Audience Identifies Culprit Before White Lotus Finale – Season Hailed as Most Chilling Yet

HBO’s The White Lotus brings its third season to a close on Sunday, which will reveal the identity of the corpse teased in the premiere.

Both seasons of “The White Lotus” have started with a sneak peek into the end of a week at a luxurious resort, revealing a dead person from that week. This has left viewers guessing throughout the season about the identity of the deceased individual and who might be responsible for their death.

Show veteran Jon Gries teased of the finale: ‘It is shocking — absolutely, mouth-agape shocking.’

In Season 1, the deceased person was Armond (played by Murray Bartlett), the troubled manager of the White Lotus Hawaii. Armond was accidentally killed when Shane Patton (played by Jake Lacy) stabbed him.

Season 2 featured the death of Tanya McQuoid (played by Jennifer Coolidge), a wealthy heiress who appeared in Season 1. Tanya died after slipping and hitting her head while trying to escape from a yacht. It was later revealed that she had killed three men whom she suspected her husband, Greg (played by Jon Gries), had hired to kill her.

The openings for both seasons flash-forwarded a week, teasing that one of the people fans will meet will lose his or her life, though this season teased an active shooter at The White Lotus, with gunshots ringing out. 

While we won’t know for sure until the Season 3 finale on Sunday who will die, we’re offering some theories as to who the murderer and their victim will be…

Like its past two predecessors, The White Lotus Season 3 introduces characters who are both visiting the resort, and those working there.

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.’

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.’

THE TOO OBVIOUS THEORIES

Timothy Gives Into His Dark Dreams And Kills His Family

The Ratliff family are the picture of success and wealth when they arrive at The White Lotus, though we quickly learn their perfectly-crafted lives are about to crumble.

We find out quickly in Season 3 that all is not right with Timothy’s business, learning through phone calls that the federal government is closing in. 

Timothy has been on edge so much that he stole his wife’s prescription drugs and even stole a gun that Gaitok had carelessly left out.

He had visualized a number of scenarios – killing just himself, leaving his family to find him, and also killing them all before turning the gun on himself.

Timothy doesn’t seem to have the stones to kill his whole family, though he is seen asking Pam about a fruit that can be fatal if eaten.

It’s possible that he could somehow find a way to have his family eat this fruit without knowing it’s fatal, saving the final bite for himself.

Still… there has only been one corpse per season, so it’s possible that he just eats the fatal fruit himself.

But given how much attention they’ve paid to Timothy’s woes, it seems far too obvious for Timothy to be the victim. 

Gary/Greg Kills Off Belinda For Knowing Too Much

While the casts of each season of The White Lotus are largely different, the one character who has appeared in all three seasons was Jon Gries’ Gary/Greg.

Greg was a guest at the Hawaii White Lotus in Season 1, where he met Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) and subsequently got married.

They spent their honeymoon at the Sicily White Lotus, though Greg had to go home for business, conveniently as Tanya was taken in by a group of gay men who she ultimately realized were trying to kill her… who may have been tasked to do so by Greg himself.

While she hilariously killed her would-be killers, she ultimately died by slipping off the boat and hitting her head, as she floated towards the resort in the finale.

This season, Greg resurfaced as Gary, who bought a house near the Thailand White Lotus, who Belinda recognized from her time in Hawaii.

Greg and Belinda finally talked in last week’s episode, as he offered her $100K to start her own spa business, which Tanya had earlier promised, in exchange for letting him live in peace a.k.a. not turning him in for his possible involvement in Tanya’s death.

Belinda clearly wasn’t comfortable with taking the money, and if Greg did actually recruit those men to kill off Tanya, he may be capable of killing Belinda.

However, given how much of the season has been dedicated to Belinda and Greg/Gary, it seems too easy to have Gary kill Belinda.

THE PERFECTLY FEASIBLE THEORIES

Gaitok Confronts Valentin and His Friends And Gets Killed For It… Or Vice Versa

The timid security guard Gaitok has had an interesting arc this season, between getting his gun stolen and pining for Mook.

While his skills as a security guard are weak at best, he seemed to figure out in last week’s episode who the three gunmen were who robbed the jewelry store earlier this season – Valentin and his friends Aleksei (Julian Kostov) and Vlad (Yuri Kolokolnikov).

Gaitok seems desperate to make his mark in one way or another, and the preview teases that he does seem to go after Valentin and his friends.

Still, given how Valentin and his friends dwarf him, and clearly have a more intense edge about them, it probably isn’t the best idea for Gaitok to go after them.

However, Gaitok may feel his job is on the line…. or that he just wants to impress Mook, and will spring into action somehow.

When he did get the gun back, Gaitok did prove to be proficient with the firearm as shown during his gun range practice… but pieces of paper don’t shoot back, and Valentin, Aleksei and Vlad most certainly would if Gaitok tested them. 

On the other hand… given Gaitok’s gun skills, perhaps it’s Valentin or one of his friends who ends up floating in the water.

If it ends up being confirmed that they robbed the jewelry store (which seems likely, given the jewelry Laurie saw while escaping Aleksei’s place), perhaps it could be the start of Gaitok’s heroic new life.

Rick and Timothy’s Tempers Boil Over… Fatally

It was established just mere minutes into the Season 3 premiere that Rick and Timothy weren’t going to be friends. 

The cigarette-smoking Rick and straight-laced Timothy got into a verbal gaffe in the premiere and had some contentious words in a later episode as well.

Interestingly enough, their arcs have essentially reversed as the season wore on, with Timothy starting off quite pleased with his station in life and Rick quite stressed about something.

Timothy quickly became stressed with everything happening with his business, while Rick finally got the closure he needed, meeting the man he was told killed his father.

It would be fitting for these men to meet one last time – with Rick finally at peace and Timothy nearly suicidal – and see how their paths cross this time around.

Timothy clearly wants to die before his life comes crashing down on him, but he seems to lack the willpower to do the job himself, so perhaps he could try goading Rick into a conflict.

It’s worth noting that neither man has a gun at this point – with Rick disposing of the gun that Frank (Sam Rockwell) gave him in Bangkok and Gaitok stealing back the gun that Timothy stole from him. 

Still, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if these two very different men met one last time, perhaps costing one his life. 

THE SUPER WILD THEORIES

Saxon Kills Lochlan For Trying To Progress Their Incestuous Tryst

The incestuous nature of Ratliff brothers Saxon and Lochlan has been a hot-button issue all season long on The White Lotus.

It started with Lochlan longingly watching his brother Saxon before he masturbates, and escalated when Lochlan kissed Saxon on a drunken dare.

Lochlan went even farther, though, jerking off his own brother while having sex with Chloe, which Saxon has been having trouble processing, clearly. 

Lochlan, however, has no trouble progressing, even though he did so under the influence of alcohol.

Lochlan and Saxon had spent the last few days apart, with Lochlan joining Piper on her overnight stay at the temple, though they’ll certainly be heading back to the rest of the family in the finale.

Saxon clearly does not see himself as a gay man, but yet he seemed to be thinking about it a lot.

When the family gets back together, it’s possible that Lochlan may try something, since the brothers are sharing a room together.

Given how Saxon seems to be resisting these urges, it’s possible that if Lochlan does try something when Saxon is sober… the result may get violent. 

Aleksei’s Violent Girlfriend Nadya Tracks Down And Kills Laurie Or Aleksei

We got our first glimpse at the girlfriend Nadya (Victoria Kvitkina) in Episode 5 when Valentin, Aleksei and Vlad take the three girlfriends to a club.

She gets into a heated exchange with Valentin over him spending time with these women, and Jaclyn even seemed to goad them by dancing close to the men.

Last week’s episode showed Laurie hooking up with Aleksei, only for Nadya to barge in, ultimately finding Laurie and nearly catching her before she could escape out a window. 

There is very little we know about Nadya, but she’s clearly very unhappy about her man being around other women.

She was seen tearing through Aleksei’s place, seemingly knowing he was cheating on her, finding Laurie as she’s about to climb out his window.

She slaps Laurie several times before Aleksei pulls her back and she’s able to escape unscathed, taking a taxi back to The White Lotus.

Now that Nadya knows for sure Aleksei was cheating, she could unleash her fury on Laurie for getting with her man… or Aleksei for cheating.

While we haven’t seen her kill or be violent, she’s clearly volatile enough to pull off a killing of some sort. 

THE SO WEIRD THEY CAN ONLY HAPPEN ON THE WHITE LOTUS THEORIES

Zion Picks Fruit For His Mother Belinda… Including the Poison Fruit That Kills Her

The first episode of The White Lotus features a scene where the Ratliff family health mentor Pam mentions the fruit of the pong pong tree, which has poisonous seeds

Timothy is seen asking about this fatal fruit in the finale preview, but, again, it’s far too obvious for Timothy to be the actual victim.

However, Zion has just arrived in Thailand to visit his mother Belinda, and he most certainly doesn’t know about the fatal qualities of this fruit.

Given how stressed she was about the encounter with Greg, it’s possible he could try to cheer her up and make her a fruit basket from the fruit he’s found around the resort, unaware this particular fruit is fatal.

Most fans certainly wouldn’t see it coming, given how much Belinda has been put through and how beloved she has become to fans.

Then again, female characters brought back for multiple seasons have been killed off, like Tanya McQuoid before her, another character who clearly didn’t deserve to die. 

Still… that wouldn’t quite explain how she ends up in the water, as we saw in the scene from the premiere.

However, with all that being said, it’s a wild and weird enough theory that is oddly suitable for The White Lotus, given the bizarre nature of the show’s previous deaths.

Monkeys Attack The White Lotus Causing Chaos And a Death by Drowning

One of the other subtle touches all season long on The White Lotus is the presence of random monkeys in and around the resort.

In fact, the very first shot of the season was a monkey high up in a tree, seemingly overlooking The White Lotus.

While these monkeys haven’t been shown much, they clearly don’t seem big enough to harm or certainly kill a human, though they have been violent in real life.

Just last year in the town of Lobpuri, Thailand, over 200 monkeys attacked a police station, so it perhaps isn’t as crazy as one might think.

It’s possible that the gunfire heard in the premiere’s flash-forward was gunfire aimed at a mass of monkeys, and not some sort of active shooter scenario.

If that’s possible, then it’s also possible for enough angry monkeys running around could cause enough chaos to cause someone to fall into the water… without knowing how to swim, resulting in drowning amid all the chaos.

Even if that insane scenario proves to be true, the victim could still be anybody previously mentioned, since it’s clear that nobody is truly safe in the flash forward, regardless of their wealth or status.

Find out who the victim of The White Lotus Season 3 is in the finale airing Sunday, April 6 at 9 PM ET on HBO.