2 days Ago By [email protected] (Malcolm McMillan)
"The White Lotus" season 3 wraps up with an epic 90-minute finale tonight at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.
m. PT on HBO and Max.But we're getting things started a bit early, because there's so much to cover before we finally find out who lives .
.. and who dies.
It's been an uneven season at times these past few weeks. With an eight-episode season, Mike White has had more episodes to work with than any season before, and he's taking full advantage of it.So let's dive into everything you need to know about "The White Lotus" season 3 finale before it starts, including our theories on who dies, our thoughts on this season's controversial opening theme and more.
Then at 9 p.m. ET I will provide live commentary on everything happening in the epic 90-minute finale.
Don't miss a second of it — check out our guide on how to watch 'The White Lotus' season 3 online and from anywhere.Welcome to ‘The White Lotus’ season 3 finale — let’s get you checked in(Image credit: Fabio Lovino/HBO)Welcome to our “The White Lotus” season 3 finale live blog. I’m Malcolm McMillan, a Streaming Editor here at Tom’s Guide and I’ll be your concierge this evening.
Let’s do a quick recap of the season so far before diving into each of our key character groups staying at the White Lotus in Thailand.Our season kicks off with three main groups of vacationers. There’s the Ratliff family from North Carolina: Timothy (Jason Isaacs), Victoria (Parker Posey), Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola).
Then there’s brooding Rick (Walton Goggins) and his free-spirited, much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). Finally, there’s the trio of television star Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan) and her friends Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) on a much needed girls trip.Now, they haven’t interacted much with each other, except for Chelsea and the two Ratliff boys, Saxon and Lochlan.
But they have had some scandalous interactions with the hotel staff.Timothy Ratliff is totally spiraling with his impending incarceration for some fun, white collar crimes, looming over him. He even stole a gun from the security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), who luckily managed to steal it back from the Ratliff’s suite.
Then there’s Rick, who’s here to kill Jim Hollinger (Scott Glen), an American married to the White Lotus owner Sritala (Lek Patravadi). Jim maybe killed Rick’s dad or maybe is Rick’s dad, we’re not sure. But we’re sure it’ll be an issue that Rick went to Jim and Sritala’s house and ran off after knocking Jim to the ground.
Let’s not forget the girls' trip, though. Jaclyn has slept with Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius), one of the hotel staff, and Laurie has slept with his friend Aleksei (Julian Kostov). But it turns out that Kate is maybe a closeted Republican, and that may be the biggest surprise of all to this group of supposedly close friends.
Of course, these are all new names and faces. But there are a pair of familiar faces worth keeping an eye on in the season 3 finale. Natasha Rothwell is reprising her season 1 role as Belinda.
She is on an exchange program visit from the White Lotus in Hawaii to learn from the health and wellness experts at the Thailand White Lotus.She gets more than she bargained for, though, when she runs into Gary/Greg (Jon Gries), whom she met in season 1 and is on the run after the death of his wife Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) in season 2. He made an offer at the end of last week’s episode to buy her silence, and this week we might find out if it’s an offer she cannot refuse.
Will the Ratliffs’ vacation from Hell finally end?(Image credit: HBO)The Ratliff family has had a tough time in Thailand. Things started out great but then family patriarch Timothy discovered he might be going to jail and losing everything.Since then, he’s entered a drug-fueled downward spiral thanks to his wife Victoria’s stash of Lorazepam.
While he’s getting high, though, she’s having to constantly drink or risk sobering up, and she doesn’t want to sober up.Especially now that her daughter Piper has revealed she’s planning to stay in Thailand at a nearby Buddhist meditation center. While Victoria is adamantly against the idea, Timothy seems to be convinced the monk who runs the center is right about things.
.. well, at least when he’s remotely lucid.
The rest of the time, he’s imagining killing his family and himself.But all this drama may pale in comparison to Saxon and Lochlan’s drug-fueled threesome with Gary/Greg’s girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), which crossed almost every line imaginable.So now, the Ratliffs just need to make it out of this episode alive.
But will they? Or will Timothy enact his plan for a murder-suicide to end his family’s suffering?Even if he doesn’t, it remains to be seen if Piper stays at the meditation center or if she decides to return to North Carolina. Whether she does or not, Lochlan might decide to spend a year at the center so he doesn’t have to look his brother in the eye anytime soon.Forget the Ratliffs — Kate might be the most shocking casualty(Image credit: HBO)I can’t shake the feeling that Kate might be the one to bite the bullet.
While it’s Laurie and Jaclyn who finally go at each other in episode 7 after so much unspoken tension, Kate plays a key role in enabling their worst tendencies, making her just as culpable in their downward spiral.There’s been so much insane drama with the Ratliff family that killing off one of them almost feels too predictable. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rick and Chelsea end up starting fresh by the season’s end.
And while Chelsea’s death would be shocking (especially with the whole “bad things come in threes” idea), I have a hard time seeing it happen.So, I think it will be someone from the trio of girls, because it would be the least expected. And my gut is telling me Kate won’t make it out.
Maybe I’m just saying that because I find her character annoying, to say the least. — Alix Blackburn.
