Hide or Seek

Did the studio say "you have to dumb this down, middle America doesn't get it. Make it more like marvel"?. Every character is so poorly written and so one dimensional, including established characters from previous seasons. The beauty of the previous two seasons was the realistic dialog, and incredible dimension given to each person. You cared about everyone, and in this season, you care about no one. The cinematography is stunning as always, but the direction is just... dumbed down. Belinda especially, why is she all of a sudden so stereotyped? She feels like an entirely different character. There's a scene of her sitting on a lounger reading a book, and I swear you can see a lightbulb over her head when she gets an idea. It's like watching a high school play. It's all just so.... "High school play".

I see much criticism to the pace, while for me the rhythm of this season is actually an advantage. If nothing overdramatic is happening, it is an opportunity to watch the scenery and the dynamics between the characters (actors are amazing, so different and so complex in their anxieties and internal conflicts) with more attention.

And some questions from last seasons are waking up: Who is Greg after all and what is his biggest problem after his cancer and money issues got, it seems, resolved? Where did Belinda's ambitions shift? How can a dysfunctional family resolve a crisis if they spend a week 24/7 together? To which extent friendship can become dead or reborn if there are political and philosophical differences?

There is no need for innumerable cliff hangers every episode to look forward to the continuation. Drama is actually often happening inside us not outside.

I love the visuals and the acribe but the writing is kinda nonexistent this episode. Wayyy too much time is spent on pointless things that don't really move the story along. The 3 women who went to the retirement community and the water fight are killing the flow. I get what they are trying to do they want them to learn that they aren't young nor old and are better the way they are. It's just so pointless the real story is on the yacht, Bangkok and the mysterious husband. I understand they have to fill in time and they serve a purpose and maybe there is a big pay off in the end but for this episode it's interesting but not amazing.

Simply put, the atmosphere is deep and amazing. It's clear to see how it's either love it or hate it. It may seem slow for some, and for others it's perfectly executed. It's honestly amazing how Mile has put this together and the whole vibe is very, very hard to encapsulate into film/media. I personally think it's going over a lot of people's heads, and I think it's people who are more into fast paced and action packed stuff. The core values of this show and (especially this season which I think is only nice) is the subtle acting, subtle buildup, the quirky characters and atmosphere. But you have to really watch it with heart, otherwise you might get bored if you're on your phone meanwhile.

Top-notch cinematography, engaging story, well-developed characters, soundtrack... I mean, it's all perfect.

For me, this was the best episode of the entire series so far.

This series is about feeling things, it is able to communicate with emotions, which is very difficult to find something similar.

I feel sad seeing so many bad and cliché series getting so much recognition, while something good like White Lotus is criticized as "boring". Have people become so stupid, so used to the same old thing? It seems that only a few can see how extraordinary this series is, at least with the comments I see online.

Congratulations to Mike White, you are a true genius of audiovisual art!