All of The Monkey-Themed Easter Eggs in ‘The White Lotus’

Taylor Swift may be the queen of dropping Easter eggs, but Mike White has some tricks up his own sleeve—as evidenced (most recently) by season three of The White Lotus. Hints of subplots to come were all over the first episode, but one symbol (or rather, one animal) stood out as particularly significant: the monkey.

After the season premiere on Sunday, February 16, fans were quick to begin speculating about the overwhelming presence of monkeys in episode one, which was ominously titled “Same Spirits, New Forms.” The monkeys practically had the Koh Samui resort surrounded, for one, making them an unescapable presence; for two, and as clever fans have pointed out, the Ratliff siblings seem to symbolize the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” proverb, which is traditionally illustrated with a trio of monkeys.

It’s in the first few minutes of episode one that we meet the Ratliff offspring: Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola). In perfect imitation of the proverb, Saxon is covering his eyes on the boat (“see no evil”), while Piper is covering her ears (“hear no evil”), and Lochlan is covering his mouth (“speak no evil”).

As one fan on reddit pointed out this clever tie-in, another replied, “Immediately noticed there were 3 monkeys in the trees that the woman in the milf trio saw and made the same connection.” (The “milf trio” being, of course, successful actress Jaclyn and her longtime friends Laurie and Kate.)

The three wise monkeys proverb has its origin in 17th century Japan, however interpretations vary—whereas in Buddhist tradition they are supposed to compel people to avoid bad deeds, in Western thought they more so represent the crime of turning a blind eye to another’s wrongdoing, and thus failing to speak out against injustice. As to what fate awaits the Ratliff siblings, the “milf trio,” and the rest of Mike White’s unfortunate guests? Only time will tell.