The Prestige TV Podcast
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 3 Deep Dive and Theories: Trumpism in the Friend Group
Wed, 05 Mar 2025
Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney react to the unraveling of Tim Ratliff (6:29), Trump playing a role in this season (20:33), and Walton Goggins finally turning on the con man charm (29:36). Plus, some "nice guy" talk about Gaitok (38:53) and, with the inclusion of Parker Posey following Jennifer Coolidge, which Christopher Guest character actor do we want to see in Season 4 (50:16)? Email us! [email protected] Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel here for full episodes of ‘The Prestige TV Podcast’ and so much more! Try Coffee mate Creamers Now: http://coffeemate.com Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney Producers: Kai Grady and Donnie Beacham Jr. Video Supervision: John Richter Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: How does 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Episode 3 explore dreams and anxieties?
We're here to talk about White Lotus, Season 3, Episode 3, The Meaning of Dreams. Rob, how are you doing?
I'm doing great. I don't have any dreams of note to mark down as far as to parse their meaning. Do you have any dreams you want to pick apart today?
Gosh, no. We've already been through Rob Mahoney Anxiety Dream Corner on a different pod. That's true. We've already talked about that. Do I have a recurring anxiety dream?
Well, let me ask you this. Saxon brings up the very primal idea of having nightmares about fire and snakes. I can't say I've ever had a nightmare about fire and snakes. Are you a snake dreamer?
No, I'm not a snake dreamer, but what a fun thing that would to be. No, I can't remember my dreams and I think that's a blessing. I think mostly my dreams are like awkward, socially anxious interactions. I think those are my usual nightmares. Nothing primal or elemental or anything like that. Do you know?
Exactly. Yeah, you're approaching people you think may have murdered a woman you met several years ago and they give you a blank stairwell in response. That's the kind of nightmare you have.
But do you think Belinda knows that you're talking about Belinda and our guy Greg Gary? Of course. Not my guy, your guy. Not my guy.
Nobody's guy.
Chloe's guy, Greg Gary. Do you think Belinda knows about what happened to Tonya?
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Chapter 2: What role does the collective unconscious play in 'The White Lotus'?
do you have a theater kid background no of course not yeah absolutely not but um yeah that's you are good at basketball and i am not we all have our talents okay um We already talked about the dreams. This is the name of the episode. We open with Victoria Ratliff's dream.
I want to talk to you about this concept of the collective unconscious, which is what Piper and Vicky are talking about when they're talking about the dreams, or mostly Piper is talking about. Any thoughts or feelings on the collective unconscious?
Just broadly speaking? Pro if it exists. Ambiguous to me if it does. But I'm open to the possibility.
This is like a Carl Jung joint, a Jungian idea.
And I have to say, Jung really went off with this one. Really, really knew what he was doing.
He showed out and he showed up. And I love that for him. This idea of the collective unconscious is common to all human beings. He believed the collective unconscious is responsible for a number of deep seated beliefs and instincts such as spirituality, sexual behavior and life and death.
So, it's, it's more about the nature, but this versus nurture, but this idea that your nature is somehow passed down through the generations it's sort of imprinted on you. And I think that's really interesting to think about especially in terms of what we talked about last week in terms of
the roles or the identities or the positions that these people find themselves in and can they break out of them or can they not? Can Piper be different from her family or is she doomed to just be Ratliffian like the rest of her life? What about these lessons that Vicky has to impart on them about what does or does not designate a trashy rich person?
You know, like these are all, you know, important questions. Can you can you correct your posture to break out of your people pleaser status? Like all of this idea is really rich inside of the Mike White universe.
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Chapter 3: Why is Tim Ratliff's behavior unraveling in 'The White Lotus'?
Would do, have done, not my preference, but I think it depends on the size of the pill.
There's something just really uncomfortable to me watching Tim just sort of snap his head back as he dry swelled the pill. I don't know.
For me, it was much more him putting the pill on a hotel couch cushion and then putting it directly in his mouth. That was what stuck out to me about that sequence.
Yeah. Tim Ratliff. is making great use of the outdoor shower at the villa.
But it's not a good sign if you're taking slow motion showers as far as your overall state of mind.
I really agree. How do you feel about an outdoor shower from Mahoney?
I mean, only as an application post-pool or post-ocean. As like a general daily practice, I don't really see it for myself.
Feels too vulnerable to you, do you think?
Yeah, I'm open to some windows, but I want a closed environment.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of Trumpism in 'The White Lotus' friend group?
But like it's cool to see all of these different ways in which it is naturally two versus one in every possible direction within this friend group. And that only works if it feels balanced. If you're going to create this dynamic like you could write the show around having a very clear in group out group.
But it's more interesting if it's sort of a revolving door and one of them is always feeling a little bit left out of whatever is happening.
I think what I have my eye on most inside of this group in terms of things I'm worried about or suspicious about. Yeah. Is Jacqueline has had a few speeches now that seem very much like a I'm a girl's girl kind of speech, like talking about the patriarchal nature of religion or that and the other thing.
A lot of masculine feminine in this episode, like very directly called out.
Yeah. Yeah. I don't trust that Jacqueline Lemon is a girl's girl at the end of the day. I do not think that that is her energy at all. And I'm worried about the way in which she's pushing Valentina on this story. And I'm worried about how that is all going to shake out at the end of the day.
It feels like a real swooping in situation for Jacqueline, potentially. I liked what you mentioned, Joe, on the Sunday pod about the flex of Jacqueline here. It's not just pushing Lori, but let me help you set this up. Let me make this happen for you. Not dissimilar from what Saxon is doing with Lockie, right? Like all hands on deck. Like, I'm going to hook you up.
I'm going to show you how to do this. And the dynamic between the two women is a little different, but it is very much like pushing in a way that feels like projecting, in a way that feels like Jacqueline really wants to sleep with Valentin. And you can imagine a scenario where maybe Lori does get some confidence. Maybe she does end up pursuing Valentin.
100%.
But in all of this... Laurie is feeling like a little tentative at the beginning of this episode about that very idea. She talks about how, you know what, he probably wouldn't even want it anyway, Joe. He probably wouldn't be interested in someone like me.
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Chapter 5: How does Walton Goggins' character evolve in this episode?
That's true.
She's just like, she has sort of successfully hidden her, Her life behind this like very bubbly, outgoing, not persona, because I do think that's actually who she is, but just sort of like the way she moves through the world. She's asking other people about themselves and she's got this insatiable curiosity, which means she doesn't ever have to talk about herself.
Right.
Which is really interesting.
Kind of kind of a different different breed of people pleaser from Lockie. There's like the version where you try to like mediate conflict or step out of it in the way he does. And she is a de-escalator in a totally different way. Like she can bring people together. She can talk them down. She can make Rick perk up in spots here and there in a way that no one else can.
Bless Chelsea and her presence on this show. It's wonderful every single time. And in very good spirits for someone who just got bitten by a fucking liberated Cobra Cobra.
And then she made it to dinner. Yeah. I mean, no problem. If it were me, I would simply not be leaving the room.
Nope.
The dinner would be coming to me. Bill very, very, I think, correctly identified me as someone who seems like they should know things about astrology.
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