WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The White Lotus season 3, episode 5.
Victoria Ratliff is strongly against her daughter Piper staying behind on their family vacation in Thailand inThe White Lotusseason 3, episode 5. Ever since the Ratliff family were introduced in the first episode ofThe White Lotusseason 3, there have been all sorts of dysfunctional elements and red flags that point to their collective delusion about their wonderful and “normal” lives. Piper, the black sheep of the family, sees through this and wants to break free from it without hurting her parents' feelings.
InThe White Lotusseason 3, episode 5, Piper finally explains to her conservative and aloof parents, Victoria and Timothy Ratliff, the real reason why she wanted to vacation in Thailand. Instead of gathering information for her thesis,Piper wants to stay in Thailand and live in a Buddhist sanctuary for the next year. This stuns both her parents, particularly Victoria, who wants Piper to continue having a “normal”, ie Americanized, lifestyle, which acts as an antithesis to Piper’s spiritual calling.
Victoria Believes Her Lifestyle Is Perfect & Can’t Understand Why Piper Wants To Get Away
Image via Max
Timothy and Victoria live a comfortable but insular lifestyle in North Carolina, which comes with a particular set of values and ideals. Although Victoria has been mostly “out to lunch” duringThe White Lotusseason 3, induced by theanxiety medication Lorazepam, she stillwants “what’s best” for her daughter, which in her eyes is to stay close to home. Victoria also doesn’t understand why Piper would want to live in Thailand (she commonly and falsely believes that it’s part of China), so she opposes Piper’s decision wholeheartedly.
While Timothy is slightly more open to the subject, Victoria is adamantly against it. This is mainly because she doesn’t want Piper going against the family norm that they laid out for her, which is to go to a great college like North Carolina or Duke and live a privileged life in a well-to-do area. Earlier in the season, Victoria reminds her three kids of how fortunate they are to be young, attractive, and wealthy. From this lens,watching Piper throw away her privilege to live among monks on the other side of the worldtruly blows Victoria’s mind.
Victoria Is Worried About What Their Friends Would Think About Piper’s Thailand Plan
Victoria Has Concerns About What People Will Think If Piper Breaks The Cultural Norm
Part of Victoria’s close-minded perspective is fueled by anticipated public ridicule and judgment of the people she knows back home, particularly those belonging to an exclusive country club.Both Timothy and Victoria put so much emphasis on what the country club thinksand are worried about potentially being ostracized by their society for letting Piper “run wild” in Thailand.
“Lochlan Was Too Into That Kiss”: The White Lotus Season 3 Looks Like It’s Doing The Ratliff Story I’ve Been Worried About Since Episode 1
That bizarre incestuous kissing scene between the Ratliff brothers, Lochlan and Saxon, in The White Lotus season 3 confirms many viewers' worst fears.
Piper becoming a Buddhist and living in Thailand after graduation would make them the subject of gossip and disrespect. Since the Ratliff family are still unaware of Tim’s money-laundering dilemma inThe White Lotusseason 3, Piper living in Thailand seems like the worst thing in their lives.
