Credit: HBO

‘The White Lotus’ cast dissect series finale: “I feel achy”

Mon 7 April 2025 10:47, UK

SPOILERS AHEAD: Season three of The White Lotus has ended, and creator Mike White managed to deliver a final episode to rival that infamous season two finale in Italy. Last night, the cast of season three broke down the explosive episode and their feelings about watching it again.

Throughout the season, it’s been a question of who would die in the final episode, not whether someone would die. In the end, it was Rick and Chelsea who went home in bodybags after he angrily confronts Hollinger, the man he thinks killed his father. In the ensuing shootout, Chelsea is killed, and Rick is killed by Gaitok as he carries her body across a bridge.

For Aimee Lou Wood, who plays Chelsea, watching that scene again is still traumatising. “It [looked] exactly how it felt, which is really strange,” she said during the ‘The White Lotus at Four Seasons Presented by American Express’ event on April 6th (via Variety). “There was a lot in that episode that made me fucking sob. From the beginning, Saxon’s sad face… I feel achy!”

The face she’s referring to is a moment early in the episode when Saxon sees Rick and Chelsea embrace. His expression suggests that he longs to have a similar kind of loving relationship with someone.

Tayme Thapthimthong, who plays Gaitok, revealed that when he first read the script, he didn’t want his character to shoot Rick in the back. However, when he talked to White about the scene, the creator reassured him that it would all make sense in context. “He was like, ‘Trust me, it will be justified.’ And I felt like it really was,” Thapthimthong shared.

Leslie Bibb, who plays Kate, one of the three childhood friends who struggle to maintain their relationship throughout the trip, there was a concern that the women would be given short shrift by the script compared to the wild antics that some of the other characters get up to. “It’s ironic because we were comparing like the ladies do, like ‘Oh my God, it’s not enough,’” she said.

Soon, however, members of the crew began coming up to her on set and telling her that they identified with her storyline more than anyone else’s. The universality of troubled friendships is inescapable. “I don’t think we thought it was going to take off the way it is,” Bibb continued. “I think that’s a testament to Mike.”

Many fans were hoping that Greg, who killed his wife, fan-favourite Tanya McQuoid, in the finale of season two, would get his comeuppance in this episode. He remains alive at the end, but there is some cosmic healing when he gives Belinda $5 million in exchange for her silence. John Gries, who plays Greg, said that he struggled in the interim between season two and three to justify his character’s actions.

“I walked up to Mike one day, and I was like, ‘I’ve been spending so much time convincing myself that I didn’t intend to kill her,” he said, “‘I’ve got to talk to you about it.’ He goes, ‘You know who you are. You’ve played this guy.’” Gries said to White, “I have one question, though. Psychopath?” White responded, “Psychopath.”

Gries also revealed that he didn’t tell anyone that he was returning for season three. “I told them I was doing the remake of The Sand Pebbles, an old movie with Steve McQueen, and I was shooting in the Philippines.”

The White Lotus has already been renewed for a fourth season, though further details remain under wraps.