The White Lotus Class Of Chaos: Who Made The Vacation Worth Watching?

*Spoilers ahead.*

DEAD BODIES. Spiritual awakenings. Unearthed taboos. Unlikely familial ties (*cough* incest* cough). The White Lotus isn’t a show about vacations, it’s a pressure cooker of privilege, dysfunction and satire. The tropical getaways that feature as prominent characters in each season — whether Hawaii in season 1, Sicily in season 2 or Thailand in season 3 — eventually turn into a stomping ground of psychological tension and existential dread. The stark visuals of these beautiful locales, their culture, their language and their flora/fauna all play a grand part in world-building and setting the mood. But, ask any The White Lotus fan and they’ll tell you that all the fun lies with the characters. Each more unique than the other. While each season delivers its own kaleidoscope of humour, horror and heartbreak, it’s the characters who truly make The White Lotus distinctive.

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And so, here’s a round-up of the best characters from all three seasons, in no particular order.

These are the most compelling, chaotic, hilarious, tragic, or quietly iconic additions to their seasons, whose character arc left a definitive impression. Whether they made us cringe, cry, or gasp out loud, these are the ones who stayed with us long after the final episode, like a sunburn that refuses to fade.

Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff from Season 3

There are a lot of reasons to love Parker Posey and list her as a favourite, as Victoria — the epitome of an American boomer, if there ever was one. Her southern drawl, her iconic dialogues, her nonchalant and anxious ways, in direct parallel to one another. Her ability to exude confidence masks any kind of delusion. But when it comes down to it, one of the best aspects of her character is how she is written. She’s the true matriarch of this dysfunctional family, and yet it takes us several episodes until we see her motherly side, when she smartly asks Piper to spend a night at a monastery before she can decide that it was her life’s calling. Her brand of motherhood relies on logic over rebellion. I personally love that we’ve given a woman in her 50s at least three episodes to be her whole authentic self: a Lorazepam-loving, midwestern woman who is unabashedly set in her ways.

Carrie Coon as Laurie from Season 3

When there’s a group of three women in an ensemble show, the assumptions are rife. The theories about the fate of the three old friends who were reuniting for a girls’ trip in Season 3 — Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon, Leslie Bibb as Kate and Carrie Coon as Laurie — were rife. In the beginning, this seemed like a regular girls’ trip, but each of the women’s body language and stolen glances gave away the inner turmoil between this group of three. One character is the queen bee equivalent, one is the peacemaker and non-confrontational, and the third is a provocative disruptor. They started the season as frenemies, but it is through Carrie Coon’s arc as Laurie, that the three women find a common ground. Instead of falling prey to insecurities, petty squabbles and fighting over men (which almost sounds like it’s written with a male gaze), Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie end the season bonding over spirituality, mortality and gratitude. This is such a refreshing change, particularly because it is facilitated by the disruptor, Laurie, who emerges as the richest character among the three, becoming the glue that holds them together.

Fred Hachinger as Quinn Mossbacher in Season 1

The most rewarding part of a show like The White Lotus is seeing characters who have no voice or personality at the start of a season but quickly become a huge part of the catharsis we feel by the end of the season. Quinn from the Mossbacher family is one such character, a nobody who eventually writes his own story. And what a story it is. From a typically tongue-tied Gen-Z who is addicted to screens, Quinn finds himself overwhelmed and swept away by the tranquility of Hawaii's nature. He loses his phone, setting off on a spree of nights spent on the beach in solitude. He meets a bunch of Hawaiian paddlers and by the end of the season, finds his purpose as a part of their group. As his family heads back home, Quinn stays behind. Now here’s a real son of the soil.

The next three categories are (spiritual) twin characters who, when seen together, shine brighter.

Lucia and Belinda - Victims-to-winners

In season 1, Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell) is the token character of colour in the White Lotus staff at Hawaii, and she yearns to break out of her rut. She befriends Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), who promises to finance her business in the days to come, only to disappear with a man by the end of the season. Belinda gets her comeuppance by the end of season three, when she accepts a large sum of money for her silence. She’s seen enough to disturb a few wealthy people, and now the very people who made her feel small are paying her money to keep quiet. If that’s not a victory, what is?

Lucia (Simona Tobasco) and her friend Mia (Beatrice Granno) infiltrate the White Lotus in Sicily as escorts and work their way through many patrons in the hotel — from two of the three DeGrasso men (the father and the grandson), to Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) and the pianist Giuseppe (Mia sleeps with him only to replace him in the hotel as their inhouse musician). Both women are clinical in their approach with these guests, ultimately finding their way and emerging as winners in a highly elitist society. Lucia is particularly sassy and gutsy in how she manoeuvres from guest to guest, picking up pain points and reading people closely enough to intelligently weave stories to her benefit. She’s the only character who starts and ends the season within her version of normal (only with a large sum of cash to call her own).

Valentina and Armond - Cut from the same cloth, but tailored differently

Resort managers of The White Lotus can’t be straightforward people, just as each White Lotus location is as complex as the stories it births within the guests. In season 1, Armond is a charming, polite and attentive hotel manager who seems to be the key that holds everything together but we learn he has a dark past consisting of drugs, booze and nefarious late night activities. An irksome interaction with a particularly entitled guest leads him down a path of self-destruction and completely unhinged behaviour, which is deliciously portrayed in every episode. As Armond unravels, the guests around him unravel too, taking the story from category: consumable to category: oh my god, what the hell is going on?!

In season 2, Valentina is the super-bitch resort manager who doesn’t mince her words and wears her temper on her sleeve — a stark contrast to Armond’s amiable personality. But we learn Valentina is actually a softie when no one’s watching and a shy introvert when she doesn’t have tasks to do. Her loneliness is quite heart-tugging, but it doesn’t last long as she allows herself to explore her sexuality and open up in ways she has not previously. Where Armond suffers tragic consequences by the end of season 1, Valentina finds herself more deeply by the end of season 2. Both hide behind their jobs, and both have a complicated relationship with their sexuality. Both have dual personalities and can be borderline scary. I wonder if that’s just an outcome of managing a resort like White Lotus.

Chelsea and Saxon - Antithesis of each other

I have to begin this section by asking, if someone tells you that you are soulless, what is your first reaction going to be? Anger, denial or dismissal, right? Introspection may follow later, and it's a big if. When Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) tries to make a move on Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) after they’ve both consumed drugs, Chelsea turns him down. The next morning, he asks her why, and she tells him that sleeping with him would be an “empty experience” for her because she’s deeply in love with Rick, and she thinks Saxon is “soulless.” Instead of taking it personally, as we’d expect to do given what we’ve seen of him so far (protein-shake drinking, lecherous dude-bro who lives off of daddy’s wealth), Saxon goes on an introspective journey and starts reading books on meditation as recommended by Chelsea. His arc is inspiring and phenomenally refreshing.

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Chelsea’s interactions with a guy like Saxon show us that she’s perhaps been with her fair share of f*ckbois before she met Rick and fell deeply in love. Ultimately, that love proves to be tragic for her, but she holds her relationship with Rick very close to her heart. It’s easy to look at her as stupid in love or naive, but behind her “sweet girl” image, there’s a goldmine of feminine experience. My favourite moment is right in the beginning when she goads Rick to get a facial because someone called him her father at the airport. Here she is dealing with a mysterious man who goes on an Indiana Jones-type expedition to find his father’s killer, when all she really wants to do is tan, chill and spend time with her partner. When she’s on the screen, it seems like it’s Chelsea’s world, and we’re all just living in it. And those are the best kind of characters.

The White Lotus is currently streaming on JioHotstar.