The White Lotus Season 3 Review: Mike White's Thrilling Satire Makes A Hard Man Humble

After two Emmy Award-winning seasons, "The White Lotus" creator Mike White has practically set himself up for failure. Jennifer Coolidge took home the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie as the fan-favorite character Tanya McQuoid in both seasons and then the series (rightfully) killed her off before season 3. Each visit to a new White Lotus location brings a completely different avenue for satirizing the ultra-privileged with an acidic tongue. Season 1 was all about money, season 2 focused on sex, and now with a trip to Thailand, season 3 is dissecting spirituality and mortality with the added layer of tackling the way wealthy white people in the West often fetishize spirituality, healing techniques, and people just existing in the East.

"The White Lotus" has also been inherently camp, with White's comedy background and unflinching embrace of cramming as many gay icons into his ensemble casts as possible exalting the seasons' dramatic — if not downright horrific — stories into pitch-black humor. While season 1 was a madcap shocker, audiences attempted to catch onto White's storytelling formula in season 2 and got their faces rocked clear off of their skulls with a bigger, bolder, and even stranger adventure.

But can White pull a hat trick with season 3? Can the cast starring Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Charlotte Le Bon, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Parker Posey, the return of Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Aimee Lou Wood hold a candle to the earlier stand-out casts?

The answer is thankfully a resounding "chai."

The popularity, acclaim, and somewhat guaranteed awards contention have made "The White Lotus" an incredibly attractive show to add to an actor's resume, which means everyone in Hollywood is fighting to take part while gleefully delivering some career-best performances. Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs, Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, and Michelle Monaghan are all at the top of their game here, and each moment they're on screen is bewitching. Posey and Isaacs' southern dialect work is endlessly entertaining, especially for Posey whose drawl turns into molasses whenever her character pops another Lorazepam. Goggins continues to prove why he's one of the most in-demand actors working today while watching Coon, Bibb, and Monaghan effortlessly switch between long-time friends who have fallen into their new roles in adulthood and women whose personalities haven't changed since sophomore year of high school rivals the adult timeline on "Yellowjackets."

But the real standouts for me were the younger cast members, namely Patrick Schwarzenegger as the alpha-bro Saxon Ratliff and Sam Nivola as his little bro Lochlan. Much like the Di Grasso family's exploration of three generations of masculine rot in season 2, the Ratliff brothers are two very complicated explorations of the way young men exert power over one another, presented through the lens of the growing movement of privileged, conservative youth. I cannot believe the places they go this season, and if "Daniel Isn't Real" wasn't enough for folks to recognize Schwarzenegger's talent as an actor, "The White Lotus" will certainly do the job.

This season is also the introduction of "Sex Education" star Aimee Lou Wood to a majority of American viewers, and if this doesn't launch her career into the stratosphere, something is very wrong. Wood is a scene-stealer and watching her match wits with Goggins serves as the empathetic heart of the entire season. And not for nothing, but her unique voice and look in a landscape that demands veneers and "filter face" aesthetics make her mesmerizing on screen. If any publicist or manager ever tries to tell Wood to change her look, I will be the gay trying to murder.

As the chaos and drama run rampant across the resort, Buddhist beliefs swaddle around the season as a constant reminder that nothing that exists is permanent and everything will ultimately cease to be. Rebirth is possible, but it is less of a reincarnation and more of a state of constant change. To achieve peace and freedom is to gain an open-minded attitude of accepting the inevitability. Our state of mind at the moment of death determines our rebirth, and depending on how this season ends (critics were only given the first six episodes), season 4 will be the reflection or response.

To some extent, season 3 is already a rebirth of season 1, as Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is given a new chapter after her initial heart-wrenching ending. She may be visiting the Thailand location to learn new techniques, but it's an opportunity for her to transform into a phoenix and rise from the ashes of being scorned by Tanya's selfishness all those years ago. If the show were a universe, Belinda would be the sun.

While White started working on "The White Lotus" back in 2022 and couldn't have possibly predicted the political landscape of 2025, season 3 has come at the perfect time. The "broligarchy" is attempting to destroy anyone who doesn't fall in line, American laws are being proposed based on religious texts as the line separating church and state continues to dissolve, and it feels like every news cycle is dominated by pure caucasity. Simply put, it feels really, really good to watch this cast blow up their own lives thanks to their own piss-poor decision-making, even if this is arguable the most nuanced gallery of characters yet.

"The White Lotus" is a brilliant, biting satire, but it's also cathartic wish fulfillment for all of us at home who could never even fathom the possibility of getting to visit a place like a White Lotus spa. Enjoy your deep tissue massage, hunky yoga instructors, and yacht parties while you can, because death is the great equalizer and she doesn't play favorites.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"The White Lotus" season 3 will premiere February 16, 2025 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.