The White Lotus: The Complete Third Season - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

The White Lotus: The Complete Third Season



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
While I haven’t reviewed the first two seasons of The White Lotus on the site, I’ve been avidly following the show for the last three years, as it has turned out to be one of the better HBO shows in quite some time. I became burned out on HBO's “adult” shows over the last 10-12 years, as the luster of having dark, adult-driven dramas that all mirrored Game of Thrones (to an extent) and their dark nihilism became overwhelming. It was to the point where every HBO show felt the same. Show some dark murder, amp the “filthy” language up to level 11, and show boobs in EVERY episode. Rinse, repeat, hopefully whatever show it is gets as popular as GOT was in its heyday. So color me surprised when The White Lotus comes out and it sort of defies the genre mold, while still being heavily adult. The show is almost like True Detective in that it showcases new leads every season, but also brings back originals in a rotating roster that feels fresh and a bit familiar at the same time.

The series plot centers around dark comedy, with a satirical bite, that aims directly at the dysfunction and corruption of the elites and wealthy in society. Each season starts with a murder, then takes place over a single week at the luxurious White Lotus resort. Each story looks deeper at the hypocrisy and fake veneer of the wealthy clientele, while having a bit of fun at their expense. That out of the way, we return to the White Lotus as a wellness resort in Thailand, and a whole new host of wealthy guests with their own brand of trauma to make things spicy. The ensemble cast adds some wonderful character dynamics here, with Walton Goggins becoming the focal point of the show (even when he’s not meant to, Walton Goggins somehow manages to be the star of everything that he’s in), and the series dives into a world of self-destruction and paranoia.

Carrie Coon delivers a knockout role as Laurie, the powerful lawyer who struggles with her own successes and the subsequent failures in her personal life, while Leslie Bibb is deliciously disgusting as the hyper cheerful gossip queen who sticks her nose in EVERYBODY’s business. But underneath that cheerful and smiling persona is a woman who hides genuine cruelty and casual brutality as she demonstrates how her own privilege blinds her to the people around her. But while Walton Goggins steals the season as Rich, Michelle Monaghan acts as the balance point to his obsessively negative character (Walton Goggins has admitted in the extras that he had an absolutely miserable time filming the season, as he couldn’t get away from the bitter nature of the character he was playing, and sort of adopted Rick’s negativity as his own to play the character properly), with the a complex look at a celebrity who has to hide herself from the rest of the fawning population who only wants to see the celebrity image that she has to put forth.

I won’t spoil the murder or the revelations that happen this season, but I need to say the 3rd year is probably some of the best writing the show has benefited from. Setting itself apart from its “Sicily” and “Hawaii” themed previous seasons, this one gets an exotic flair with the on-location Thailand shoot, and the exotic nature sort of fuels the cravings and the depravities of the guests in a way. The entire show feels like an out-of-body experience, with The Twilight Zone (original, not Jordan Peele’s remake) showing some strong influence in textural bits. However, it’s really the Ratliff family that takes the twisted nature of the show up a heavy notch, with patriarch Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) delivering one of the most chilling performances of the show. Not to mention the social commentary of how Western tourists approach Eastern resorts, and the sort of arrogance and “holier than thou” attitudes showcasing just how out of touch people can be.

I could go on and on about the characters, as the ensemble cast is absolutely enormous, but I will round this review out by saying that “nothing is as it seems,” and the cast gives it their all. Rick could have been a very one-dimensional scapegoat character, but Goggins brings such an intensity and rawness to Rick that he becomes one of the most nuanced characters of the show. Jason Isaac’s is nothing short of jaw-dropping as always (the man has a knack for playing twisted characters), and while I’d love to divulge more of the season, you really need to SEE IT rather than hear me rave.



Rating:

Rated TV-MA by the MPAA




Video:

I’m actually severely disappointed that The White Lotus hasn’t gotten a Blu-ray or 4K release despite streaming that way on HBO Max, but at least it’s still consistently coming out on DVD. Despite my nerdy pouting over no HD or UHD release, the DVD release still looks quite pleasant for 480p. The digitally shot production looks clean and clear of any major artifacting; however, some compression issues do crop up with banding and MPEG-2 blocking every once in a while. The 1.78:1 framed transfer showcases the beautiful Thai locations, with a heavy sepia and gold-infused color palette. Fine details are good enough, but still DVD quality, and at times, I felt the black levels would crush a bit too much. Overall, it’s a pleasing looking transfer for DVD limitations.









Audio:

The singular 5.1 Dolby Digital track does the job well with very few stumbles, and with the typical 448 kbps audio sounds good enough. Like most DVD tracks, it will fall short of a good lossless mix, but the show is a fairly drama-heavy mix that focuses on dialog and ambient nature for most of the surround usage, so it’s not going to try and compete on an action-heavy front. Dialog is crisp and clear as expected, though I found some of the effects to be a bit thinner than I’d like. Fidelity is all around pleasant, leaving me with the decision to rate this a 4/5 audio mix, as it does everything well without standing out (part of that is due to sound design, part due to the limited nature of lossy, compressed audio).












Extras:

• Unpacking
• Invitation To Set: Welcome To Thailand
• Get To Know
• Thai Tea
• Closet Tour - A look at the wardrobe closet with star Michelle Monaghan and costume designer Alex Bovaird.

Final Score: ​

The White Lotus is fast becoming my favorite ensemble show, and I’m hoping that the long-term status of the show doesn’t start to fall apart like True Detective did past the first couple of seasons. So far, it has managed to keep strong storytelling at the front of things and not suffered many of the pitfalls of True Detective, so we’ll see. Season 3 sadly doesn’t get a Blu-ray release, but the DVD release is solid enough. It actually sports some decent extras, and the video/audio quality is solid. I hate to be the one to recommend a DVD over a 4K or 1080p image, but the HBO MAX (or whatever they’re calling themselves now, Max has changed names so many times I can barely keep up), but the show is definitely worth owning rather than just renting or streaming a digital image. Great show, solid DVD release, solid extras, definitely worth checking out, no matter what format you enjoy it on. Great watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins
Created by: Mike White
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Warner Bros
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 514 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 9th, 2025

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

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[JStewart]

Great series!
The sets deserve the best possible video source, though.

 

[Michael Scott]

Great series!
The sets deserve the best possible video source, though.

yeah, sadly unless it's a super duper sci-fi show most HBO shows are getting the DVD treatment