We kick things off in a sun-soaked jungle in Thailand, where one of the White Lotus resorts is tucked away among lush trees full of monkeys and wild birds. A stress-management session gets interrupted by some loud shots and a body, and just like that, we're off and running. One week earlier, we learn how we got here.
This season starts with Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), a couple with a pretty big age difference. Chelsea doesn't seem to be with Rick for his money; she really seems to love him... even though he couldn’t seem less interested in her. Rick definitely his own hidden agenda for being at the White Lotus, and it’s got nothing to do with relaxing.
Next up are the Ratliff family, a wealthy North Carolina clan, is headed by Timothy (Jason Isaacs), a business mogul who has zero interest in the resort’s spiritual wellness activities. Parker Posey plays his wife, Victoria, a lively Southern woman. Patrick Schwarzenegger is Saxon, the oldest son, a finance guy who works for Tim and is always on the lookout for his next hookup. Sarah Catherine Hook plays Piper, the daughter, a UNC student who wants to interview a local monk for her thesis. Sam Nivola is Lochlan, the youngest son, a high school senior who just got into Duke but seems reluctant to follow the same path as his dad and brother.
A trio of old friends: Carrie Coon plays Laurie, a New York professional always on the go. Leslie Bibb is Kate, a Texas housewife with a rich husband. Michelle Monaghan is Jaclyn, a famous TV actress who’s pretty well-known by the resort staff and guests. As the saying goes: Two's company, three's a crowd. There's some tension between the women already, though they're doing their best to pretend everything is fine.
The employees don’t really register to the self-obsessed guests. Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), a masseuse from the first season, is the difference. Belinda’s planning to spend three months in Thailand to unwind, recharge, and pick up some new skills. Along with the other White Lotus staff, she’s part of the fourth group of characters this season follows.
Things start to go south pretty quickly (as they always do at the White Lotus) when Timothy gets contacted by a journalist. He’s caught off guard when a reporter tells him he’s working on an investigative story about one of his old business partners with whom he launched a (possibly shady) fund back in 2018. Timothy tells the reporter he hasn’t talked to his friend Kenny in four years, but as soon as he hangs up, he leaves his old friend a message. At this point, we’ve got no real reason to think Timothy’s a bad guy, but there’s a guilty look on his face when he gets into bed.
Chelsea’s sitting alone at the bar when she meets a young woman named Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). Chloe isn’t staying at the resort; she lives up the hill with her boyfriend, another older, grumpy, bald guy. She calls him an “LBH” — Loser Back Home. Chloe gestures toward him, sitting alone at a table. But this isn’t just any LBH. It’s Greg. Yep, that Greg, who started dating Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) at the White Lotus in Hawaii, married her, and schemed to kill her and inherit her fortune in Sicily. It will be very interesting to see how he factors into this season, and if Belinda will recognize him.
A slow first episode, but I'm excited to see the full season unfold.
The White Lotus airs Sunday nights ay 9pm on HBO.
