Everyone Thinks This Is the Best Part of 'The White Lotus'...I Disagree

I don't really care 'whodunit'

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Published Mar 14, 2025

Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff in season 3 of the white lotus

Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO

Each season of The White Lotus, so far, begins with a tragedy. Body bags, police sirens and frenetic whispers build to a mounting, mysterious tension. Who died? And who pulled the trigger? The format is such that we must rewind a vacation week's worth of time to witness how things unfold amongst the staff and guests at the eponymous resort. Some—OK, many or all—of my fellow viewers would argue that the murder mystery hook is what makes the show so great. But on its third season, I could honestly live without the whole whodunit arc. Let me explain.

Psst: Spoilers ahead.

The Character Studies Are Where It's At

The murder/crime hook might reel viewers in, but it's the fully fledged—and fully flawed—characters in new environments that keep us watching. I mean, the show's reinvigorated and jump-started several careers into icon status, among them Jennifer Coolidge as the insecure heiress, Tanya McQuoid. Now, in season three, which takes place in Thailand, I find myself wanting to just watch Parker Posey's Victoria "Lorazepam" Ratcliff interact with her bickering children all day because the character is so fully formed. I don't need to see how the Ratcliff family responds to a murder on-site, but I do love to see what they do when their cell phones and anxiety meds are taken away.

Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO

The Best Tension Is From Nuance

Season three is putting the crime element front and center. There's a literal loaded gun, a massive white collar crime unfolding, an internationally wanted man is chilling at the White Lotus bar, and Walton Goggins's daddy issues are taking him on a revenge journey to Bangkok. But these storylines are less interesting to me than the uncomfortable triangulation going on at the girls' trip dinner table—that Texas politics scene? Divine.

Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO

The Real Horror Is Rich People Being...Themselves

The best part of White Lotus isn't the murder. The real horror is the class divide, the extreme wealth and privilege and how those things interact with locals and staff—the guests pore into the resort and suck its resources dry and return home, refreshed!

So, while I think the whodonit worked really well for the first two seasons, it becomes a metaphor that's a bit too on the nose this season.

And...What About the White Lotus's Reputation?

Final food for thought: Wouldn't the resort group take a major hit if they became known for on-site deaths? I know accidents happen, but I might think twice before booking a suite.

That said, we didn't actually see any body bags or police sirens in the opening of this season, so maybe it's all a red herring...or a monkey.

Happy watching!

Dara Katz

Executive Editor

Lifestyle editor and writer with a knack for long-form pieces
Has more than a decade of experience in digital media and lifestyle content on the page, podcast and on-camera
Studied English at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

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