Are Smoothies Evil? On ‘The White Lotus,’ Maybe.
One season finale theory posits that poisonous fruit will make its way into one of Saxon’s smoothies, but the idea that smoothies are evil isn’t so farfetched
The following may contain spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3.
Soon, we will finally understand why The White Lotus next-episode previews keep teasing us with shots of a blender. We were first introduced to the blender early in the season when the then wholly unsympathetic himbo Saxon Ratliff, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, obtains one in order to make his requisite protein shakes. Over the course of the season, the grinding whir of the blender — seemingly a Ninja — increasingly upsets his mother Victoria (Parker Posey), whose husband Tim (Jason Isaacs) has stolen her stash of benzos.
We might have initially written off the blender’s appearance as a tool for straightforward character building: Of course Saxon is concerned with getting his protein in; he is, after all, a “soulless” finance bro. In his attempts to bring his brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola) into his lifestyle, Saxon makes him a protein shake and prods him to chug it after Lochlan complains about its flavor.
But just as their brotherly relationship took an unexpected turn, so too might the blender: It’s depicted prominently in an ominous trailer for the season finale, which airs this weekend. The teaser also includes a reminder of the toxic nature of the pong-pong tree, whose fruit falls conveniently around the Ratliff family’s villa. “Locals actually call it the suicide tree,” hotel worker Pam (Morgana O’Reilly) says. Naturally, the theory has emerged that the body we see at the beginning of the season is one of the Ratliffs and that a poisonous smoothie may have been responsible.
It tracks, honestly. Somewhere between the rise of raw vegan influencers promoting rainbow smoothie bowls, the $23 celebrity-collab Erewhon drinks, and the AG1-dosed smoothies of the manosphere, the category of the smoothie has taken on a somewhat diabolical vibe. In a single cup, the smoothie has become a symbol of so many societal ills: the health concerns that veer into disordered eating; the creep of always-be-optimizing hustle culture; the stratification of wealth that allows some to suck down $20 smoothies while others can’t buy groceries.
Of course not all smoothies are evil, but some of them just might be, The White Lotus suggests. The smoothie, full of its supplements and powders, is a food of status and functionality — why do the work of eating when you can guzzle down calories as efficiently as possible? Saxon’s shakes in particular are not about enjoyment, but enhancement: They bring him closer to the lifestyle he wants. In our current society, the smoothie has become an indictment of the wealthy, just like the rest of The White Lotus. Therefore wouldn’t it also be the perfect undoing?
That being said, it also feels a little too tidy a conclusion and if there’s anything we’ve learned from The White Lotus so far, it’s to expect the unexpected. Do bring a smoothie to the season finale watch party on Sunday though.
