The season finale of The White Lotus aired this past Sunday, creating Thai food delivery delays and leaving viewers floored. Coupled by deaths and drama was the most unpredictable, yet meme-worthy scene of season three: Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, yelling “the coconut milk is off!” in the finale. This sudden outburst — and objectively funny line — is going viral on social media as fans revel in the twists and turns of the season and make connections to Easter eggs that have been hiding in plain sight all along. But what does “the coconut milk is off” mean in The White Lotus finale?
What is the significance of “the coconut milk is off” in The White Lotus finale?
After using the fruity frozen drinks to celebrate their family’s last night in Thailand, fans quickly realized during Timothy’s eerie toast that something major was about to go down. Back at the resort, he spiked the piña colada mixture by blending it with a toxic fruit in hopes of killing his family members. Timothy then offered the poisonous concoction to everyone besides his son Lochlan, claiming that he shouldn’t be drinking underage. (Though the real reason was probably because Lochlan was the only member of Timothy’s family who admitted he could live without their riches.)
Right after his wife and other children take even a sip of the toxic drink, Timothy changes his mind and dramatically yells “the coconut milk is off” as he hits the glasses out of his family’s hands.
This now-infamous line has been circling through social media since the episode aired, quickly becoming one of those “you had to be there” moments for non-watchers. Timothy convinces his family there is something wrong with the ingredient in his piña colada recipe, leaving them perplexed by their father’s behavioral outburst. His wife and kids never realize their father’s true intention.
Why does The White Lotus Piña Colada coffee creamer matter?
Fans are wondering what caused Timothy’s sudden change of heart when serving piña coladas to his family, but they’re more so reflecting on how The White Lotus director Mike White is nothing short of a marketing genius. Back in December, when excitement surrounding the new season was high, Coffee Mate released two The White Lotus-inspired coffee creamers: piña colada and Thai iced coffee. Fans all ran to the grocery store to purchase these and even included them in fun, The White Lotus-inspired drinks served at their weekly Sunday watch parties. But after understanding the real reason they included piña colada in this marketing stunt, many viewers now want to stay far away from both the beverage and the “paradise” that is the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui.
Coffee Mate’s piña colada flavored creamer collab with The White Lotus was originally a tie to the third season’s setting in a Thailand resort. Now, it’s an obvious foreshadow to the finale that we all overlooked when drinking our coffee each morning.
TikTok user @manthalcolwell posted a video the morning after the finale aired, claiming her once tasty piña colada creamer didn’t seem super appetizing after watching Timothy plot to kill his family with the pineapple coconut cocktail.
Other fans, such as @rissrissmariss and @bamboo_bangaa, reacted to the video, leaving comments like “I’ve been making dirty sodas with this creamer for two freaking months” and “I was wondering why they had piña colada creamer because it didn’t seem to make sense for Thailand.”
Even if it didn’t make sense originally, the piña colada creamer now makes a little too much sense and is even a little eerie for some fans’ liking. Regardless of the weird vibes surrounding piña coladas, the coconut milk in the Coffee Mate creamer definitely isn’t off.