This publish incorporates spoilers for “The White Lotus.”
Probably the most essential items of the puzzle have began to fall into place in “The White Lotus” season 3. A lot is occurring in Thailand’s White Lotus wellness resort, the place key gamers are presently on the cusp of their arcs earlier than the season’s bloody, climactic finale. As we’re already conscious that issues are going to finish with a number of gunshots and not less than one useless physique, that is all of the extra purpose to play shut consideration to Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), who managed to retrieve his formally mandated gun within the earlier episode.
Commercial
I do know what you are pondering: Gaitok is not the sort to shoot somebody, not to mention kill them, as he inherently lacks the intuition to be violent (even in self-defense). Nevertheless, episode 7 casts some doubt on this assured perception, as we see Mook (Lalisa Manobal, famously generally known as BLACKPINK’s Lisa) repeatedly egg him on to toughen up and in the end expressing disappointment in his non-violent stance. Will Gaitok lastly crack beneath stress when his again is pressed towards the wall?
Gaitok’s inside battle may be traced again to a single inciting incident. In episode 2, he tries and fails to stop a theft inside one of many resort’s luxurious shops, with the perpetrators managing to wound him earlier than escaping. At first look, the theft appears random: Two masked dudes enter the premises in a automobile whereas well being mentor Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius) is chatting with Gaitok after which peel away of their car after a skirmish. Whereas inside the shop, they maintain Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wooden) and the gross sales affiliate at gunpoint and proceed to steal a number of trinkets, together with an costly serpent choker. Gaitok’s incapacity to stop this theft virtually will get him kicked out of the White Lotus, however resort proprietor Sritala (Lek Patravadi) decides to present him one other probability.
Commercial
Together with his safety gun being stolen at one level (although he fortunately manages to retrieve it), Gaitok has been having a fairly powerful time of late. Nevertheless, he discovers the reason for his distress throughout a preventing match, permitting him to silently piece collectively the reality in regards to the theft and pinpoint the precise folks concerned. Episode 7 additionally confirms our long-time suspicions in regards to the incident, which additional complicates what may occur within the finale. Let’s break all of it down.
The robbery-related Chekhov’s Gun lastly goes off in The White Lotus
In episode 7, Gaitok and Mook go on their first date whereas additionally attending a preventing match that is teased all through the episode. Though Mook has been introduced as a well-meaning character to date, her motivations really feel oddly one-dimensional, casting doubts on her true nature. Is she genuinely a candy one who cares about Gaitok? Or is she feigning curiosity to masks an ulterior motive? Mook’s pointed insistence about embracing violence as part of life feels a tad odd, particularly when Gaitok is so torn about his innate nature.
Commercial
However issues get fascinating when Gaitok sees Valentin along with his buddies Aleksei (Julian Kostov) and Vlad (Yuri Kolokolnikov) among the many viewers in the identical preventing match. Every part all of a sudden is sensible: Aleksei and Vlad completely match the construct and look of the masked robbers, whereas Valentin’s affiliation with them suggests it was no accident that he was distracting Gaitok through the theft.
However this might merely be a misplaced assumption on Gaitok’s half, proper? Nicely, this hunch is confirmed as soon as we witness the fiasco that occurs with Laurie (Carrie Coon) after she hooks up with Aleksei the identical evening. At first, Aleksei spins a doubtful sob story about an sick mom and overtly asks Laurie to assist him with an inordinate amount of cash. Though Laurie gently refuses, he retains pestering her, proving that his intentions have been at all times to rob Laurie and her buddies indirectly. The extent of this scheme is revealed as soon as an offended girl (who’s presumably his girlfriend) confronts Aleksei proper after, prompting Laurie to sneak away and escape earlier than she’s caught. That is when her eyes land on the gold serpent choker stashed away together with the opposite stolen trinkets in Aleksei’s room.
Commercial
Now that Gaitok is onto the robbers and Laurie is partially conscious of the trio’s schemes, will these developments impression the finale in important methods? The solutions stay unclear. Though Gaitok appears agency about his disinterest in settling issues with violence, any mixture of things might flip that sentiment on its head, particularly with a lot at stake. Conversely, the gunshots from the season 3 premiere may very well be associated to a totally totally different character: Jon Gries’ Greg/Gary, who deserves to be smacked with some karmic retribution for his crimes (which might additionally honor the present season’s overarching theme).
Episodes of “The White Lotus” season 3 drop each Sunday on HBO.
