The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 7 “Killer Instincts” follows Piper Ratliff (Sarah Catherine Hook) during her trial night in the local Thai monastery. Fans of the HBO show know by now that the Ratliffs journeyed to Thailand under the assumption that UNC Chapel Hill senior was working on a thesis about Buddhism. In fact, there is no thesis. Piper wanted to check out the local monastery to see if it would be a good fit for her to pursue a year of meditation post-grad.
After visiting the monastery in last week’s episode, Piper’s father Timothy (Jason Isaacs) acquiesced, saying that Piper should spend one night at the center. If she liked it, she could join the program.
**Spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 7 “Killer Instincts,” now streaming on MAX**
Cut to last night’s episode of The White Lotus. Lochlan (Sam Nivola) winds up wanting to join his sister, while it appears that mother Victoria’s (Parker Posey) prayers to Jesus to save her daughter from the Buddhists might be coming true. Piper seems less than enchanted with the facilities. Her interests wane even more when Lochlan proposes joining her.
So will Piper quit the monastery before she even starts? Was she serious about her interests to begin with?
When DECIDER spoke with White Lotus star Sarah Catherine Hook, she said the way she thought about it was that Piper “went off to college and was exposed to a whole new world.”
“Especially if you go to liberal arts school, you start to shed the ideas that you are raised on,” Hook said. “Like I’m from Alabama and I went to school in New York and I was in an arts program and I definitely had a very, very [big] culture shock experience there. And I think that’s probably the case for her.”
Throughout The White Lotus Season 3, Piper seems to be the only Ratliff aware of the family’s privilege. Her interest in Buddhism seems to relate to her rejection of her family’s materialism.
“I think a lot of it comes from a place of shame and guilt, but also like a genuine curiosity,” Hook said. “Like I think she’s someone who doesn’t do things lightly and has taken her studies very seriously. Like, I think she is like a ‘little philosopher.’”
However, while Hook was adamant that Piper’s interest is “genuine,” she also admitted that there was something very “funny” about her character’s plan, given her existence in the satirical world of The White Lotus.
“But what is funny is that, like, of course, this little rich girl is like, ‘Yeah, my next move, for my life and career, I’m going to let my dad pay for me to live in a monastery for a year.’ You know what I mean?” she said, giggling. “That’s kind of where the question mark comes about for me.”
“At least that’s how I saw it. I was like, ‘This is so classic White Lotus!’”
After last night’s episode, it looks like the “little rich girl” in Piper could very well be peeking out.
The post Will Piper Quit the Monastery? ‘The White Lotus’ Star Sarah Catherine Hook Reveals If Her Character’s Interest in Buddhism is “Genuine” appeared first on Decider.
