# Same Spirits, New Forms
**"Same Spirits, New Forms"** is the first episode of the third season of *The White Lotus*, an American black comedy drama anthology television series, written and directed by series creator [Mike White](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-white-filmmaker). It premiered on February 16, 2025, on HBO and [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max), is the fourteenth episode of the series overall, and runs 61 minutes with a TV-MA rating.[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23742634/) The episode opens the season set at a White Lotus resort in Thailand, introducing a new ensemble of guests and staff while following the formulas established in the first two seasons: a violent opening scene followed by a rewind of one week.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Episode position | Season 3, episode 1 of *The White Lotus*; fourteenth episode of the series[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms) |
| Broadcast | February 16, 2025, HBO and HBO Max; directed and written by Mike White[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms) |
| Length and rating | 1 hour 1 minute; TV-MA; genres comedy, drama, mystery[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23742634/) |
| Opening scene | Gunshots interrupt a meditation session; Zion hides in a pool, prays at a Buddha statue, and a body floats past[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) |
| Critical reception | Rotten Tomatoes reported 100% approval with an average rating of 7.7/10; IMDb users rate it 7.3/10[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23742634/) |
## Production
Mike White wrote and directed the episode, his fourteenth writing and directorial credit for the series, and serves as creator and executive producer alongside David Bernad and Nick Hall.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s03/e01) HBO announced an eight-episode season with streaming availability on Max.[5](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
Natasha Rothwell returned as a series regular after her first-season appearance as spa manager Belinda Lindsey.
## Cast
HBO's season announcement named [Leslie Bibb](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-bibb), Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong, and [Aimee Lou Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/aimee-lou-wood) among the cast.[5](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) The episode's credited players include [Parker Posey](https://www.edgepedia.org/parker-posey) as Victoria Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff, Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff, Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea, Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok, and Nicholas Duvernay as Zion Lindsey.[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms)
[Jon Gries](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-gries) appears as Greg Hunt, a return not announced before broadcast; several reviewers expressed surprise at his appearance. Greg becomes the only character to have appeared in all three seasons of the series.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
## Plot
The cold open follows Zion, a college student, in a meditation session with Amrita, a resort wellness staff member, near a pond. Gunshots break the calm and grow louder; guests run for cover and glass shatters. Zion, thinking of his mother, slides into the water, pauses at a Buddha statue to wish for her safety, and a body floats past him.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) • [1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms)
The story then rewinds one week to the guests' arrival by boat. __The premiere is stage-setting__: it introduces the new ensemble, their relationships, and the resort's staff.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) Among the arrivals:
- **The Ratliff family**, led by financier Timothy Ratliff ([Jason Isaacs](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-isaacs)) and Victoria (Parker Posey), with children Saxon ([Patrick Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-schwarzenegger)), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan ([Sam Nivola](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-nivola)). The trip exists so that Piper, a religious studies major, can interview a Buddhist monk for her university thesis. The family is told there is no Wi-Fi in the rooms and that they must surrender their electronic devices for the week.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) • [1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms)
- **Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood)**, a couple with a large age gap; Rick is moody and has an unstated purpose involving Sritala Hollinger's husband.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
- **Three lifelong friends**, Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan), a television star paying for the trip, with Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon). Reviewers highlighted the trio's imbalance: Jaclyn and Kate trade compliments while Laurie, recently divorced, withdraws and cries alone in her room.[6](https://episodicmedium.substack.com/p/review-the-white-lotus-same-spirits)
- **Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell)**, on an exchange from the Maui branch to study the Thailand resort's wellness program, accompanied by her son Zion.[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms)
Staff members introduced include Gaitok, a security guard who gives his colleague Mook (Lalisa Manobal, the musician [Lisa](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-rapper) of Blackpink) a ride to work, and Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul), who introduces Belinda to a spirit house devoted to Brahma.[1](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms) • [7](https://fanfare.metafilter.com/25568/The-White-Lotus-Same-Spirits-New-Forms) At a bar, Chelsea meets Chloe ([Charlotte Le Bon](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlotte-le-bon)), the younger partner of Greg, who has been living on the island for about a year.[8](https://butwhytho.net/2025/02/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review/)
## Themes and style
Reviewers read the season's central theme as spirituality and death, following wealth in season 1 and sex in season 2.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) The Buddhist setting supplies much of the episode's material: Amrita guides Zion toward calming the "monkey mind," and a passage Piper reads from the monk's book states, "Identity is a prison. No one is spared this prison, rich man or poor man, success or failure. We build the prison, lock ourselves inside, and throw away the key."[8](https://butwhytho.net/2025/02/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review/)
The episode retains the series' structural formula, beginning with a death or its aftermath and then rewinding a week; season 1 opened with a coffin at an airport and season 2 with bodies washing ashore.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/) The season also introduced a new version of the series' theme music, originally composed by Cristobal Tapia de Veer; the replacement was less abrasive, with ominous, bassy synth washes, and some viewers lamented the change.[9](https://seantcollins.com/2025/02/the-white-lotus-thoughts-season-three-episode-one-same-spirits-new-forms/) • [10](https://episodicmedium.substack.com/p/review-the-white-lotus-same-spirits/comments)
## Reception
Proma Khosla of IndieWire gave the episode an A- and wrote that it "skillfully introduces a large ensemble."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s03/e01) Other critics noted the slow pace: Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer wrote that "aside from the opening scene, the strike-delayed third season starts slowly," and Josh Rosenberg of Esquire worried that fans might lose interest in such a slow burn.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s03/e01)
On IMDb, users rate the episode 7.3 out of 10.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23742634/)
## References
1. ["Same Spirits, New Forms" | The White Lotus Wiki | Fandom](https://thewhitelotus.fandom.com/wiki/Same_Spirits%2C_New_Forms)
2. ["The White Lotus" Same Spirits, New Forms (TV Episode 2025) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23742634/)
3. [Erik Kain, "'The White Lotus' Season 3, Episode 1 Recap And Review: Same Spirits, New Forms," Forbes, February 16, 2025](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/02/16/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-recap-and-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
4. [The White Lotus: Season 3, Episode 1 | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus/s03/e01)
5. [The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 1 Review: A Slow-Burn Premiere | DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review-same-spirits-new-forms/)
6. [Ben Rosenstock, "Review: The White Lotus, 'Same Spirits, New Forms'," Episodic Medium, February 17, 2025](https://episodicmedium.substack.com/p/review-the-white-lotus-same-spirits)
7. [The White Lotus: Same Spirits, New Forms | FanFare](https://fanfare.metafilter.com/25568/The-White-Lotus-Same-Spirits-New-Forms)
8. [Ridge Harripersad, "REVIEW: 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Episode 1 — 'Same Spirits, New Forms'," But Why Tho?, February 16, 2025](https://butwhytho.net/2025/02/the-white-lotus-season-3-episode-1-review/)
9. [Sean T. Collins, "'The White Lotus' thoughts, Season Three, Episode One: 'Same Spirits, New Forms'," February 18, 2025](https://seantcollins.com/2025/02/the-white-lotus-thoughts-season-three-episode-one-same-spirits-new-forms/)
10. [Comments on Review: The White Lotus, "Same Spirits, New Forms" | Episodic Medium](https://episodicmedium.substack.com/p/review-the-white-lotus-same-spirits/comments)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › Comedy and comedy-drama episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license