After a long night of partying, things get WEIRD for the Ratliff brothers in ‘White Lotus’ episode 5

While most episodes of “The White Lotus” roughly follow one day of vacay for the hapless luxury travelers, episode 5 of the third season of this sprawling Mike White-created series lingers on the night of the Full Moon party in Thailand, with Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff getting dangerously close to some pretty icky territory.

While most episodes of “The White Lotus” roughly follow one day of vacay for the hapless luxury travelers, episode 5 of the third season of this sprawling Mike White-created series lingers on the night of the Full Moon party in Thailand, with Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff getting dangerously close to some pretty icky territory. The Ratliff boys accompany Chloe and Chelsea – both solo, since ‘Gary’ had to stay home to “do something important,” and Rick headed to Bangkok for similarly nefarious-sounding reasons – to the party, where bucketloads of drinks abound and Chloe scores some party drugs. Saxon at first resists the narcotic temptation, much like his father did, but soon gives into peer pressure (…much like his father did too, to woeful results). After an inebriated night of dancing and sky gazing, the foursome are back on the boat, where a bottle of alcohol is passed around and we see Chloe and Chelsea urged to kiss. Then it’s Chloe and Lochlan’s turn (this, after Chloe previously mentioned her interest in the “little magician”). Then… Lochlan and Saxon are urged to kiss, at first with a peck. Somehow that’s not good enough, and the peck becomes a real kiss. NO! But yes, it happens. The partying extends to the traveling ‘blonde blob,’ who are back on Koh Samui with White Lotus staffer Valentin and his Russian cohorts. After some alcohol-fueled clubbing, the group ends up back at the resort, where they all jump into the pool in various states of undress. After Laurie drunkenly begins venting about her life – which includes troubles at her law firm and the fact that she has to pay palimony – the night ends for everyone except Jaclyn, who surreptitiously summons Valentin back into the villa and into her bed (THIS, after spending the first half of the season valiantly urging her single friend Laurie to be the one to bed him). That’s low, Jac. Meanwhile (and it’s a big meanwhile) in Bangkok, Rick meets up with his old buddy Frank, played by Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell in a surprise cameo. After he hands Rick a bag containing another gun (lots of those this season!), Frank launches into an absolutely bonkers monologue about his sexual compulsions and how he got off the “never-ending carousel of lust and suffering.” You gotta hear it to believe it. Let’s see, what else? Oh right, there’s Belinda, who is getting increasingly freaked out by Gary/Greg’s interest in her, and rightfully so. While Fabian dismisses her panicked attempt to call “all the police” in Thailand, the US and Italy, Pornchai is more attentive to her needs… to the point where he stays over in her villa, and her bed, to help her feel safe. That’s right, almost everyone gets a piece in this episode. “Confidence, Loch. That’s how you get people to do what you want. Because most people don’t know what they want, and a lot of them – here’s a little secret – they just want to be used.” ~the world according to Saxon Ratliff