Over three seasons, The White Lotus, HBO’s acclaimed limited series-turned-anthology, has specialized in a particular type of scene: a group of American characters on vacation abroad – always rich and usually white, as per the real patrons of international luxury resorts – engage in conversation with the veneer of politeness but intent to draw blood. None of the players are considered “good” – in the world of the show, not too far removed from ours, to be rich enough to vacation at the White Lotus implies some level of moral rot that blossoms like black mold – but one has leverage over the other in the small-scale arena of taste. Think Sydney Sweeney’s terrifyingly gen Z dismissal of Alexandra Daddario’s journalist in season one, or Aubrey Plaza’s blase assurance that she “doesn’t watch Ted Lasso” in season two. Though distinct from its viral moments – “these gays, they’re trying to murder me” rightfully lives on and on – these cringe-inducing send-ups of the privileged’s code of conduct are the engine of the show.
Yet it took until the third episode of this season, set in Thailand and maintaining the vague whodunnit setup of the first two, for the set-up to finally click. Three childhood friends now in their 40s – Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Kate (Leslie Bibb), all bottle blondes simultaneously entreating and competing with each other – are having dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, one of the show’s consistent set pieces. LA-based Jaclyn and New York resident Laurie press Kate, who lives in Austin and is the least self-absorbed friend to date, about the fact that she regularly goes to church with “conservative” people. Wait … she didn’t vote for Trump, did she? “Are we really going to talk about Trump tonight?” Kate replies, eyes crinkling, lips pursed in a smize universally recognized as the suburban white woman’s sign of judgment.
