The White Lotus Season 3: Timothy Digs His Own Grave By Disobeying 1 Hotel Rule That Could’ve Saved Him From the Kenny Mess-Theory
- Jason Isaacs' Timothy Ratliff to be caught up in money laundering deal with business partner Kenny Nguyen
- Fans believe Ratliff could have avoided all the mess by following the resort's one simple rule
- Jason Isaacs admits he didn't watch the show until he auditioned for Season 3
Created by Mike White, season three of the black comedy-drama anthology series The White Lotus premiered with two episodes on February 16, 2025. The third season follows the guests in The White Lotus resort situated in Thailand. The show stars Jason Isaacs, Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, and more.
With two episodes out, the third season of The White Lotus has garnered positive responses from the critics as well as the audience, who are eagerly waiting for the remaining episodes. Even though it has been noted that the initial episodes of the anthology series are a slow burn, it gets interesting. Fans on social media have already started to share their theories about the characters, and it’s too good to miss.
Jason Isaacs’ Timothy Ratliff missed out on saving himself from being implicated in The White Lotus Season 3
Actor Jason Isaacs portrays a financier from Durham, Timothy Ratliff, who travels to Thailand with his family to The White Lotus resort. In episode one, he receives a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter who inquires about his business partner Kenny Nguyen’s dealings in Brunei. At the time, Ratliff tells the reporter that he hasn’t spoken to Kenny in years, but as soon as he disconnects the call, he calls up Kenny and asks him to call him back.
Ratliff’s business partner calls him back in episode 2, where he reveals that one of his employees had ratted him out to the press and the FBI. The two of them talk about a shady deal Ratliff helped Kenny with, which is now coming back to bite them. Kenny tells Timothy that he’s calling him from a burner phone and is terrified of what could happen as a result of their shady work in the past.
Still panicking, Nguyen starts to tell Ratliff about how the FBI had raided his place and had everything with them; Timothy reminds him that he had told him that the current situation would never happen. Timothy also realizes that the FBI could trace things back to him, and he’d be implicated in money laundering as he made $10 million from the Sho-Kel fund.
Now, it will be interesting to see how things will turn out for Timothy Ratliff as if found guilty, it can turn his and his family’s world upside down. But fans on social media have one theory on how Mr. Ratliff could have avoided all of this. That is by following the resort’s rule to submit the phones.
A Reddit user shared that Timothy Ratliff should have been intelligent enough to understand that there is a high probability that Kenny Nguyen’s phone is probably bugged and that talking to his business partner can be dangerous for him. The user wrote,
His continued use of his phone despite the hotel staff asking him to deposit it is what further digs his grave, as all calls are either being recorded or show a clear admission of guilt.
The users noted that Timothy Ratliff should have simply submitted his phone and spent his time with his family. It can be a long shot, but maybe the FBI would not have been able to trace the actions back to Ratliff if he hadn’t called Kenny.
Another user mentioned that they are not sure if the FBI couldn’t trace the dealing back to him or not but if he had submitted the phone, he would have got some extra time to spend with his family.
Jason Isaacs admits he ‘lied’ to The White Lotus creator Mike White
In an interview with People, Harry Potter alum Jason Isaacs admits that he lied to the series creator Mike White and executive producer David Bernad during his audition. He said,
I lied to Mike and Dave and told them I was a huge fan. After the audition, I binged seasons 1 & 2. I hadn’t watched it; my family had started without me. They loved it like crazy, and season 2 came on, and they said, ‘Watch it,’ and I went, ‘I want to see season 1,’ so I just hadn’t caught up.
The actor explained that he binge-watched the two seasons in a day and a half, adding that he sat and stewed in his filth, watched the seasons, and realized why people had made such a fuss. Isaacs noted that he eventually did become a fan of the show, but by that time, he had the job.
He went on to share about his The White Lotus Season 3 audition process by recalling that he went to audition and put himself on tape in New York because he was there to launch a show, Archie. Isaacs recalled that he walked past giant billboards in Times Square with his face on them to go into a casting director’s office like he used to in his 20s and put himself on a tape.
The Harry Potter alum shared that he was anxious and nervous, but he finally got the job. Jason Isaacs’ Timothy Ratliff is father to three children: Saxon, Sarah, and Sam, and along with them and his wife Victoria, he’s vacationing in Thailand staying at The White Lotus resort. He has been appreciated for his work till now, but more episodes are dropping soon.
The White Lotus Season 3 is available to stream on HBO.
