Mike White, I have one request. Please make the public relations director for the White Lotus hotel chain a character next season. I need to see them deal with all of the drama in real time. Also, they deserve a raise, shot of tequila, and an all-expense paid vacation to a destination of their choice, because it is astounding that people are still checking into their hotels after multiple murders have happened across several locations.
That includes The White Lotus Thailand, where the third season of the HBO series is set. The first episode started with a bang—literally—at the tropical getaway. As Zion Lindsey (Nicholas Duvernay) is in a wellness session, multiple gun shots go off, with some bullets even entering his meditation room. He immediately calls for his mother, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), and prays for her safety. “Don’t let anything happen to my mother, motherfucker,” he tells a Buddha statue before a body slowly starts floating into view. Then the scene cuts to black with sirens in the background, and viewers are left wondering: Who is shooting the gun, and why are they doing it?
After spending weeks with all of the guests staying at the cursed hotel, many theories have floated around online about who ends up dead in the finale. Below, join us as we check into The White Lotus, round up some theories, and, of course, gave a few takes of our own. (As for the speculation about an incest plotline, unfortunately that was already proven true.)
Theory #1: It’s all monkey business.
A more unhinged theory circulating around the internet is that it’s not actually a guest wielding a gun at the resort, it’s a monkey. What if a monkey—the only other species on-site with opposable thumbs—got ahold of a gun and started going on an accidental rampage? With the multiple mentions of the creatures in the first episode and the lack of aim of the shots, perhaps we have a primate perpetrator on our hands. We wouldn’t put such a ridiculous idea past Mike White’s imagination. (Though Michelle Monaghan thinks we’ve all “lost it.”)
Theory #2: Greg is on the hunt again.
Fans were gooped when a familiar, and previously unannounced, face showed up at the White Lotus Thailand. Greg Hunt (Jon Gries), known by his lover, Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), as “Gary,” lives up the hill from the resort. Perhaps one of the most hated characters in The White Lotus lore, Greg dated Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) in the show’s first season and was married to her by the second. After ditching Tanya for another lover in season 2, he is believed to have put out a hit on her, employing a gang of Italian gays to kill her so he could inherit her money. Greg is now in Thailand hiding from investigators, what else could he be up to? Is he after another wealthy woman’s fortune, like Chloe’s or hotel owner Sritala’s (Lek Patravadi)? Or he go after Belinda and her son if she (as the last episode suggests) doesn’t take his hush money and reports him to the police?
Theory #3: The girls’ trip goes south.
Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb), and Laurie (Carrie Coon) seem to be on a girlie getaway from hell. All subtly digging into one another as they settle into the resort, it seems as if these childhood best friends have built up some resentment for one another. Jaclyn is a famous actress, Kate is a Texan country club wife, and Laurie is a recently divorced lawyer, all successful in different ways. That said, their secret gossip sessions have turned into an all-out fight. It seems like one of the blondes just might snap.
Theory #4: Mook is the villain.
After a robbery shakes the hotel in the second episode, fans speculated that Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičiu) could be involved. Considering he distracted hotel security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) with talks about a fight while a vehicle rushes in to rob the gift shop, it looks like he is caught up in some bad business. A flashback Gaitok has in episode 7 confirms this theory—but what if Mook (Blackpink’s Lalisa Manobal) is in on it, too? What if she isn’t showing Gaitok the love he deserves because she’s actually hiding something? Our eyebrows are raised.
Theory #5: Belinda battles the elite.
Belinda makes her second appearance in the franchise after serving as the beloved spa manager in the first season. Coming to Thailand to learn the ways of the wellness resort, Belinda has already been given a different treatment than the other hotel guests. Perhaps, after having her dreams taken from her by Tanya in the first season, Belinda finally gets her revenge. Yes, her son is the focus of the first scene, but after calling for his mom and wanting to make sure she’s safe amidst the gunshots, wouldn’t it be a gag if his mom was in fact the one shooting the gun? To quote Lady Gaga’s “Replay,” “She had the gun, she had the gun, she had the gu-uh-uhhhhnnnn.”
Theory #6: The owner of the hotel is involved.
The owners of The White Lotus Thailand, Sritala and Jim Hollinger, have slowly become more deeply embedded into the story after Rick (Walton Goggins) reveals that Jim is the man who killed his father. Rick has come to settle the score, but he doesn’t kill Jim in return. Could it be that Jim enacts his own revenge in the finale, following Rick back to the resort to kill him too?
Theory #7: Things go wrong with Chelsea.
With the previous theory in mind, there’s also a chance that Jim’s revenge goes awry and he ends up taking down the wrong person: Rick’s girlfriend, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). Although we dread the thought, some possible Easter eggs point to the Aries’s demise, including her signature necklace, which reads “stay gold.” Does the reference to that Outsiders death scene suggest that Chelsea is about to star in her own?
Theory #8: Gaitok would do anything for Mook.
Gaitok has the hots for Mook, but the feelings do not seem entirely mutual. Will he attempt some grand heroic gesture to win her over? Who wouldn’t go to war for Lisa?
Much of Gaitok’s story has revolved around struggling with confrontation, whether it was getting knocked out by armed robbers or failing to stand up to Tim Ratliff to get his gun back. But a few things in episode 7 seem to tee up Gaitok for a courageous change: First, Mook tells him that defying Buddha’s teachings and using violence is sometimes necessary or acceptable, especially in self-defense. Next, he realizes at the Muay Thai fight that Valentin’s Russian friends were the ones who robbed the hotel store, and that Valentin helped them break in. With that in mind, it seems like Gaitok is working up the gusto to get back at these guys, which will prove to his boss that he does have killer instinct and to Mook that he’s worthy of her love.
Theory #9: Follow the money.
Rich parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey) have plenty of baggage. Timothy is coming under fire for embezzlement and fraud and is surely going to jail. His assets have been frozen, and their house could be taken. He’s crumbling under the pressure as he tries to keep the news a secret from his family, and grappling with the guilt as he realizes he’s about to ruin their lives. (Saxon’s career and Victoria’s “comfortable life” are especially at risk.) Although Gaitok’s gun is no longer in his possession, the finale teaser does show Timothy holding a poisonous fruit. Is he going to use it on himself? And his whole family?
This story will be updated.
