This hidden monkey symbol in The White Lotus 3 might reveal the Ratliff family’s endings

The White Lotus viewers should all be hired as private detectives, because they spotted a moment in The White Lotus season three which recreats an ancient Japanese proverb about monkeys. It turns out that monkeys are actually a really important symbol throughout The White Lotus, and might reveal what happens to the chaotic Ratliff siblings.

There’s a traditional symbol of three wise monkeys. They represent the proverb “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”. The three wise monkeys are often carved into Buddhist shrines. One covers their eyes, one covers their ears, and one covers their mouth.

Three wise monkeys at the Tosho-gu Shrine in Japan
(Credit: Ray in Manila via Creative Commons)

There’s a shot of the Ratliff family in The White Lotus season three which mirrors the wise monkeys. Saxon’s eyes are covered with sunglasses (so, he’s seeing no evil). Piper has chunky headphones, and is hearing no evil. Lochlan is drinking and covering his mouth, so represents “say no evil”.

Ta-da! *Jazz hands*
(Image via HBO)

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Monkeys have been a really important symbol in previous seasons of The White Lotus. There are monkeys in the vibey opening credits for each series. Season one episode three is literally called Mysterious Monkeys. It’s the one when Mark (aka Sydney Sweeny’s dad) gets wasted, has an existential crisis and concludes that humans are all just monkeys chasing their primal (and often sexual) instincts. The theme song Rennaisance for season two erupts into the whoops of monkeys towards the end. There have been plenty of shots of monkeys vibing around the Thai resort so far in season three. Need I go on? Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if the shootings in this season were by a monkey who found a gun and got a bit carried away.

Monkeys living it up in the opening credits for season three
(Image via HBO)

People interpret the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” proverb in different ways. In Buddhist tradition, the point is that you shouldn’t focus on nasty thoughts, because is make you more likely to focus on nasty things. Western philosophers generally interpret the saying much more negatively. Europeans and Americans sometimes use the saying to suggest people who are delulu about how bad things are become partially responsible for those bad things.

So, what does this mean for the Ratliff siblings in The White Lotus season three? Maybe Saxon is deliberately turning a blind eye to his dodgy business dealings? Perhaps Piper is deliberately tuning out signs that her family is super f*cked-up? Will Lochlan discover something bad, but be blackmailed into staying quiet? People on Reddit are theorising that something incestuous will happen between the Ratliff family. Maybe that’s the evil which the siblings won’t be seeing, hearing or speaking of?

Whatever the case, I don’t think they’re going to have a very happy holiday…

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