The following article contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of HBO’s “The White Lotus”
Many fans of HBO’s semi-anthology series “The White Lotus” are still reeling from the season 3 finale, “Amor Fati.” The finale served as a definitive conclusion for some characters and a more uneasy, open-ended send-off for others. Much of the discourse for this season revolves around the Ratcliff family, perhaps the most problematic and complicated family dynamic the series has showcased to viewers so far. Sure, the Mossbacher family from season 1 had their interpersonal issues, and the three generations of Di Grasso men were each dealing with their problems related to their sex lives in season 2, but the Ratcliffs take the cake when it comes to being fundamentally dysfunctional.
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Most notably, we witnessed the cringe-inducing dynamic that the Ratcliff siblings share. Brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) are at the center of the most uncomfortable scene in the entire series, and their sister Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), is dealing with her crisis in her attempts to independently distinguish herself from her privileged, problematic family through her spiritual journey. Victoria (Parker Posey) is struggling as the scatterbrained mother, dealing with the culture shock of being in Thailand, while her husband Timothy (Jason Isaacs) is preoccupied with the looming threat of his career coming to an end due to a money laundering scandal.
The season 3 finale of “The White Lotus” ends in a tumultuous fashion for the guests staying at the Thailand wellness resort, and in the case of the Ratliff family, despite skirting death by poisoned piña coladas served by Timothy, their material lives are due for financial ruin. The season ends with Timothy relieved that his son Lochlan did not succumb to the poisoned piña colada leftovers and warning his family that things will not be the same when they go home, leaving things more open-ended after the wildest week of their lives.
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Jason Isaacs shares his thoughts on the Ratliff family’s post-Thailand lives
In an interview with Business Insider, Jason Isaacs discussed the season 3 finale of “The White Lotus,” teasing what it means for Timothy and how his tumultuous, life-threatening week, which was committed to everything but wellness, fundamentally changed him. In particular, he discussed the prospect of his coming clean to his son Lochlan for indirectly poisoning him with the piña colada:
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“I think Tim is going to do an awful lot of taking his own inventory and do an awful lot of soul-searching, and I think he will come clean about all of it.I think Tim’s a new man. Most people don’t change. Mike [White] is far too good a writer to give everyone huge changes. They don’t change that much. Now, their circumstances are going to change a lot, and who knows what the Ratliffs will become when they have to face their new lives? But Tim has changed enormously, almost completely.”
Jason Isaacs also commented on the family’s potential epiphany that Timothy nearly poisoned them all to avoid living through the financial ruin that is upon them. Given that massive changes are afoot, Isaacs believes that they will be too busy focused on the financial hardships:
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“I don’t know, I think when their phones start pinging, there are other things they’ll be far more concerned about in the short term. Like, where are we going to live? How am I going to pay my cellphone bill? How are we going to put food in the fridge? All of their life plans have just been blown up. Piper wouldn’t be going back to the monastery, whether she wanted to or not, because they won’t be able to afford a plane ticket.”
Could we see the Ratliff family return in season 4?
“The White Lotus” creator and director Mike White had different plans for season 2 of the series, which would have centered on an event like a Bilderberg conference: an annual off-the-record forum involving some of the most powerful elites in Europe and North America. There has been discussion about upcoming seasons potentially bringing more characters from previous seasons together, and if White were to resurrect his original season 2 plans, perhaps he could involve characters such as Nicole Mossbacher (Connie Britton) from season 1 and Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) from season 2.
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Perhaps Jason Isaacs could reprise his role as Timothy Ratliff, but it will all depend on whether or not Mike White has feasible story plans to bring him into the story, given that he will likely be held criminally liable for money laundering. Either way, it will be interesting to see if we learn more about what becomes of the Ratliff family following their life-threatening stay at the White Lotus wellness center in Thailand. Given Isaacs’ feelings regarding Timothy being a changed man, would the rest of the family change as well? Or will their survival conveniently bring them back to their old ways, just without their wealth? My guess would be the latter.
All three seasons of “The White Lotus” are available to stream on Max.
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