S03.E05: Full-Moon Party

[peeayebee]

48 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I think she's pretty standard run of the mill college student trying to find her way in the world and break away from her family.  Yeah, she's rich, but I saw a lot of women in college (midwest state school, not richy rich college) break from "traditional" religions and try out new spiritual paths, usually either an Eastern religion or some sort of woo-woo earth mother stuff.  If I had Victoria for a mother, I'd be trying to find my exit plan, too.

Completely agree. I don't really get the criticism of Piper. Her family is awful, maybe with the exception of Lachlan, at least in Piper's eyes. Yes, Piper is privileged, and maybe she's taking it for granted, but she wants to change. She wants to find a better, more moral, kinder, deeper life. 

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I think she's pretty standard run of the mill college student trying to find her way in the world and break away from her family.  Yeah, she's rich, but I saw a lot of women in college (midwest state school, not richy rich college) break from "traditional" religions and try out new spiritual paths, usually either an Eastern religion or some sort of woo-woo earth mother stuff.  If I had Victoria for a mother, I'd be trying to find my exit plan, too.

Here's what I don't understand about rich white collar criminals...  why aren't they putting at least 1/2 of their ill-gotten gains in an untouchable account?  They know how to do this.  Tim's worried not only about going to jail, but about his family being destitute.  Geez, if they had $5 million in some off-shore/Swiss account, they could go hang in a foreign villa for a few years while you're in a cushy white collar Fed Med.  

Stupidity vanity and hubris. 

They think they'll never get caught or face consequences. 

And sadly, they are often correct. 

Id bet he kept get a good lawyer and do a few years of a cushy prison get out just fine.  

But he probably has no money saved or planned for so he'd be 'poor' , in a relative sense though more accurately 'not rich'  

 

[magdalene]

9 hours ago, chaifan said:

think she's pretty standard run of the mill college student trying to find her way in the world and break away from her family.  Yeah, she's rich, but I saw a lot of women in college (midwest state school, not richy rich college) break from "traditional" religions and try out new spiritual paths, usually either an Eastern religion or some sort of woo-woo earth mother stuff.  If I had Victoria for a mother, I'd be trying to find my exit plan, too.

Cry me a river and bring on the tiniest violins. That kind of privileged young woman has no clue what actual struggle, work and soul-killing compromise is. Her daddy will finance her little rebellion of "finding herself" and that will be that.

And anyone who believes having a mother like Victoria is the worst that can happen to you parent wise has lived a very sheltered life.

Now if her father actually blows his brains out and the family loses everything - then we can talk again about the poor little rich girl. Until then I save my empathy for someone deserving of it.

Edited Thursday at 10:28 PM by magdalene

[T Summer]

I was just about to post something slightly critical of Piper and wondering if   Tim would've  hidden some assets...

I don't fault Piper   for being born to rich parents and certainly not for wanting to be different from her Mum and Dad. Saxon is certainly  is no one to be admired, either. Lochlan?  remains a bit of a mystery, he didn't really behave strangely until this episode.

 

What I do fault her for is lying about the purpose of the trip. Just assuming that Dad being away from his company  at this particular time, and springing for 5 (most likely) first class airline tickets and hotel accommodations  was no  problem. For her to  go check out Thailand and meet  that religious man  she could've just gone alone or with a brother or a  friend.

Who begins a journey  on to  living a more virtuous life being  dishonest and entitled?

 

If I were Tim and decided to stick around and not do myself in, I know just which  member I'd  start with delivering the news  the family fortune is gone... Piper!   Better start working and saving for your trip to Thailand next year. 

...and Victoria, maybe you should  get that pill habit squared away  so  you   can   get a job. Someone so religious who does all that preaching is no doubt familiar with  the  vows: For better, for  worse. For richer, for poorer.

Wasn't it the older of the two brothers, Saxon who'd been asking Tim  what he could do in an earlier episode? He could stay behind and find out from Rick and Gary how to  get "this and that" poppin' in Thailand 😏  and  help Dad out with some  legal bills.

I too wonder if someone like Tim would have  money hidden somewhere, like in an offshore account? Or if all assets are now frozen? I'm not sure just how wealthy they're supposed to be. He  did make it sound like  10 mil wasn't much to make off one deal.🤔

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[magdalene]

The brothers incest isn't all that surprising given between GOT and HOTD MAX/HBO has made a lot of money titillating audiences with incest.

[Night Cheese]

I thought Piper wanted to go on this trip herself, but her parents were all, "let's make it a family vacation!!!" I may be misremembering, but I thought she told her parents she needed to go to Thailand for her senior thesis (lying about that as we know now and actually wanting to scope out a new lifestyle), and her parents decided to tag along and bring the whole family. I didn't get the impression that Piper was the one pushing a 5-Star family vacation to Thailand.

[T Summer]

13 minutes ago, Night Cheese said:

I thought Piper wanted to go on this trip herself, but her parents were all, "let's make it a family vacation!!!" I may be misremembering, but I thought she told her parents she needed to go to Thailand for her senior thesis (lying about that as we know now and actually wanting to scope out a new lifestyle), and her parents decided to tag along and bring the whole family. I didn't get the impression that Piper was the one pushing a 5-Star family vacation to Thailand.

You may be right, in which case i take back about half of that dishonest comment.

To tell you the truth, I've dozed off watching this mess a few times!

[aghst]

15 minutes ago, Night Cheese said:

I thought Piper wanted to go on this trip herself, but her parents were all, "let's make it a family vacation!!!" I may be misremembering, but I thought she told her parents she needed to go to Thailand for her senior thesis (lying about that as we know now and actually wanting to scope out a new lifestyle), and her parents decided to tag along and bring the whole family. I didn't get the impression that Piper was the one pushing a 5-Star family vacation to Thailand.

 

That's my recollection as well.

But remember, she was mocking the resort  for rich bohemian wannabes wanting to do yoga or something like that and later she's doing yoga in Lululemon pants.

[Night Cheese]

2 minutes ago, aghst said:

But remember, she was mocking the resort  for rich bohemian wannabes wanting to do yoga or something like that and later she's doing yoga in Lululemon pants.

Lol yeah, I won't argue that she's not a little spoiled, shallow, and/or vapid.

[Snewtsie]

On 3/19/2025 at 8:54 AM, Pi237 said:

The background music for this show is so intense, seeming to always be building up to something major. It hardly ever lets up, and gets more intrusive with each season.  And you rarely see anything that warrants it. It’ll cut to the next day, and everyone’s just sleeping in their beds or something. I guarantee if we watched this show without the sound effects, it would come off as a tedious soap opera in a lot of scenes. I don’t need nonstop massive reveals, but manipulating me into thinking every scene is a cliffhanger and then have it go nowhere is really getting annoying.
 

it’s the characters that keep my attention, but that’s where it’s falling behind the other seasons. Of course, Walton is killing it, and the 3 friends are so true to life, you can’t look away.  Belinda is annoying to me. She just walks around getting massages and looking scared and confused.  But she’s more tolerable than the security guard who always looks like he’s going to burst into tears. 
 

 

Thank you.  I feel ALL this... but especially the music.  I am really hating how there is rather boring dialog, but then we start to hear musical chimes (or drums or some sort of sound effect) to indicate "pay attention, something is happening here" - as if the show is spoonfeeding us like we are babies... and then nothing of importance actually happens. The post production team allowed the sound department to have a little too much power this season.

And yeah- I am really tired of the Belinda & Gaitok characters.  *Yawnsville*

[heatherchandler]

On 3/18/2025 at 7:34 PM, T Summer said:

Thank you

 

Is that a streaming service? I think I remember it being one, because I wanted to watch And Just Like That when it came out. One has to sign-in  and the person who's  account the  TV/phone/internet  service is in has forgotten her account user name + password. She's 90, btw. 

 

One day I'll have to see if I can get on a call with her and the company and see what we can do to straighten it out ...  but today I don't have the strength.

🙃

If you get Max, you get all the streaming stuff plus HBO stuff.  With HBO I don’t know if you automatically get Max.  You may…

 

1 hour ago, Snewtsie said:

Thank you.  I feel ALL this... but especially the music.  I am really hating how there is rather boring dialog, but then we start to hear musical chimes (or drums or some sort of sound effect) to indicate "pay attention, something is happening here" - as if the show is spoonfeeding us like we are babies... and then nothing of importance actually happens. The post production team allowed the sound department to have a little too much power this season.

And yeah- I am really tired of the Belinda & Gaitok characters.  *Yawnsville*

Yes nothing is happening!  
 

Same.  What is the point?

[maddie965]

Waking us up. They know we are all sleeping, hence the loud music...

Edited Friday at 12:17 AM by maddie965

[aghst]

I got Max access through a Comcast subscription to HBO.   They authenticate through your Comcast login.

But I dropped Comcast and got a  Max subscription directly.  I don't get the HBO channels but that's okay, HBO has better picture quality and they make the Extras easier to find.

Also, Max streaming gets you access to 4K and HDR streams, if you pay for their top tier.  I don't believe cable systems have 4K versions of HBO channels yet.

[SoMuchTV]

20 minutes ago, aghst said:

But I dropped Comcast and got a  Max subscription directly.  I don't get the HBO channels but that's okay, HBO has better picture quality and they make the Extras easier to find.

I’m not sure if this is the same thing, but I recently noticed I have “channels” on the MAX app. I always thought I had to wait till the next day to watch stuff like White Lotus and The Pitt, but it turns out I can watch at the same time as they’re airing on HBO. 

[T Summer]

Thank you for the responses!

 

Yes, we "get" Max free with Optimum / Altice service.

 

My issue accessing it is with signing in. Apparently  it has to be the Optimum username  (email) and password  of the person   the bill goes to. She's forgotten both.

There are two more household members with Optimum email addresses, but those  apparently can't be used to sign in to stream Max. I've tried.

 

I need to call the company and see what can be done. Somewhere along the way a 4 digit code got established for authenticating the account (when one calls) and she's forgotten that as well. I've begged her to record such info, even bought her a little book to put it in...😧

 

 

 

 

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/18/2025 at 9:19 AM, AG921 said:

Even as an undergrad she may be writing one. I wrote and presented an honors thesis when I was getting my bachelors degree. Other undergrads were part of a more formal honors program and were required too complete a thesis but even if you weren't in that program, you could still go through the process and graduate "with honors".

On 3/17/2025 at 11:10 PM, chaifan said:

They keep saying "thesis" in relation to Piper, but she's just an undergrad, right?  I equate thesis with a masters or doctorate, but she's too young for those. 

My undergraduate university had a required senior thesis. A graduate student would write a dissertation, although I acknowledge some people might call it a thesis.

Here's information on UNC's honor thesis: https://honorscarolina.unc.edu/research/senior-honors-thesis/

Piper is apparently not one of the 350 UNC seniors doing one, either because she did not meet the qualifications, or because she was not interested.

On 3/17/2025 at 7:10 PM, Snapdragon said:

And while I love Belinda (and that green dress she was wearing this episode), why is she asking for permission to call the police?  Just do it! 

I don't think that calling the Thai police to report that she thinks a very rich man wanted for questioning by the Italian police is living nearby would be safe. He'd deny it, and they'd have little motivation to do the research. Then she'd definitely be in trouble. The Italian authorities would be the only ones really interested. Or maybe a journalist who had written about the case. But still possibly dangerous to make waves while she's in Thailand. What if Greg got wind that the Italian police had contacted the Thai police? Or if a journalist tries to contact him? He'd assume it was Belinda, and possibly try to take her out before disappearing.

 

 

Edited Friday at 07:30 AM by ItCouldBeWorse

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/17/2025 at 11:51 AM, RunningMarket said:

Gaitok continues to be the worst security guard in history. All he needed to say to Tim was, "We have video proof of you stealing an item from this hotel." 

 

On 3/17/2025 at 3:37 PM, blackwing said:

Gaitok is such a timid mouse.  Why did he just sit there staring at Tim?  And then the mousy "I think you have something of mine".  Huh?  Just march over there, "excuse me sir, please come with me.  You were seen on camera stealing a gun from the security station."  He couldn't even do that.  Why is the show wasting so much time on him?

And if Tim denied it, what could Gaitok do next that wouldn't cost him his job? He certainly doesn't want Tim to complain about him accusing him of stealing the gun that shouldn't have been stealable. He has no leverage.

As an aside, we know Tim has the gun, but did the video actually show that, or did it just show Tim entering the security hut and immediately leaving with his hand in his pocket during the time that Gaitok was away?

On 3/17/2025 at 12:47 PM, MamaMax said:

And again, whoever is dressing Belinda, kudos. Her dress was gorgeous, the fabric was amazing

https://tomandlorenzo.com/2025/03/yea-or-nay-natasha-rothwells-belinda-lindsey-wears-several-prints-on-the-white-lotus/

https://wornontv.net/the-white-lotus/belinda-lindsey/

 

[MamaMax]

6 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

 

And if Tim denied it, what could Gaitok do next that wouldn't cost him his job? He certainly doesn't want Tim to complain about him accusing him of stealing the gun that shouldn't have been stealable. He has no leverage.

As an aside, we know Tim has the gun, but did the video actually show that, or did it just show Tim entering the security hut and immediately leaving with his hand in his pocket during the time that Gaitok was away?

https://tomandlorenzo.com/2025/03/yea-or-nay-natasha-rothwells-belinda-lindsey-wears-several-prints-on-the-white-lotus/

https://wornontv.net/the-white-lotus/belinda-lindsey/

 

OMG I was 100% gonna order the Johnny Was coverup, but DRAT! Sold out on my size!! 

[Blakeston]

On 3/21/2025 at 3:27 AM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

 

And if Tim denied it, what could Gaitok do next that wouldn't cost him his job? He certainly doesn't want Tim to complain about him accusing him of stealing the gun that shouldn't have been stealable. He has no leverage

 

Gaitok could have said, "I know you took it, there's video footage, and if you don't want your family to find out you stole it, and you don't want to get arrested, you'll hand the gun over right now."

It might not have worked - Tim might have just run back to his room and shot himself - but it would have at least been a decent effort.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

12 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Gaitok could have said, "I know you took it, there's video footage, and if you don't want your family to find out you stole it, and you don't want to get arrested, you'll hand the gun over right now."

It might not have worked - Tim might have just run back to his room and shot himself - but it would have at least been a decent effort.

Gaitok couldn't report the theft without losing his job. I doubt he could make that threat seem believable. He's just not confident enough.

Edited Sunday at 03:28 PM by ItCouldBeWorse

[SFoster21]

9 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Gaitok couldn't report the theft without losing his job. I doubt he could make that threat seen believable. He's just not confident enough.

Gaitok is in a nice bind; he's hog-tied.  And Tim is clever enough to realize that.

[peeayebee]

Yeah, Tim has the upper hand. He's an alpha dog who's cornered by the Feds closing in, so he would definitely bite back if poor Gaitok had made a real threat against him.

[Blakeston]

20 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Gaitok couldn't report the theft without losing his job.

The threat of revealing the truth to his family would have carried more weight.

That wasn't guaranteed to work, but it was absolutely pathetic that Gaitok didn't even try.

Edited Sunday at 11:57 PM by Blakeston

[KittyQ]

On 3/16/2025 at 8:13 PM, Blakeston said:

When Fabian said they couldn't contact the authorities because Greg is a guest, I wanted to scream at the TV, "No he isn't!" He and Chelsea just have a home near the hotel, right?

Greg/Gary probably spends lots of money there, even though he isn't an actual guest. 

Fabian seems like a pretty lame manager, if he can't be bothered to even understand that he shouldn't be sharing details of the employees with anyone, guest or not, and considers Belinda's information to be mere "gossip". 

[KittyQ]

14 hours ago, KittyQ said:

Fabian seems like a pretty lame manager, if he can't be bothered to even understand that he shouldn't be sharing details of the employees with anyone, guest or not, and considers Belinda's information to be mere "gossip". 

Now that I think about it - it seems that every season of The White Lotus has a resort manager who can be "problematical", even if they are not as out and out crazy as Armond became in Season 1. 

[AstridM]

1 minute ago, KittyQ said:

Now that I think about it - it seems that every season of The White Lotus has a resort manager who can be "problematical", even if they are not as out and out crazy as Armond became in Season 1. 

Problematical??

[KittyQ]

3 minutes ago, AstridM said:

Problematical??

I think they are, although perhaps that's just my opinion. Armond, of course, went on a drug bender and had that strange feud with a guest; Valentina lets her personal infatuation for an employee affect her judgement in assigning personnel to appropriate jobs, which made her less competent; now, Fabian seems to be willing to share personal details of an employee with someone who isn't even a guest at the resort and doesn't seem to care when Belinda tries to tell him that she feels unsafe. Granted, that Belinda's concerns might not seem "serious" from what she's sharing, without documentation, but he didn't even try to understand what she was talking about.