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Episode 8 “Amor Fati” Details

• Available On: HBO Max
• Public Release Date: April 7, 2025
• Director(s): Mike White
• Writer(s): Mike White

Episode 8 “Amor Fati” Recap (With Spoilers)

Sometimes It’s Best To Keep Your Mouth Shut: Valentin, Gaitok, Mook, Belinda, Gary, Zion, Pornchai

Despite previous reservations, with Zion able to negotiate $5 million from Gary/Greg, Belinda decides she can be bought. This means no justice for Tanya, but also, in coming into money quickly, and feeling she should disappear, this means Belinda doing to Pornchai what Tanya did to her, and leaving him high and dry after getting his hopes up. But, despite breaking the man’s heart, she is happy and smiling with her son as the two leave The White Lotus alive.

As for Gaitok? Well, with him talking about quitting, you can see Mook increasingly having no interest in Gaitok with every conversation. But, what is Gaitok to do? He knows Valentin robbed the resort, he doesn’t have it in him to tell, and he would rather avoid conflict than face Valentin every day. However, when he tries to quit, his boss stops him, and this leads to someone dying.

One Last Hoorah!: Tim, Victoria, Lochlan, Piper, Saxon, Laurie, Kate, Jaclyn

This is it for Tim. Piper returns from her time with the monks, noting how she can’t live without air conditioning, the stains on the beds, and this seals her fate in Tim’s eyes. Luckily, Lochlan seems like he’d be okay living an everyday, working-class life, so everyone doesn’t have to die, but Tim was prepared to kill them all – and almost did.

Using the seed from the tree fruits, Tim was going to poison his family, but just as Saxon was about to take a notable sip of the deadly pina coladas, Tim threw a fit, pretending the coconut milk wasn’t right for a celebration toast, and that ended his attempts at a murder/suicide.

However, the following day, Lochlan makes a protein smoothie with the same blender and almost dies. Luckily for him, he vomits a bit, but lives. Now, does Tim confess to almost killing his entire family? No. However, all of them do make it out of the resort alive, though with their electronic devices back, Tim preps them for the worst that is to come.

Which leads us to the dynamic trio. Like Gaitok, Laurie doesn’t say what you’d expect. When it comes to Aleksei trying to pressure her into giving him money, she sleeps the morning away and doesn’t tell Kate or Jaclyn what happened. Instead, she reaffirms her love for both, discusses her broken belief system and faith, and recounts her journey to find something to believe in. And ultimately, all things come to a close with the childhood friends leaving The White Lotus alive.

Buddha Tried To Warn You: Rick, Chelsea, Sritala, Jim, Gaitok, Frank

So, who dies then? The answer is Jim, Rick, and Chelsea. To make a long story short, Rick leaves Frank in Bangkok, where he is in the throes of a full-on relapse, before getting back on the wagon. Rick then heads to the resort and reunites with Chelsea, which seems like a strange decision. Especially to linger at the resort of a man whose life he just threatened.

To make matters worse, Jim sees him as Sritala goes to get pictures with Jaclyn, and Jim insults Rick’s mother by calling her anything but a child of God. This brings Rick back to a place where he feels he has to do or say something to Jim, after he had felt free from Jim’s grasp. So, while Sritala is getting her photo op, Rick gets Jim’s gun and shoots him dead in the chest, causing the shootout we heard in episode 1.

In this shootout, Rick is lucky enough to take out Jim and Sritala’s bodyguards, but they take out Chelsea. In all this commotion, Gaitok investigates, with the gun from his station, and being that Rick is only focused on Chelsea being shot and dying, he doesn’t care about Gaitok aiming his gun at him or Sritala yelling for Gaitok to shoot him. I mean, on top of Chelsea’s death, Sritala also reveals that Jim is Rick’s father. So that man is completely zoned out and doesn’t make much, if any, noise when Gaitok shoots and kills him.

All’s Well That Ends Well

By the end of the episode, the following is confirmed:

• Chelsea, Rick, and Jim are dead.
• Sritala is alive and with her two bodyguards dead, Gaitok has been promoted, and it seems Mook couldn’t be happier for him, and them. However, whether they are official or not remains unclear.
• Valentin and his friends likely didn’t meet justice, as it seems Gaitok kept their crime to himself.
• Gary/Greg is alive and well, with Chloe finding someone he can watch her have sex with in front of him.
• Belinda is now a multi-millionaire thanks to Zion, and mainly focused on being rich with no thoughts about that spa or working whatsoever. Never mind, like Tanya did to her, she has left Pornchai behind and is focused on herself.
• Timothy, Victoria, Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan are alive, and aware of Timothy’s crimes, but not the full extent of how that will affect their lives.
• Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie are alive and still friends, with Laurie not mentioning what Aleksei tried to do and mending her relationship with Jaclyn and Kate, even before Rick started shooting.
• Frank, after drinking and falling into old habits with sex workers, has gotten back into praying and his faith, and seemingly, he will be okay.

“The White Lotus” Character Guide

Review and Commentary

Highlights

• Zion and Belinda’s Relationship [83/100]

Low Points

• Who Got To Live Or Die [64/100]

On The Fence

• How Drained You Feel Afterwards [73/100]
• Some Stories Go Unresolved [74/100]

Overall

Our Overall Rating [73/100]

I think the hardest thing to accept about any murder mystery movie or show is that you likely won’t get what you want. Of all the people, did I want Chelsea to die? Heck no. She was bubbly, weird, the only one who didn’t say or do something wrong, really, but doesn’t that make her the best target? Doesn’t making bad things happen to good people rile up an audience?

Lest we forget, Mike White likes a reaction, and justice isn’t on the menu. After all, he killed off Jennifer Coolidge, despite her putting “The White Lotus” into not only awards conversation but also keeping it in rotation online, from memes to catchphrases. So, who are these other people? We’re lucky that Belinda and Zion didn’t catch a stray bullet; never mind that they got to ride off into the sunset happy, and are probably one of the cutest mother-son relationships you’ve ever seen.

Heck, there’s all this talk of a spin-off for Victoria, which I don’t personally understand, but I’d like to see more of Belinda and Zion’s dynamic. Mainly because it is very Black-coded, and not something you see too often, especially between an adult mother and son.

But, what is the Buddhist saying, “It’s attachment to expectations that causes suffering,” right? Maybe that’s why we’re a bit drained from all that happens and a bit peeved that some things went unresolved, felt very last-minute, or didn’t have an outright answer. Jim, being Rick’s dad, for example, felt like it was pulled out of someone’s behind as a last-minute shocker. Valentin and Aleksei’s storyline ending with a whimper? That stunk. Heck, Gaitok deciding to become a bodyguard just when he was about to quit security altogether? You understand it was likely to secure Mook, but does that make you feel okay about how his story ends? For me, not really.

This is why we appreciate how long it takes for shows like “The White Lotus” to come back. Yes, a lot of what we’re saying is complaints and frustrations, but a lot of it stems from not having the comedy that past seasons had, not feeling invested in most of the characters throughout the entire season, and the utter avoidance of a comeuppance. It all makes for a frustrating end, and yet, we’ll be back for season 4. For even with rating this episode a 73, a 73 for “The White Lotus” would be a mid to high 80 for damn near any other show.

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