'White Lotus' season 3 finale: A bloated disappointment

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT 'THE WHITE LOTUS' SEASON FINALE.

Given all that happened Sunday (and what didn't?) the finale of HBO's "The White Lotus" at least found time for the white lotus. Rooted in mud, that's the tropical plant that grows through the water toward the sun, and finally, comes into flower — the white lotus, the Buddhist symbol of being fully awakened. 

And there at last it was, in the closing minutes, with the bodies of Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), floating side by side, surrounded by the white lotus plants — no flowers, in fact. Rick's eyes were open, a slight smile on his lifeless face. Awakened he was not, but at peace, the tight shot recalled the monk Luang Por Teera's pronouncement from an earlier episode, to another character (Tim Ratliff): "Death is a happy return, like coming home."

The symbolism was obvious, just like everything else Sunday — a melodramatic wallop of a finale that blasted past fan expectations, and blasted away a few characters too, some of them major. A flower returned in the final seconds too, when the old German hymn, "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," tracked over scenes of departing (once again traumatized) guests ...

This Flower, whose fragrance tender

With sweetness fills the air,

Dispels with glorious splendor

The darkness everywhere.

Too much symbolism perhaps? Too much — much  too much.

In the meantime, here's a breakdown of "Amor Fati" and — fair warning — more big spoilers ahead:

The Ratliffs survived Tim's (Jason Isaacs) poorly conceived plan for familicide, although Lochlan (Sam Nivola) nearly did not; Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) finally got the promotion he never wanted in the first place, by shooting Rick in the back, while Mook (Lalisa Manobal, aka Lisa of K-pop's BLACKPINK) was pleased; the three besties, Laurie (Carrie Coon), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Kate (Leslie Bibb) were reunited by the end, or bonded in horror; and Sritala Hollinger (Patravadi Mejudhon) became a widow when Rick gunned down her husband, Jim (Scott Glenn).

Jim was — drum roll — Rick's real father all along. (Paging Darth Vader, anyone?)

And who are we forgetting? Of course, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) who were last seen laughing all the way to the bank, where Greg (Jon Greis) had deposited $5 million in hush money into her account.

We're forgetting Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius) — the resort's health mentor, among other extra curricular activities — but that's OK because the finale did, too.

This was the season that "The White Lotus" became a genuine phenomenon — TV's latest water cooler show if office water coolers were still such a thing. It's the "Succession" or "Ted Lasso" of this fraught, divided, scattered cultural moment right now.

Nevertheless, or in spite of all that, this was only a so-so season, fun in parts, tedious in others, and the weakest of all three. The same with the finale. A little sanctimonious, at times a scold, the targets and character types were so broad and so obvious we scarcely noticed, thanks to the skill of this cast, and showrunner-creator Mike White's writing.

It makes perfect sense Sunday's 90-minute finale went over the top, too. White — who has spoken about how Buddhism helped him reset his life during a personal crisis — used the monk Luang Por Teera (Thai TV personality Suthichai Yoon) to essentially frame the meaning of the finale (and season), by opening with this: "We take life into our own hands. We take action [but] solutions are temporary. They are quick fixes. They create more anxiety, more suffering. There is no resolution to life’s questions. It is easier to be patient once we finally accept there is no resolution."

That was the running theme of the third season, too, the flashing neon light of meaning and plot. Eat the rich satires need the clueless rich, who are unmoored from the spiritual meaning of their empty lives. The Ratliffs gave us that. They need lost souls who are still fighting the same battles they fought in fifth grade; the three besties gave us that.

Above all, they need karma — that what goes around must come around, and that actions have consequences. "Amor Fati" ("love of fate") certainly gave us all that, too — just too much of that.

We were at least left with a hint of a fourth season. Greg, or Gary (or whatever name he will go by then), is certain to return, and so is Belinda. But beware karma. It's a — well, you know what karma is. 

BOTTOM LINE A bloated disappointment.