Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Finale
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3 finale.As with every season of The White Lotus, we don’t get to see whether our characters will embrace or deny the lessons they’ve learned. We don’t see the Ratliff’s reaction to the news that they will lose their wealth or how Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) will use the money given to her, not to mention the rest of the guests who all have reached a turning point by the end of Season 3. What is even more frustrating is that we most likely won’t ever get answers to most of these questions due to the quasi-anthological approach Mike White takes to the show. Of course, the point is for us to decide what these people will learn from this holiday, but that doesn’t stop us from wondering about the unanswered questions from this season of White Lotus.
Will Belinda Successfully Set Up Her Spa?
Belinda got the best ending of all the characters this season, with Greg (Jon Gries) paying her $5 million for her silence about Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) death, but there is still so much we don’t know about her future. It is unclear if Greg will truly trust her forever, and could come for a cut of the business she sets up, considering himself the main investor. Furthermore, we don’t know if Belinda will set that business up at all, as she now has enough money to live off for the rest of her life if she spends wisely. This leads us to the larger consequences of this newfound wealth. How will it change her? Rarely does White Lotus argue in favor of the rich, and leaving Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) on the beach felt like a less egregious version of what Tanya did to her in Season 1. She connected with a worker and began to plan a future before leaving once something more personally fulfilling came along. If we see Belinda again, she could be very different t see the humble woman we know her as.
Will Greg Ever Face Justice for Killing Tanya in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2?
It feels like Greg has fully escaped justice with Belinda’s silence, yet the position we leave him in doesn’t rule out that there could be a downfall for this man. The way Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) pointed at him to signal that was who her new lover would be cuckolding before we saw him sitting on a throne framed him as wholly embracing a sexually liberated lifestyle. However, with how insecure he is already about cheating, surely this game won’t last and could have real consequences for whatever poor soul agrees to sleep with Chloe next. Therefore, while Belinda may feel willing to keep her end of the bargain, there is no guarantee Greg won’t ruin himself via his own arrogance. And who’s to say he won’t come knocking at Belinda’s door when he’s in trouble again?
How Will the Ratliffs React When They Get Home?
While this finale episode, “Amor Fati,” was thrilling, there was a feeling of anticlimax because of the fact we didn’t get to see the Ratliff’s reaction to Tim’s (Jason Isaacs) legal troubles. From what we have seen from this season, we can assume they won’t react well. While Lochlan (Sam Nivola) could have found a new appreciation for live after his near-death experience, and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) was coming around to the idea of spirituality, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Victoria (Parker Posey) are more committed than ever to materialism. Therefore, will Tim’s words about getting through this time as a family prove true, or what feels more likely, will this “family of narcissists” turn on each other once they have nothing to gain from niceties?
Will Saxon and Lochlan Ever Reconcile?
Out of all the relationships this season, this one feels destroyed forever. In this episode, it is revealed that Lochlan was fully aware of and consenting to what he did to Saxon during the full moon party in Episode 6, “Denials.” With Saxon being intoxicated to the point of losing his awareness, we know that Saxon could not give his consent when his brother assaulted him. It not only destroys the power dynamic that previously existed, where Saxon held the power over his little brother, but feels like it could either push Saxon down the path of spirituality or push him to find materialistic ways to forget about it, becoming worse than ever.
Did Gaitok Make the Right Choice?
Gaitok’s (Tayme Thapthimthong) arc this season focused on whether he had the “Killer Instinct,” which was explored in Episode 7. When he shoots Rick (Walton Goggins) as he walks away from the shootout where Jim (Scott Glenn) died, one can see this as Gaitok embracing violence as a necessary evil. However, due to Gaitok’s Buddhist pacifist views and how, at that moment, Rick presented no threat to anyone, did Gaitok do the right thing? He may have gotten his promotion to be Sritala’s (Lek Patravadi) bodyguard and seems closer to Mook (Lalisa Manobal) as a result, but how will he reconcile these actions with his soft nature, and could it lead to a moral downfall of what was the sweetest character seen yet in White Lotus?
Could We See These Guests Again in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4?
Of course, other than Tanya, Greg, and Belinda, we have never seen an arc carry over from one season to the next of White Lotus. However, that could be about to change next season, giving us some answers to these questions. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mike White spoke about how he would “love to” bring back an “all-star” cast for Season 4. With the unanswered questions surrounding not just this season but past ones, this would be a fascinating thread to pull on, and we could see how established character dynamics would evolve when these previous guests meet up with each other. Overall, it feels unlikely we will get answers to at least half of these questions. However, with Belinda and Greg’s arc being the one thing running through from previous seasons, perhaps the answers could come in time, and news around the Season 4 castings will quickly tell us if Mike White is going to commit to bringing back other guests or not.
All episodes of The White Lotus Season 3 is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Mike White
- Directors
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Mike White
- Writers
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Mike White
