All right, Aaron, we are back and we have quite the episode to discuss today.
Speaker AHow are you feeling?
Speaker BI'm feeling good.
Speaker BIt like finally happened.
Speaker BWe've all been waiting for the episode where things would start to pick up steam and we, we got there and you know what, I was chatting with a friend of mine and she was like it's always around episode five that stuff starts to pick up.
Speaker BSo it is happening.
Speaker BI thought this episode was fantastic.
Speaker BLike I was at the edge of my seat the entire time.
Speaker BThe dialogue was fire.
Speaker BLike everything about this episode was just so good, just so good.
Speaker BAnd it again left us on a great cliffhanger.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker AOh yeah, Mark also said the same thing as you, which was.
Speaker AYeah, it's usually like four, like episode five that things start to really rev up here.
Speaker AI was definitely getting impatient and this cured that impatience.
Speaker ASo I'm very excited.
Speaker AThis.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker ARemember Aaron, when we said that our recaps were going to be 30 minutes?
Speaker AHar har har.
Speaker AThere is so much happening in this episode and I think I'm sort of thinking we go storyline by storyline.
Speaker ACuz there was a lot of back and forth here.
Speaker ASo I've organized it a little bit and we can go with it this way.
Speaker ASo I think the first place to start here because there's a more bigger things that we're going to dive into here.
Speaker AI want to start with Belinda.
Speaker ASo this from my perspective is Belinda's very own true crime thriller romance novel that she has entered into this era of her true crime thriller romance novel era.
Speaker ASo off the top, Fabian asks Belinda how her exchange is going so far.
Speaker AAnd she finds out that Gary has been asking the front desk and hotel staff about her.
Speaker AAnd after processing things, she goes back to Fabian in kind of a hilarious scene where she's sort of like whisper yelling at him about why she's like super freaked out about Gary asking about her.
Speaker AAnd she tells him the whole story.
Speaker AShe tells him like everything that she knows and that she's super worried that he's dangerous and that like maybe we should call the police.
Speaker AShould we call the Thai, the Thai police?
Speaker AShould we call the American police?
Speaker AShould we call the Italian police?
Speaker AShould we call all the police?
Speaker ASo funny.
Speaker ABut Fabian replies basically gaslighting her and reminding her that she is not a guest at the resort.
Speaker AShe is there working and says that we shouldn't be gossiping.
Speaker AFocus on your job.
Speaker AI think you'll survive.
Speaker AI think this is an episode where we got much more of Fabian's personality and I'm Sort of gathering that he is the ultimate gaslighter.
Speaker AI don't know what he's.
Speaker BHe's that.
Speaker BBut he's also just like a company man.
Speaker AHe is a company man.
Speaker BCompany man.
Speaker BHe's like, just none of this matters.
Speaker BAll that matters is that our guests are happy.
Speaker AExactly.
Speaker AExactly.
Speaker AHe's just corporate.
Speaker ACorporate guy love.
Speaker BI mean, to be fair, I can kind of understand why he would have that response, because I'm just, like, putting myself in his shoes.
Speaker BIf someone came to me and unloaded all of this information about this person that, like, hangs around the resort all the time, I probably also would be like, but she did bring the receipt.
Speaker AShe brought the receipts.
Speaker BThe receipts exist.
Speaker AShe brought everything.
Speaker BBut I can understand how that would be his reaction.
Speaker BWas it the right reaction?
Speaker BNo.
Speaker BYeah, but because we.
Speaker BIt's easy for us as viewers to be like, what are you doing, Fabian?
Speaker BLike, it's true.
Speaker BBut he doesn't know.
Speaker AI want to know how much he's told Gary about.
Speaker AAbout Belinda.
Speaker ABecause if he's told her a lot, that is red flags and hotels shouldn't function this way.
Speaker ABut let's talk about that more later.
Speaker ASo, having gotten basically zero remorse from Fabian, Belinda later decides to turn to Porn Chai that night.
Speaker AAnd she also tells him everything.
Speaker AShe shows him the articles about Greg Gary, and she's basically like that Charlie Day meme where, like, he's got, like, the string and the photos, and he's like, it's true.
Speaker AGo on.
Speaker AThis guy is nuts.
Speaker ALike, it's so funny.
Speaker AAnd Pornchai replies that, I'll keep you safe.
Speaker AAnd in that moment, they also hear rustling in Belinda's room.
Speaker APornchai investigates and discovers a pretty big lizard of which he carefully guides back outside.
Speaker AVery hot.
Speaker AVery hot.
Speaker AHow are you feeling about this relationship?
Speaker ABecause I've heard some chatter that people think this is all an act from Porn Chai and that he is just, like, treating her like one of the other guests, just giving her the VIP experience.
Speaker ABut I.
Speaker AI don't know.
Speaker BI don't think so.
Speaker AI don't buy that he genuinely likes her.
Speaker BHe's treating her better than guess, I would assume.
Speaker AI don't know.
Speaker AValentin's doing a pretty good job.
Speaker BThat's true.
Speaker BLike, no, I think it's genuine.
Speaker AI think it's genuine.
Speaker BToo genuine.
Speaker BWhat I worry about is, like, we don't know anything about Pornchai's life outside of the resort.
Speaker BLike, what if he has, like, a wife and kids somewhere?
Speaker BI just.
Speaker BYou can never trust men as much As I want to trust Porn Chai, you just.
Speaker BYou cannot trust them.
Speaker BSo he could have a whole life outside the resort.
Speaker BShe doesn't know.
Speaker BShe hasn't left the resort.
Speaker BAnd we've not learned anything about Porn Chai's outside life.
Speaker AAnd this is, like, the thing about tourist bubbles and the people that work at these places where you really don't know, like, what the intention there is and how, like, this is the thing.
Speaker AI've heard a lot about Vegas, where, like, a lot of the bartenders and stuff in Vegas, they have, like, lives, women, children, outside of their work, but they are, like, constantly going home with, like, people who attend, going back to the hotels and, like, having sex with people who, like, attend their bars and just live the Vegas lifestyle.
Speaker AI'm curious how that translates overseas, not in America.
Speaker ABut it's just interesting to think about the dynamics there.
Speaker BHe is very spiritual and religious.
Speaker BThat's true.
Speaker BWhich makes me want to believe that he would not be doing that.
Speaker BYeah, but she loves and cares for his family also.
Speaker AVictoria would disagree with that.
Speaker BYeah, we'll get into that.
Speaker BAlso, though, his removal of the lizard, his very gentle removal of the lizard does play into this whole theme that we've been touching on in previous episodes about how local Thai people are at one with wildlife and have respect for wildlife, whereas foreigners are, like, afraid of the wildlife.
Speaker BAnd it also is actually representative of Buddhist values, which is to, like, not harm animals.
Speaker BSo his gentleness kind of, like, reflects that.
Speaker BIt made me think.
Speaker BIt's funny, when Luke and I were in Sri Lanka, we were in a hotel room, and it was just like a small, little, like, guest house room.
Speaker BAnd we had, like, a bathroom that was a wet bathroom, which is pretty typical in South Asia.
Speaker BSo it had, like, outdoor access.
Speaker BAnd I found a massive, poisonous centipede in our bathroom.
Speaker BI've posted video of it.
Speaker BLike, it was terrifying.
Speaker BAnd it made me really, like, the rest of the trip, I would not get out of bed to go pee in the middle of the night because I was like, what if I step into the bathroom and step on a centipede and it bites me?
Speaker BBecause they are poisonous.
Speaker BIt's really painful.
Speaker BSo anyways, we found the centipede.
Speaker BWe were freaking out.
Speaker BI was not going to go anywhere near it.
Speaker BLuke was not going to go anywhere near it.
Speaker BSo I went to the hotel guy, and he was just this, like, young Sri Lankan man.
Speaker BAnd I was like, could you please help us get rid of the centipede?
Speaker BFully thought he was gonna come in the room.
Speaker BAnd like, kill it.
Speaker BYeah, he did not.
Speaker BAnd you could tell he's very experienced.
Speaker BHe took a massive water bottle and he went in there and he somehow guided the centipede into the water bottle and brought it outside and released it.
Speaker BAnd Luke was like, that's very Buddhist of him.
Speaker BBecause North Americans, we just kill whatever we find inside our homes.
Speaker AYou know, colonizers, that's what we do anyways.
Speaker BMade me think of that.
Speaker ASo, of course, Belinda is super freaked out by all the things that are happening around her.
Speaker AAnd she asks poor Chai to stay with her that night.
Speaker AAnd after what this man has demonstrated around her, his gentleness, his kindness, the fact that he said he's going to protect her, duh, obviously she wants him to stay in her room.
Speaker ARoom that night.
Speaker AAnd there's a hilarious moment where Belinda is like a bit flustered navigating, like, where Pornchai is going to sleep and like, how to subtly tell him, like, it's okay if you sleep in my bed kind of thing.
Speaker AAnd she says, she's like, oh, you know, whatever is clever.
Speaker AIt's just like the funniest uttering of lines.
Speaker AAnd I felt very seen in that moment where it's like you're trying to be sexy and subtle, but you just like, can't.
Speaker AYou just are a little dingus.
Speaker AAnyway, the two kiss and I'm very stoked.
Speaker AI am willing to bet they also have sex.
Speaker ABut if they just kiss, I love that.
Speaker AI love that for Belinda.
Speaker AI love that for porn.
Speaker AChai, get it.
Speaker BWasn't there a comment about consent?
Speaker BWas it between them or someone else that I thought was really funny.
Speaker AShe's like, I don't know if you do that here.
Speaker BYeah, I thought that was so cute.
Speaker BGood writing.
Speaker BLike, this episode had such good writing.
Speaker BWe forgot to touch on this.
Speaker BBut when Fabian is talking to her about Greg's interest in her, he also suggests that Greg is interested in her for other reasons.
Speaker BLike potentially to become his, like, I don't know, like his sexual interest.
Speaker BAnd he kind of like implies that, oh, this is an opportun for you.
Speaker BLike, you want to have a relationship with a rich guest, like an lbh.
Speaker BYeah, yeah.
Speaker BAnd actually, like, on further reflection, maybe that is why he is so unwilling to believe her rendition of, like, who Greg is, because he can't understand why she wouldn't be interested in this opportunity.
Speaker AAnd also the other side of that too is that he says, he says outright Greg is a loyal customer.
Speaker ALike, he's a.
Speaker AHe's a regular at their resorts.
Speaker ASo there's going to be no way that he wants to, as a corporate guy, go against this loyal customer who's spending millions at their resorts.
Speaker AProbably.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BBut yeah, I just thought that was funny.
Speaker BIt kind of like, points to the.
Speaker BAnd you do.
Speaker BAnd it's interesting, too, because Belinda actually did.
Speaker BThat's how she found herself in this situation.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BShe created a relationship with a guest in season one in hopes of bettering her own life.
Speaker BAnd now Fabian is, like, suggesting she do that again.
Speaker BAnd she's like, last time I did that, it didn't turn out so great.
Speaker AThat's such a great point.
Speaker AI hadn't even thought of it that way.
Speaker AI love that.
Speaker AOkay, so that's Belinda's story.
Speaker ABelinda and Pornche.
Speaker ALet's move over to the Ratcliffs and the reckoning of Piper's lies and ambitions and Timothy's descent into darkness.
Speaker ASo we are at dinner and Piper tells her parents that the monastery where she's been going to do the quote unquote interview with her monk for her quote unquote thesis actually has a meditation center.
Speaker AAnd surprise, that's actually why she's here.
Speaker AThere is no thesis.
Speaker AShe came to check out the meditation center.
Speaker AAnd this is what she wants to do when she graduates.
Speaker AShe wants to move to Thailand for a year to, quote, meditate and develop her spirituality.
Speaker AAnd in this moment, we get so many great lines from Parker Posey and Victoria's character.
Speaker AYou mentioned so much good writing this episode.
Speaker AI'm just going to go through a couple of the back and forths here that I wrote down because they were just so funny.
Speaker BThe whole scene, like, the whole scene was just iconic.
Speaker ALike, it's exactly what you and I expected the scene to be, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker AAnd it was everything we expected but wanted and more.
Speaker AYeah, it was amazing.
Speaker ASo first, Victoria says, you're not a Buddhist.
Speaker AYou're not from China.
Speaker AWe're an entire.
Speaker AWe're from an entirely different world.
Speaker AThen she says, you want to live in Taiwan, a completely different country, completely different.
Speaker APiper says, listen, she wants to stay because she wants to find out what makes her happy.
Speaker AAnd she's not going to sign up to all the.
Speaker AThis is interesting.
Speaker AAnd you and I have talked about this already before on the show and in these recaps about how Piper is, like the ultimate seeker right now.
Speaker AIt's interesting that she is trying to seek out happiness and purpose in life somewhere other than what she can do at home.
Speaker AI mean, America is a troubled, troubled nation for sure.
Speaker AAnd I think there's a, at this point, a lot of opportunity to find happiness at home and community at home and purpose at home.
Speaker ABut it's interesting that she's, you know, taking this to Thailand.
Speaker BWell, it may be a reflection that she doesn't have that community at home, because you do see this parallel sometimes that people who come from immense privilege become seekers.
Speaker BLike, this is something I've noticed just in my own travels in encountering people that are, like, buying into the seeker mentality.
Speaker BA lot of them come from a really great place at home, a situation in which you would think that they are happy and fulfilled because they have all of their basic needs met and more.
Speaker BSo I just think there's probably a correlation there between, like, unhappiness at home because she's coming from this, like, wealthy family that doesn't actually give her, like, security and happiness and comfort.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd clearly wants her to stick to the status quo.
Speaker ALike, you should be happy with what you've got.
Speaker AYou've everything you need now.
Speaker AYou can do anything you want to do in this world as long as you stick to the status quo.
Speaker ASo Victoria says, I'm just trying to understand how you became so extreme.
Speaker AYou could come back with a totally different set of values than we raised you with.
Speaker AAnd Piper says, yeah, that's kind of the idea.
Speaker AAn iconic line, how you became so extreme and you could come back with a totally different set of values.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AThis is something that Victoria's character is so funny for on this show is always just pointing out the obvious, like, exactly what is happening.
Speaker BThis is what's so funny about her.
Speaker BLike, she basically.
Speaker ANarrator.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd it's like, one minute she doesn't know what country she's in, as per the you want to live in Taiwan comment.
Speaker BBut then the next minute, like, another thing she says in this conversation is, you don't need to go halfway around the world to figure out what your purpose is.
Speaker BAnd I was just like, yes, yes, you're right, Victoria.
Speaker BThat's, like, so true.
Speaker AShe says a lot of.
Speaker AOkay, she says a lot of hilarious things that are both.
Speaker BShe's wild.
Speaker BSomewhere in there.
Speaker BShe is very wild.
Speaker AWhole time.
Speaker AShe asked Piper, what if it's a cult?
Speaker AAnd Piper says, it's not.
Speaker AThe monk who runs it wrote a book.
Speaker AI'm pretty sure there are numbers of cult leaders out there who have also written books, but that's besides the point.
Speaker AAnd then in looking at the guy on the book, Victoria says, well, he doesn't look normal.
Speaker AHe looks very hare.
Speaker AKrishna, which is a Hindu thing.
Speaker ASanskrit thing.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BDifferent religion.
Speaker ATotally different.
Speaker ATotally different.
Speaker AAnd then Victoria says it could be a sex cult.
Speaker AAnd Piper's like, it's Buddhist.
Speaker AAnd Victoria says, well, organized religion and deviant sex go hand in hand.
Speaker AAnother great line, like, and also accurate.
Speaker BPretty accurate.
Speaker BAlso, though, I thought this was funny.
Speaker BJust like a little Canadiana for us.
Speaker BShe refers to nxivm.
Speaker BI don't know if you know about Nexium.
Speaker BI do know.
Speaker AYep.
Speaker BSo anyone who doesn't know this is a homegrown Canadian cult started in Vancouver.
Speaker AHashtag Made in Canada.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BVery, very bad cult started by this guy.
Speaker BIt's always a white dude that starts these things.
Speaker BAlways.
Speaker BKeith Ranieri.
Speaker BHe is now a convicted racketeer and sex offender.
Speaker BWe're laughing about this, but really, this was, like, a really horrif.
Speaker BAnd there's a great podcast.
Speaker BI don't know if it's CBC.
Speaker AIt might be CBC's uncover.
Speaker BReally good CBC Uncover did a fantastic podcast with.
Speaker BFeaturing a woman who wasn't.
Speaker BShe actually is a journalist, and she ended up in nxivm.
Speaker BOh, no.
Speaker BHer friend was a journalist.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BAnd they ran into each other shortly after she had left the cult.
Speaker BAnd so the whole series is him, like, investigating through her perspective, like, the experience of the cult and, like, what had happened to her.
Speaker BAnd it really is, like, a wild story.
Speaker BSo if you're interested in that kind of stuff and want to hear about our Canadian cult activity, it's great.
Speaker BDefinitely listen to it.
Speaker AIt's a great series.
Speaker BI just thought.
Speaker BI always thought that was kind of, like, not mainstream knowledge, like, nextiv.
Speaker BSo I just.
Speaker BThe reference made me laugh.
Speaker ASo during all of this, Timothy is reckoning with the fact that he is definitely going to jail and also has the gun from the security office.
Speaker AGuy Talk also has uncovered through security cam footage that Timothy likely has the gun.
Speaker ASo he knows.
Speaker AAnd he's sort of, like, lingering around at dinner waiting and figuring out how to confront Timothy.
Speaker ASo Timothy, during this entire conversation, it doesn't really reply to Piper's admission.
Speaker AIt's like, clearly just, like, another thing on his plate that is, like, stressing him out.
Speaker AAnd he doesn't really, like.
Speaker BI don't even think it's stress.
Speaker BHe's just not absorbing the information at all, which I understand.
Speaker BI think if I was, like, on vacation in Thailand and knew, unbeknownst to any of my family members that I was headed straight to jail, I also would not be absorbing any conversation, like.
Speaker ANone of this matters.
Speaker ANone of this matters.
Speaker AHonestly, you should stay in Thailand.
Speaker ALike, please.
Speaker ASo he leaves the table clearly, like, looking overwhelmed by all of just everything.
Speaker AHe leaves the table, goes to the bathroom to splash some water on his face, and that's when Guy Talk follows him and confronts him.
Speaker ABut, like, doesn't, like, kind of, like loosely, lukewarmly confronts him.
Speaker BI know.
Speaker BI love guy Talk, but this was disappointing.
Speaker BGuy Talk.
Speaker AI know.
Speaker AHe says, I think you have something I'm looking for.
Speaker AAnd Timothy just sort of is like, no, I don't.
Speaker AAnd then leaves it at that.
Speaker BThis also, though, could be conditioning from his job because they're definitely told never to have a negative interaction with a guest.
Speaker BSo he's kind of in a rock and a hard place because he's not meant to ever accuse a guest of something.
Speaker BSo maybe that was his goal, to try to address the situation without being accusatory.
Speaker ABut yeah, but then when the person denies it, what do you do?
Speaker ARight?
Speaker AYou're not.
Speaker BI think what he needs to do is he needs to try to remember what kind of gun it was, which I definitely would not be able to do.
Speaker BThey all look scary to me, so I would not know.
Speaker BBut try to remember and then try to go buy the same one and put it in the box.
Speaker BThis is what I would be doing if I was Guy Talk.
Speaker BI would be like, I'm not dealing with these rich people.
Speaker BI'm just gonna go find a gun.
Speaker BI don't know how hard this is to.
Speaker BThis is to do.
Speaker BLike, if you asked me to do that here, like today, I would not know where to start.
Speaker ANo, me neither.
Speaker AI don't think we can even buy anything.
Speaker BI think we don't.
Speaker BAnd I think that guns in Thailand are not.
Speaker BI think it's similar to Canada.
Speaker BYou can't just.
Speaker BIt's not America.
Speaker BYou can't just like, walk into a bank and get a gun.
Speaker AI'm looking this up.
Speaker AHow do you buy a gun in Thailand?
Speaker APlease don't come for me.
Speaker ACIA.
Speaker ASimplest way to obtain a gun is by purchasing from a dealer.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker ASo easier than here, a citizen of Thailand purchase a gun in his or her name.
Speaker ASo I guess you can just buy them.
Speaker BSo this is the answer.
Speaker BGuy Talk.
Speaker AJust buy another gun.
Speaker BJust replace it.
Speaker AIdiot.
Speaker BNo, but I think the problem is he probably doesn't know why, what kind of gun it was.
Speaker BYeah, and the other guy's gonna say, this isn't the same gun.
Speaker BYeah, I would just say it is.
Speaker BIt is the same gun.
Speaker BYou just gotta.
Speaker BYou gotta Buy into the story completely.
Speaker BGaslight them and tell them this is the same guy.
Speaker AThis is what guy talk needs to learn the art of gaslighting because he's being gaslit all over the place.
Speaker AHe needs to fight back.
Speaker BHe's too good and pure.
Speaker BThis is what it is.
Speaker BHe's just too good.
Speaker BHe's.
Speaker BHe's too pure.
Speaker AYeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker ASo dinner is over.
Speaker AWe're back at the room, and Timothy is clearly in some capacity.
Speaker AEats either lorazepam or too many whiskeys on the rock.
Speaker AAt dinner, Piper approaches him, kind of seeing that he's, like, a little bit wonky, but also, like, she wants to know what her dad thinks about everything because he hasn't really said anything.
Speaker AAnd Timothy kind of just goes off about his time as an altar boy and his church days and then starts, like, singing hymns.
Speaker APiper doesn't get much from him.
Speaker ADoesn't get anything from him, and she just sort of walks off.
Speaker ASo clearly, Timothy is not in a great place.
Speaker AAnd later that night, we see him writing his suicide note.
Speaker AHis note just says, so sorry.
Speaker AI love you all.
Speaker ASo, like, clearly, it's just too much.
Speaker AThere's.
Speaker AHe's not thinking too much into any of this.
Speaker AHe's just, like, very overwhelmed.
Speaker AAnd he puts the gun to his head, and he cannot pull the trigger.
Speaker AHe's really struggling here.
Speaker AAnd this is when Victoria finds.
Speaker AAnd he hides the gun so she doesn't see it, but she does ask what he's doing.
Speaker AAnd he just says he can't sleep.
Speaker ABut Victoria notices, says that she notices that he hasn't been acting himself lately.
Speaker AAnd to this, like, Timothy gets kind of, like, intense and is like, I'm just, like, super overwhelmed.
Speaker AI'm super stressed.
Speaker AAnd I'm constantly feeling the prayer, like, constantly feeling under pressure to, like, be the one in charge and keeping things going.
Speaker AAnd Victoria's answer to him is not super helpful for him in this instance where she's like, well, there's no need to be stressed.
Speaker AYou've already achieved every success in every way.
Speaker AYou have a wonderful life.
Speaker AYou're doing great.
Speaker AAnd clearly we know this is the opposite.
Speaker BIn Victoria's defense, he hasn't shared anything concrete with her.
Speaker BSo what is she supposed to say?
Speaker BFrom her perspective, it is true.
Speaker BI mean, they're on vacation in Thailand.
Speaker BThey have three beautiful, mostly children.
Speaker BLet's leave Saxon out of that.
Speaker AYeah, I mean, I'm, like, empathetic to, like, what Timothy is going through in this situation.
Speaker AHe is, like, obviously, if he's doing Fraud.
Speaker AHe's fucked over a lot of people.
Speaker ASo he's not a great person, but he really has.
Speaker AThere's nothing anyone can say to him in this moment that can, like, change how he's feeling about all of this.
Speaker ALike, Victoria can't say anything.
Speaker AAnd even if he tells anyone, like, he.
Speaker AHe has to just reconcile the fact that he's fucked.
Speaker ALike, that's all there is to it.
Speaker BI mean, he has to own up.
Speaker BHe has to own.
Speaker BI think it's like the ultimate expression of people realizing there is an end to their privilege because he's reached the line, he has crossed the line.
Speaker BIt has not worked out for him.
Speaker BAnd now for the first time in his life, probably he has to face consequences.
Speaker BAnd honestly, it's a bit cowardly to not be willing to face those consequences.
Speaker BI mean, you cannot commit fraud.
Speaker BYou committed fraud.
Speaker BYou fucked around and you're finding out.
Speaker BBasically.
Speaker BI feel bad for him from an empathetic point of view, but I'm also like, this is what happens when you break the law, Timothy.
Speaker AYeah, this is the thing.
Speaker ALike, you're totally right in that, like, you can't just escape the consequences of your privilege and your actions.
Speaker BA lot of rich people do, though, look at who's leading America right now.
Speaker BA lot of people do, but.
Speaker BAnd that's why it's so jarring, I think, for these people when they don't.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AI think, like, the big thing here for him is shame.
Speaker ALike, obviously he's not even.
Speaker AHe's not just going to experience shame from his family, but when he goes back to America as a guy in the corporate world, he is going to feel shame from.
Speaker AHe's going to be shamed by all of America.
Speaker AEvery single person in America is going to be watching his trial on tv.
Speaker AProbably.
Speaker ALike, that's going to be a lot.
Speaker AAnd this is something that I don't think a lot of these people in these privileged positions think about ever having to experience is like feeling.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AHaving to be accountable or feel shame or.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AJust like, doing good by the people that exist around them.
Speaker AIt's always sort of like their own personal bubble.
Speaker AAnd now it's popped and he's like, shit, I exist in the sphere of everyone else in my country at home, and this is going to be crazy and intense to deal with, but he's going to have to deal with it.
Speaker AHe shouldn't take the.
Speaker AI don't want to call it easy way out, but he shouldn't take this way out.
Speaker ALike, he is.
Speaker AHe's got to come to terms with the fact that he's fucked over a lot of people, and now he has to face the consequences.
Speaker AThis is just how it works.
Speaker AYeah, I've seen some commentary that.
Speaker ASo we see it ends with Timothy sort of praying to God, asking, like, what do I do?
Speaker BI was gonna say this.
Speaker BI think that this is his arc.
Speaker AIs this turning to the arc into the spiritual journey?
Speaker ADo we think he maybe joins Piper at the end, so sticks around for the meditation?
Speaker BHe's clearly, like, turning to religion.
Speaker BAnd, I mean, it's, like, totally reinforced at the very end of the episode because instead of the usual credit roll music, we get church music.
Speaker BI don't know what else to call it, but, like, it just goes fully into, like.
Speaker BIt brought me back to my childhood of going to church.
Speaker BI was like, oh, I know this song.
Speaker BBut it ties into the discussion, I think that Greg has.
Speaker BWith or not Greg.
Speaker BIt ties into the discussion that.
Speaker BWhy can't I remember his name?
Speaker BHold on, back up.
Speaker BIt ties into the discussion that Rick has with this person he meets who we don't really know who he is.
Speaker BHe's some sort of fixer.
Speaker BAnd this person talks to him about how finding religion in Thailand changed his life.
Speaker BAnd so I'm thinking that that's maybe foreshadowing for what will happen to Timothy and maybe Rick too.
Speaker BWho knows?
Speaker AYep.
Speaker AI.
Speaker AI wouldn't be surprised if that happens.
Speaker AOkay, so finally, we're back at the security office, where Fabian finds Guy Talk, who is clearly, like, a little bit stressed.
Speaker AAnd he says, oh, you know, maybe it's just the PTSD from what happened at the robbery.
Speaker AAnd if you want, I have an antacid for your stomach if you want some.
Speaker AAnd that's pretty much all he offers.
Speaker ARecognizes that he might have PTSD.
Speaker APTSD.
Speaker ADoesn't offer time off.
Speaker AInstead, offers, like, a little tummy thing.
Speaker ASo not much there.
Speaker AFabian, to my still.
Speaker AI still say this.
Speaker AUltimate gaslighter, ultimate corporate dude.
Speaker AJust, you know, gotta keep the ship running, gotta keep it on the road.
Speaker ASpeaking of ships, it's time to talk about the full moon party.
Speaker ASo we are on the boat.
Speaker ASaxon is in the midst of sort of indoctrinating Lachlan into his.
Speaker AHis creepy game plan for the night.
Speaker AAnd there is this interesting line that he says to Lachlan, quote, confidence is how you get people to do what you want.
Speaker AMost people want to be used, but don't know what to do.
Speaker AThey're just waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
Speaker AHardcore line Hardcore line.
Speaker AAnd obviously we're seeing.
Speaker AWe're gonna see this come up in the show in numerous ways.
Speaker ACurious to hear what you think about this.
Speaker AThis.
Speaker BYeah, I mean, basically, I'm just really sad that Saxon is not a beautiful child.
Speaker BHe is not a beautiful child.
Speaker BAnd I mean, it's also, like, interesting because, like, I feel like the choice, the ultimate decision happened on the boat where Lachlan decided, I'm going to go to the full moon party instead of supporting my sister.
Speaker BThat was the fork in the road, and now we're gonna see things play out.
Speaker BBut throughout this episode, even Lachlan's body language, you can just see him becoming Saxon.
Speaker AI know, it's so distressing.
Speaker ASo on the boat, Saxon tells Lachlan to make a move on Chloe, who is also already creeping on Lachlan in her own way already.
Speaker AAnyway, she tells Chelsea at one point that she likes innocent young guy.
Speaker AShe also wants attention because Gary isn't giving her any.
Speaker AAnd she's really vibing with Lachlan's magic tricks, which you mentioned in the last episode you would be vibing with too.
Speaker BOh, yeah.
Speaker ASo do we think Chloe is just the female version of Saxon?
Speaker BShe kind of is, yeah.
Speaker ALike, she's creeping on young men.
Speaker AThat's, like, pretty.
Speaker BIs he underage, though?
Speaker BWe don't know how old age.
Speaker AHe's like 18.
Speaker AHe's still a senior in high school.
Speaker BIt's definitely growth.
Speaker BGross.
Speaker ADefinitely gross.
Speaker ADefinitely gross.
Speaker ASo Chelsea this whole time is mentioning how she's super worried about Rick and thinks that something is gonna.
Speaker ASomething bad is gonna happen to him while he's in Bangkok.
Speaker AAnd we're also seeing on the bow before we get to the full moon party that the brothers are being brotherly.
Speaker AThey are bonding.
Speaker AThere's a lot of brotherly love happening.
Speaker ADefinite foreshadows for sure, for what's to come.
Speaker ASo they arrive at the full moon party.
Speaker ALachlan turns to Chloe and says, what even happens at these parties?
Speaker ALike, what is this?
Speaker AAnd Chloe says, this is where vampires come out and everyone gets laid.
Speaker AHardcore.
Speaker APretty hardcore.
Speaker BThis is.
Speaker BI mean, from what I hear from other people, that's an accurate description of full moon parties.
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker BI haven't been to one.
Speaker BAlso, we forgot to mention the iconic line from Chelsea when she says to.
Speaker BWell, I can't remember anyone's name today.
Speaker BNo, she says to the other woman, Chloe.
Speaker BWhen Chelsea says to Chloe, he's like my child.
Speaker BChloe says back to him, he's 50.
Speaker BThey're just this whole episode, like, the writing was.
Speaker BSo I need to check if it was a different writer for this episode.
Speaker BAnd there were so many perfect, perfect, like, short exchanges like that that were just so funny.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker ASo Lachlan is in his early days of partying.
Speaker AHe is, Yeah, a senior in high school.
Speaker AAnd so they start to get, like, buckets of beer and stuff like that.
Speaker AIt's like, a pretty interesting depiction of, like, the full moon parties.
Speaker AIt must be.
Speaker BThose buckets are a thing in Thailand, though.
Speaker AThe buckets, are they for ice or, like, is it like, the drink is in the bucket?
Speaker BNo, they fill it with liquor and, like, juice.
Speaker BI don't recommend it.
Speaker ALiquor.
Speaker BThe one time I had a bucket, it was a rough day the next day.
Speaker BSo just be careful if you do that.
Speaker BWhen I went to Thailand in November, I told my colleagues, whatever you do, don't drink a bucket.
Speaker BJust whatever you do.
Speaker BAlso, this is a psa because this is actually really important that people know.
Speaker BIn Southeast Asia, there's a lot of, like, bootleg, illegally made liquor.
Speaker BAnd there's been increasing instances of people getting poisoned by drinking liquor.
Speaker BAnd you don't know.
Speaker BYou.
Speaker BYou'll look at the bottle, it'll look like it's the typical labeled alcohol.
Speaker BBut they often come in the buckets because it's mixed in with so many other things.
Speaker BLike, you wouldn't notice the difference when you drink it.
Speaker BAnd there have been a couple people who've died, backpackers, in the last year even.
Speaker BThere was a huge poisoning last year.
Speaker BSo that's the real reason why I tell people now, do not drink buckets.
Speaker BIf you're in Sessy stage, your safest bet is to just drink a bottled beer.
Speaker AYeah, okay, great tip.
Speaker AGreat tip.
Speaker AOn that note, Saxon tells Lachlan to pace himself, and Lachlan turns to him and says, dude, I'm a senior, bro.
Speaker ASo, yeah, we are definitely seeing Lachlan's arc into his big brother, Saxon.
Speaker AAnd then the group does drugs.
Speaker AI think it's ecstasy.
Speaker AMight be MDMA in some capacity.
Speaker AEither way, they're all feeling, like, super lit and happy and they're feeling ecstasy, I guess, in some capacity.
Speaker AThis is the first time I've ever seen, like, a full moon party.
Speaker ALike, I've never seen photos of them or anything like that.
Speaker AI've heard stories about them.
Speaker AThis is the first time I've ever seen it depicted.
Speaker AAnd it is, like, crazy busy.
Speaker AWay bigger than I expected.
Speaker AI think I imagined them to be more of, like, a beach party with, like, A.
Speaker AA bonfire or something like that.
Speaker BThey're massive.
Speaker BThey are massive.
Speaker AHuge.
Speaker ASo many white people.
Speaker AJust all white people.
Speaker BThat's all they are.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AAnd as you mentioned in the last.
Speaker BIt's just backpackers.
Speaker AAnd you mentioned in the last episode, there is no tradition around this.
Speaker AThis is just like a thing that came from white people in like, what, the 80s or something you said, or the 70s.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo at this point, everyone is feeling the drugs.
Speaker AAnd this is when the show is sort of cutting between the moon party and the gal pals getting buck wild.
Speaker ASo before we get to the.
Speaker AWhat happens after the moon party?
Speaker ALet's talk about the gals before.
Speaker ALet's talk about the gals and figure out what they're doing because they are also in the midst of getting wild and sexual.
Speaker ASo the gals, this is their continuation of their night out with the Russians.
Speaker AThey are at a bumpin club, notably called Cafe de la Moon.
Speaker AI don't know if you noticed that.
Speaker ASo they're also at a moon party of their own in some capacity.
Speaker AAnd the men that they're with are named.
Speaker AWe've got Valentin and then we've got his friends Alexei and Vlad.
Speaker AAnd Vlad is the hilarious, troubled one.
Speaker AI think I got such a kick out of his character at one point.
Speaker AThey're talking about like all the different exercises and stuff that they do.
Speaker AAnd Vlad's like, I do exercises with ropes in Russia or something like that.
Speaker AThen he also says, my mother is dead, my sister's a bitch, my friends are everything.
Speaker AI get woman hating vibes from Vlad.
Speaker ABut throughout the rest of the episode, I thought he was actually kind of funny and a welcoming personality for Kate, especially to hang out around and just shoot the shit with.
Speaker ABut I definitely, if I was around Vlad, I wouldn't necessarily feel safe.
Speaker BMy question about Vlad, I actually have a friend who is Russian, came to Canada a couple years ago.
Speaker BI'm gonna ask her what she thinks about this representation of a Russian.
Speaker BI'd be really curious because I did think, like, is this just playing into a bunch of stereotypes about Russians?
Speaker BBecause the representation of Valentin, he doesn't come off as stereotypical Russian in terms of what you see portrayed in the media.
Speaker BSo I thought it was kind of funny that they introduced this character that was kind of playing into that.
Speaker BAnd I don't know, maybe.
Speaker BMaybe it's not fair.
Speaker AIt might not be.
Speaker AI thought it was also interesting because Alexi is the same, honestly, like basically the same person as Valentine.
Speaker ALike, he looks very similar.
Speaker AI got them mixed up during the episode.
Speaker AAnd I don't know if that was intentional or not, but they have very similar, like, facial features.
Speaker AI think Alexi is just shorter than Valentine.
Speaker AAnd then you got Vlad, like, the bald, super pale dude over there.
Speaker ASo you've got, like, these two sort of, like, hot Russians.
Speaker AAnd then you've got, like, the one guy who's, like, the stereotypical Russian.
Speaker AI guess I'm curious what all of this is, like, pointing at, but it was just very interesting.
Speaker ASo the girls, the gals.
Speaker AThe gals, they dance the night away, and things are getting pretty steamy, particularly for Laurie and especially for Jacqueline, who is, like, dancing with the men, getting all sweaty and steamy, and she spots other women kind of watching her from the sidelines, and she's, like, kind of loving the attention.
Speaker ALike, she likes.
Speaker ALoves to be, like, this sexual being that's getting all of this attention.
Speaker BShe is an actress.
Speaker BVictoria has told us what our actresses.
Speaker BI forget her line about that.
Speaker BIt's funny because Jacqueline is, like, playing into the trope that, like, actresses want attention and are, like, super sexual.
Speaker AYeah, I didn't actually catch that.
Speaker AThat's such a funny point.
Speaker ASo this is when I was watching it with Mark, and he said to me, didn't take long for these ladies to go from wanting a cultural vacation to just an American club.
Speaker AYeah, yeah, pretty much.
Speaker APretty much.
Speaker ANotably, Kate, straight up, cannot dance.
Speaker AShe's just, like, kind of flailing a little bit while, like, Jacqueline and Laurie are, like, moving and grooving and so funny.
Speaker AAnd it's clear that Laurie is feeling Valentin.
Speaker AHe calls her a sexy dancer.
Speaker AAnd Jacqueline is, in this moment, entertaining Alexi, who is also a very hot man.
Speaker AAnd Kate is just sort of stuck chatting with Vlad.
Speaker AEventually, the men bring the women shots.
Speaker AImmediate red flags for me.
Speaker AI immediately was like, something's in those shots.
Speaker AAnd then they all cheers to Shia LaBeouf.
Speaker AAnd notably, Kate does not take a shot.
Speaker AThis.
Speaker AI was like, okay, we're gonna see the difference between everybody and Kate.
Speaker BI liked this.
Speaker ALike, this.
Speaker BI don't like Kate, but I was like, you know what?
Speaker BKate is setting boundaries here.
Speaker BShe's respecting her marriage.
Speaker BShe's being cautious because she's getting drunk in a foreign country.
Speaker BI was like, you know what, Kate?
Speaker BYou're doing the right thing here.
Speaker AI think so.
Speaker AI think so.
Speaker AEventually, a bunch of women at the club come up to the guys, and then they all start yelling at the guys in Russian.
Speaker ASo obviously, the guys have been here before.
Speaker AThis is their regular stomping Grounds.
Speaker AAnd they've fucked around with women before as well.
Speaker BWell, my impression was that these people were their potential girlfriends.
Speaker AOh, we think so.
Speaker AI wasn't sure if they were girlfriends or maybe just, like, girls they've, like, ghosted at some point.
Speaker BThe problem is all the dialogue was in Russian and there was.
Speaker AIt's up to interpretation.
Speaker BSo let me ask my Russian friend to do some interpretation for us.
Speaker APlease get back to us on this.
Speaker BI will ask her today.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo Kate, sensing the tension and honestly just like, kind of ready to go, she says that maybe we should all leave and she's kind of hoping the night is wrapping up and we're done.
Speaker ABut then Jacqueline and Laurie are like, let's bring the men back to the villa to drink and keep the party going.
Speaker AKate doesn't love J this.
Speaker AShe just wants to go to bed.
Speaker ABut the men come back to the villa anyway.
Speaker AAnd back at the villa, the gals are drinking with the boys in the pool.
Speaker AThings are getting pretty rowdy.
Speaker AAnd there was definitely something in those shots for sure, because things are, like, getting.
Speaker AI don't know, it's the same sort of vibe that we're getting between the full moon party and back at the villa.
Speaker AThere's, like, the toggling between the two parties happening.
Speaker ASo I think that Laurie and Jaclyn and possibly the men are definitely on ecstasy or some type of drug that was, like, slipped into their shots.
Speaker AThis is just my theory, though.
Speaker AThis is the vibe that I was getting.
Speaker AJaclyn and Laurie are swimming with the men.
Speaker AThey're taking off all of their clothes, and Kate is just sitting beside the pool in her full pajama set just, like, watching the girls.
Speaker AAnd this is where I was also, like, listen, I'm like, kind of feeling Kate here because she wants to go to bed.
Speaker AShe's not.
Speaker AShe's not into this party, but she has the suspicion that something could go wrong.
Speaker ASo she's going to stick by her girls the whole time anyway, even if she's uncomfortable and, like, tired and wants to go to bed and ready to call it a night.
Speaker ASo she's watching the girls get inebriated, getting drunk, getting naked in the pool, and she's just there kind of keeping an eye on things.
Speaker AEntertaining conversations with Vlad.
Speaker ABasically, yeah.
Speaker ABy the end of the night, everyone but Kate is, like, drunk, rambling to each other, and Kate insists on sort of wrangling the gals to bed and sending the men home.
Speaker AHome.
Speaker ASo this.
Speaker AShe seems to be successful at this.
Speaker BShe is the ultimate sorry Mother hen.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BI used to have a joke when I lived in Italy, and I would go out often with my group of friends that one of us would be assigned.
Speaker BMother hen.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BI.
Speaker BE.
Speaker BThe person to, like, ensure everyone is safe, everyone is comfortable.
Speaker BWe go home at the right time.
Speaker BIt was like, you are the responsible one tonight.
Speaker BSo Kate was mother hen.
Speaker AShe was mother Henry.
Speaker BMaybe not by choice.
Speaker BWe're not sure.
Speaker AIt didn't seem like by choice.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AIt seemed like of her own.
Speaker ALike, she just didn't want.
Speaker BShe just went into it.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AShe's so.
Speaker BHonestly, the dynamic of the evening is a dynamic that I feel I have seen play play out on nights out with.
Speaker AI've been a part of these, and I have been the mother hen who's like, can we stop talking to these creepy dudes and go home now, please?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BBut at the same time, I was annoyed by it because I did feel like they were just so firmly playing into these tropes.
Speaker BLike, each woman in the Gal Pals was, like, representing a specific trope of women that you often see on screen.
Speaker BLike Laurie is the fun drunk one, and Jacqueline is the backstabbing one who's gonna go sleep with the man behind her friend's back.
Speaker BI was just like, these are tropes that we see all the time about women.
Speaker BI feel like we could have done something a little more complex and interesting with these characters.
Speaker BMaybe the point was I just feel like they're feeding us this narrative of this dynamic amongst women.
Speaker BBut it's been done, and I don't need to see it on screen again.
Speaker AInteresting.
Speaker BI'm not loving it.
Speaker BThis is the one part of the show that I'm just not loving because it's not revolutionary.
Speaker BWhat are you telling me?
Speaker BAll you're doing is reinforcing this idea that women's relationship can be so toxic and they pretend to be friends when really they aren't, and they backstab each other.
Speaker BIt's just, like, not the best representation of women that I've seen in a show.
Speaker AI totally agree and also respectfully disagree as well.
Speaker BI was gonna say, not that I'm against negative representations of women.
Speaker BI just think they need to be more nuanced, and this one isn't nuanced.
Speaker BLike, what is nuanced about this representation?
Speaker BReally?
Speaker BNothing.
Speaker AIt's interesting to me because I feel like I haven't seen this type of representation a lot.
Speaker AAnd I guess it felt nuanced to me in that moment, but it felt particularly like relatable.
Speaker ABecause when I was in my early 20s, like, there were multiple instances where I just found myself in motherhood, mother hen role and felt, like, very uncomfortable with, like, some of my girlfriends maybe getting a little bit too at ease with people that we didn't know and often found myself feeling very stressed about.
Speaker ALike, how are we going to get out of this situation?
Speaker AHow do I, like, wrangle a friend and not abandon her when I feel like she might be in a precarious situation?
Speaker ASo this is the first time I actually felt like that had been.
Speaker AI've seen that in media, like, perfectly, like, sort of nuanced and how messy it can be in those conversations.
Speaker ALike, I thought the actresses did a really great job, like, showing the frustration there or like the.
Speaker AThe ignorance to the situation or whatever it might be.
Speaker ABut, yeah, I haven't seen that too much.
Speaker ABut, like, maybe it's just our media.
Speaker BDiet is different for me also, I've studied this exactly.
Speaker BLike, I wrote papers about this stuff.
Speaker BI think for me, it depends on how it all plays out.
Speaker BLike, what is the conclusion of these relationships?
Speaker BI think that's, like, where the nuance will come out.
Speaker BSo that's what I'm curious to see as this narrative continues.
Speaker AI agree.
Speaker AI totally agree.
Speaker ALike, we'll see what happens in the next episode and how they approach.
Speaker AApproach what happened that night.
Speaker AAnd as you mentioned, yes, everyone goes to bed, or so we think.
Speaker AJacqueline is actually up and sort of like, drunk texting someone.
Speaker AAnd that's when we find out it's Valentine who shows up to her room.
Speaker AThey have sex.
Speaker AShe's betraying her husband, and Laurie, who this entire time she's been telling has should be going for Valentin.
Speaker ASo we'll see what happens with all of this.
Speaker AOkay, so at this point, the moon party is over and the crew is headed back on the boat to the White Lotus.
Speaker AEveryone's feeling drunk, full of ecstasy and sexual.
Speaker ABut Chelsea is still super worried about Rick.
Speaker AAnd she talks about her own pain in this moment, which is really interesting, how she talks about, like, things really bad things have happened to her in her life.
Speaker ABut we don't see her walking around feeling sorry for herself.
Speaker AShe's kind of just like, venting all of this stuff to Chloe.
Speaker AAnd I'm seeing a lot of this stuff come up now.
Speaker AMore and more with commentary around the show about how Chloe is or Chelsea is like this fighter.
Speaker ASo I'm excited to see where, like, this sort of ends up.
Speaker BThis comment from her also, I thought was interesting because I think In a previous episode, I mentioned that we don't know anything about Chelsea, and this reinforces that.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BWe don't know anything about Chelsea because no characters ask anything about Chelsea.
Speaker BWhen does Rick ever ask Chelsea about Chelsea?
Speaker BSo we purposefully don't know anything about her, and she's the character I'm the most sympathetic to.
Speaker AWell, it's almost like she's trying to tell us stuff about her.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ALike, we have this sense that she hasn't always lived in privilege.
Speaker ALike, she's come up from less money and that kind of thing.
Speaker AShe's constantly in awe of the things that she's seeing.
Speaker AAnd it's seen seems brand new to her.
Speaker AAnd then she says she's been through a lot of pain and a lot of shit has happened, but we don't know those nuances.
Speaker AI don't know if that's necessarily relevant to the show and we need to get into all of that.
Speaker ABut you're totally right.
Speaker AWe know the little features, but nobody asks her about that.
Speaker BYeah, it's relevant because it would give us more context about her character and what drives her and all the other characters.
Speaker BAt this point, we know quite a lot about them, but we know literally nothing about.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker ASo we know.
Speaker BWe don't know what drives her motivations or, like, what got her to this place.
Speaker BLike, we literally don't know anything.
Speaker AWe only know, like, vague pain and that she's a fighter in some context, but we don't know why.
Speaker AAnd to your note, Chloe fully ignores everything that Chelsea says and is basically, like, dead set on wanting to have an orgy with these brothers.
Speaker ABut she listens to Chelsea's, like, note about pain, like, very vaguely, and says, like, yeah, I think, like, Gary also has dark darkness inside him.
Speaker AI think he's capable of murder.
Speaker AAnyway, over to the orgy.
Speaker ASo that's, like, basically what happens.
Speaker ASo all that goes out the window.
Speaker AThings get rowdy, the brothers kiss, reactions.
Speaker AI noticed Saxon, notably, seems weirded out, even though I think we were getting, like, homoerotic things from him.
Speaker AI don't know if he's necessarily into incest, erotic things, things, but Lachlan thinks it's funny.
Speaker AAnd this was very interesting to me.
Speaker AWhat do you think?
Speaker BWell, I thought it was interesting because I've seen theories floating around that Lachlan may be queer.
Speaker BSo for me, this was just like, oh, is this where that's going, then?
Speaker BLike, he's going to, like, have this orgy experience and realize that, like, he might be gay or bi.
Speaker BYeah, but I didn't think it was going to be with Saxon.
Speaker BThe kiss, that's the thing.
Speaker BI mean, I kind of love it.
Speaker BIt's so messy.
Speaker BI love this mess.
Speaker ASo messy.
Speaker ASo mess.
Speaker BAnd I really hope that it throws Saxon into a crisis of identity.
Speaker BLike, that's really what I'm hoping for.
Speaker BI hope that Saxon just, like, goes along with it, because he'll do anything to sleep with a woman, and then he's just going to be, like, in a total crisis afterward.
Speaker ATotally.
Speaker AAnd you know what?
Speaker AI think this is the perfect segue to talk about Rick and.
Speaker AAnd his friend, because I totally see possible parallels between Saxon's journey and Rick's friend.
Speaker BMaybe Saxon will realize things about himself that he hasn't known to this point.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AOkay, so let's address the incredible scene of Rick and his nameless pal, AKA Sam Rockwell, who is the actor.
Speaker ASo Rick arrives in Bangkok, and he meets up with his old palace.
Speaker AI thought he might be just, like, an arms dealer, but I think you're right.
Speaker ALike a fixer of some kind.
Speaker BHe's some sort of fixer.
Speaker BThat's just what I assumed.
Speaker BYou call him when you need something.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd Rick's storyline mainly revolves around this conversation that he has with Sam Rockwell.
Speaker AI'm just gonna call the character Sam for now.
Speaker ASo we get some great exposition from Sam.
Speaker AHe's been sober for 10 months.
Speaker AAnd Rick says it's weird because we've never actually hung out sober before.
Speaker AAnd we find out that's because Sam has found religion and he had to because he was taking partier partying as far as it could possibly go.
Speaker AAnd we get the monologue that everyone is just.
Speaker AEveryone's like, the monologue, the monologue.
Speaker ASo good.
Speaker AAnd Sam Rockwell, an iconic actor, so everything he does is always great.
Speaker ASo he goes on to tell us that he moved to Thailand because he had to leave the States.
Speaker AAs expected, you either come to Thailand and stay here because you had to, or you're finding something.
Speaker AHe's always liked Asia, Asian girls, and he was picking up girls in Thailand every night.
Speaker ABut he was getting out of control.
Speaker AAnd after a while, he started to lose it.
Speaker AAnd he was questioning, like, what is desire?
Speaker ALike, what does all of this mean?
Speaker ASo he realized that maybe what he really wants is to be one of these Asian girls.
Speaker ASo one night, he took home a ladyboy and let the ladyboy fuck him.
Speaker AAnd he says it was magical.
Speaker AAnd then he realized maybe what he really wants to be is this Asian girl getting fucked by himself.
Speaker ASo he started looking for a white guy to fuck him and even dressed up as a woman.
Speaker AHe found these white guys and even paid them.
Speaker AAnd then he started getting addicted to white guys railing the shit out of him.
Speaker AAnd he would even hire Asian women to come and watch.
Speaker AAnd it felt like, I am her.
Speaker AI am fucking white me.
Speaker ARick has absolutely no words listening to all of this.
Speaker AHe's just kind of, like, absorbing being like, holy shit, this is an awakening that's been happening over the last.
Speaker AYeah, ten months, I guess.
Speaker AOr I guess more than that, because he's been sober for 10 months.
Speaker AUltimately, Sam says that he's been trying to fuck his way to an answer for fulfillment and realized that he had to stop.
Speaker AAnd that's when he got into Buddhism.
Speaker AThat being sober isn't what's hard.
Speaker ABeing celibate is.
Speaker AAnd I miss that pussy, man.
Speaker ASo I'm curious.
Speaker AFirst of all, I think I mentioned this parallels here to, like, possibly what we might see happen with Saxon.
Speaker AI think maybe this is foreshadowing.
Speaker ABut also I'm curious about how you compare this to Piper's journey, because she's also looking for fulfillment.
Speaker BOkay, well, the first thing I'll say is, like, my main takeaway from this conversation, how proud I am of these two men for having such a vulnerable conversation together.
Speaker A100%.
Speaker ALike, I think we can look at Rick's face and see, like, possible judgment there, but absolutely no judgment vocalized or said or shame put on Sam.
Speaker AWhich is great.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI think, like, obviously they're very two different scenarios, but the parallel for me is that they're both lost.
Speaker BSo they're both lost in some way, and finding Buddhism is the answer for them.
Speaker BAnd it just makes me think about how I've read.
Speaker BLike, I'm very interested in stuff, like I mentioned before, Nexium, like cults and spirituality and how people get wrapped up in these things.
Speaker BI've always been extremely critical and suspicious of such things.
Speaker BSo I think this is where my interest in it lies.
Speaker BAnd the one thing I always see talked about when I read about this stuff or, like, watch documentaries about it is that all humans want to be part of something.
Speaker BLike, all humans feel comfort in believing the same thing and being part of a social fabric that believes that thing.
Speaker BAnd so all of us are seeking out this kind of community, and people seek out toxic versions of it when they don't have access to, like, the safety and comfort of that community in their already established life.
Speaker BAnd so I think that's the correlation between These characters.
Speaker BIs that the Fixer?
Speaker BI'm just gonna call him the Fixer.
Speaker BThe Fixer was clearly lost and potentially confused about his sexuality and his desire.
Speaker BAnd finding Buddhism gave him an answer to that.
Speaker BAnd then you look at Piper, and she's confused about what life means for her, what her future looks like at home in Texas.
Speaker BAnd Buddhism is gonna find answers for that.
Speaker ASo it's interesting.
Speaker BIt just boils down to them just both being seekers because they're lost.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd it's funny because I don't know if Buddhism is necessarily what both of them feel a connection to or if it's maybe just a puzzle piece that some.
Speaker AThat just fits into the slot.
Speaker BIt could be that, like, they could have replaced Buddhism with really any religion or cult.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AOr even, like, a wellness exercise, like a wellness diet kind of thing.
Speaker BLike, I do think Buddhim is interesting to me because I do think a lot of Westerners view Buddhism as a very peaceful and safe religion, which I think is, like, very true to a degree.
Speaker BBut I don't know if I've ever talked about this on the show, but years ago, when Luke and I were in Myanmar, we hired a local guide to take us walking around a region, and we had really interesting conversations with him, especially in the context of what was happening at the time politically.
Speaker BAnd I will say we were afraid to have these discussions because at that time in Myanmar, like, most foreigners were told, like, do not talk politics at all.
Speaker BBut he would kind of motion towards what was going on with the genocide happening that is still happening in one part of the country.
Speaker BAnd he told us straight up.
Speaker BHe was like, this is an extremism born out of Buddhism.
Speaker BAnd what he tried to say to us that day, like, how we interpreted it, was he was trying to tell us that, like, every religion has the potential to be extreme.
Speaker BWe see that in North America as well.
Speaker BLike, look at America.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo, yeah, I always find it interesting that Westerners, like, view Buddhism as such a peaceful religion because it, like every other religion, does have the potential to become extreme.
Speaker BIt all depends on how you interpret it.
Speaker AYep.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker ASo the episode finally ends, and Rick says that he's probably going to need another favor from the fiction mixer.
Speaker AA little role play.
Speaker AThe next evening, this is where I'm fully seeing Sam Rockwell returns as the producer to talk to Sritala.
Speaker AAnd I think we're gonna go from there.
Speaker ASo that's the episode.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AA lot has happened.
Speaker AThere's a couple extra theories and tidbits that I've Seen floating around the Internet and.
Speaker AYeah, I'm just curious what else you're thinking about this episode.
Speaker AAny extra things you want to throw out there before we award our conscientious traveler and talk about our top cringe moment?
Speaker BWell, so I normally reference my friend Shir, who watches this show with me every Sunday.
Speaker AI noticed of her this episode.
Speaker BThere is an absence of Sheer this episode.
Speaker BAnd this is why Sheer is in Taiwan.
Speaker BOh, but we have a load of.
Speaker AThe White Lotus for me.
Speaker BI know, but we have been texting and we were talking about how funny Victoria is.
Speaker BHonestly, Victoria is my favorite character right now and how Parker Posey is such an iconic actress.
Speaker BAnd she sent me this video of Parker Posey doing an interview about Jennifer Coolidge.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BYou said in it the way she talks.
Speaker BI texted Sheer back and said she reminds me of Jennifer Coolidge in the way that she talks about things.
Speaker BAnd then Sheare said, she is Moya Rose.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BAnd it clicked for me.
Speaker BYeah, it clicked for me.
Speaker AI saw an interview of Parker Posey talking about how she was kind of doing this Southern lady, and she said that there was something that she really admired and noticed from a lot of, like, southern women and sort of like, in the.
Speaker AMore of the, I guess, elitist space or something, was like a romanticization of, like, each of the words that they say.
Speaker AAnd that's why she sort of like has this long, drawn out way that she talks.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd she's like, every word is just like romanticized and emphasized.
Speaker AAnd I was.
Speaker BAs soon as she said Moya Rose, I was like, that's so true.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BIf you haven't.
Speaker BIf you.
Speaker BIf anyone listening doesn't know the show.
Speaker BSchitt's Creek, another Canadian piece of content.
Speaker BGreat show.
Speaker BJust look up a clip of the character Moya Rose, and they are really similar.
Speaker BIt's kind of funny.
Speaker BI wonder if Moira Rose was some inspiration.
Speaker AIt's a great parallel, for sure.
Speaker AOkay, here's a theory that I found online also.
Speaker AThe blender.
Speaker AThe blender and the poison fruit.
Speaker APeople are noticing that in the last episode, not this recent one, but the blender is getting a lot of screen time.
Speaker AAnd we had that little Chekhov's gun of the poisonous fruit in episode one.
Speaker AAnd people are pointing out that Saxon has been shoveling these smoothies into Lachlan's body and that Lachlan might be the one to drink a poisonous smoothie.
Speaker AAnd that's why he might be the dead guy at the very beginning.
Speaker AInteresting.
Speaker BI do like that theory.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd then I also saw another interesting theory that in the paintings, the opening credits, somebody was reading it as, you know, how you talked about how the monkeys were taking over the people inside and you seeing these depictions of nature sort of taking over humanity.
Speaker ASomebody else was reading it as the monkeys are actually a depiction of foreigners taking over local customs, which I thought was really interesting too and kind of like coming in and just like destroying local culture to appropriate it for themselves, which I thought was also another interesting theory.
Speaker AOr just read, read on it.
Speaker BYeah, okay.
Speaker BYeah, I like that.
Speaker BI do like that.
Speaker BSo I have one, one theory to throw out which literally just popped into my head.
Speaker BI'm wondering if Rick is going to learn an alternative history when he confronts Jim.
Speaker AI bet you he will listen.
Speaker BListen.
Speaker BAll he knows is what his mother, who he told us has a drug addiction, has told him about this story.
Speaker BAnd it does sound like a bit of a far fetched story because she frames it like Rick's father was doing all this good work here in Thailand and that's what happened to him.
Speaker BLike that's what led to his demise.
Speaker BI'm wondering if Jim is going to say a completely different story and it's going to challenge Rick's understanding of what happened to his father.
Speaker BLike maybe that's not at all what happened to his father.
Speaker BMaybe Jim is his father.
Speaker BWe don't know.
Speaker AThis is a theory I was hearing.
Speaker ASo there is a theory that Jim and his and Rick's mom were together and that Jim left his mom for Sritala, went to Thailand and then she was super depressed and was with Rick's dad.
Speaker AAnd I guess, yeah, some messiness there or something.
Speaker ASo we'll see.
Speaker BI have a feeling there's going to be some sort of bomb dropped.
Speaker BWe're going to learn something different.
Speaker ATotally, totally.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker AWhat was your top travel cringe moment?
Speaker BDefinitely Victoria saying to Piper, you want to live in Taiwan?
Speaker BI think not knowing the country you're in currently is probably.
Speaker AI don't think it gets any cringier than that, for sure.
Speaker BCruise ship energy.
Speaker BYou know when they say that people get off of cruise ships and they think they can use American dollars and they don't know what country they're in.
Speaker BIt's cruise ship energy.
Speaker AIt's cruise ship energy for sure.
Speaker AI also was quickly noting, I don't know if this is like a travel.
Speaker AI guess it's kind of a travel cringe moment, which is my thoughts on Fabian's conversations with Gary about Belinda.
Speaker AThere's a lot of stuff out there that says, when you go to a hotel, make sure that you're the person checking you in doesn't say your room number out loud so that people in the vicinity don't know what room you're staying in.
Speaker AI'm worried that Fabian gave Gary too much information about where Belinda is staying, staying, who she is, all the things about her identity that he knows.
Speaker ASo we will see what happens with that.
Speaker AOkay, who are you doling out your Conscientious Traveler Award to?
Speaker BOh, my gosh.
Speaker BIn a wild turn of events, I am giving my Conscientious Travel Award to Saxon.
Speaker AOkay, explain.
Speaker BWho would have thought Saxon gets my Conscientious Travel Award because he resisted taking drugs at the Full moon party.
Speaker ABut then he did.
Speaker BBut then he did.
Speaker BBut he was the only person to resist.
Speaker BAnd he actively tried to stop Lachlan.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd he was even telling Lachlan, like, pace yourself.
Speaker BThis is gonna be hardcore.
Speaker BSo I thought, you know what?
Speaker BHe gets it, because that is truly a good practice.
Speaker BTo wild.
Speaker AWild turn of events.
Speaker AFor this podcast, it was literally I.
Speaker BStopped the show, and I thought to myself, saxon, thank you.
Speaker BYou've finally done something good, even though it didn't last and you gave in after some resistance.
Speaker BYeah, he gets my award.
Speaker AGood.
Speaker AI'm not gonna lie.
Speaker AIt was really hard for me to select someone for this.
Speaker AThis episode because it was just so chaotic and, like, a lot of different things happening.
Speaker AAt first I was like, oh, it's got be Rick for, like, listening and absorbing Sam's story.
Speaker ABut that has nothing to do with travel.
Speaker AIt just.
Speaker AI guess it kind of does, but I don't know.
Speaker AI think my Conscientious Traveler Award, in a shocking turn of events for me, I think, is going to go for Kate.
Speaker AI think Kate was also, like, looking out for the gals, adopted the mother hen role, which is super important when you're partying in an un, like, unfamiliar country, and just, like, was just, like, watching out for her gal pals to make sure that nobody was going overboard or taking advantage of them to the best of her abilities that she could as a skinny little white lady in a foreign country.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo I think I'm going to give it to Kate.
Speaker BOkay, I agree with that.
Speaker AOkay, well, next episode's going to be even more Buck Wild, I think.
Speaker ASo best of luck to you as you recap it, because this one was a doozy for me.
Speaker BSo, yeah, it's gonna be a challenge.
Speaker BI think we vastly underestimated how hard it is to recap a show like this.
Speaker AI think White Lotus in particular, a definite challenge.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker AIf you are listening to these episodes and these recaps, we would love to hear from you and hear what you're thinking of them and also just tell us what you want to know more about what we can dig into more.
Speaker BAlso, I want to know everyone's thoughts and theories.
Speaker BI also want to know because now I'm curious, like how people feel about the gal pals, like the different interpretations there.
Speaker BYeah, tell us what you're thinking.
Speaker BSo you can send us a DM or DM me on pinotravels or you can also leave a review if you would like.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker BBut yeah, let us know because we were curious to hear from everyone.
Speaker BWe know people are listening to this, but we haven't heard from any of.
Speaker AWe don't know at this.
Speaker AThink.
Speaker ATell us.
Speaker ATell us.
Speaker AOkay, Erin, well, I guess I'll see you at the White Lotus next week.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker BSee you next week.