The White Lotus Season 3: Ratliff Family's Dysfuctional Dymanic & History Explained By Parker Posey
To say that the Ratliff family inThe White Lotus Season 3 is dysfunctional is a bit of an understatement and star Parker Posey, who plays matriarch Victoria Ratliff, explains the complex dynamics at play while admitting she believes there is a lot of love there. It doesn't take long into the premiere episode for viewers to realize that something is off with the Ratliffs.
The children seem to have weird sexual tension, the mother abuses drugs, and the father is a workaholic who most certainly is keeping secrets. Jason Isaacs (Timothy), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Saxon), Sarah Catherine Hook (Piper), and Sam Nivola (Lochlan) round out the Ratliff family, who are visiting Thailand's White Lotus location ostensibly for Piper's thesis on Buddhism.
The White Lotus Season 3 ensemble cast is all new except for the announced return of Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey and the surprise return of Jon Gries as Greg Hunt, who is now going by a new name. ScreenRant sat down with Posey to discuss The White Lotus Season 3 and the Ratliff family's dysfunctional dynamic, including their history, the love they share, and the chaos that's in store for the Ratliffs and the other guests.
Parker Posey Explains The Toxic Dynamics Of The Ratliff Family
"Victoria Is A Narcissistic Mother. She Sees What She Wants & What She Sees Is Pretty Perfect."
The Ratliff family immediately sticks out like a sore thumb because of their bizarre dynamic in The White Lotus season 3 premiere. Posey admits that her character is a "narcissistic mother" who "really loves to get angry and upset and cause a scene" and, because of this, she might not see the awkward relationship that her children have.
She goes on to explain: "I think she sees what she wants and what she sees is pretty perfect. Her perfect children." Posey doesn't think it's all sunshine and rainbows though, expressing that Victoria's daughter Piper is experimenting with Buddhism and that threatens her because they are a Christian household.
"She's threatened by Buddhism and a life that isn't checking the boxes of what she thinks will make her daughter happy. She's quite dramatic. I think she's a drama queen."
Posey had fun playing a character like Victoria who has a lot of mystery surrounding her: "We see her, she gets off of the boat. She's walking to the hotel. She's a bit woozy and not very grounded." At one point in The White Lotus season 3, she has a dream with an older man walking behind her husband, which Posey says adds to that mystery.
"There's something going on underneath all of that. What is she screaming about in her dream? Is that grief? Is that not being authentic? What is this person? There was so much to play with."
Posey teases that something is going to disrupt the Ratliff family later in the season, but doesn't reveal exactly what it is. "Something is brewing. Something is going to change their lives. They have no control over it." It seems like it may have something to do with that mysterious phone call her husband gets towards the end of the first episode, but only time will tell.
It's all love. It's just really dysfunctional. It's all care. It's all love. It's all drama.
Despite their dynamic, she feels that they have love for each other: "I like to think of the family unit as they're all in it together and they kind of represent each other's parts and extensions of each other." Her reasoning for acting this way towards her family, though, is because she is worried.
"Like Lachlan and his concern about the environment in this monsoon that could happen. She's like, don't talk about that because she's so scared that something really could be taken away from her." In the end, with the Ratliff family, "It's all love. It's just really dysfunctional. It's all care. It's all love. It's all drama."
The White Lotus Season 3 Is Cutthroat, But Posey Is Surprised Some Moments Were Cut
"Mike [White] Really Goes For The Jugular In This One"
Posey admits that things get pretty crazy towards the end of The White Lotus season 3, stating that "people are a lot more mysterious than we give them credit for." She praises White, claiming that he "really goes for the jugular in this one." Posey adds, "they don't have any limits, and what happens when you've pushed your limits, and you can't push them further? It's disjointed and dysfunctional, which makes for good drama and comedy."
Posey says that White also being an actor helps a lot. "Mike was so great. You would say something, and he'd riff on that and then bring it back to you and just play. We don't know what [made the final episodes], there was a lot that was cut."
I think that makes for even more mystery when you take all this stuff away and distill it in some way.
Because The White Lotus airs on HBO, Posey thought this meant they would allow episodes to be an hour and a half long, but that is not the case. She thought "they won't cut anything. They're going to keep everything and it's so good. What could they [cut]? But no, that's not true. They cut it all."
Posey admits that she thinks this was the right call, however, explaining "I think that makes for even more mystery when you take all this stuff away and distill it in some way. Like, oh wait, I just got in on that conversation there. I have no idea what was being said before."
"I Cried At The End Of The Whole Eight Episodes"
Parker Posey Admits That She Thinks Belinda's Storyline Is A Gift
The White Lotus has a huge ensemble cast, who each have their own storylines, which only slightly intersect with one another. When asked which plot besides the Ratliff family surprised and intrigued her the most, Posey did not have to think long at all.
"I loved Belinda's storyline. It's just a gift, you know? I think Mike knew that the fans would want to see that, and it was beautifully executed." She goes on to admit that she "cried at the end of the whole eight episodes," suggesting that it may not end happily for Belinda.
It was wild. It's a fast moving train.
Posey describes season 3 of The White Lotus as moving fast, comparing it to a Porsche car: "You're just driving straight through. He did a great job of keeping the momentum, and you couldn't help but not like it. It was wild. It's a fast moving train."
She goes on to give her love to the fans of the series, as well, discussing the attachment to these people that they have. "The White Lotus [is] something [that] has become part of the lexicon. I think people are really entertained by that, so they want to act it out and bring that back in, which is great for the entertainment business," Posey explains before adding she is all for "more comedies and more character-driven stuff."
The White Lotusseason 3 will air on HBO every Sunday at 9PM through its season finale on April 6. The series has already been renewed for a fourth season.
Check out our other The White Lotus Season 3 interviews:
- Sarah Catherine Hook & Sam Nivola
- Michelle Monaghan & Aimee Lou Wood
- Natasha Rothwell (coming after episode 6)
- Jason Isaacs & Patrick Schwarzenegger (coming after episode 6)
Source: Screen Rant Plus
