We’re at the halfway point of The White Lotus and things are heating up in Mike White’s sharp satire of overprivileged white people at play. Some critics, including our own, have said this season feels repetitive, but I’m not so sure. After the giddy heights of season two and the “gays are trying to murder me”, White has reset the table, going for a darker tone that’s building like a tropical storm. He’s making us sweat and wait, which in this era of one-and-done streaming drops, is something audiences have forgotten how to do. With that in mind, it’s time to pull up a deckchair and have a look at what’s happened and take a guess at what lies ahead in the last four episodes.

What we know

There’s a gun and there is, at least, one body. But did one lead to the other? We don’t know! There were multiple gunshots heard at the beginning of episode one and multiple guns have been seen at the resort (the one that was stolen by Timothy from the security gatehouse after Gaitok left it out; the guns carried by hotel owner Sritala’s bodyguards; and the guns carried by the men in the hotel robbery). We also know there’s a murderer in and around the hotel – shady Gary/Greg, who is still wanted in connection with Tanya’s death and now seems to have Belinda in his sights. Relaxing? I think not! Get me a bottle of Victoria’s Lorazepam, pronto.

What is the deal with Gary/Greg?

We know he is in hiding, refusing to return to Italy and face questioning over Tanya’s death. We know he’s loaded after his “crazy” billionaire wife conveniently drowned.

We know he’s googled Belinda, and we know she’s googled him and we know they know each other. But there are still known unknowns, so who knows what’s going to go down.

Any clues?

Look to the opening credits! The ornate designs that appear at the beginning of The White Lotus are filled with representations of our favourite characters. Lonely lady in a tower with a monkey on leash in season two? That’s Tanya! Monkey smoking a pipe in season three? That’s Victoria! The designs are created by US studio Plains of Yonder, which designed the clue-laden credits after reading the script.

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For season three’s design, the studio was inspired by the interior of three Bangkok temples and combined these into the one work.

“There are eyes and faces and creatures lurking around every corner and every tree, both human and animal. We were trying to say everything is beautiful, yes, but there is danger everywhere,” the studio’s co-founder Mark Bashore told design site It’s Nice That.

So what should you look out for? There’s a floating body, for starters, as Sam Nivola’s name flashes up (he plays the youngest Ratliff – Lochlan), while Jason Isaacs, who plays Lochlan’s father, Timothy, his name is shown next to a man sitting in a tree filled with knives.

Things also aren’t looking great for darling Chelsea (Rick’s long-suffering girlfriend) as Aimee Lou Wood’s name appears over a picture of dog being eaten by a tiger.

That’s not to mention the hordes of monkeys, people-eating fish and warring humans. Does it mean anything? Who knows!

Monkey business

Speaking of opening credits, monkeys feature prominently in all three seasons of The White Lotus credits.

In season three, they are also in the trees watching our guests’ every move, while monkey statues are scattered throughout the resort grounds.

The biggest monkeys of all could be the Ratliff siblings, as they are often positioned as the three wise monkeys from the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” proverb. In Mike White’s world, nothing is a coincidence.

What’s everyone talking about?

The first four episodes have featured a few moments that have sent fans scrambling: the change in theme tune (settle down, people, it changes every season), the voice cameo by Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan in episode two (he was Kenny on the other end of the phone to a very stressed Timothy); and Patrick Schwarzenegger’s, um, bum and, er, front bum.

Are there Australians in it?

Sure are! When the three friends Jaclyn, Laurie and Kate needed some fun, their “butler” Valentin sent them down the road to another resort filled with older Australian tourists with dead husbands.

Liddy Clark and Wendy Strehlow delivered a wonderfully deadpan performance, while over on Gary/Greg’s boat, Rob Carlton popped up as one of the sleazy guys with a much younger Thai girlfriend.

As Carlton told website TV Tonight: “Nobody does suspicious Aussie blokes better than me!”

Can I visit The White Lotus?

If fictional cursed hotel chains are your thing, you can stay at the five-star Four Seasons Koh Samui, where season three was filmed. Just make sure your accounts aren’t frozen like the Ratliffs, as accommodation starts from $2000 a night.

So who’s going to die?

The short answer is, I really don’t know. White doesn’t make it easy – he delights in sending his audience down the wrong path.

But what we do know is that Buddhism is playing a big role this season and Buddhists take the role of karma very seriously. It’s not just what goes around comes around (Gary/Greg), but that life is circular.

In other words, we all have our ups (Gaitok) and downs (Gaitok) and suffering is part of life (Rick). As a Buddhist monk said in episode one, “identity is a prison” and, I guess, so is actual jail if you’ve been caught laundering money (hi, Timothy!).

Where can I watch it?

Even though the new HBO streaming service Max is launching here on March 31, the final two episodes will still be available on Binge. After that, though, if you want to watch any HBO shows, you will have to subscribe to Max.

What do you think of season four of The White Lotus? Any idea as to who will die? Tell us in the comments below.

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