Is this fucking play about us?
Until now Ive never really questioned the concept of a friend trio.Charlies Angelsraised me.The Powerpuff Girls?
Those are my animated sisters.
And you know what?
Im not that concerned.
Oopsie lol, one of them DMd after aVoguepieceinspired by the showwarned against three-person girls trips.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
First, it must be said that the guests at theWhite Lotusare fictional characters.
A girls trip of any size is the perfect subject for a roast.
Gossip, eye rolls, politics (literal and social)its all excellent fodder for theWhite Lotustreatment.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
I had this idea of three friends that are almost interchangeable at the beginning,White toldGlamour.
They all have this voluble, excitable energy.
And unravel they do.
Theyre hanging on by a thread heading into the finale, right when they need each other most.
Were told repeatedly that Jaclyn, Laurie, and Kate are a group of old friends.
As soon as that surface is cracked, things get messy.
In most real friendships, you already know aboutand hopefully accepteach others messes.
You know if your friends marriage is rocky, or if they were passed up for a promotion.
Youknowif they probably (definitely) voted for Trump.
Monaghan distilled it nicelyin a recent interview.
This doesnt mean these women dont love each other.
But what they dont seem to realize is that real friendship takes cultivating.
It doesnt materialize out of thin air, as theyre learning during their stay in Thailand.
Im talking to some people who are like, Oh, those women really hate each other.
But then Im like, I think they really love each other, cohost Matt Rogers says.
I think theyre all really trying to connect with each other.
Of course, those insecurities all hit a fever pitch during their night out with Valentin and his buddies.
What could have brought them closerdancing!
OnLas Culturistas,Rothwell pointed to the unspoken feeling of regressing to your younger self when with old friends.
To Rothwells point, I feel 12 years old again anytime Im with my friends (complimentary).
Not in the sense that we cant talk to each otherin fact, quite the opposite.
With your oldest friends, Id argue, your guards should be down rather than up.
He was like, One person would leave and then the other two would start chatting.
Why is it that women do that?
And Im like, We are socially kind of conditioned to do that.
She may be right.
For the record, Im not arguing that a group of three friends cant be toxic.
I just dont think theWhite Lotustrio is the cautionary tale everyone says it is.
Because you know what else can be toxic?
A group of two, four, five, or six.
The number is just a contributing factor.
Three can be a crowd, but it can also be a party.
I choose the latter.
