Denials

Wow. As usual, the music was excellent, the writing was sharp, and of course the acting was superb (Patrick Schwarzenegger stood out this episode). With the White Lotus, I've come to expect these aspects to shine-but the storytelling in the back half of this season is proving to be very effective.

This episode was shocking, yet surprisingly grounded. One of the things that makes this show so special is the way that tension escalates. Each character is progressively mentally unraveling, and the murder mystery aspect keeps the tone ominous. Mike White knows how to keep us guessing, and this show is the perfect example of that. I'm very excited to see how this story concludes.

I always forget to give a shoutout to Parker Posey from this season, but her accent and the way she acts are hilarious and adorable. This was another solid episode that pulled down a bit from the prior episode, but still kept the same energy. Seasons are always slow burns with beautiful shots and slow pacing, but it works every season. Whether it's some of the Ratliff family that are taking on the repercussions of their decisions or Rick, who is aggressively pursuing what he came to do in Thailand, they go in different directions, but somehow give that uneasy anxiety that pulls you in as you get deeper into the season. Can't wait for the last two episodes. 4/8 stars.

Okay, "that" plot twist didn't really seem out of character for the series. The whole schitck is, pushing boundaries. The agenda seems pretty obvious, to depict the Ratliffs as so dysfunctional that Piper, by far the most "normal," will happily flee to a monastery, for a lot longer than a year. Maybe Dad will go with her, if he was actually listening to what the monk was saying.

Some of the plotlines are getting tedious, such as the guard and his gun. Is there a point other than filling time? Ditto for the three cougar friends. They're a mess, okay, I get it. But not an interesting mess.

I'm afraid Rick's plotline is headed for a twist I saw coming several episodes ago. That leaves Greg vs. Belinda as the most interesting story. No idea how that pans out.

Here's a random thought: Tim cuts a deal with the feds in return for ratting out Greg. Murder beats money laundering, right? There's been no setup at all for that idea, so they'd have to move fast.

Was a bit skeptical during the first 1/2 of this season and now feeling like the S03 is picking up and starting to develop the juicy themes and entangling plots that made the previous seasons so intriguing and worthy of the hype.

This episode had much more intriguing plots for each character that actually allowed them to develop into more 3 dimensional characters with depth as opposed to the first episodes where characters feel introduced as cheap stereotypes and pastiches. The previous seasons did this to a certain extent but nice to see this season take its time to bloom into that even though everyone was holding their breath. Excited to see how it wrap up!

Such a good job of keeping us sweating. Every scene makes you feel an emotion you can't describe. Mike White has created a show that will live on as one of the greats. Thank you for challenging the norm and forcing viewers to feel weird about the dark thoughts we all think about.

This episode had be gasp, cringe, sigh and worry. Why is the family dinámica so strange? What's going to happen with the gun? Who do you think is going to lose it? That's this episode. It keeps you guessing, and everyone is a suspect.

Will I be happy to know who did it...well no. Who's happy when someone is murdered. But, it will be epic.