Theories about the identity of the potential victims in The White Lotus season 3 ran rampant across the internet throughout the first seven episodes. From Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) to Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), almost every character in the show was in the running for who would die in the finale, but in the end, two of the stars were killed off.
Warning: The White Lotus season 3 spoilers ahead!
Who Dies in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Finale?
Both Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea died in episode 8 of The White Lotus season 3. After Sritala Hollinger (Patravadi Mejudhon) and her husband, Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn), returned to the hotel, Jim approached Rick at breakfast. He told Rick that he knew his mother, called her some derogatory words and threatened Rick by showing him the gun holstered to his side.
Rick was visibly distraught after hearing his mother insisted and Chelsea worried he was going to do something dangerous. He told her he was going to speak with the female employee who had worked with him on meditation, but she was already booked and asked him to wait. As he waited, he noticed Sritala and Jim taking photos with Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon). Chelsea then showed up and begged him to not do anything, but her words fell on deaf ears.
Rick snapped and walked up to Jim and swiped the gun from his holster and fired two shots into his chest. When Sritala asked him why he would kill him, he told her that Jim had killed his father. That’s when Sritala dropped the news that Jim actually was Rick’s father.
Before he could process the information, security guards at the hotel began shooting at Rick. Chelsea was shot in the chest in the midst of the mayhem and died in Rick’s arms. He promised her they would always be together as he picked her up in his arms and began walking away. Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) arrived on the scene and Sritala shouted for him to shoot Rick, which he ultimately did. Rick fell into the water while still holding Chelsea’s body and the final shot of the couple showed him with his eyes open staring toward the sky, while she floated face down.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Cast Teased an Unbelievable Ending
Before The White Lotus season 3 finale aired, some of the cast members hinted that fans wouldn’t be able to guess how creator Mike White was going to wrap up the storylines this season.
Natasha Rothwell, who starred in both season 1 and 3 of the series, told TVLine on March 25, 2025, that she thought “audiences were going to be so surprised.” Her costar Jon Gries, who played Greg/Gary, had a similar thought when he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter.
“Whatever you think you know, you’re going to get it wrong,” the Napoleon Dynamite star told the outlet during an interview published on April 2, 2025.
Charlotte Le Bon, who starred as Greg/Gary’s new girlfriend, Chloe, in season 3, added, “People are going to hate Mike White.”
Fan Theories Ran Wild Ahead of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Finale
Even though Mike did his best to keep his fans on the edge of their seats throughout The White Lotus season 3, that didn’t stop people from coming up with theories regarding who they believed would die in the finale.
One of the most popular theories revolved around Jason Isaacs’ character Timothy and his family. Viewers watched Timothy spiral almost the entire season after learning his unspecified crimes had likely left the family in financial ruin. He spent almost six episodes contemplating suicide, but it seemed too obvious for Timothy to be the victim.
However, a line from Timothy’s wife, Victoria (Parker Posey), really left a mark on fans. She told Timothy that she “didn’t have it in her” to “live an uncomfortable life,” meaning she didn’t want to struggle financially. This led to theories that Timothy didn’t just take himself out of the equation, but possibly his entire family with him.
In The White Lotus season 3 finale trailer, Timothy was seen asking about the fruit from the “suicide tree” once again and was told that the fruit was, indeed, poisonous. Combine the fruit and the blender that was oddly noticeable in several scenes with the Ratliff family, and lots of people believed Timothy was going to kill his entire family, either on purpose or on accident.
“I was wondering if Tim is still suicidal, he makes a shake with the fruit, but hesitates/gets distracted and someone else drinks it,” one Redditor noted.
Several others were convinced Chelsea wasn’t going to make it out of Thailand alive. She already had two other close calls with death earlier in the season with the snake bite and the jewelry store robbery, and she was also the one who pointed out that “bad things come in threes.”
