What Is Lorazepam In The White Lotus Season 3? Victoria Ratliff's Pills Explained

Mike White's globe-trotting anthology series "The White Lotus" has been about rich people behaving badly since the first season dropped in 2021, and now that season 3 is underway, we know that we're dealing with a whole new group of wealthy weirdos vacationing in Thailand this time around. (The first season took place in Hawaii, and the second was set in Sicily.) Included amongst the revelers visiting the fictional White Lotus in the beautiful Southeast Asian country is the Ratliff family, comprised of father and patriarch Timothy (Jason Isaacs), his wife Victoria (Parker Posey), and their children Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola).

In the season 1 premiere "Same Spirits, New Forms," Victoria spends most of the episode complaining about her jetlag and turning down the hotel's various wellness opportunities (when Morgana O'Reilly's hotel staffer Pam offers her a biometric scan to assess her needs, Victoria panics about not wanting to "take a test" and demurs). Later in the episode, she tells Timothy that she got a "second wind" but also tells him not to worry because she took a "lorazepam." So what is lorazepam, why is Victoria taking it, and how could it come into play later in the season? Well, lorazepam is meant to aid with anxiety disorders ... and it's interesting that Victoria mentioned it so early in the third season's very first episode.

Even if you're familiar with the concept of lorazepam and other anti-anxiety drugs that are classified as benzodiazepines, let me refresh your memory a bit with an official definition from the Mayo Clinic. "Lorazepam is used to treat anxiety disorders," the official site reads. "It is also used for short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety or anxiety caused by depression." The description also covers benzodiazepines, which "are central nervous system (CNS) depressants, which are medicines that slow down the nervous system."

What this basically means is that Victoria has anxiety and uses lorazepam, ostensibly prescribed by her doctor, to manage it and keep her nervous system stable in moments when the anxiety gets to be too much. These types of drugs are pretty standard if they're used according to your doctor's instructions, and as I noted, they do need to be prescribed by a medical professional. Unfortunately, if not taken properly, people can also become dependent on them. If you've ever heard about someone popping' "benzos," they're talking about abusing this form of drug. Okay, so now that we've got some of the medical jargon out of the way, why is this related to Victoria on "The White Lotus?"

Well, Victoria brought her lorazepam to Thailand to manage her anxiety ... but because of the nature of this show, they feel a bit like Chekhov's pills, so to speak. Within the first episode, we also learn that her husband Timothy has some shady business dealings that may cause trouble down the line, so specifically mentioning the medication she brought on their vacation certainly feels like Mike White wants us to notice that and keep it in mind; that lorazepam could be used in ill-advised ways before the season draws to a close.

"The White Lotus" airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 P.M. EST on HBO and Max.