Ever since the first episode of The White Lotus season three aired, people have called 'incest' on the Ratliff siblings. Their dynamic is indescribably uncomfortable to watch, but until now no one has quite been able to put their finger on why.
Both Piper, the middle child, and Saxon, the eldest sibling, have been competing for their younger brother Lochlan's loyalties. Saxon seems hellbent on turning him into an obnoxious, sexually rambunctious mini me while Piper has been quietly hoping he joins her on the moral high ground. In episode five, however, things take a turn.
As Saxon and Lochlan join their new friends on a private yacht to one of Thailand's notorious full moon parties (with no phones because their hotel insists on a digital detox, remember?), their relationship veers sharply into incest territory.
In one chilling scene at the start of the night, Saxon grooms his brother into thinking women 'just want to be used' and that the trick is to 'be confident' and show them what they want because no one knows what they want anyway. Ironically, that is what Saxon has been trying to do to him.
At the end of the episode, however, following a night of debauchery, cocktail buckets and little red pills, they re-board the yacht to return home and play spin the bottle. Saxon asks Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) to kiss, before asking Lochlan and Chelsea to kiss, and then Chloe asks the two brothers to kiss.
At first it's just a peck, but Lochlan lunges in for what can only be described as a passionate snog. Yes, really. Saxon seems a little startled by the whole ordeal while Lochlan proudly takes another sip of his drink. Naturally, given the five episode build up, the scene has sent the internet into overdrive.
'Lochlan was a little too eager to kiss Saxon like sir that is your BROTHER,' reads a post from one shocked viewer on X. Another took a different stance sharing a meme of the The Real Housewives laughing and saying 'thank god' with the caption: 'Me seeing Lochlan and Saxon finally kiss.'
One X user was quick to point out that the kiss symbolises a kind of role reversal between the brothers and gives Lochlan back some of his power. 'I think it’s really fascinating how Saxon is pushing Lochlan to be this macho ladies man meanwhile Lochy is testing his limits with far more extremes, like no hesitation with the drugs & going back for a longer kiss,' they offer.
Another joked, 'People ask me how I can watch White Lotus being in resort management, but it’s great because now when a frat bro makes me mad I'm gonna think “yeah he’s probably gonna go kiss his brother about it".' Of course, there is a popular trope that misogynists overly preoccupied with objectifying women and proving their masculinity might be suppressing or secretly struggling with their own sexuality. This could well be the case with Saxon and/ or Lochlan.
A third post simply reads, 'Gay incest, lorazepam withdrawals, white Christian woman judging in the background, this episode of white lotus has it all.'
It's also worth remembering the popular conspiracy theory that the Ratliff family might be based on the 2001 murder of Kathleen Peterson – the true crime story that inspired The Staircase, which also stars Parker Posey (who plays Victoria Ratliff) and Schwarzenegger. When Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase, her husband Michael Peterson was charged with murder and it later transpired that their friend Elizabeth Ratliff had died the same way years before. Michael was the legal guardian of Elizabeth's two daughters, with true crime fans questioning whether Lochlan and Saxon are related by blood at all, or whether they are step-siblings with a similar dark backstory. Regardless, the kiss has posed a lot of questions...
Even The White Lotus producer David Bernad has weighed in on the discourse and said the kiss was not meant to be 'just for shock'. That might be how audiences are feeling right now in the series, but there are still three more episodes to come – including the aftermath of Saxon and Lochlan's mammoth incest-ridden hangover.
'No, in terms of that – that’s all [creator Mike White]. Mike is brilliant, and I think those big story turns are not just for shock,' Bernad told The New York Post. 'There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across.
He continued, 'as the season wraps up, you’ll see the purpose of that story turn. The show goes there for a larger thematic idea. I love that family storyline, especially the brother story — and, it culminates in a very satisfying way.'
So were those who called 'incest' from episode one on the money all along? Or will the story twist and change again? We can't keep up.... Hopefully in three episodes' time we'll finally have an answer.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).