Binge-worthy: The White Lotus 3 brings sex, death and protein shakes

The White Lotus 3

Max, with new episodes every Monday
★★★★☆

The fictional White Lotus resorts are known for the luxurious pampering of their guests – and murder.

One would think that, by now, the string of uncanny deaths on its global premises would have taken a toll on the hotel brand’s reputation. But like certain quaint English towns inhabited by killer vicars and one indomitable amateur sleuth, the bloodshed has raised no red flags.

Season 3, which premiered on Feb 16, is set in Thailand and, once again, proves that there is nothing more dangerous than a group of bored, upper middle-class Westerners seeking mental wellness.

This time, viewers meet the Ratliff family, headed by the patriarch, financier Timothy (Jason Isaacs), wife Victoria (Parker Posey) and their three children – the alpha male Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the people-pleaser Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), a teenager who believes that Eastern spirituality will fix her inner problems.

With four of its eight episodes released, the show has settled into a familiar template, one that blends soap-opera interpersonal machinations within a crime mystery teased in the opening moments of the first episode, one that leaves the familiar question: Who gets killed and who did it?

Here are three reasons to check into The White Lotus again.

1. Cultural correctness

Being set in a region familiar to most people in Singapore, this show would be a dud if it failed to pass the sniff test. But the Thailand of The White Lotus is one familiar to tourists. So far, it has showcased the titular posh resort, and also tattooed backpackers in sarong pants, the Russian expatriate community, full-moon parties and the high number of balding, retiree-age white men and their much younger Asian partners.

Judgmental Victoria notices a preponderance of older white male-young Asian woman couples on a boat trip and registers her disapproval. This being The White Lotus, it is, of course, a statement that reveals her hypocrisy: She is as financially dependent on her husband as the other women are. A thin veneer of respectability separates her relationship from theirs.

2. The right amount of seediness

Unusually for a series, a single person has written and directed every episode across every season. Mike White, being The White Lotus’ sole writer-director, has ensured a singularity of vision that is rare. It also helps that each season starts with new characters – with a couple of notable exceptions each season – in a new setting.

That consistency extends to the way the show looks at character through a psychosexual lens. After all, this show is on Max, and nothing says Max – formerly known as HBO – and Emmy-winning prestige programming than characters driven by lust, jealousy and repressed urges.

This season, wannabe pickup artist and man’s man Saxon is as creepy as he sounds. In between gulping protein shakes and dishing out unsolicited dating advice, he mocks his younger siblings for being virgins. He is turning out to be the No. 1 unlikeable insecure male of the season.

3. Guest service or coercion with extra steps?

Every season explores the idea that tourism, especially at the luxury levels experienced at five-star resorts, is an elaborate form of class-based theatre that everyone buys into.

The warm and insightful wellness therapist and the omnipresent concierge are people playing roles. They may genuinely like their jobs, but their words and actions are scripted to never offend. Then someone, usually a guest, reads too much into the smiles and lines are crossed.

In this season, three women are on a girls’ trip – society wife Kate (Leslie Bibb), divorced lawyer Laurie (Carrie Coon) and actress Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan). They soon tire of yoga, massages and drinks on the beach and, before long, their quest for excitement involving their hunky Russian wellness coach Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) heads into uncharted territory.