The White Lotus Keeps Falling Into the Same Trap

This is only the third season of Mike White’s HBO anthology series.

New characters rotate in the replacement cast of a long-running play.

Among the guests this time are a trio of childhood friends whose lives have taken them in different directions.

The show has the shape of satire, but it has the.

The White Lotus began as an Upstairs Downstairs parable of economic exploitation.

The third season ’s native characters are barely an afterthought, especially Tayme Thapthimthong's Gaitok , a sweet-hearted, simple-minded security guard.

The show has fallen into the same trap, switching up the scenery but retracing its steps.