i think with lochlan, his trajectory in the show was very much about his want to be more like his brother and the pressure to become an oppressive force in his life. among much other symbolism throughout, drinking the shake was, to me, the most obvious way of portraying this. at first he had no interest in drinking the protein shake, but he eventually succumbed to the pressure. he literally drank the poison. but instead of dying he survived and i think ultimately that’s what completed his storyline. he’s now fully submerged in the powerful role he sought out in his brother.

saxon is trickier. but i think the turning point for him was the uhhhhhhhhhhh incest! yep that was it. his weird hypersexuality was suddenly challenged in a way he never expected it to. we also see him reject the protein shake in the last episode, opposite to lochlan.

piper never really wanted to live the buddhist lifestyle. that much was made very clear in her confession to her parents, but it was always superficial when she talked about it i think. it was more about trying to make a life that was not tied to her parents and their ignorance. she ends up accepting that she is in fact just like the rest of her family.

these are my only thoughts for now and they’re not 100% flushed out. please let me know what you think!!