So, we finally hit the midway point. If you’ve been keeping up with the chaos in Thailand, you know that Mike White has a specific way of cranking the handle on a pressure cooker until the steam starts screaming. In The White Lotus season 3 episode 5 AV Club discussions, the consensus is pretty clear: things just went from "awkward vacation vibes" to "genuine spiritual and moral crisis."
The episode, titled "Full-Moon Party," aired on March 16, 2025. Honestly, it’s the kind of TV that makes you want to crawl under your coffee table while simultaneously reaching for another glass of wine. We’ve moved past the initial "is Greg a murderer?" theories—mostly—and into a territory that feels much more like a Shakespearean tragedy wrapped in a neon-lit rave.
The Ratliff Family is Cracking Wide Open
Let’s talk about the Ratliffs. For weeks, we’ve watched Jason Isaacs play Timothy Ratliff as this "perfect" patriarch who is clearly one minor inconvenience away from a total breakdown. In episode 5, he basically hits the "F-it" button. While his wife Victoria (the legend Parker Posey) is busy sobbing about their daughter Piper’s plan to stay in Thailand and join what she thinks is a sex cult, Timothy is off in the corner of his own despair.
There’s a moment in this episode that the AV Club review highlighted as particularly brutal. Timothy was genuinely contemplating suicide until Victoria walked in. Watching him pivot from that dark ledge to suddenly praying is one of the most jarring tonal shifts we’ve seen this season. Is it a genuine religious awakening? Or is he just grabbing onto the nearest life raft because he can’t handle the fact that his family is wealthy, miserable, and fundamentally disconnected?
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Then there are the sons. Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola). That kiss. It’s the kind of scene that makes you double-check if you actually saw what you thought you saw. It’s disturbing, sure, but it fits into Mike White’s obsession with how extreme privilege and isolation lead to truly bizarre, boundary-crossing behavior. They’re high, they’re lost, and they’re acting out in the most dysfunctional way possible.
The "MILF Trio" and the Russian Connection
While the kids are losing their minds at the festival, the "gal pal" trio—Laurie (Carrie Coon), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), and Kate (Leslie Bibb)—are having their own version of a mid-life meltdown. They head out to a club with Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius) and his Russian crew.
Carrie Coon is, as always, a powerhouse here. Laurie is usually the "sane" one, the corporate lawyer from NYC who has it all together. But seeing her in this environment? She’s realizing she has no religion, no love, and honestly, she’s not even sure she likes her career. She tells the group, "I don't need religion or God because time gives it meaning." It’s a cold line. It’s also very White Lotus.
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The Tension is the Point
A lot of people complained that the pacing of this season started slow. But look at episode 5. The AV Club’s Manuel Betancourt pointed out how "propulsive" this episode felt. You have:
- Jaclyn dancing sensually with Valentin while Kate looks on with a mix of judgment and envy.
- Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) getting increasingly chaotic on drugs.
- Rick (Walton Goggins) heading to Bangkok to confront some ghosts from his past.
It’s messy. It’s also incredibly stressful. Screen Rant even published an op-ed saying they couldn't believe "nothing actually happened" despite the unbearable tension. But that’s the trick, isn't it? The show builds the dread so high that when the credits roll and no one has died yet, you feel like you’ve survived a car crash.
Belinda and the Ghost of Seasons Past
The return of Natasha Rothwell as Belinda is the anchor we didn't know we needed. She’s in Thailand on an exchange program, trying to find her "dream" again after Tanya McQuoid (RIP Jennifer Coolidge) shattered it in Hawaii.
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In episode 5, Belinda starts putting pieces together about a certain guest—likely Greg/Gary (Jon Gries). She tells the hotel manager, Fabian (Christian Friedel), about her suspicions. Watching her try to explain the "murder gays" plot from Season 2 to a confused Fabian was honestly the funniest part of the hour. "I'll send you a link," she says. It’s meta, it’s hilarious, and it reminds us that the trauma of the previous seasons still lingers in the water of these resorts.
What This Means for the Finale
As we move toward the final episodes, the stakes are absurdly high. Rick is meeting with Frank (played by Sam Rockwell) in Bangkok to discuss a plan that involves Jim Hollinger. We know a death is coming—we saw the body in the premiere. The question is: who is on the slab?
Is it Timothy, whose "suicidal instinct" might return? Is it one of the brothers after their drug-fueled night? Or does Greg finally get what’s coming to him?
Key Takeaways from Episode 5:
- Spirituality as a Mask: Characters are using "religion" (Piper) or "prayer" (Timothy) to hide from their actual problems.
- The Cost of Privilege: The Ratliffs are a case study in how having everything can lead to wanting to destroy everything.
- Belinda’s Agency: This time, Belinda isn't just a therapist for rich people; she’s an active player who might actually be the one to bring the hammer down.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the theories, check out the post-episode threads on Reddit or the deep-dive recaps over at the AV Club. They’ve been tracking the musical cues from composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, which are always a dead giveaway for who is in trouble.
Next Steps:
If you haven't yet, go back and re-watch the opening scene of the season. Now that we know about Timothy's mental state and the brothers' "incident," the clues in that first 5-minute flash-forward start to look a lot different. Pay close attention to Sritala’s reaction when the body is found—it might tell you more than the dialogue does.