The White Lotus featured a surprise appearance from Leslie Bibb‘s husband, Sam Rockwell, and his shocking story line included everything from gender identity to sexual experimentation and addiction.
During the Sunday, March 16, episode of The White Lotus, Rick (Walton Goggins) traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, to reunite with a friend played by Rockwell. Rick expected a wild night out but instead his pal revealed he had been sober for nearly a year.
“I found religion,” Rockwell’s character shared. “I took the partying thing as far as it could go. I am sorry to disappoint you.”
Rick’s surprise caused his friend to expand on his personal growth.
“I moved here [and] picked Thailand because I always had a thing for Asian girls. When I got here, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had money, no attachments and nothing to do so I was partying. It got wild and I was picking up girls every night,” Rockwell’s character explained. “It was always different ones: petite ones, chubby ones, older ones and sometimes multiple ladies a night.”
Rick’s pal recalled being “out of control,” adding, “I became insatiable. After about a thousand nights like that, you start to lose it. I started to wonder why did I have this need to f— all these women? What is desire? The form of this cute Asian girl, why does it have such a grip on me? Because she’s the opposite of me is she going to complete me in some way?”
While questioning his sexuality, Rockwell’s character decided to try something new.
“I realized that I could f— a million women but I would still never be satisfied. Maybe what I really wanted is to be one of these Asian girls,” he said. “One night I took home some girl who turned out to be a lady boy, which I had done before but this time instead of f–king the lady boy, the lady boy f—ed me.”
Rick was shocked at how his friend described his sexual escapades.
“It was kind of magical. And I got into my head that what I really wanted was to be one of these Asian girls getting f—ed by me and to feel that,” Rockwell admitted. “So I put out an ad looking for a white guy who is my age to come over and f— me. Then I put on some lingerie and perfume so I could look like one of these girls. I thought I looked pretty hot. Then the guy came over and railed the s— out of me.”
He continued: “I got addicted to that — sometimes three or four guys would come over and rail the s–t out of me. Some I even had to pay. And at the same time I would hire an Asian girl to just sit there and watch the whole thing. I would look her in the eyes while some guy was f—ing me and I would think, ‘I am her. And I am f—ing me.’”
Before getting sober, Rockwell’s character explored his relationship with his identity. “Sex is a poetic act. It is a metaphor but metaphor for what?” he noted. “Am I a middle aged white guy on the inside too? Or, inside could I be an Asian girl? Guess I was trying to f–k my way to an answer. Then I realized I got to stop. The drugs, the girls, the trying to be a girl.”
It was Buddhism that ultimately changed Rick’s friend. “[It] all about spirit vs. form and detaching from yourself,” Rockwell concluded. “Being sober isn’t so hard. Being celibate, I still miss that.”
The conversation ended with Rick trying to show support. He later asked his acquaintance to keep the next night free in case Rick needed his help. Viewers might remember that Rick told his girlfriend, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), that he came to Thailand to get revenge for his father, which is likely where his story line is going next.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the episode, Chelsea enjoyed a night out with Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) and brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola). The confusing tension between the Ratliff siblings only got more ridiculous when they shared a kiss during their drunken adventures.
Their parents, however, were having a more difficult night after Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) revealed she planned to stay in Thailand. Victoria (Parker Posey) refused to accept that her daughter wanted to explore a different religion while Timothy (Jason Isaacs) was too preoccupied with the legal issues facing him back in the U.S
As for Kate (Bibb), Laurie (Carrie Coon) and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), their girls’ trip took a wild turn when they went to a club with Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) from The White Lotus. They eventually bid the men goodbye — except for Jaclyn who secretly invited Valentin back to her room.
There was also Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), who tried to alert Fabian (Christian Friedel) to Gary’s (Jon Gries) true identity. Her warning was ignored and somehow that led to her finally hooking up with Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).
New episodes of The White Lotus air on HBO Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
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