No spoilers here — just a strong suggestion to watch The White Lotus, if only I can stop being the unofficial spokesperson for it everywhere I go.
When I started the show last month — yes, years after it premiered — I expected a classic murder mystery: a luxury resort, a suspicious death, and a slow unraveling of secrets. And yes, that’s technically accurate. But The White Lotus isn’t really about the mystery. It’s about the people, the power dynamics, and everything ugly that hides under beautiful things.
If you’ve ever watched American Horror Story, you’ll get the structure: each season stands alone with a different cast and location, but there are quiet threads that connect them. The White Lotus works the same way — Season 1 in Hawaii, Season 2 in Sicily, and Season 3 currently airing in Thailand. Each location brings new conflicts and fresh layers of satire. Some characters and storylines do carry over, but the point isn’t continuity. It’s commentary.
What keeps me hooked isn’t just the plot, but the show’s ability to walk the line between gorgeous and grotesque. The cinematography is stunning, and the resorts are real — each season was actually filmed at a Four Seasons hotel. But the visual paradise only makes the tension sharper. The show uses beauty as a disguise, then slowly strips it away.
And the music — Cristóbal Tapia de Veer’s Emmy-winning score — is nothing short of genius. It’s primal, spiritual, unhinged. It makes the show feel mythical and slightly possessed, which is kind of the point. Unfortunately, he won’t be returning for Season 4 due to creative differences with series creator Mike White. Whoever follows him has huge, terrifying shoes to fill.
The White Lotus is a character-driven show with sharp social satire. It pokes fun at wealth, privilege, cultural disconnect, imperialism, classism — you name it. But it never hits you over the head. The satire is sharp, but it never leans into caricature. It just lets the characters be who they are, and that’s usually enough to make you cringe, laugh, and spiral all at once.
It’s funny. It’s haunting. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s addicting.
You should watch it.
All of Season 3 is now available on HBO Max and has already been renewed for a Season 4.
