The partying Ratliff family kiss between eldest son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and younger brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola) on “The White Lotus” is sparking discussion about severe familial dysfunction.
Sunday’s sensational moment between the brothers has been building since the beginning of Season 3 at the Thailand White Lotus resort. College-bound Lochlan is caught in the middle of an emotional mentor tug-of-war between hedonist older bro Saxon and his spiritually seeking older sister, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).
After Piper announces plans to study Buddhism in Thailand for a year, Lochlan is visibly upset before heading out with Saxon for the Full Moon Party celebration.
Fueled by booze and drugs, the brothers consummate their unhealthy mutual admiration relationship with a kiss at the playful urging of their (also kissing) party yacht friends Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).
Chloe’s jealous, rich and shady boyfriend, Gary (aka killer Greg) owns the yacht, by the way.
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After the brotherly kiss, Saxon’s utterly confused and horrified expression is just the beginning. His eventual realization about the depths of this fraternal interaction will have future repercussions.
“It’s a moment that’s shattering about who he thought he was and what he stood for and what he thought masculinity was,” Schwarzenegger tells USA TODAY of his character. “He’s the one that is all about sex, money, power, wealth and grooming his younger brother and his sister. He’s the one like, ‘Come on, guys, get to understanding life.’ As the show progresses, (Saxon) is on the side of being totally lost. Everything he stood for is now not who he is.”
On Monday, Schwarzenegger reposted a photo shared on X of his and Nivola’s characters with the caption “Call Me By Our Same Last Name,” an allusion to the 2017 drama “Call Me By Your Name.”
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Le Bon told Vulture that Schwarzenegger’s reaction in “the episode is his genuine reaction” when filming the scene.
“We all thought (Schwarzenegger) was going to throw up. And Sam was like, ‘It’s fine, it’s just a kiss, calm down!'” said Le Bon. “Well, obviously, they’re not brothers by blood, so that made it easier. I think for Patrick it was really difficult. For Sam, he was kind of like, ‘It’s whatever, let’s just do it well one time and it will be over.’ Because if you don’t do it well the first time, then you have to do it over and over again.”
Executive producer David Bernad told The New York Post that the incest scene was not just about the “shock” for “White Lotus” creator Mike White.
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“There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across,” said Bernard. “I love that family storyline, especially the brother story — and, it culminates in a very satisfying way.”
Nivola told GQ that the drunken TV moment is pivotal for his character.
“There’s before that and after that, and that was a really important thing,” said Nivola. “Kissing your brother is incredibly wrong and weird and gross. But I think with ‘The White Lotus,’ it’s like these crazy actions and sort of heightened reality coming from really real emotions that are actually really relatable to your everyday guy. He just is desperate for his brother’s approval.”
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Social media reacts to ‘The White Lotus’ kiss: ‘This family is a hot mess’
The reaction on social media was somehow shocked and yet not-so-astonished about the Saxon-Lochlan interaction.
“I’m not surprised because we saw where this was going in the first episode,” wrote one X user. ” I can’t say I’m shocked because ‘White Lotus’ always pushes boundaries. But this is INSANE. This family is a hot mess.”
