The penultimate episode of The White Lotus season three has gagged fans.
Titled “Killer Instincts,” episode seven of the provocative HBO drama delves further into the chaotic lives of our favourite hotel guests.
Rick (Walton Goggins) finally meets Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn), his father’s killer, with the help of Frank (Sam Rockwell).
When Rick and Jim are alone, the former reveals his identity and threatens to shoot him. Ultimately, Rick opts out of committing murder and instead pushes an elderly Jim off his chair before leaving with Frank.
The tension between Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) comes to a head during dinner after the former confronts the latter for her standoffish attitude.
In response, Laurie slams Kate for being fake while labelling Jaclyn as selfish. She then goes to a Muay Thai fight, where she runs into Valentin and his friend Aleksei.
Laurie and Aleksei then break off from the group to have sex in his apartment. However, their postcoital romance comes to a swift end when he tries to con Laurie out of $10,000, and his girlfriend unexpectedly comes home.
Meanwhile, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) finally meets with Greg (Jon Gries). Staying true to his conniving nature, Greg gives a fake sob story on why he left Italy shortly after Tanya’s death. He then offers Belinda $100,000 to start her spa business and to leave him alone, claiming that it’s what Tanya would have wanted.
However, instead of taking the money, Belinda tells Greg she needs to think about it, adding that she’s not looking to cause any problems for him.
Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) and Mook (Lalisa Manobal) go on a dinner date before attending the same Muay Thai fight Laurie ventured off to earlier.
However, the outing isn’t relaxing for Gaitok, who recognises Valentin’s friends as the boutique robbers.
Unlike episodes five and six, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) shared no interactions in the latest release, with the Ratliff family split between the Buddhist monastery and the hotel.
Due to his siblings’ absence, Saxon convinces his parents, Victoria (Parker Posey) and Timothy (Jason Isaacs), to attend Greg and Chloe’s (Charlotte Le Bon) dinner party.
While at the private get-together, Saxon notices Timothy’s odd behaviour, resulting in him confronting his dad.
After Timothy brushes off Saxon’s attempts to talk, the latter exclaims that he doesn’t have an identity outside of being “Timothy Ratliff’s son,” adding that if something bad happens, it happens to the both of them.
In addition to dealing with his dad’s downward spiral, Saxon rebuffs Chole’s proposal to have sex in front of Greg.
At the monastery, Lochlan reveals to Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) that he wants to stay in Thailand with her, exclaiming that he doesn’t “really feel like going home” – which may or may not be due to the incestuous threesome he had with his brother and Chloe.
However, Lochlan’s unsettling confession isn’t embraced by Piper, who looks visibly conflicted over the news.
At the end of the episode, Timothy fantasises about shooting Victoria, Saxon and himself due to his looming legal troubles and his family’s reliance on their rich lifestyle. When Timothy walks to his hiding space to retrieve the gun, he realises it’s missing.
While episode seven stepped away from the controversial “incest brothers“ storyline, it still garnered animated reactions from viewers on social media.
One fan wrote: “Knew as soon as Saxon said he had nothing else in life Tim mentally was like “well I gotta take him out too then.”
Another viewer commented: “If I was Belinda, I would’ve countered with 250k and be out of his hair, but that’s just me.“
A third user tweeted: “You know this shit getting messy af when saxon the only one in the whole episode that sounds sane.”
The White Lotus season three finale premieres on 6 April on HBO and will stream on 8 April in the UK on NOW TV.
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