We finally know who The White Lotus killer is — and who didn't make it out of their vacation alive. We spent all of last week thinking about the possibility of who'd survive the White Lotus season finaleon April 6, and while some of our theories were proven correct (cough cough the poison fruit!!!), there are more than a few moments that shocked us. Keep reading for Mike White's The White Lotus season 3 finale recap!
Here's the only White Lotus finale summary & ending explainer you need.
'The White Lotus' season finale is as wild as you'd expect.
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White Lotus season 3, episode 8, "Amor Fatie" opens with Rick returning to the White Lotus and reuniting with Chelsea on the beach. Chelsea leaves Saxon behind to run to her BF, and Saxon's longing look has fans in a tizzy because it appears Chelsea (and her self-help books) finally broke through to him and he's craving real connection now...even though he's still haunted by the incestuous encounter with Lochlan. (No, I still can't believe that happened either). The memory is even worse when Lochlan says he only got Saxon involved because he's a people pleaser and basically didn't want Saxon to feel left out. I'm sorry Mike White, WHAT?!
Piper also finally admits that she didn't enjoy staying at the monastery, and that she does actually need her material comforts, evoking two different emotions from her parents: Victoria is happy, Timothy is not. When Lochlan tells his dad he could live without money, the Ratliff family patriarch sets a plan into action, making the family (sans Lochlan) piña coladas with the poison pong pong fruit seeds mixed in.
After the family takes a sip, Timothy comes to his senses and stops them from drinking the rest...but in a twist of events, Lochlan makes a smoothie with the fruit seeds accidentally mixed in and nearly dies by the pool. But don't worry, he wakes up in his dad's arms, and then says he thinks he saw God. As one TikTok user put it, "him not cleaning the blender out is so youngest brother core."
What are people saying about The White Lotus finale?
HBO
Fans are happy with a standout moment from Laurie, Jaclyn, and Kate's last dinner at The White Lotus, where Laurie admits how sad she's been the whole vacation. After explaining that work, romance, and even motherhood haven't been able to fill the void she feels, she reveals their friendship is what gives her life meaning.
"Pleases me greatly to hear Carrie Coon got the Meghann Fahy finale moment," @burritoprophet jokes on X, references Meghann Fahy's standout scene from The White Lotus season 2.
"Meghann Fahy's monologue in s2 and Carrie Coon's monologue in s3...Mike White is a f—ing legend," @contaemplative adds.
Meanwhile, Gaitok tells Mook he knows who robbed the hotel boutique, later low-key confronting Valentin, who begs Gaitok not to report the crime. And after Belinda and Zion received $100,000 from Greg in last week's episode (to help Belinda start her own spa business), they actually get him to send $5 million. And Belinda is ready to get out of town. I would be too, TBH.
How does The White Lotus season 3 end?
Fabio Lovino/HBO
But the White Lotus season finale comes to a head when Jim and Sritala Hollinger show up at the resort and Jim antagonizes Rick, saying awful things about his mother. Chelsea tries to stop Rick from retaliating, but when he notices the couple's bodyguards aren't around, he ends up shooting Jim in the chest before learning he was Rick's father.
When the bodyguards and Rick end up in a shootout, Chelsea gets hit by a stray bullet and dies. PAUSE. This is, without a doubt, the saddest part of the whole season for me. Chelsea was literally the one person I wanted to make it out alive, and the look on her face as she dies (along with her tears) seem to show that even though "in the end Rick finally saw her as his soulmate, I can tell she finally saw he wasn’t," according to one TikTok comment, with another comment calling the heartbreaking moment "brutal."
But it doesn't end there. Rick tries to carry her body away but ends up getting shot by Gaitok. Turns out Rick and Chelsea will be together forever after all. Their bodies get taken off the island as Laurie, Jaclyn, and Kate comfort each other after the shooting, and the rest of the characters look toward the future.
Belinda and Zion leave the White Lotus on a private boat while the Ratliffs return to North Carolina, with Timothy promising they'll get through future trouble as a family. We didn't get to see the fallout of their financial troubles IRL, but who knows. Maybe this will play into The White Lotus season 4.
Is season 3 of White Lotus over?
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Yes, The White Lotus season 3 is over, and all episodes of the season are available to stream on Max. Here are all the episodes:
- Season 3, Episode 1 "Same Spirits, New Forms" premiered on February 16, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 2 "Special Treatments" premiered on February 23, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 3 "The Meaning of Dreams" premiered on March 2, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 4 "Hide or Seek" premiered on March 9, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 5 "Full-Moon Party" premiered on March 16, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 6 "Denials" premiered on March 23, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 7 "Killer Instincts" premiered on March 30, 2025
- Season 3, Episode 8 "Amor Fati" premiered on April 6, 2025
Who's in the White Lotus season 3 cast?
Fabio Lovino/HBO
Here's a refresher on the White Lotus cast this season:
- Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea: a young English woman staying at the resort with her much-older boyfriend.
- Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett: a guest at The White Lotus traveling with his younger girlfriend Chelsea.
- Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff: a financier vacationing in Thailand with his family, and with some secrets.
- Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff: Timothy's wife.
- Patrick Schwarzengger as Saxon Ratliff: Timothy and Victoria's eldest son who works Timothy.
- Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff: Timothy and Victoria's daughter, a college senior who's studying religion.
- Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff: Timothy and Victoria's youngest, a high school senior.
- Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon: a TV actress on a girls' trip.
- Leslie Bibb as Kate Bohr: one of three friends on a Thailand girls' trip.
- Carrie Coon as Laurie Duffy: a lawyer escaping the real world with a girls' trip.
- Lalisa Manobal as Thidapon "Mook" Sornsin: the White Lotus' health mentor.
- Lek Patravadi as Sritala Hollinger: an owner of the White Lotus.
- Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey: spa manager visiting from the White Lotus Hawaii vacation.
White Lotus fam, how are we feeling? Let us know your hottest takes on the season finale on TikTok.