Warning! This article contains spoilers for The White Lotus season 3, episode 2.
An awkward scene in The White Lotus season 3, episode 2 took place between Parker Posey’s Victoria and Leslie Bibb’s Kate, resulting in a very rude conversation. The White Lotus season 3, episode 2’s ending meant bad news for the Ratliff family, with Timothy potentially heading for jail due to a money laundering scheme. This, as well as the increasingly strange sexual tension between the Ratliff siblings, promises darker futures for these specific members of The White Lotus season 3’s cast.
Of all the Ratliff family, perhaps the one focused on the least has been Parker Posey’s Victoria. Other than Victoria’s potential Lorazepam problems in The White Lotus season 3, she has received few scenes in comparison to her family members. However, one scene in The White Lotus season 3, episode 2 linked to Leslie Bibb’s Kate, who claimed to know her from a baby shower. The awkward scene involved Victoria being overly rude and dismissive to Kate, begging the question of why she reacted as such.
Victoria’s Reaction To Kate Was A Sign Of Her Substance Abuse
Victoria’s Drug Use Is More Than The Norm
As I have alluded to, one of the few elements that has been focused on regarding Victoria’s character is her substance abuse. The White Lotus season 3, episode 2 continued to depict her taking pills of sorts at unnatural times, such as having a calming massage. It is clear Victoria has some issues with drugs, which could explain why she acted as she did towards Kate during The White Lotus season 3, episode 2. Victoria has been shown to be fairly spaced out of various scenes in the show, potentially explaining her similar, rude attitude towards Kate.
Beyond that, though, it is not a stretch to imagine that Victoria is a rude person regardless of her substance usage. The Ratliff family has been shown to make cutting jokes that they seem to laugh about together, with Victoria even doing so when asked why she was rude to Kate. For these reasons, it is not too difficult to see why Victoria reacted as she did to Kate’s conversation.
Parker Posey May Be The White Lotus Season 3’s Jennifer Coolidge
Similarities Can Be Found Between The Two Characters
After The White Lotus season 3, episode 2, it could be the case that Parker Posey is this season’s Jennifer Coolidge. The latter portrayed Tanya in both preceding seasons of The White Lotus and became a fan-favorite, iconic character. Tanya was the character who was endlessly meme’d in hundreds of viral posts due to Coolidge’s effortlessly hilarious performance. This hilarity often stemmed from awkwardness, resulting in Tanya and her various scenes often being shared a lot on social media.
Tanya was killed in The White Lotus season 2 thanks to a plot from Greg, season 3’s “Gary,” who wished to steal her wealth.
If The White Lotus season 3 continues as it has in the first two episodes, Parker Posey’s Victoria looks destined to become the same. Already, I am certain someone will have shared her scene with Leslie Bibb’s Kate online and likened it to a similarly awkward meeting, though hopefully without the overt rudeness! Regardless, Victoria’s somewhat disoriented nature draws similarities with Tanya, especially from The White Lotus season 1. With that in mind, Victoria and Tanya – and Parker Posey and Jennifer Coolidge – could soon become likened together.
Is There Something More Sinister Going On With The Ratliff Family?
The White Lotus’ Typical Format Seems To Hint There Is
Interestingly, this discourse surrounding Parker Posey’s Victoria raises the interesting question of whether anything more sinister is going on with the Ratliffs. Where Victoria is concerned specifically, her worst crime thus far can be exactly what I have explored: being rude to Kate and having a drug problem. These are not exactly acts that would condemn her completely, but there are hints from her family members that the Ratliffs are simply strange across the board.
Firstly, there is Timothy. It is clear that Timothy is wrapped up in a morally questionable case with Kenneth Nguyen, played by Ke Huy Quan in a White Lotus cameo, involving money laundering and bribery that saw his company profit from it. Then we have Saxon, who is overtly sexual and makes problematic jokes that the likes of Timothy, Lochlan, and Victoria laugh at, proving their more sinister sides.
There are obvious incestuous-coded hints laced throughout The White Lotus season 3 involving the Ratliffs…
Finally, there are the strangest elements of the Ratliff family: the hints at a lack of boundaries between the siblings. Be it the conversation between Saxon and Lochlan about their sister being “pretty hot” despite not having sex to the lingering looks Lochlan aims towards his big brother, there are obvious incestuous-coded hints laced throughout The White Lotus season 3 involving the Ratliffs. This certainly hints at deeper, more sinister secrets coming to light as the series goes on, that likely will be much darker than Victoria’s rudeness to Leslie Bibb’s Kate.
The White Lotus
9/10
- Release Date
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July 11, 2021
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Mike White
- Directors
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Mike White
- Writers
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Mike White