At the beginning of Carrie Coons time in Thailand filming this season of The White Lotus, she along with her costars Leslie Bibb and Michelle Monaghan was reckoning with the idea that their plotline felt much quieter than the others. The Ladies, as theyve endearingly come to be known, dont have the transgression, or the flashiness, or the Greek tragedy of The Ratliffs financial ruin, or Rick and Chelseas ill-fated love story. But Coon understood it to be the most relatable element of the series and suspected it would be the way that most of the audience found their way into the show. The way we compare ourselves to other people as a way to investigate our life choices felt like an excellent cipher, she says. What she didnt expect, though, is the way that her character Laurie and in particular, the emotional speech she delivers to her friends at their final dinner has struck such an emotional chord with Lotus viewership, many of whom believe Coons monologue to be the highlight. Especially since, as she joked to THR a few days after the finales airing, all of that fanfare is happening on the Internet and not in real life. I just got back from the grocery store, and I got my kids to school and Im going to make dinner and do bedtime and watch a movie with my husband I made the show a year ago, so Ive moved on, but of course Im grateful that people are actually consuming the art that were making because thats always the goal, she says. I was also grateful that Mike gave Laurie that arc. Otherwise I wouldnt have been able to justify going to Thailand and leaving my family behind.

Im sure youve seen that everyone is obsessed with Lauries full sprint away from her friends after the shooting?

I just did what I thought I would do: take off running. And what is she supposed to do, take a bullet for them? I hope I would protect my children, but honestly, what would a person do? Hopefully, I dont have to find out anytime soon, but Im in America, so it could happen.

Whats your take on everyones demeanor on the boat ride home?

I think its probably the following day. I suspect everybody had to be interviewed by police and things like that, and that they had a day to process. But if you look closely you will see that Jaclyn is having a moment on the boat, which I think is quite savvy direction from Mike White. Jaclyn is in fact processing the trauma, and Laurie is trying to help her through it. You dont have three crying women, you have one woman making it all about her, which I think is hilarious. Kate also checks out for a minute; shes processing. It was a moment of ambiguity with Kate at the end, especially since a lot of her story was cut at the end, which offered some more complexity for the character and was a shame because Leslies giving such a masterful performance.

Which scene was this specifically?

There was this whole dream sequence with Kate and a ping pong show and the girls doing their puppet dance from childhood where Jaclyns the face and Lauries the arms. We were wearing these seafoam-colored dresses and it was beautifully shot. It offers more depth to that moment with Kate looking out at the ocean that the audience just isnt privy to.

Leslie Bibb and Carrie Coon with Christian Fiedel in the White Lotus season three finale. Max Have you read some of the sentiment in response to the monologue you deliver in the finale?

I had no idea the number of think pieces the women would inspire, and Ive been very moved by the response, especially from women who say they feel seen. They feel seen in Lauries first breakdown. And maybe were becoming more secular, I dont know, but people relate very much to her sentiment about time giving her life meaning.

How do you interpret her line, Im just happy to be at the table? I felt sad on Lauries behalf like she was devaluing herself compared to her friends, but I might be taking her too literally.

I didnt see it that way. One of the things that occurs in that last altercation in the dining room before she goes off to the fight is that her friends tell her the truth. Laurie thinks of honesty as a virtue, and shes been telling the truth to other people without taking any responsibility for her own choices. Jaclyn and Kate bring up some really challenging ideas for her and her own identity, so I dont think Laurie is any better than the other two in that respect. I think shes been disappointed and has been living out some patterns of behavior. I feel like what that [speech] was about is being present in your life and being grateful for what is right in front of you.

Where do you think their relationship goes from here? Have they worked anything out over the course of the vacation or are they doomed to keep this pattern going?

I think theres a larger cultural conversation there its where the show intersects with some Buddhist philosophy. In Buddhism, they say that when youre living in a comparing mind, whether youre putting yourself above or below someone else, there is suffering. Its a natural impulse, especially since we have more leisure time than we ever have in the course of human history, and we dont rely on survival as we do these more metaphysical efforts to stay alive. But its run roughshod over us. I think Mike is saying that this comparison were all living inside, this performance of self that were doing, whether on social media or as were moving through the world glibly, isnt the source of contentment and happiness but causes greater suffering in our lives.

So, do I think this friendship is going to evolve tremendously? Theres a glimmer of transformation for Laurie, but once she gets home to New York, it will be very easy to fall into those old patterns of behavior, especially because her circumstances are challenging. I can foresee a future where the girlfriends just continue with vaguely texting, occasional phone calls, and then a big trip in three years where this all happens again. We repeat those mistakes until were really ready to receive the lesson and Im not sure theyre ready.

When you watched this season, what struck you from the other storylines that you werent part of or didnt watch as they were filmed?

I intentionally kept a loose grip on the other stories so I could enjoy the show and my friends work. I tried to forget what happened, and I was successful because I couldnt remember if Lochlan died or not. I thought Patrick Schwarzenegger illustrated Saxons paradigm shift so beautifully and as I reinforce whenever I have these interviews, thats not at all what Patrick is like. Hes a much more soulful human than his character. Aimee Lou Wood really steals your heart and I thought that was fun. I was sad to lose Pipers storyline, where she gets together with Zion. And I know people were unsatisfied that Jason [Isaacs] didnt have the confrontation with his family. I thought that when you see that Timothy was on a spiritual journey the whole time it made the rest of it worth it. And I know it was a more cynical ending for Belinda, but I loved seeing that glee and celebration playing out on camera because were all rooting for her.

I know people have been sad to see her act like Tanya, but I thought it would have been a little crazy for her to give up anything to start a business with someone she met a week ago

My husband and I talked about this. He felt really sad for Pornchai. And Dom [Hetraku] really moved everybody when he was filming that scene. Yet, and maybe this is showing my own history of not wanting to be pinned down, but I felt like Pornchai really jumped on Belindas dream so quickly. He was so ready to absorb her dream, and I felt that was a violation. I was affirmed by her choice to say, Im not ready to make this decision. When I was a younger person, I didnt know what my future was going to be and it was very easy for me to sign up for someone elses future. In retrospect, its because I was so compartmentalized. I thought what Belinda did was very empowering.

Aimee Lou Wood has been discussing a lot of the actors and characters astrological charts did she ever give you a reading?

What I ended up doing was signing up to do a reading with her astrologist. I had never gotten my chart done before. Debbie, her astrologer, realized that I have a soul family. Im an Aquarius and my children both have moons in Aquarius at least, I think thats what it is, Im such a neophyte that I dont remember all of it. But my family feels very much like we were always together, and we were always supposed to be together. So that was very affirming.