HBO’s The White Lotus brings its third season to a close with the highly-anticipated finale that finally reveals the identity of the mysterious corpse in the premiere.
Like each season before it, The White Lotus Season 3 begins with a flash-forward of one week, revealing how the corpse is found.
The rest of the season then flashes back a week, showing all the guests arriving at The White Lotus, introducing both the hotel guests and the employees.
The Season 1 corpse belonged to troubled White Lotus Hawaii manager Armond (Murray Bartlett), who was inadvertently stabbed by Shane Patton (Jake Lacy).
The Season 2 victim was Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), a wealthy heiress featured in Season 1, who died after slipping and hitting her head trying to escape from a yacht… after she murdered three men she suspected her husband Greg (Jon Gries) paid them to kill her.
The finale is also a super-sized one spanning 90 minutes wrapping up all of the complex storylines this season.
HBO’s The White Lotus brings its third season to a close with the highly-anticipated finale that finally reveals the identity of the mysterious corpse in the premiere.
Like each season before it, The White Lotus Season 3 begins with a flash-forward of one week, revealing how the corpse is found
The episode begins in the Buddhist temple, where Piper and Lochlan had spent the night.
Piper wakes up, as a monk says sometimes people wake up with anxiety and an anxious energy as Lochlan is already awake.
The monk says that people take life into their own hands and take action, as their father Timothy takes more of his wife’s drugs, as the monk says that people’s solutions are ‘quick fixes.’
A determined Gaitok is seen riding on his scooter as Jaclyn is deep in thought after reading a book.
Rick wakes up in a hotel room chair as Frank is heard in the next room, still partying with the women they picked up last night.
Rick says he has to catch a plane as Frank chases him in the hallway as Frank tries to talk him into staying.
More women arrive but Rick gets in the elevator and heads to the airport.
Gaitok arrives just as his perpetual crush Mook does, asking if she had fun on their date, though she just meekly nods.
He tells her that he knows who pulled off the robbery as Mook is excited for him since it could help his career.
Jaclyn goes and talks to Kate, asking if she’s seen Laurie, as Jaclyn says she’ll go ask to see if she wanted to get breakfast.
Jaclyn goes into Laurie’s room and says she’s going to get breakfast, but Laurie says she’s going to keep sleeping.
Jaclyn apologizes about Valentin, says she didn’t even know she cared as Jaclyn insists, ‘I want to be your friend.’
Lochlan says he wants to wait to tell their mom Victoria that he’s coming with her to Thailand, but Piper doesn’t want him to come.
She doesn’t want to be responsible for ‘f***ing up’ his life, says she just wants to f**k up her own.
Piper and Lochlan return to the family villa, Piper wants to talk about it later since she wants to take a shower.
Piper leaves and Victoria wants Lochlan to tell them how it was but he angrily says he doesn’t know anything.
Belinda and Zion are having breakfast as Pornchai comes over and they hug, as Belinda introduces him formally to Zion.
Zion realizes Belinda really likes him and Zion wants his mom to take the money, but he wants her to see how much he can get from Gary/Greg.
She thinks he’ll mess her up but Zion says he’ll be there with him if he tries anything, and Belinda clearly considers it.
During breakfast, Timothy asks Piper if she likes the place and she said, ‘it’s a really cool place,’ insisting, ‘it’s not a cult.’
Timothy makes a strange comment that they’d all be fine with less, as Piper complains about the temple food.
She said it was really bland and wonders if she could eat it for a whole year and she complains about the small room.
Victoria seems happy that her daughter is disappointed but Piper thinks it’s pathetic that she’s so spoiled as she realizes she can’t live like that.
Some of the primary guests are the wealthy Ratliff family – Timothy (Jason Isaacs), Victoria (Parker Posey) and their kids Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger, above), Lachlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).
Other prominent guests are Rick (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood, above).
Some of the primary guests are the wealthy Ratliff family – Timothy (Jason Isaacs), Victoria (Parker Posey) and their kids Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lachlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).
Other prominent guests are Rick (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).
There are a trio of longtime girlfriends – Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon).
Those who are employed by The White Lotus include owner Sritala (Lek Patravadi) general manager Fabien (Christian Friedel), security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), health mentors Mook (Lalisa Manobal), Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Pam (Morgana O’Reilly), wellness expert Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).
Also returning from Season 1 is Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), a spa manager from the Hawaii White Lotus who is at the Thailand White Lotus on an exchange program.
Finally there is the couple that are merely ‘regulars’ at The White Lotus, Gary (Jon Gries) and his girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon).
Given that the first two victims were quite surprising for fans, theories that are the most obvious or that have been seemingly foreshadowed by creator Mike White are probably the least likely to happen, though it’s worth putting them all out there first.
The season has also features an incest storyline, which creator Mike White has defiantly defended during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Schwarzenegger, 31, played the role of Saxon Ratcliff while Sam Nivola, 21, portrayed his brother Lochlan in the show – and the sibling characters have been involved in an incest storyline which some viewers have labeled ‘disturbing.’
Those who are employed by The White Lotus include owner Sritala (Lek Patravadi) general manager Fabien (Christian Friedel), security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), health mentors Mook (Lalisa Manobal, above), Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Pam (Morgana O’Reilly), wellness expert Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).
Finally there is the couple that are merely ‘regulars’ at The White Lotus, Gary (Jon Gries) and his girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon)
In episode five, the brothers shared a drunken kiss and in the following episode it was revealed that Lochlan performed a sex act on Saxon during the same drunken night out.
During the scene, Lochlan masturbated his own brother Saxon while having sex with Chloe – played by Charlotte Le Bon.
White was joined by other cast members while talking to the publication and explained, ‘There’s some kind of pleasure in getting a bigger audience on board with these erotic moments.’
He added, ‘And the incest thing, it’s really more about someone who is trying to connect with his brother and his sister through the things they value.’
Sarah Catherine Hook plays Piper Ratcliff, the sister of Saxon and Lochlan in the series. And Mike continued, ‘Saxon is all about getting off, and Piper is renouncing the materialistic.’
