What happens in episode five, ‘Full Moon Party’?
WARNING: Major spoilers for season three, episode five ahead.
On security footage, Gaitok discovers that Tim was the one who took the gun. Meanwhile, at dinner, Piper breaks the news to her parents that there is no thesis, and she is moving to Thailand to explore her Buddhist spirituality at a meditation centre. While Victoria thinks she “cannot be Buddhist as she’s not from China”, Tim is more annoyed at the fact he’s been brought to Thailand on a lie.
As Gaitok tries to corner Tim, he’s spotted by Fabian who asks why he’s not at his station, but he lies and says he’s there to see Mook. He eventually does confront Tim in the bathroom, but Tim claims to not know what he is talking about.
Drinks continue to flow on the boat, Saxon continues to spew his Alpha Male “lessons” to Lochlan, while Chloe confesses to wanting attention as sex with “Gary” has dried up. Saxon encourages Lochlan to hit on Chloe while he wants to try his luck with Chelsea – whose earlier rebuffs have done nothing to deter him – but she’s too busy being worried about what Rick’s getting up to in Bangkok.
At a club in Koh Samui, Laurie, Jaclyn and Kate continue to drink with Valentin and his friends at the nightclub. As they dance the night away, Jaclyn gets close to a group of men, seemingly revelling in catching the attention of younger women’s envious looks. Laurie, in full party mode, gets close to Valentin.
At the hotel, Fabian bumps into Belinda and says an American man has been asking for information about her. She realises it’s Greg, and panics about what he knows. She later tells Fabian her fears, but he struggles to follow. He refuses to call the police as it’s “bad for the guests” and tells her to focus on her job.
In Bangkok, Rick meets up with an old friend, Frank (Sam Rockwell) at a hotel. His friend has been sober for the past 10 months, and he reveals he’s found religion after “taking the party as far as it could go”. Frank passes him a bag, and later reveals he had a sexual awakening of sorts, leaving Rick stunned.
Back at the villa, Victoria continues to berate Piper about her decision to go to the meditation centre, branding it a “sex cult”. Tim is still dazed out on pills and talks to Piper about being an altar boy.
Lochlan, Saxon, Chloe and Chelsea continue the party, but Saxon is getting annoyed at Lochlan as he gets too drunk. When Chloe buys drugs, Saxon declines, but Lochlan spontaneously takes a pill, which upsets him further. Chelsea also takes one, and Saxon eventually relents.
At the club, the group of young Russian women who had been watching Jaclyn dance approach them and get into an argument with the men. Kate suggests they go home, and Jaclyn and Laurie begrudgingly agree – but then invite the men to join them later at the villa. Kate is annoyed, just wanting to go to bed.
Belinda tells Pornchai about Greg, showing him photos from the website as proof. Belinda is disturbed once again by the rattling noise from within her room. When Pornchai goes to investigate, he discovers a large lizard behind some furniture and shoos it out before it can scare Belinda any further. Pornchai goes to leave, but Belinda asks him to stay. The pair end up sleeping together.
Going to bed, Victoria says she fears Piper’s decision will make them look like bad parents, saying “one thing upends everything”. Tim looks guilty but continues to hide the investigation from her.
The Russians join the girls to continue the party at their villa, with one stripping naked to get into the pool. Laurie and Jaclyn continue to drink and flirt, with Laurie hedonistically stripping off, while a tired Kate sits on the side. With the night progressing to the drunk talk stage, Kate calls it a night and the boys head off, but not before Laurie whispers something in Valentin’s ear. That evening, he returns to the villa – but sleeps with Jaclyn instead.
At the full moon party, the pills begin to kick in, with the group spending the evening tripping out on a beach. Heading back to the boat as the sun rises, the party continues, but Chelsea gets upset, fearing she’s worrying too much about life. Chloe admits she thinks “Gary” is “capable of killing her” but she’s willing to risk it, admitting she has her eye on Lochlan, not Saxon who has been trying it on with her the entire evening.
Back at his hotel room, Rick goes through the bag he’s been given – revealing a gun wrapped in a towel. He tries to call Chelsea, but doesn’t get through, with her continuing to party with Lochlan, Chloe and Saxon. As the night gets riskier, Chelsea and Chloe kiss – before daring the brothers to do the same. High on pills, they oblige.
At the Ratliff’s, Tim writes a suicide note and holds the gun to his head but is disturbed by Victoria before he can go through with it. Still oblivious to the gun, she notes he has not been himself and asks if something is going on, but he brushes her concerns off and puts his behaviour down to stress. She tries to comfort him by saying he has nothing to be stressed about, as he has already succeeded at life. She goes back to bed, and before Tim joins her, he prays.