Warning! This article contains spoilers for The White Lotus season 3.
The White Lotusseason 3’s finale featured many twists, with several of them being teased via clues and hints throughout the season. Theending ofThe White Lotusseason 3was suitably tragic, in the way most installments of the show had been. The various twists and turns of the show, be itChelsea’s death inThe White Lotusor Rick’s similar fate, were heartbreaking. Frustratingly, this left some of the most deplorable members ofThe White Lotusseason 3’s castalive and well, as has been a constant for the show’s three seasons.
For this reason, among others, season 3 seems to be at the bottom of the pile regardingThe White Lotus' season rankings. That said, the show still proved to be better than most seasons of modern television, thanks to the exploration of spirituality, morality, wealth, and a variety of other thought-provoking topics and themes. Many of these themes came to a head in the finale in shocking ways, yetThe White Lotusseason 3 had sprinkled clues to each resolution throughout the preceding seven episodes.
After Her “Near-Death Experiences”
Perhaps the most overt clue that Chelsea would end up beingThe White Lotusseason 3’s victim came earlier in the season. When the titular hotel was robbed, Chelsea was in the store, before another episode showed her being bitten by a venomous snake and taken to hospital. After this,Chelsea kept remarking that bad things happen in threes, with the third apparently being her death. Nothing of note happened to Chelsea after the snake bite until the finale, when she was caught by a stray bullet and died, proving thatThe White Lotus' three-bad-things warning was a clue, after all.
Referencing The Outsiders
Image via Max
Another clue that pointed towards Chelsea’s death inThe White Lotusseason 3 was her necklace, which read “Stay Gold.” This necklace is similar to one worn by Johnny Cade in the filmThe Outsiders. Johnny dies in this film, with his death scene featuring him reciting lyrics from a poem by Robert Frost about staying innocent and pure. This can apply to Chelsea, given that she is one ofThe White Lotus' few pure and innocent characters, with the “Stay Gold” necklace teasing she would meet a tragic end, as Johnny Cade did.
Theorized To Link To Rick’s Trauma
ThroughoutThe White Lotusseason 3, snakes were featured at various points. One of the ornaments stolen from the hotel in the aforementioned robbery scene was modeled after a snake and there was the episode in which Chelsea was bitten by a snake after Rick set them all free. Beyond that, there is snake symbolism inThe White Lotusseason 3’s credits.
Why Walton Goggins' Rick Frees The Snakes In The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 3
One of Rick’s main scenes in The White Lotus season 3, episode 3 saw him releasing venomous snakes from their cages, leading many to wonder why.
These various snake depictions were theorized to link to Rick’s trauma inThe White Lotusseason 3, which surrounded the deaths of his mother and father. This trauma is what led Rick to shoot Jim Hollinger inThe White Lotus, before realizing the latter was actually the former’s father. Both Rick and Chelsea’s deaths spawned as a result of this trauma, explaining why the show continued to showcase the symbolism of snakes.
7The Suicide Tree Was Teased In The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 1
Before Coming Back In The Finale
The White Lotus' Ratliff siblingswere a big focus of season 3, as were Timothy and Victoria, their parents. Throughout the season, Timothy is shown to struggle with crimes he committed that will inevitably result in his family losing their wealth. As a result, Timothy plotted to kill his family members and himself as he knew they could not live an unprivileged life, with his method of murder-suicide being the fruits of the local pong-pong tree, colloquially known as the suicide tree.
Lochlan Ratliff
Sam Nivola
Timothy did not go through with this, but the tree was teased in the Ratliff family’s very first appearance at their White Lotus villa.InThe White Lotusseason 3, episode 1, Saxon picks up a fruit from the tree, with Pam telling him that the seeds are poisonous and would kill a humanif ingested. This teased Timothy’s eventual method of attempted murder long before it even happened, proving to be one ofThe White Lotus' earliest clues.
6Mook & Gaitok’s Entire Relationship Teased Rick’s Death
Making This Clue A Season-Long One
After shooting Sritala’s guards and carrying Chelsea’s body away from the scene, Rick was shot twice by Gaitok in another bigWhite Lotusseason 3 twist. This twist was also seeded throughout the season via Gaitok’s relationship with Mook. The latter showed more interest in the former when he was slightly more ruthless in order to improve his standing in the world of employment. Gaitok’s feelings for Mook meant he took her feelings very seriously, meaning, without them, Gaitok may not have taken the extra violent step needed to shoot Rick.
To Tease An Unexpected Ending
Another primary batch of characters inThe White Lotusseason 3 were Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie. The trio were shown to be poor friends to one another, with these many scenes leading audiences to expect a major fallout in the final episode. However. one twist ofThe White Lotus' finale is that this big blowout did not come to pass, with the trio instead tearfully making up and accepting that their relationships are simply how they are, and loving each other regardless.
This lack of arguing was a clue that their relationship would not end in a big blowout…
Despite not being a massive moment like a death or a shootout, this was still a twist given that it subverted the season-long expectation of a major argument between Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie. Interestingly, this more amicable ending to their storyline was teased throughout the show. After all, a large, angry, vitriol-infused argument never once took place between the three, with only the tensions overJaclyn sleeping with Valentinproviding some discomfort. This lack of arguing was a clue that their relationship would not end in a big blowout, but instead a tearful monolog from Laurie.
4The White Lotus Season 3’s Cold Open Teased Rick’s Death
Because Of Zion’s Involvement
The cold opening ofThe White Lotusseason 3 showed Rick’s shootout from Zion’s perspective, with the gunshots interrupting his wellness session. In the finale, Rick initially wanted a wellness session with the woman who was giving one to Zion. This led Rick to wait before seeing Jim Hollinger, causing his anger to spike and his eventual shootout.The White Lotusseason 3’s cold opening was a clue to Rick’s death; if Zion had not been there, Rick’s fortunes may have been changed via the wellness session.
3Chelsea Said Rick Would Be The Victim Of His Own Decisions In Episode 1
Which Eventually Came True
In the premiere ofThe White Lotusseason 3, Rick and Chelsea’s relationship was first outlined. At one point, Chelsea tells Rick that he will always be the victim of his own decisions. This proved to be a clue that teased both of their deaths. Rick’s decisions led him to kill Jim, then the ensuing shootout which resulted in Chelsea dying and Gaitok shooting him. As Chelsea told him in the premiere, Rick became a victim of his own choices, as did Chelsea.
2Timothy’s Visions Of Death Teased The True Ending Of The Ratliff Family
Timothy’s Decision Was A Twist
In a way, Timothy’s decision not to kill his family and stop them from drinking the poisoned cocktails was a twist ofThe White Lotusseason 3. Throughout the prior episodes, Timothy’s visions seemed to imply that the family would die. However, these visions were also viewed as a red herring by many.
Tim’s Visions Of Dying In The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 6 Explained
The White Lotus season 3, episode 6 includes several visions of Timothy dying, with the reason why linking to his overall arc thus far.
The thought of the audience was that, if the Ratliff family was truly going to die at the end of the show,The White Lotuswould not have been so obviously setting this up. Therefore, the various visions Timothy had can be retroactively viewed as a clue that the family was never in any real danger.
The White Lotus' Ending Proved They Were
The final major clue to the big twist that both Rick and Chelsea died inThe White Lotuscame in the show’s finale. Chelsea was shown talking to Rick at dinner, telling him that their fates were intertwined. She states that what happens to him will happen to her, and vice versa. As proven, Chelsea’s death by gunshot eventually led to Rick’s demise via the same method. Therefore, Chelsea’s words to RIck inThe White Lotusseason 3’s finale proved the final clue to a tragic twist.
