We're now six episodes into series three of The White Lotus and Mike White is yet to disappoint. We've had Jason Isaacs playing a Southern American businessman, Jon Gries making a surprise return as Greg / Gary, plus Parker Posey and that accent. It's fair to say that between the beautiful scenery of Koh Samui in Thailand, and the less scenic antics of the guests, The White Lotus has deliveredonce again.
But if your head is spinning at all the easter eggs and red herrings, fear not, as we've pulled together the ten wildest theories about what's going to happen in series three.
1. Valentin & Mook were involved in the robbery
We definitely haven’t heard the end of the robbery storyline - the main theory is that Valentin and his friends (especially the mysterious if haunted Vlad) were involved. Fans are also speculating that the sweet and lovely Mook is also involved - is there another reason she constantly appeases Gaitok’s unrequited love? And is very friendly with the other guards? During the hotel-shop robbery, a snake bracelet was among the items stolen - is it going to make a mysterious reappearance around one of the characters’ wrists…
2. There’s a second gun
Don’t you think it was a little easy for Gaitok - who seemingly hasn’t been able to do a single thing right throughout the series yet - to find the gun in the Ratcliffe’s room on his first go? Also, the opening scene teased a shooting - surely there is at least a second gun if not more.
3. The dead body in the opening scene wasn’t a shooting victim but killed by the poison fruit
Mike White is synonymous with red herrings. For every single easter egg he sends our way, you can almost guarantee that at least fifty per cent of them are red herrings designed to distract us. The Pong Pong tree mentioned early on in the show, although perhaps a little obvious, could be foreshadowing a death.
The tree exists in real life, and is sometimes called the suicide tree because people often use the seeds from the fruit to take their own life. Fan theories hypothesise that the body in the water is one of the men, either who has taken their own life (Tim) or been poisoned. And, it’s a red herring to distract away from the chaos that unfolds thanks to the gunshots.
4. Saxon sexually abused Piper who’s trying to protect Lochlan, and seeks her escape through Buddhism
A darker, heavier theory, but the incest theme is perhaps Mike White’s most controversial to date. The theory is that Saxon - played by Patrick Schwarzenegger - sexually assaulted Piper - Sarah Catherine Hook - which explains why she is permanently stand-offish with him, and goes out of her way to try and protect Lauchlin from Saxon - worried that he will attempt similar advances. Plus, fans reckon that the parents (or at least Victoria) knows about it, hence the dependency on her pills.
Another fan theorised that each member of the Ratcliff family represents breaking one of the five precepts in Buddhism. One precept is to refrain from stealing, implying Tim and his current legal predicament. Another is to refrain from intoxicants which connects to Victoria and her pills. A refrain from sexual misconduct would be Saxon, for obvious reasons. This would leave refrain from lying and killing to Piper and Lochlan. If Piper is lying about why they came to Thailand and about what Saxon has done to her in the past, that would leave the killing to Lochlan. Whilst it’s more of a tenuous hypothesis, it would tie in with the theory that the body in the water in the opening scene is not a victim of the shooting but the poison fruit.
5. Greg will bribe Belinda to keep quiet, giving her the money that Tanya promised her in the first place
5. Greg will bribe Belinda to keep quiet, giving her the money that Tanya promised her in the first place
The Greg/Gary reappearance gets 10/10 from us as a twist. We know there is already tension building there as Greg has tried to invite Belinda to a dinner at his villa, already ominously telling Chloe that he needs her help with something. A murder feels almost too obvious (unless Greg blackmails Saxon into doing it for him), so the theory is that Greg will use his (Tanya’s) money to bribe her into silence, finally allowing Belinda to open her own spa as she was originally promised back in season one.
6. It’s actually a monkey who is doing the shooting, not a person
Hear me out, monkeys have been everywhere since this series started. White has gone out of his way to signpost the monkeys in this series - from Belinda being worried that one will jump on her head to the female trio commenting on them when they arrived, monkeys are definitely going to feature. And, wouldn’t it be a classic White Lotus twist if there wasn’t a serial gunman, but a light-fingered monkey?
7. The Monkey will shoot Greg/Gary
Stay with me. This series has focused a lot on themes of karma and reincarnation, exploring different aspects of Buddhism. The theory is that Greg/Gary will be the victim of the gunshots heard in the opening scene, and that monkey is the reincarnated spirit of Tanya. If you need some evidence, may I present to you the detectives of Reddit:
- In the first episode (series one), Tanya shows up wearing a dress that has monkeys all over it
- In the second episode — Tanya falls asleep during a massage that Belinda is giving her, and says she was dreaming she was on top of a mountain in Asia with a cyanide pill
- In the third episode - named “Mysterious Monkeys” — Tanya has another dream where she’s in the ocean and throwing her mother’s ashes in the water. She wakes up from the dream and the background noise is monkeys screeching.
- In season two the theme continues. In her hotel room, a monkey painting hangs in the background, and in episode five, Quentin casually mentions someone who “died like a monkey,” right before Tanya meets her own tragic end.
- Now in season three, the monkey imagery has taken over. The very first shot of the season is a monkey, and they’re scattered throughout the environment, always present, always watching.
- The first episode of season three is called “same spirits, different forms” which could be a hint to reincarnation
8. There will be three victims in the end
Apart from this being the third series, there have been references to threes and trios throughout the season - three siblings, three friends, the three monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil). And, let’s not forget Chelsea’s conviction that “bad things always happen in threes”.
9. Rick is wrong about his father
Rick feels like the character we know the least about. For instance, what actually is his job? We’re all guessing it’s along the hitman / private investigator path, but we don’t actually know. We know about his difficult upbringing, fuelling his desire to visit Thailand and the owner’s husband. However, after Rick reveals a picture of his father in the most recent episode, fans have been quick to speculate that his real father is still alive, and connected with The White Lotus hotels.
10. Laurie’s daughter is Portia (Tanya’s old assistant)
Anyone else remember Portia? Tanya’s long-suffering assistant, played by Haley Lu-Richardson in season two. The toxic trio often reference their kids, but we don’t have many details beyond that. All that has been referenced is Laurie’s daughter, who is “such a cool girl” and “doing so well”. So well that she’s flying around the world with a millionaire, perhaps? This is definitely the most far-fetched theory, but let’s face it, we wouldn’t put anything past Mike White at this point.
Image credit: HBO
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