This article contains SPOILERS for The White Lotus season 3, episode 4.Jason Isaacs speaks about Timothy’s dramatic upcoming arc in The White Lotus season 3. Timothy is the patriarch of the Ratliff family, and from The White Lotus season 3, episode 1, it is clear that he has gotten into some trouble. He is on vacation with his wife Victoria (Parker Posey), daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and sons Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger). With their extreme North Carolina accents and strange relationships, the members of the Ratliff family have been among the most talked-about characters of season 3.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Isaacs discussed his character’s upcoming arc in The White Lotus season 3 after the dramatic events of episode 4. Isaacs started by justifying why Timothy has started popping pills, saying “his entire life is blowing up and [he is] trying to work out what to do about it.” The arc that Timothy eventually devolves into, Isaacs says, is “Shakespearean tragedy stuff.” He recalled thinking “I’ve got to go big — go big or go home” when it came to giving a good White Lotus performance. Check out the full quote from Isaacs below:
He’s drugging himself into a stupor to try not to think about the fact that his entire life is blowing up and trying to work out what to do about it. It was actually quite challenging — I remember reading the scripts thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve got to keep my powder dry for five or six episodes, and then this s— really kicks off.’
You haven’t seen other things that are coming, but I just remember thinking, ‘I better dig deep and produce something here,’ because there’s a lot of parts you can go through and tell a very dramatic story without your character going through anything extreme. But there’s some big, old acting coming up.
[Timothy’s arc is] Shakespearean tragedy stuff. He’s been bottling it up for a very long time. There is a point coming when they leave — if they make it and they’re alive, because who knows — but it’s going to be unavoidable, the big secret he has been harboring.
I don’t know how I pulled it off. The audience will see whether I did or not. It’ll be up to them to judge, but I just remember thinking, ‘I’ve got to go big — go big or go home.’ And then when things happen that I can’t talk about particularly, something else had to kick in, and there’s a mania and a terror that you have to access. You’ve got to get there. I mean, you’ve got to be as real as you can. And yeah, there was some inner gear changes required.
What This Means For The Rest Of The White Lotus Season 3
Timothy Already Looks Rough In Episode 4
Timothy is in pretty dire straits after The White Lotus season 3, episode 4 ending. After reclaiming his phone following finally giving it up during the third episode, he takes a phone call and finds out that his legal trouble with his shady business back home could land him in jail and/or losing his home. He mentions that he would literally rather be dead than go to jail. Towards the end of the episode, the character is seen peering into Gaitok’s office, where a gun sits in a box. The gun is later missing, and it is heavily implied that Timothy has taken the gun.
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The White Lotus Season 3 Cast & Character Guide
The White Lotus season 3 is poised to be the acclaimed HBO series’ biggest season yet, with several big-name actors added to its ensemble cast.
The last audiences see of Timothy, the character is alive. Isaacs’ quote actually implies that the Ratliff patriarch will survive for several episodes longer, as he mentions having to “keep [his] powder dry for five or six episodes” before his story completely devolves. Given the actor does not want to spoil things for the audience, it is possible that Timothy could still shoot himself in episode 5 or 6, but the way Isaacs is framing things suggests that he will make it to episode 8, even if the character does not make it off the island alive.
Our Take On Timothy’s White Lotus Arc
Timothy’s Death Seems Likely
The White Lotus typically reveals its death(s) in the final episode, so structurally, it would make sense for Timothy to die in the finale. Right now, this seems to me to be one of the likeliest death outcomes for the season, given the character’s fragile mental state. With the intense shooting teased in the first episode, however, it is possible that multiple characters will meet a fatal fate by the end of this high-stakes season.
Source: EW
The White Lotus
9/10
- Release Date
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July 11, 2021
- Network
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HBO