We’re officially two episodes away from the end of The White Lotus season three, and Reddit is awash with theories about what’s coming next. We’ve seen endless sugar babies, a family on the brink of financial ruin and a toxic trio friendship dynamic that’s somehow even more awkward than an actual incestuous threesome.
It’s all building up to that big moment we saw at the start of the season, with someone – or multiple someones' – getting shot and a crazed killer on the other side of the gun. Who could it be and who will we be mourning come April 6th? Viewers certainly think they’ve got it all figured out. At the very least, they’re desperate to before we’re even shown it.
Right now, ‘White Lotus season 3 Reddit’ and ‘White Lotus season 3 theories’ are breakout search terms on Google, with viewers particularly interested in the Reddit threads around episodes 3, 5 and 6. Rest assured, dear reader, we’re here to breakdown Reddit’s theories on The White Lotus for you…
The White Lotus season 3 theories on Reddit
Chloe and Gary are con artists together
‘Many people are asking how Chloe and Greg/Gary are able to hang at the White Lotus, but my question is, WHY are they hanging at the White Lotus?’ one user has asked, theorising that they’re only at the hotel because they’re both hoping to scam other guests.
‘[Gary’s] boat was filled with shady, old, white guys - why else would they be hanging out with those guys unless they were offering him something in return,’ the user says. ‘Gary is filthy rich, but did he get that way from Tanya's money? He was already an elite guest at White Lotus before he met Tanya, and he certainly wasn't making that kind of coin working at Bureau of Land Management. He's a shady conman who is running schemes and is looking for his next victim. I suspect they are running something on the Ratcliff's because there is absolutely no reason to invite them on his boat and to his "party."’
There’ll be three deaths in the finale
‘I think three people are going to die [because] Chelsea keeps saying how "bad things come in threes" or something like that,’ one user says. ‘We already saw it with the threesome!’
‘I think you're onto something,’ another adds. ‘Also, just all the "three's" in general this season. In the family, there are 3 kids. The friend group has 3 friends. The whole see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil is in 3. The threesome.’
There’s actually mountains of evidence on this theory. Others point out that there was three Russian friends, discussions about the three marks of existence in Buddhism, and that Timothy stashed the gun he stole in the third draw over, three draws down in the cabinet. Belinda also has three unresolved conversations, according to one viewer, and that there’s three older white men involved in ‘shady shit’ – Gary, Tim and Rick.
Sam Rockwell’s monologue is foreshadowing Tim’s future
After the scene where Rick meets his old friend Sam and talks about how he found enlightenment in Thailand, some viewers think it represents foreshadowing of what will come of Timothy once his fraud scandal is explained to his family.
‘Rockwell tells a story of living a crazy life and wanting to become an Asian girl, followed by themes of enlightenment,’ the user writers. ‘Tim Ratliff has already considered not returning to America to evade arrest. He also had a surprisingly positive interaction with the monk. Could Rockwell’s story foreshadow that Tim will “become the girl” by following the path that was originally Piper’s? If Piper opts to not join the temple, she would be “watching from the corner” as her dad becomes what she intended to be. All the while, he’s already currently being “fucked” by his own decisions (himself).’
‘Almost every episode ends or begins with the Ratliff’s, specifically Tim,’ another viewer says. ‘It’s building up to something extraordinary. Tim feeling something talking to head Buddhist was a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, the ONE thing we know about Piper is that she’s impulsive and poor at preparation. I think that her sleepover at the Temple will be a disaster, and she will come crawling back to her upper class, comfortable lifestyle much like Rachel did in S1 while Tim discovers spirituality.’
There won’t be a shooting at all, but a poisoning instead
‘Is it possible the dead body was not shot?’ one person asks on Reddit. ‘The poisonous fruit tree was too Chekhovian not to surface later. And if someone eats forbidden fruit - that sounds like a metaphor for incest to me. So maybe it's one of the siblings or the mom who dies.’