Mike White, We Need to Talk – This The White Lotus S3 Arc Is Officially the Worst
While other characters are having affairs, betrayals, or at least interesting meltdowns, this man's biggest conflict is sitting and staring at the wall.
On the one hand, The White Lotus repeats the familiar recipe of a mysterious crime and shady characters every season. On the other hand, the different settings make it exciting to follow these twists and turns.
Each time viewers return to the cozy world of other people's misfortunes and are glad to see that even the rich can be in pain and that money is not the key to solving all problems.
Timothy Ratliff's Storyline Isn't Moving Forward at All
In Season 3, Mike White knows that the show has an established, loyal audience that will definitely make it to the finale, so he confidently chooses a leisurely pace. But some of these storylines are beyond the word leisurely. Yes, Timothy Ratliff, we are looking at you.
The White Lotus is known for its razor-sharp satire, chaotic rich people, and deeply uncomfortable dinner conversations. But then came Season 3, and with it, the inexplicable black hole of boredom known as the Timothy Ratliff storyline.
Who is Timothy Ratliff, you ask? Exactly. That's the problem.
Season 3 Irritates Even the Most Patient Viewers
It seems that Mike White forgot that he has to develop the characters. For seven episodes now, the head of the Ratliff family does nothing but sit on the couch with a blank face.
Even the fact that he stole the gun from Gaitok went nowhere – the guard just broke into the Ratliffs' room and took it back. As expected, fans are already losing patience, redditor Alarmed_Nectarine wrote:
“I find the pacing of this storyline very odd. [...] I'm fine with a slowburn, but they've burned so slow I do not have faith that there won't be a tonne of loose plot threads at the end.”
This stagnation of the character arc looks odd. It seems that White has put everything on the line for the final episode – but in an hour and a half of screen time, it is doubtful that all the storylines (of which there are many) can be brought to a logical conclusion.
Timothy Ratliff's Arc Is the Worst Character Development We've Seen on The White Lotus
Timothy Ratliff's storyline isn't just bad – it's an active drain on The White Lotus' usual brilliance. He's just a sleepwalking NPC who wanders into the frame and mumbles something about being okay (he's not okay).
Let's hope Season 4 brings us more murder, more mayhem, and zero Timothy Ratliffs. Please.
