REVIEW: ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Episode 5 — “Full-Moon Party”

It’s an ominous night in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5, “Full-Moon Party.” Through the hubbub, fireworks, and embedded narratives, the central theme of this episode revolves around tests of faith and fate. Sometimes, faith and fate are depicted as being intertwined too.

Of the many White Lotus staff and guests, the ones who are being tested the most on this night of the Sonkran Festival (the Thai New Year) are Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey), Piper Ratliff (Sarah Catherine Hook), Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola), Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins), Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), and Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan).

While this night across The White Lotus Koh Samui resort is supposed to be a night of celebrations, many of its characters struggle to fix their problems. Instead, they create more and ignore them. For many of these problems, the various White Lotus staff and guests end up troubled, lost, or heading down a dangerous path. The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 is a well-crafted stage to set up the potentially bad things to come for some of these characters. But based on some of the decisions they have to make, there’s still a chance at redemption.

This episode is another exemplary showcase of creator Mike White’s intelligent storytelling and shows off his experience in good character writing. White’s understanding of the human psyche from his time on reality shows like The Amazing Race and Survivor rings true in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5. In this episode, numerous characters have important choices to make that could affect the rest of their lives—or poorly affect the rest of their trip.

Gaitok is in quite the dilemma in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5.

The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 picks up right back with Gaitok, who loses the gun after getting distracted by Mook. This is a pivotal dilemma for Gaitok because it creatively questions whether he can fulfill his duties well or not, determining whether his destiny is good for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Gaitok’s actions ripple to other characters, affecting the well-being of other staff members and guests. The importance of Gaitok’s misstep in losing the gun adds an elevated drama to the story because an unwell guest has a gun now. As the first episode teases gunshots being fired, this is a great callback to how the violence ensues.

With the Ratliffs, Tim, Victoria, and Piper’s faith is tested in this episode, but for different reasons. Piper reveals the true purpose of their family vacation, which makes Victoria question everything about Piper’s Buddhist studies. Victoria prays that her daughter will not lose the values that she and Tim taught Piper. Meanwhile, Tim is pushed to his mental breaking point, and Victoria’s lorazepam tablets are not there to save him anymore. He’s forced to pray to God to tell him what to do while Piper meditates on her decision to tell her parents the truth.

These three characters’ conversations discuss raw, real-life conversations on practicing different religions. More so, this episode has a unique way of showing a family member practicing a different faith than the rest of the family. While many of Victoria’s rebuttal lines play primarily for comedic purposes, they are also realistic in comparison to what an ignorant or uninformed parent could say. This is a superb decision from a scriptwriting standpoint for its faith-based commentary and how mental health affects one’s faith.

As for Saxon, Lochlan, Chelsea, and Chloe, they’re playing with their fates. While they are having fun, how far they go with the fun they’re having can detrimentally affect their fates. The tension between the four of them is built up really well in this episode. The music helps build this suspense, too, with a haunting and psychedelic score from Juan Cristóbal Tapia de Veer.

The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 offers a look at multi-faith families.

The other group of party animals in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 consists of Jaclyn’s group of gal pals, along with Valentin’s (Arnas Fedaravičius) two Russian childhood friends. Jaclyn’s fate is tested by how much she trusts her friends versus her ego and her lust for validation. By this episode’s end, Jaclyn’s character’s story blocks reveal her true nature—leaving off on a gut-wrenching cliffhanger.

Belinda’s fate is systematically more thrilling as the season progresses. With the reveal in Episode 1, the audience already knows her son Zion will be in trouble by the end of the week-long vacation. Her search for someone to believe her narrative on what really happened involving Tanya McQuoid’s (Jennifer Coolidge) death is also something expected to rachet up the suspense. Overall, the character writing for Belinda is amazing in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 because she decides to solve her issues practically first before going with what her heart tells her. Belinda’s decision-making skills are written believably, and her trial with her fate is more meaningful by the end of this episode.

Lastly, Rick’s conversation with his unnamed friend who lives in Bangkok is another great display of good scriptwriting and knowing when to let the actors go off on their monologue. Rick’s friend offers some advice and warning to Rick while giving the audience some colorful background information about this new character. Going back to previous themes from Episode 4, this is the third person to warn Rick about the dangerous path he’s going on—the first being Chelsea and the second being Dr. Amrita (Shalini Peiris).

The conversation on faith is significant to the plot because Rick’s friend explains how he found a better life through practicing Buddhism. What makes Rick’s friend’s monologue and story integral to the plot is how crazy the story is, but it distracts from the core message that’s not so transparent. It’s a poignant choice that ambiguously leaves off the conversation as to whether Rick understood what his friend was trying to tell him.

The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 5 shows off a meticulous display of thought-provoking conversations on fate and faith and fate versus faith. While there’s nothing outstandingly special about this episode, it’s still a well-written one that greatly amplifies the suspense and drama. De Veer’s score continues to enhance the show’s visual experience. As this vacation is coming to a close, Season 3’s characters’ fates are heading down a dangerous path, especially with some of the debatable choices certain characters made in this episode.

All episodes of The White Lotus Season 3 are streaming now, exclusively on MAX, formerly HBO Max.

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