CarlosLwanga

The greatest tv shows always have the greatest openings. And how do you know that a tv show has a great opening -- it presents the themes of the show in a way that anyone can understand deep down inside. Rome. Masters of Sex. Mad Men. Game of Thrones. And now, Season 3 of The White Lotus. Featuring a deeply spiritual opening song called Enlightenment by Christobal Tapia Der Veer, it features a beautiful Thai mural consisting of men and women living life in an ancient city surrounded by nature -- green trees and beautiful lakes. Some of the people seem to be living beautiful lives...while others are being eaten by monsters. And that's the theme of the show. The more beautiful the garden, the more dangerous the snakes it will contain. That is a simple truth about life. And that is what makes Mike White's The White Lotus such a gripping story. Lately, it feels as though Hollywood has forgotten the importance of story but The White Lotus Season 3 is definitely not guilty of that fault. Each season features a different branch of a fictional hotel called The White Lotus. Season 3 is set in Thailand. The ultimate story is remains the same however -- Episode 1 of this season is appropriately called Same Spirits. Different Forms -- guests who arrive at the hotel hoping to leave behind whatever secrets and darkness they have in their real lives in order to lose themselves in the luxury and beauty that the hotel offers. To their horror however, all that beauty only serves to highlight the darkness (snakes) that they are trying to avoid -- particularly within themselves. The mural shows people either enjoying the garden or getting eaten. Which guests get eaten and who survives -- in this show, in my opinion, it is always those who can confront the darkness within in a healthy way that come out of the garden unscathed. Either way, the truth of the garden (life itself) remains no matter what the guests or you and me can do about it -- the more beautiful the garden, the more monstrous the snakes. An absolutely wonderful television series. One of the best tv shows of the year.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]