This submit incorporates spoilers for “The White Lotus.”
Once we see Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) for the primary time in season 3 of “The White Lotus,” his latent anxiousness turns into instantly obvious. Because the boat carrying the friends slated to remain at The White Lotus’ Ko Samui department zooms in the direction of the shore, we discover Rick’s seen discomfort contrasted towards his girlfriend Chelsea’s (Aimee Lou Wooden) endearing optimism. Rick’s indifference in the direction of the resort’s pure magnificence and what it has to supply its friends pervades all through, hardly ever budging even when Chelsea gently coaxes him to unwind and have enjoyable. “What sort of chip does this man have on his shoulder?” we’re left to surprise, particularly when the facades worn by each different visitor are within the strategy of being unraveled.
The primary clue we get for parsing Rick’s guarded conduct is his disappointment when he learns that the resort proprietor’s husband, Jim Hollinger, just isn’t current on the resort. The proprietor, Sritala (Lek Patravadi), turns into the focal point throughout her brief keep as she is a neighborhood movie star who additionally pioneered the resort’s well being program. Rick’s demeanor turns into particularly alert each time Sritala is round, hinting at some form of reality that he desires to get to by discovering a chance to speak to her. Effectively, this chance does arrive in episode 3, the place Rick approaches Sritala whereas pretending to be a producer within the leisure enterprise who desires to introduce her to a director. A gathering with Stritala is organized in Bangkok, however Rick’s true intentions are nonetheless stored beneath wraps.
That’s, till Chelsea confronts Rick about his impromptu Bangkok journey in “Conceal or Search.” With every thing we’ve got realized about Rick’s previous thus far, it turns into clear that the Bangkok meet-up is part of a revenge plan rooted in grief. Let’s dive deeper into Rick’s motivations behind visiting The White Lotus, Thailand.
Rick’s sense of self hinges on his thirst for revenge in The White Lotus
Throughout Rick’s wellness classes with Amrita (Shalini Peiris), he reveals that he has all the time felt like a non-entity after his father’s supposed homicide and his mom’s subsequent demise. “Nothing comes from nothing,” he states, after Amrita urges him to achieve into his psyche and seek for a motive to let go of his painful previous. Afterward, Amrita gently tells Rick that he doesn’t must be caught as he can “escape the karmic cycle” and that she has hope for him. Though Rick appears conflicted, he defaults to his grief and rage and solely opens up when Chelsea confronts him about this throughout Gary/Greg’s (Jon Gries) bizarre yacht social gathering.
Rick strongly believes that Jim Hollinger (Sritala’s husband) killed his father, whom Rick perceives to be a superb man punished for standing up for what’s proper. Rick’s journey to Thailand was prompted by the idea that Jim can be on the White Lotus, however as the person is now in Bangkok, he decides to confront his father’s killer there. After studying the reality, Chelsea is as candy and empathetic as all the time, embracing him to convey that she understands, although she’s terribly nervous about him. In any case, Rick did not witness his father’s demise, and his lifelong intention to seek out Jim stems from his mom’s remaining phrases earlier than her demise.
This can be a burden Rick has been carrying since his youth, which has knowledgeable his bleak, existential outlook in the direction of life. He feels empty and damaged by this unresolved grief and lack of closure, unable to present himself absolutely, even to those that love him with out situations. This explains his complicated relationship with Chelsea, whom he appears to genuinely love and look after, regardless of coming off as grumpy and aloof. He is absent even when he is bodily there along with her, his thoughts ceaselessly preoccupied by a gnawing sense of unfinished enterprise.
Will Rick get his revenge with out repercussions, or is a few sort of unsavory twist going to change every thing? Effectively, solely future episodes of “The White Lotus” can present us with these intriguing solutions.
Episodes of “The White Lotus” season 3 drop each Sunday on HBO.
