her husband and Laurie. She wants to feel superior by taking what is coveted by others.
Now, Jaclyn and Laurie have fallen into the second half of their friendship dance: envy and gas-lighting. Laurie envies Jaclyn and blames her for her unhappiness. Jaclyn denies that she betrayed Laurie.
Good luck Kate!
Prediction:
Kate’s allegiance to traditional values and self-view as the peace-keeper makes me think she’s involved in the murder.
Same Old
Not much is new with Rick and Chelsea. She still believes they’re cosmically destined for each other, he still thinks she’s “fucking annoying.” What is Chelsea avoiding in herself that she would rather focus on Rick?
I like how Chloe is becoming a central character this season. Greg/Gary (who looks so old and wrinkly by the pool) commands her to bring the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter—to invite Saxon over for dinner. Who knows what will happen. The final gunshots take place at the hotel though, not Greg’s house on the hill.
God help me with Pornchai offering to start a wellness business with Belinda. Fool me once!!!!!
We’ll see what happens the last two episodes!!!
