'Not worth the watch': Natasha Irons reviews 'The White Lotus: Season 3'
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea | Image by: Album / Alamy Stock Photo
3 min read
Like watching a tank of exotic fish, the third season of The White Lotus is beautiful to look at – but after a while you realise you’ve wasted far too much of your time
There was a moment, about halfway through episode four of the third series of White Lotus, when I caught myself weighing up whether a nap would mean me not sleeping properly later. This is because, despite some really lovely kaftans, up until this point, Season 3 has been painfully slow, with characters that are impossible to care about and storylines that aren’t particularly interesting.
Which is all a far cry from Season 1 – a sharp satire where every line felt charged and every character was awful in some fascinating way. This time round, the characters are still awful, but now they’re also boring.
Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola as siblings Saxon, Piper and Lochlan Ratliff | Image: © Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO®
Despite a really strong cast putting in some exceptional performances, it’s hard to care about what will happen to the people they play as the plot is too predictable or just dull. For example, the character of Piper – predictably picked on by her chest-beating older brother Saxon – has managed to convince her family to travel to Thailand in order to help her work on her thesis, which it now transpires has something to do with meditation… but who cares?
You could condense the whole thing into two episodes and still have time to fold your washing
To be fair, though, the kaftans are on point (did I mention how lovely they are?) and Thailand looks absolutely stunning. It’s like watching a tank full of exotic fish: soothing, but after a while you realise you’ve wasted far too much of your time and need to crack on with your day. The element of mystery – which was just one of the hooks in Season 1 – is so stretched out here it practically evaporates. Honestly, you could condense the whole thing into two episodes and still have time to fold your washing.
It could be my own failing, as I haven’t had time to watch Season 2 and perhaps I am missing some broader context, but based on this latest offering, The White Lotus seems to have lost that wonderful balance between suspense, humour and gloss that made the first series a joy to watch. As if sensing that this instalment is way off the mark compared to previous ones, the creators decided to add an unnecessary incestuous encounter in an attempt to introduce something vaguely memorable.
So, although it is beautiful and on paper has every ingredient for a great bingeworthy obsession, for me White Lotus Season 3 is not worth a watch. To the point where I may not even watch the last episodes now they are released.
But hey, if nothing else, it has reminded me to book a holiday and buy some kaftans.
Natasha Irons is Labour MP for Croydon East
White Lotus: Season 3
Created, written and directed by: Mike White
Broadcaster: Sky / NowTV
