WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The White Lotus season 3, episode 1.
Patrick Schwarzenegger’s role as Saxon Ratliff inThe White Lotusseason 3 continues his streak of playing a particular type of character in various television series. InThe White Lotusseason 3premiere, Saxon is a red flag machine, exuding everything from entitlement and white privilege to failed serial dating tactics and a bizarrely creepy incestuous vibe with his two siblings. There’s no question that Schwarzenegger’s character was designed by creator Mike White to attract attention for all the wrong reasons.
As a satirical comedy-thriller hybrid,The White Lotushas historically done a great job of encapsulating the toxic and systemic issues of class, race, and wealth. WhileThe White Lotusseason 2swam in the murky waters of betrayal and adultery, season 3 takes aim ata group of dispirited individuals in one of the most spiritual places on Earth. Many ofThe White Lotusseason 3 characters, such as Schwarzenegger’s Saxon Ratliff, are rooted in fraudulent appearances and shady motives, forcing them to perform within their dysfunctional dynamics.
Patrick Schwarzenegger’s The White Lotus Season 3 Role Is Very Familiar
Schwarzenegger Has Played Several Brash & Cocky TV Characters Before
Schwarzenegger has proved himself very good at playing quite brash, cocky, confident, jock-type guys, who can be somewhat unlikable. Some good examples of this arehis roles as Golden Boy inGen Vand Mitchell inMoxie. HisWhite Lotuscharacter Saxon very much fits with this archetype. Even though there was more to the story of his Golden Boy character inGen V, he initially displayed these types of cocky and brash elements that can make him quite polarizing, just like Saxon.
Schwarzenegger, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, has also had more likable and relatable roles in film and television. He recently portrayed a religion-fueled Tim Tebow inAmerican Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, the hard-hitting soldier Donny Mitchell inThe Terminal List, and the warm-hearted romantic Charlie Reed inMidnight Sun.
Parker Posey, who is inThe White Lotusseason 3, worked with Schwarzenegger onThe Staircase.
Schwarzenegger also portrayed the real-life Todd Peterson inThe Staircase, the son of crime novelist Michael Peterson who is accused of killing his wife. Parker Posey, who is inThe White Lotusseason 3, worked with Schwarzenegger onThe Staircase.
The White Lotus May Be Setting Up A Twist With Schwarzenegger’s Saxon
Saxon’s Strangeness Steals The Show In Episode 1 & Sets Up A Potential Shocker
After one episode ofThe White Lotusseason 3, Schwarzenegger’sSaxton is completely awful, predatory, and self-absorbedwith seemingly no redeeming qualities. He’s certainly not the only one delivering weirdness from the Ratliff family, so there are probably a few good developmental reasons why he became a living embodiment of “the ick.”
Hopefully, there will be more to Saxton’s character inThe White Lotusthan him just being an absolute exhibition of arrogance.
Saxton could end up taking on a different andsurprising role in future episodes ofThe White Lotus, such as being the murder victim that was shown in the opening sequence or doing something that helps his little brother out. Hopefully, there will be more to Saxton’s character inThe White Lotusthan him just being an absolute exhibition of arrogance.
