Warning: This article contains spoilers for The White Lotus season 3, episode 7
The White Lotusseason 3, episode 7, “Killer Instincts,” has brought us to the precipice of season 3. The penultimate episode of this season would have beenthe finale of season 2, and the postscript of season 1. Imagine that if before Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) cracked her skull on a boat deck, we spent an episode dedicated to her reconnecting with Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), or if after Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger) fled the airport, we had an episode depicting his paddle boat regimen.
If that all sounds massively boring, you’ve probably been struggling withThe White Lotusseason 3. If the idea of getting a few more scenes with these characters sounds worth any amount of slowly sculpted plot, then you, like me, are finding handles to grab on to this season.Episode 7 ofThe White Lotusis not going to convert any doubters, but for those willing to let the plot of season 3 recess in favor of the study of the rich the series always has been, they’ll be satisfied with “Killer Instincts”.
Everyone’s Fighting In Killer Instincts
Rick Gets His Long-Awaited Revenge On His Father’s Killer, Sort Of
Scenes of a Muay Thai boxing match permeate episode 7 ofThe White Lotusseason 3, with constant cuts to a lively fight. Drums pound, and clenched fists connect with jaws and solar plexuses. It’s the guests and employees of the White Lotus who are in the real fights. Some for their friendships, some for their souls, and some for their lives.
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Rick (Walton Goggins) and Frank (Sam Rockwell) go two-vs-two against Sritala (Lek Patravadi) and her husband, Scott (Scott Glenn), an elderly man recovering from a stroke. Rockwell once again injects a much-needed dose of humor into the season, bumbling his way through a movie offer. Rick may as well be wearing an “I’m here to shoot you” signpost around his neck when he invites Jim to talk privately.
Jim’s talk with Rick goes about as well as Frank’s sobriety and Scott Glenn is so tiny behind his desk you almost feel sorry for him.The fact he doesn’t remember Rick’s father makes the whole scene all the more pathetic, but a few mock jabs to make Jim flinch are enough to satisfy Rick. He and Frank decide to paint the town red, sobriety can resume tomorrow.
Kate, Jaclyn & Laurie Aren’t Guarding Their Gossip Any Longer
Mook Wants Gaitok To Do What It Takes To Be Taken Seriously
Kate (Leslie Bibb), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), and Laurie (Carrie Coon) continue their neverending bout, but now the gloves are completely off. The three are not even pretending to play nice anymore, with Laurie and Jaclyn saving the majority of their venom for one another.The way they ignore Kate as she tries to sit on an incredibly thin fence is its own form of humiliation, and one more painfully relatable and tragic.
Fed up, Laurie runs back into the arms of the Russians, and there we get to see the Muay Thai boxing match in real time. Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and his friends aren’t the only ones attending. Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) has finally secured his date with Mook (Lalisa Manobal) and things seem to be going well, or at least they started off so.
She’s not giving up on our security guard though, and while watching the match, points out how natural it is for men to be violent
He admits to Mook that he doesn’t have it in him to be violent. Mook is having none of it, however, and leans back, deflated, as she tells him she thought he had more ambition. She’s not giving up on our security guard though, and while watching the match, points out how natural it is for men to be violent. Gaitok can barely hear her. He just realized that the three Russians across from him were the robbers who got him into this mess. Do you have it in you to be violent, Gaitok?
Does Tim (Jason Isaacs) have it in him to commit violence against himself (and the rest of his family from the looks of his latest dream)? Does Gary (Jon Gries) have it in him to be violent? Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) says yes.
The White Lotus Season 3 Might End With A Whimper, Not A Bang
I Wouldn’t Expect Any Major Revelations In The White Lotus Season 3 Finale
It no longer feels likeThe White Lotusis a bow being steadily drawn back, and we’re waiting for that last bit of tension to be released. Instead, it feels like a boxing match. The storylines circle and circle, until a punch is thrown. Some land with a thud, but others sting, lasting longer than you initially realize.
Fabian gets my guest of the week award. He may be an employee, but he has as much absurd confidence as any White Lotus guest.
I’m no longer expecting a bomb to be set off inThe White Lotusfinale. Instead, I imagine we’ll finish with a flurry of punches, characters realizing a fate they should have seen coming: a suicide, a broken friendship, or maybe a ballad performed by the weirdest hotel manager ever. I love you, Fabian (Christian Friedel), please don’t die. Maybe one of these blows will be a knockout, but the trick with boxing is that the hits that don’t look like they hurt can turn out to be the worst ones.
