Our stay at The White Lotus is nearly over. Mike White’s Emmy-winning social satire has called Thailand its home for season 3. The previous two installments (the first season was set in Hawaii; the second took place in Sicily) set the standard for the series to deliver jaw-dropping conflict around every turn. The third season has been no different. As we head into the final episode of this installment, it’s safe to say class warfare, white privilege-provoked conflicts and murder are still the top-listed amenities. It’s The White Lotus, what else would you expect?
The eight-episode installment has featured another talented ensemble cast. Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell and Patrick Schwarzenegger (yes, Arnold’s son) have carried the season. Let’s not forget Sam Rockwell’s surprising appearance in the sixth and seventh episodes — and that oh-so-revealing monologue.
Regarding returning cast members, Natasha Rothwell has reprised her role as massage therapist Belinda from season 1 and Jon Gries is back as Greg. Creator Mike White returned once again to write and direct all eight episodes.
Read on to learn when to watch The White Lotus Season 3’s finale and five burning questions we hope the 90-minute episode will answer.
Read more: Max Streaming Service Review: Loads of Content, but You Have to Make It Fit You
5 burning questions The White Lotus needs to answer
How will the Ratliff family learn about Timothy’s crimes?
The Ratliffs have taken up the mantle as this season’s highly privileged, highly dysfunctional family. Victoria (Posey) needs to medicate herself to function in public; their eldest son, Saxon (Schwarzenegger), is solely driven by status and power, both in his profession and with the women he meets; their daughter, Piper (Hook), wants to live with the Buddhists and younger son Lochlan (Nivola) wants to impress Saxon so much, he crossed a sexual line with him while under the influence of some sort of drug.
But it’s Timothy (Isaacs), the patriarch of the family, who is the most troubled. Since the first episode, he’s been grappling with the fact that a money laundering scheme he got involved with will lead to the downfall of his professional and personal life. Instead of dealing with it, he’s walked around in a lorazepam-induced haze this entire time. He’s had disturbing thoughts of suicide as well as ending his family’s lives to save them from the eventual fallout of his financial crimes. So far, though, none of these violent ideas have come to fruition.
This begs the question: How will Timothy’s secret be revealed to his family, and how exactly will they respond? Is it possible he’ll join his daughter at that Buddhist sanctuary instead of facing the trouble that awaits him at home?
Is Greg guilty?
Greg (Gries) is the only character to appear in all three seasons of The White Lotus. In season 3, Belinda recognizes him, only to discover that her old friend Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) and his wife died under mysterious circumstances in season 2. Was Greg involved? Before law enforcement could question him, he disappeared, and now he’s here in Thailand.
In the seventh episode of this season, Greg offers Belinda $100,000 to help start her business. But is this intended to be hush money to keep Belinda from ruining this new life he made for himself in Thailand? If it is, it’s hard to think Greg is innocent.
Will Rick’s revenge mission backfire?
Rick (Goggins) has been a brooding, depressing mess since the first episode of this season. It turns out he wasn’t into the idea of heading to Thailand for vacation purposes but to get vengeance on the man he believes murdered his father.
Episode 7 found him finally confronting Jim (played by Scott Glenn), the businessman he blames for his troubled childhood. Instead of killing him, though, Rick just throws this info in his face and knocks his chair over before fleeing his estate. He says he’s gotten closure, but something feels unfinished here. Was Rick’s mom correct in saying Jim murdered his father? Or is it possible Jim isn’t who Rick thinks he is at all?
Will Gaitok step up to bring the White Lotus robbers to justice?
After The White Lotus was attacked by gun-toting robbers, Gaitok has been working hard to be taken more seriously as a security guard. He even got a gun and did some impressive target practice to level up his defense skills. The crime has haunted him.
But episode 7 revealed the potential identities behind the criminals who attacked him: Valentin, the hotel’s “health mentor,” and his two Russian friends Aleksei and Vlad. How will he address this newfound information? And even more critical, since Jaclyn (Monaghan), Kate (Bibb) and Laurie (Coon) partied with all three, will they be on the receiving end of some criminal drama in the finale?
Who will die?
As with every season of The White Lotus, someone will die by the time the finale is done. Immediately, I’m thinking Timothy will be the one to go. He has the most to lose and has been ideating self-harm for a while now. But after speaking with a Buddhist monk about death, it feels too on the nose.
My money is either on Jaclyn or one of her friends, Rick (because vengeance never goes the way you want it to) or Gaitok. Mike White is great at keeping us guessing till the very end, so we won’t really know until Sunday night.
When to watch The White Lotus Season 3 finale
The eighth and final episode of the season, Amor Fati, will have a runtime of 90 minutes and is set to premiere on Sunday, April 6, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. New episodes are scheduled to air every Sunday after that until the finale on April 6.
If you’re interested in streaming The White Lotus, you’ll need a Max subscription. You can go the standard route and pay $10 per month for the plan with ads or pay $17 per month for the commercial-free plan. If you want to level up the quality of your picture to 4K, the Ultimate plan is available for $21 per month.
Let me also point you to the Hulu, Disney Plus and Max megabundle. The ad-supported bundle gives you the best of each streamer and is priced at $17 per month, while the ad-free version costs $30 per month.
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