Why Jaclyn Is So Defensive About Sleeping With Valentin In The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 6
Warning! This article contains spoilers for The White Lotus season 3, episode 6.
The White Lotus season 3, episode 6 highlights the fallout of Jaclyn sleeping with Valentin, leading to the former acting incredibly defensively. A lot of The White Lotus characters are having bad vacations this time around, but episode 5 gave Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie time to blow off some steam by partying with Valentin and his friends. However, Jaclyn poured fuel on the smoldering fire by sleeping with Valentin after pushing Laurie onto him all season, solidifying her as the worst of the friends in The White Lotus.
In season 3, episode 6, Kate sees Valentin leaving Jaclyn’s room, alerting her other friend in The White Lotus‘ cast. Laurie’s reaction is one of veiled anger and a fair amount of disbelief given Jaclyn’s insistence that the former should hook up with Valentine for the past five episodes. Eventually, Laurie confronts Jaclyn for sleeping with Valentine in The White Lotus, leading to some highly awkward conversations. What is interesting about Jaclyn’s reaction, however, is how defensive she gets over something that is blatantly true, begging the question of why she does so.
Jaclyn’s Response Over Valentin Comes From Guilt & Her Own Insecurities
Jaclyn’s Personal Issues Are Causing Her To Lash Out
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After being confronted by Laurie, Jaclyn becomes immediately defensive. She denies that she even slept with Valentin and that he simply stayed the night, which Laurie and Kate both know to be false. Laurie continues pushing, which only makes Jaclyn more defensive until she becomes outwardly angry. The main reason for this is Jaclyn’s guilt. Jaclyn likely feels guilty for somewhat betraying Laurie who, while not in any kind of committed relationship with Valentin, clearly liked him and was definitely warming up to the idea of a holiday romance with him, as Jaclyn had tried to push her into.
It has been made clear that Jaclyn has a partner back home and, despite their issues, she is likely shaken by openly cheating on him…
Beyond betraying Laurie, Jaclyn undoubtedly feels guilt for her infidelity. It has been made clear that Jaclyn has a partner back home and, despite their issues, she is likely shaken by openly cheating on him, which manifests as defensiveness. Linking to her relationship, Jaclyn also has insecurities about her own relationship and sought validation and attention from Valentin. Rather than face these insecurities, she put up a wall and denied it. It has also been implied that Jaclyn’s competitive nature and need for attention comes from physical insecurities, which Valentin assuaged. Like the other insecurities, Jaclyn’s defensiveness masked them.
Jaclyn Sleeping With Valentin & The Reactions To It Highlight The Friends’ Problems
The Friends’ Relationship Will Not Help Jaclyn’s Defensiveness
What will undoubtedly make Jaclyn more defensive in The White Lotus season 3 is that she, Kate, and Laurie are not true friends. If the trio were shown to have less toxic, more genuine connections with one another, it is likely Jaclyn would have owned up to her friends before this and spoken about her insecurities, thus never sleeping with Valentin. Instead, Jaclyn chooses to give in to her urges and betray Laurie, highlighting her problems as a friend while also showcasing how their relationship is not the best.
Moreover, she could have been less defensive about her guilt if the trio had been closer and more respectful. Instead, Laurie and Kate gossip about the situation with the former being very confrontational and taking subtle digs at Jaclyn. Overall, The White Lotus highlights how bad the three are as friends, which can be viewed as a reason why Jaclyn is so defensive, but also why she even slept with Valentin in the first place. More genuine care for one another may have prevented this, but true friendship seems to be hard to come by for this The White Lotus storyline.
Kate’s Response To Jaclyn & Laurie Makes Their Story Sadder
Maybe There Is A Genuine Friend Among The Fakeness
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Moving away from Jaclyn’s defensiveness, one element of The White Lotus season 3’s storyline actually makes the friends’ connection – or lack thereof – sadder. Kate begins the episode gossiping about Valentin and Jaclym to Laurie at breakfast as she assumed the latter would find it funny and begin gossiping alongside her as they have been shown to do in previous episodes. Given Laurie’s somewhat connection to Valentin, though, she reacts differently and shows she is angered and upset by Jaclyn’s actions.
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The White Lotus episode 5 puts many of its characters on a collision course with disaster, but it pulls back in time to save the tension for later.
This shocks Kate, and she begins to look almost guilty for upsetting Laurie and causing trouble between her and Jaclyn. Although Kate has been shown to be as big a gossip as anyone in The White Lotus season 3, these events do show her to care about her friend’s feelings, at least on a deeper level than Jaclyn and Laurie do. Amid all the angst, anger, cattiness, and fake friendships, there is an element of sadness to Kate’s story if she does truly want genuine friendships beneath all the gossiping, as it is unlikely the trio will ever manage that.
Will Jaclyn Face Any Real Consequences For Sleeping With Valentin?
What Could Be The End Point Of This Storyline?
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With all of this in mind, the question is whether Jaclyn’s actions will be addressed. Laurie did confront her in The White Lotus season 3, episode 6, but her defensiveness meant that a lot of it was brushed under the rug. This seems to be a common occurrence where Jaclyn and Laurie are concerned, with the latter insisting that the former has pulled stunts like this since school. Therefore, it could be possible that Laurie simply lets Jaclyn off with things and continues to enable her actions.
Instead, Laurie could truly talk to Jaclyn, tell her how she feels, and stop the cycle of toxicity that has seemingly persevered for decades. This would mean that Jaclyn faces some ramifications for sleeping with Valentin, at least where Laure is concerned. This is admittedly more likely, given that the show has built up to a big blow-out between the three friends, and having Laurie forgive Jaclyn without much thought would not provide an adequate pay-off for this.
Regarding Jaclyn’s partner, it is difficult to see how she would face any consequences. It is unlikely that Jaclyn would be open and honest to her partner about her infidelity, with the mantra “What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand” being used a few times. Jaclyn’s boyfriend seems only to be a figure to bring her issues to the fore, meaning a fallout between them is unlikely unless one of the friends tells him what Jaclyn did. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether Jaclyn will face consequences in The White Lotus season 3, though many would argue she should.
9/10
- Release Date
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July 11, 2021
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Mike White
- Directors
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Mike White
- Writers
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Mike White
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