The White Lotus season 3 finale has fans asking “that’s it?”
The White Lotus season 3 finale has fans asking “that’s it?”
Many fans were left disappointed and unsatisfied following the long-awaited release of the final episode.
True fans of The White Lotus know that with each season’s final episode comes an uproar of discomfort, fear and shock. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case for the 6.2 million viewers who tuned in to the heavily anticipated season 3 finale last Sunday.
Despite occasional twists and turns, the finale proved somewhat disappointing for loyal fans who had waited more than two years since the last season’s conclusion. For some, the episode felt “frustratingly middling” and left many questions unanswered — most of which likely won’t be answered until a few years from now in season 4, if at all.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Rick and Chelsea
The deaths of both Rick and Chelsea — played by Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood, respectively — were unfortunate, to say the least. Throughout the season, the couple faced several conflicts, with Rick’s stubbornness often leaving Chelsea feeling isolated and under-appreciated in the relationship. By the finale, the two appeared to be on the same page, passionately agreeing to be “together forever.”
Technically, they do end up together forever — just not in the way they expected.
Following Rick’s successful assassination attempt on the man revealed to be his father, gunfire erupts from all directions in the supposedly tranquil White Lotus hotel. Chaos ensues, and Chelsea is struck by a bullet fired by one of the hotel owner’s bodyguards. As Rick rushes to her side, the audience sees how deeply he cares for her — despite his struggle to show it throughout most of the season.
Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), a security guard at the hotel, is then urged by Sritala, the hotel’s owner, to shoot Rick from behind. The couple, both wounded, then fall into the water. Together, forever.
This moment stands out as one of the episode’s most heartbreaking. Just as the couple finally finds common ground and their Thailand vacation reveals the depth of their love, it is cut tragically short. In hindsight, the ending may have been foreshadowed: after all, death comes in threes — at least, according to Chelsea.
Lochlan Ratliff
Another death — or near-death — is that of Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola). After making his older brother’s beloved protein shake, Lochlan begins to feel extremely ill. Collapsing to the floor, he quickly realizes that something isn’t right. The cause? The blender he used had been used the night before by his father to prepare a batch of poisoned piña coladas. The secret ingredient? A toxic fruit growing from the trees in the Ratliff family’s villa.
Fortunately, the family never drank the piña coladas — a close call that left viewers on edge. But Lochlan wasn’t so lucky. His father, Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), finds Lochlan unconscious on the ground and is overcome with regret for having concocted the poisoned drinks in the first place.
It would have been a pretty brutal — though accidental — death had Lochlan not regained consciousness in his father’s arms. However, a few questions remain: How did Lochlan survive if the seeds of the fruit are supposedly deadly? Would the entire family have survived if they had drank and finished their piña coladas?
I guess we’ll never know.
Valentin and friends
Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius), an employee at the White Lotus hotel, has a compelling storyline as the season progresses. At first, he comes across as civil and slightly flirtatious, especially with three women — Kate, Jaclyn, and Laurie — staying at the resort. However, by the end of the season, viewers learn he isn’t who he claims to be and was involved in the hotel robbery from episode 2.
Despite Gaitok’s knowledge of Valentin’s involvement, Valentin and his accomplices get away with the crime as if it never happened.
It seems unjust that Gaitok was capable of something so horrible as murder, yet didn’t report Valentin’s robbery to his superiors. In my opinion, after robbing the hotel, lying to Laurie and her friends, and sleeping with Jaclyn, Valentin should not have gotten off scot-free.
Kate, Jaclyn, and Laurie
One bright spot in the finale is Laurie’s (Carrie Coon) heartfelt monologue, in which she tells Kate and Jaclyn how much they mean to her. Throughout the season, the three women are often seen gossiping about one another, suggesting that their friendship may not be entirely genuine. However, in the final episode, they share a touching moment and come to realize how much their bond truly matters — and perhaps always has.
The Ratliffs
The most consistent theme throughout the season is Timothy Ratliff’s looming legal troubles — issues that threaten to drag his family into financial ruin. By the end of the finale, the Ratliff family finally gets their phones and electronics back after being without them for most of the vacation. They’re on the verge of learning what Timothy has done — but the audience never sees their reaction.
How and when does the family find out? Are they poor now? What did Victoria, Timothy’s wife, have to say about the situation? Did she know all along?
Unfortunately, we may never get the answers to these questions — but that seems to be exactly what creator Mike White intended: to keep the audience guessing.
As is often the case with The White Lotus, the season 3 conclusion left viewers heartbroken, confused and swimming in enough drama to fuel countless Reddit threads. But unlike previous seasons, which struck a delicate balance between chaos and closure, this finale leaned heavily into the unresolved — a shift that left many longtime fans frustrated.
It’s clear that White is playing the long game, as several character arcs end abruptly and major plot lines are left open-ended.
Whether audiences stick around to see it all play out in season 4 remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: The White Lotus still knows how to spark conversation — mostly in the form of, “Wait … that’s it?”