As we prepare for the wild, highly anticipated finale to Season 3 of Mike White‘s hit HBO Series The White Lotus, many questions remain for viewers like myself. Without a doubt, this season is the darkest and most sinister yet. From cobra snake bites to conmen and thieves to frenemies to a Father struggling to reveal his financial and criminal issues to his family and THAT crazy night on the giant yacht… It’s safe to say this season has delivered some juicy storylines after a slow start.
Here’s a quick review of our star-studded cast this season.
**Please note the following contains spoilers**
In case you missed it, in Episode 7, “Killer Instincts“, we unraveled quite a few shocking breakthroughs. Gaitok discovers the identity of the thieves, Aleksei, Valentin, and Vlad, from the Resort robbery. As a side note, I had guessed from day one that Valentin was connected to the robbery and that thieves were friends of his. Not only that, but Laurie had a fling with Aleksei, and she found the stolen jewelry at his home. Laurie, Kate, and Jaclyn’s friendship hangs by a thread after a big, childish fight.
Let’s not forget the Greg/Gary situation. Gary blackmails Belinda with $100,00 to help simplify his life and ensure it stays that way. Rick finally confronted his Father’s murderer, Jim Hollinger. Plus, Lochlan revealed to his older sister, Piper, his desire to take a gap year and join her at the temple. Lastly, Saxon approached his father, Timothy, for the truth surrounding his continuous odd behavior. Oh… And then there was the general manager, Fabian, who found the courage to perform a song, a seemingly begrudging performance for the guests.
Phew! Quite a bit occurred. So what’s in store for the finale? You can watch the final episode trailer below.
After that wild trailer, my quick bets are on the following:
Potential Victim(s): Greg, Laurie, Chelsea, Gaitok, Valentin, Aleksei, Timothy, Piper, and Saxon
Potential Suspect(s): Chloe, Gaitok, Vlad, Aleksei, and Timothy
From a mysterious dark figure spraying a canister of fog to Timothy questioning Pam about the poisonous fruit to smoothies to Gary and Belinda going toe-to-toe to Laurie evading her friends and Rick facing his past once more, this high-stakes finale seems to be alluding to a grave ending. So, why not reveal our wild theories for the finale? Who will survive? Who is the killer? And who the heck was that floating in the pond in Episode 1?!?
Let’s dive in and potentially unravel the mystery.
Well, well, well. If it isn’t Greg… I mean, Gary? The questionable and awful Greg has returned for a third season at the White Lotus. Except now, rather than being a guest, he lives near the hotel in a James Bond villainesque mansion. He and his lovely québécois girlfriend, Chloe, frequent the hotel’s restaurant… That’s not suspicious at all! As Chloe refers to him and all of the other LBHs (Losers Back Home), “All you white bald guys look alike.” Could this be end for Greg? Will Chloe send him to his own watery death?
Greg has gone into hiding since his wife, fan-favorite Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), died tragically in Italy at the end of Season 2. Life has been quiet for him up until Belinda, an employee at the White Lotus Hotel in Maui from Season 1, who befriended Tanya, checks into The White Lotus Hotel in Thailand. In episode 7, as mentioned, all the cards were laid out on the table by Greg, pushing Belinda to accept $100,000 in Tanya’s memory to keep quiet. This seems like a trap… But Belinda’s son Zion is adamant it’s the right decision to take the money.
I think, however, Belinda will accept the money. It seems like she has some troubles of her own back home and may give in to his offer. An offer she won’t accept is Pornchai’s offer for them to open a spa together in Thailand. Despite their adorable connection, it’s safe to say she may break his heart as Tanya broke Belinda’s in Season 1.
So, Rick finally confronts his father’s murderer, Jim. Of course, he showed up with a gun… Thankfully, he didn’t use it. We left off with Rick pushing Jim, who was sitting in a chair, onto the floor of his home in Bangkok. Much to our chagrin, he reacted in an interesting way when Rick mentioned his Mother’s name. Could this mean that his father is Jim, and Jim killed the real Jim and took on his name and persona? It seems pretty likely.
The question is, if this is true, will Rick have the chance to meet him once again, or will Rick perish before he has the chance to? One thing is for certain: there’s no way he is gonna get away with lying to and roughing up the resort owners of the hotel he is staying at. And their guards have guns… So, they could be the source of gunfire in episode 1.
In the trailer, we see Chelsea and Rick reunite in a dreamy, romantic, sunny scene… But did that happen, or was that just Chelsea’s imagination? I’m not even sure he will make it back to the hotel. I think he is going to be in Bangkok. Perhaps, upon his next meeting with Jim, Jim will have the higher ground.
A recurring theme for many of our guests and Chelsea’s mantra throughout this season. Three siblings who are lost in their identities. Three longtime friends stuck in a toxic and fake friendship. Three men who robbed the hotel. Greg/Gary’s third season in the series. As for our beloved Chelsea, she isn’t seemingly safe. After two horrific incidents occurred to Chelsea, first the robbery in the hotel shop and second the cobra snake bite, a third negative event has loomed over her and her partner, Rick. So, who or what is the third bad luck? Aleksei has a tattoo of a snake. Could he be the cause of her or Rick’s demise?
Or perhaps Chelsea’s newly found friend Chloe isn’t who she says she is; perhaps she is the “snake”. I, for one, don’t trust Chloe and haven’t since the moment we met her. I think she has been in on Greg’s con the entire series. Remember, in Season 2, Greg was on the phone telling another woman he loved her. Could that have been Chloe?! I think Chloe and Greg dine at the hotel in search of potential targets to con. It’s similar to Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his friends targeting Tanya in Season 2, who also seemed to be old friends with Greg.
Another showcase of bad luck that comes in 3s is Kate, Jaclyn, and Laurie. Their lives have intertwined with the charismatic yet shady Health Mentor Valentin and his friends Aleksei and Vlad. While they haven’t fallen victim to three unlucky events, they have become involved with the criminals who robbed the hotel. Not only that, but unbeknownst to them, Kate and Jaclyn are now involved in the crossfire, with Laurie knowing about the jewels.
So, despite their gossipy quarrels, will Kate and Jaclyn stand by and protect their friend, or will it be too late? I think karma will catch up with them and their catty behavior. They were so quick to talk behind each other’s backs that I don’t believe they would selflessly defend one another.
Ah! The family Ratliff. Such a troubled bunch. It was bad enough that they are in financial ruin due to their father Timothy’s criminal behavior, which they aren’t aware of… Yet! It doesn’t help that he has been stealing his wife’s, Victoria, Lorazepam or that he has been dreaming about killing members of his family to save them from this impending ruin.
Then there was the gross, drunken incestuous moment between brothers Saxon and Lochlan with Chloe… Which we won’t go into detail about. Just like Saxon and Lochlan wish to forget, I, too, wish I didn’t know about it. But here we are.
In episode 1, the internet immediately compared them to the three monkeys who “See no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil”. But what does this correlate to? Everything that has transpired this season will come to light, and in a moment of despair, Timothy will take the poisonous fruit and turn it into a smoothie for him and the family to drink. Timothy and Saxon will drink the shake and mistake it to be normal, Piper will overhear Timothy’s conversation, and Lochlan, out of disdain for what occurred on the boat with Saxon, will let him drink the shake, knowing full well there is something wrong with it. Like I said before, I think this is the most sinister season yet.
Not only that, but going back to Victoria’s nightmare of the tsunami and Lochlan sitting with staff on the beach, I believe it was a premonition surrounding Victoria and Lochlan’s fate, which will leave them alone. While I don’t believe Piper will die, I do think, similar to Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger) abandoning his family in Maui to join the Hawaiian paddlers, Piper will abandon her family and stay behind in Thailand.
Last, but not least, Gaitok. While it has been adorable watching Gaitok swoon over the precious Mook, I don’t think she is as innocent as she seems to be. Throughout this season, we have witnessed Mook as the influencer behind Gaitok’s actions. Like a sailor’s gaze entrapped by a siren, Gaitok is being lured to his death, unknowingly, by Mook. While I don’t think Mook is a bad person, I do think her selfish desires are negatively impacting and distracting Gaitok. She’s already been the cause of distraction for the gun being stolen and Gaitok constantly failing at his job.
This brings us back to the body floating in the pond. Who is it? None other than Gaitok. Hear me out. To impress Mook and prove he is confident to fight if need be, Gaitok will face off with Valentin, Aleksei, and Vlad, who have returned to the hotel to find Laurie and cover their tracks (hence the mysterious man, fog, and the gunfire). Gaitok, protecting Laurie and the other guests, will lead to his watery death.
All will be revealed when the final episode of The White Lotus Season 3 airs on Sunday, April 6th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max. What do you think will happen? Did we get it right? Let us know what you think will happen in the comments below.
