Spoilers for 'The White Lotus' season three ahead...
After a breathless wait, the rich and entitled guests have now checked out of The White Lotus, with the third season in Koh Samui, Thailand having drawn to a dramatic close.
The feature-length final episode tied up any loose ends around the disparate and eccentric group of guests; as well as the entitled Ratliff family facing many near-brushes with death, we saw the increasingly toxic girls’ trip have an unexpectedly happy ending, alongside Belinda, who went home a significantly richer woman.
However, not everyone's holiday ended quite so happily – with Rick and Chelsea sealing their fate after a dramatic shoot-out with the hotel's staff and owners.
But, in Mike White’s typical style, there’s far more to each episode than just what we see on screen, with foreshadowing, easter eggs and surprises are littered within each episode, which all pointed towards who the floating body (or now we know, bodies) might have been.
Here’s some of the themes, plot-lines and imagery that you may have missed…
Three is the magic (or murderous) number
The number three was hugely significant during this season of The White Lotus. In some cases, it's a fairly simple and visible motif; there are three Ratliff siblings, the girls' trip is made up of three women, and of course, it's the third season of the show. However, there are some more subtle nods – the threesome which takes place in episode five (involving the two Ratliff brothers, no less) for example. As Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) repeatedly notes: "Bad things happen in threes" – and early on in the season she had had two brushes with death: the robbery and the snake bite.
It seems the spiritual Chelsea predicted her own demise; that third bad thing did come for her. She was also one of three (named) victims in the finale. After Rick's (Walton Goggins) botched attempt to assassinate Jim in Bangkok, he changes his mind after Jim taunts him at breakfast, shooting him twice in the chest. As Jim dies, a shootout between Rick and the hotel's security ensues, with Chelsea caught in the crossfire. As Rick carries his beloved to try and get help, Gaitok – encouraged by Sritala – shoots Rick squarely in the back, and the pair fall into the lily pond. Bad things really do happen in threes – with the theory that there were three deaths this season proving true.
It was also clear that if Chelsea was going to die, Rick was going to die too. As Chelsea tells him in the final episode: "At this point we’re linked – if a bad thing happens to you, it happens to me too."
Girls just want to have fun (but they really aren't)
Viewers could see from the outset that the trio of blonde wealthy women were not going to have a painless visit in Thailand. Despite having been friends in childhood, the three had gone on to live very different lives; Kate (Leslie Bibb) was now a lady of leisure with a wealthy husband living in Austin, while Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) is now a TV star. Elsewhere, Laurie (Carrie Coon) is a lawyer living in New York.
Their storyline saw the three women tiptoe around each other as barbed comments result in each of the women bitching about each other behind one another's backs. Things come to a head when Jaclyn sleeps with Valentin, leading to an explosive argument at dinner. Laurie heads to the fight, where she ends up sleeping with Aleksei, an associate of Valentin.
However, the threesome had a happy ending after all; Laurie realises that her closeness of her long-time friends makes her life meaningful – giving a moving and life-affirming speech. The three spend their final night drinking wine and celebrating together. Finally, a White Lotus happy ending.
Greg vs Belinda
Surprise! While we knew Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) from season one was going to be heading to Koh Samui, it was a shock to viewers when we first saw Greg (who now goes by 'Gary') having dinner with his much younger girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). While Greg/Gary isn’t actually staying at The White Lotus, Chloe makes it clear that they regularly come down and dine at the resort’s restaurant, as they only live up the hill (in what turns out to be a very expensive-looking villa).
Viewers will remember that Greg conned dearly departed Tanya (the legendary Jennifer Coolidge) and hired a group of ‘gays’ to murder her when they stayed at The White Lotus in Italy. Belinda, who previously struck up a close friendship with Tanya in the first season, clearly recognised Greg – confronting him in front of his girlfriend and new acquaintances over dinner. He quickly denied that they had ever crossed paths – but Belinda didn't buy it. In episode four, we see Belinda researching Tanya's death, and discovering that Greg/Gary is wanted for questioning. Elsewhere, we also see him scrolling through Belinda's Instagram – and hesitating when he finds a picture of her with her son – before quizzing general manager Fabian about her.
Things looked set to take an even darker turn when Greg invited Belinda to his villa. "I think we should talk," he says, his voice icy cold. In the penultimate episode, Killer Instincts, Greg offers her $100,000 to open her own spa. While it is offered as a donation in Tanya's memory, a wary Belinda says she'll "sleep on it".
In the finale, we see Belinda and her son Zion play hard ball, with Zion telling Greg that Belinda needs $5 million to actually open her own spa. It may sound like a lot, but as Zion stresses, $5 million is just one per cent of the net worth Greg inherited from Tanya after her death. It's a price Greg is willing to pay for peace of mind – Belinda is wired the money the next morning. However, in order to guarantee her safety, Belinda flees Thailand, giving her lover Pornchai a speech eerily familiar to the one Tanya gave her in season one.
A reckoning for the Ratliffs
There’s something amiss with the mega-rich family hailing from the American south. Throughout the series we saw Timothy (Jason Isaacs) gradually unravelling after being investigated for his shady business dealings, while Victoria (Parker Posey) was barely on this planet – even without her beloved lorazepam. But it’s their three children that stirred the most interest: Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).
It was teased throughout the show that Saxon's sexual appetite was going to get him into trouble – although episode five ('Full Moon Party') showed a shift in power dynamics between Saxon and his younger brother. What starts with Saxon coaxing his younger brother into flirting with the girls soon takes a turn, as Lochlan ends up being the one to peer-pressure his older brother into taking drugs and instigating that kiss. A scene which sees Saxon, Lochlan, Chloe and Chelsea watching fireworks on the beach ends with Lochlan patting Saxon on the head – a move that we've seen condescendingly performed in reverse several times this series.
It soon becomes clear that the incest that has been merely suggested at between the two brothers really did happen – albeit under the influence. In the sixth episode of the series, 'Denials', Chloe informs Saxon that the brothers did more than kiss when they were on the boat – sending Saxon spiralling. And that's before Chloe adds that she's told Gary/Greg, who wants him to come over for dinner. Lachlan tries to justify his actions in the final episode, explaining that he thought his brother looked "left out".
But back to Timothy; in episode four, audiences learn that Kenny is actually collaborating with the FBI – and Timothy's lawyer is advising that he pleads guilty to fraud and embezzlement. It'll mean certain prison time for Timothy, who can kiss goodbye to the gilded lifestyle he's built for himself and his family. As he tells his lawyer, he'd "rather die" than concede – which is when he spots a gun that has been left unattended by security. In addition to his growing addiction to his wife's pills, it looks as though Timothy's desperation could lead to him doing something drastic. Ironically, as he's about to pull the trigger, it's his wife's disturbed sleep (for once not completely knocked out by her beloved drugs) that may have saved his life. Whether that sentiment lasts long remains to be seen, as Victoria makes it clear that she "fears poverty" and "does not want an uncomfortable life".
Despite Timothy then losing the stolen gun, he continued to grapple with the gravity of his situation, and what that will mean for his family. At the villa party, Saxon tells his father that he is nothing without success.
And things go from bad to worse; Piper's night with the monks doesn't go to plan, with the final episode seeing the Ratliff's middle child tearfully telling her mother that the food wasn't organic, her mattress was dirty and she missed air-conditioning. With Lochlan being the only person out of the Ratliff family who says he can live without material goods, Timothy decides to make cocktails for the more materialistic members of his family using the deadly fruits from the 'suicide tree'. As they sip their piña coladas and are likely to meet their fate, Timothy has a last minute change of heart and smashes the drinks from their hands.
However, on the final morning of the trip, Lochlan decides to make himself a protein shake – not knowing that some of the toxic seeds from the fruit were still in the blender. Timothy finds his son collapsed by the pool, but Lochlan manages to survive his brush with death, telling his dad that he just "saw God". Amazingly, all of the Ratcliff clan leave Thailand in one piece – though the holiday has seen them all changed perpetually, with Saxon pictured clutching one of Chelsea's spiritual guidance books on the boat.
Was there more to Mook?
An outstanding turn from K-Pop star Lisa (her first acting role), our early introduction to hotel worker Mook is that she is angelically sweet, patient with some of the stranger requests of the guests (she bats off an increasingly spiky Rick, played by Walton Goggins, with ease), and desperately not interested in the lovesick Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong).
However, there may be more to Mook than her polished halo. In the first episode, she shows interest in the armed guards – and we now know that Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičiu) was involved in the armed robbery in the second episode. For a while it looked as though Mook's cherubic demeanour could be subterfuge for her real intentions. After all, the date we saw in episode seven goes disastrously when Gaitok reveals he has no inclination for a promotion because of his Buddhist aversion to violence – and Mook chastises him for his lack of ambition.
By the finale it's clear that Mook is only impressed by ambition and power, and she declines a second date from Gaitok when she hears that he is planning to resign. It's her actions that ultimately lead to the corruption of the otherwise benevolent security guard – the one who can't bear to cause any suffering to another human. Gaitok's desire to impress Mook sees him galvanised into shooting Rick, and therefore landing the promotion – but can he live with knowing he committed an act of unspeakable violence?
Rick finally finds out the truth about his father
From the outset, there was clearly more to the grumpy Rick than his desire to have a luxury holiday – and he finally admits to Chelsea that he had an ulterior motive for choosing the resort, revealing a dark link to the owner, Sritala (Lek Patravadi) and her husband, Jim, who he believes murdered his father. In episode five we see him travelling to Bangkok to try and find him, and meeting an old friend (Sam Rothwell) who gives him a gun.
But while the lead up to episode seven suggests a bloody showdown is on the cards, when Rick finally meets Jim, all he sees is a frail old man who walks with a cane. Instead of murder, Rick just kicks over Jim's chair and leaves. However, the team around Sritala knew Rick was staying at the White Lotus.
Rick's decision not to kill Jim comes back to haunt him; Jim and Sritala visit the hotel the next day, with Jim's decision to taunt Rick at breakfast tipping the gunman over the edge. Rick shoots Jim twice in the chest, with Sritala unveiling the truth as her husband dies in her arms: Jim was Rick's real father all along.
Rick and Chelsea are yin and yang
They were a superficially odd couple, but Rick and Chelsea established themselves as fan favourites in The White Lotus (partly because of the very palpable chemistry between the pair, and partly because of outstanding performances from Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood).
In the penultimate episode of season three, a dejected Saxon quizzes Chelsea on why she is dating the significantly older Rick, to which she replies: "The first day we met, he told me his whole life story, and I just knew we were meant to be together… He has this sadness, it really touches me. I want to heal him. It’s like we’re in this yin and yang battle, and I’m hope and Rick is pain, and eventually, one of us will win."
More eagle-eyed viewers amongst us will have noticed, however, that the wardrobe choices seem to suggest an inversion of this. Chelsea spends episode seven clad in black, while Rick opts for a white ensemble for his Bangkok mission (perhaps alluding to his somewhat 'good' decision not to murder Jim). With Chelsea's maudlin speech and her dark, funeral-like outfit, could she have prophesied her own death? The final episode certainly shows that all that foreshadowing was not a red herring, with Rick, Chelsea and Jim all dying in the show's final moments.
Monkey business
The monkeys in the third season of The White Lotus were an unescapable presence – Belinda is fearful that one is about to fall on her head in the first episode, while Laurie is in awe of them as she surveys the villa she shares with Jaclyn and Kate – and they were repeatedly cut to throughout the episodes.
Monkeys could serve as a reminder in The White Lotus that, regardless of the wealth and luxury we surround ourselves with, we haven’t really evolved past our primal urges. They could also point towards wilful ignorance; the Ratliff offspring were spotted mimicking the ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ adage in their very first scene. In Eastern religions and Buddhism, this saying means not to dwell on immoral thoughts, but in the West, the phrase can be used to refer to a lack of moral responsibility.
In the final few moments of The White Lotus, this is hinted at for one final time as we see how the Ratliff family has been changed by Thailand. Lochlan, wearing dark sunglasses, now represents 'see no evil', and has swapped places with Saxon, who is now reading and expanding his knowledge. Meanwhile, Piper, whose wide-eyed dream of running away to a monastery has died, has eschewed her headphones – perhaps acknowledging she is willing to 'hear' and acknowledge evil, after all.
