Poor Chelsea. According to Vanity Fair’s staff, Aimee Lou Wood’s bright kept woman should watch her back when The White Lotus’s season three finale a
Poor Chelsea. According to Vanity Fair’s staff, Aimee Lou Wood’s bright kept woman should watch her back when The White Lotus’s season three finale airs on Sunday—because it looks an awful lot like she’s going to get struck by one of the bullets we heard ring out during the violent flash-forward that kicked off episode one. Of course, that bullet could just as well strike Jason Isaacs’s Timothy, or Carrie Coon’s Laurie, or, hell, one of those chattering monkeys that kept interrupting Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) as he attempted to meditate—to say nothing of who might be on the other end of the gun. Is the shooter Patrick Schwarzenegger’s Saxon, totally broken after remembering the act of incest he committed with his very own brother? Sam Nivola’s Lochlan, ibid? A monkey, somehow?? In Mike White’s world, just about anything seems possible. (Short of Jennifer Coolidge reappearing to reveal that Tanya is actually alive and well—but a girl can dream, right?)
Below, nine VF staffers try to guess what will happen as The White Lotus winds to a close. Potential spoilers may follow—assuming we did our jobs right.
Not gonna lie: Episode seven was a bit of a disappointment. This season has been massive on plot and featherlight on resolution. I tend to agree with the portion of the internet that thinks the monkeys have something to do with the gunshots—either they are shooting the gun, or the security guards are shooting at them for some reason. As for the body, I’m going with Sam Rockwell’s Frank, somehow. Rick (Walton Goggins) seems to be edging death, but I don’t think he (or Chelsea) will die, because that would be somewhat off-brand for Lotus. And I will wager some other NOT-dead guesses, which is an easier challenge: the three blondes; the Ratliffs; and the hotel employees, including Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), whom I have changed my mind about after pegging him as a goner as recently as last week. —Claire Howorth
In an attempt to free herself from Greg (otherwise known as Gary and played by Jon Gries) and ultimately prevent harm from befalling her son, Zion, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) fires the gun into the resort’s restaurant during its bustling breakfast service. She thinks Greg flashed a firearm, but it is actually just his watch glinting in the sun. In his final act of service, a newly enlightened Rick leaps across the table and takes a bullet for Chelsea, saving her life. As he dies, smiling, in Chelsea’s arms, he realizes he has fulfilled his purpose and performed the ultimate sacrifice for the woman he loves. —Alyssa Karas
After all of Mook’s (Lalisa Manobal) talk about fighting, I’m pegging her as the shooter and the mastermind behind the robbery. With that kind of star power, Mike White must have bigger plans for Lisa! And I have no doubt that Rick is going to die in some tragic, romantic attempt to save Chelsea, who is due for her third near-death experience. As she explained to Saxon, she and Rick are in a battle between hope and pain, yin and yang. Rick has just emerged into the featherlight—he wore all white in the last episode—and put his pain behind him, just in time for he and Chelsea to swap roles. —Jaime Archer
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