It was the last hurrah – literally.
Season 3 of the HBO Emmy-winning dramedy “The White Lotus” ended on Sunday, and as usual, it concluded with a death. This time, however, there were two major killings — and one close call.
Spoilers ahead for “The White Lotus” Season 3 finale.
Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) both died in the final shoot-out. Rick brought it on himself through his stupidity, Chelsea was tragic collateral damage.
Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola) seemed like he also died from poisoned fruit, but he ended up pulling through.
Several other guards and resort employees also died in the shoot-out, including the resort owner, Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn).
It was an unusual bloodbath ending to a show that usually only kills off one major character per season.
Rick had been going after Jim for revenge, because Rick thought Jim killed his father and ruined his life. After Rick antagonized Jim last episode, Jim showed up to the resort with a gun in the season finale. Rick went after him, took his gun, and shot him — as well as several guards.
In a Darth Vader moment, Rick also learned that Jim Hollinger was his father, shortly after killing him.
Tragically, Chelsea followed Rick, and in the chaos of bullets flying between Rick and the hotel guards, Chelsea caught a stray bullet in her chest.
She and Rick had told each other they’d be together forever, and that’s technically true. They died together, their bodies shown floating in the water side by side.
Each season of the Mike White series is set at a different location of the titular resort, following a cast of unhappy wealthy characters on vacation until somebody dies.
All season long, dysfunctional Southern family Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), his loopy wife Victoria (Parker Posey), and their three college-aged kids — Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) — also seemed likely to die.
Timothy had been suicidal over getting caught committing white collar crimes — a fact which he’s hidden from his family as he spiraled.
Lochlan and Saxon also had an incestuous hookup, so either one of them could have killed the other to keep that secret.
As it turned out, Timothy did plan to kill his entire family by serving them drinks that he put poisoned fruit in — to spare them from having to deal with financial ruin and the fallout from his crimes.
He changed his mind at the last-minute, slapping the drink out of Saxon’s hand.
But, in the morning, Lochlan made himself a smoothie without washing the poisoned fruit sludge out of the blender. He convulsed on the deck, and for a while appeared to be a goner.
An emotional Timothy discovered Lochlan and cradled him in his arms. Lochlan later opened his eyes and vomited.
Timothy even manned up and finally told his family that they will be facing “changes” in the future, but would do so together.
Meanwhile, the trio of forty-something childhood friends reuniting for a girls trip Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon) re-established their bond. All season long, they’d been talking behind each other’s backs and fighting.
But, they mostly mended fences, and escaped their vacation alive.
Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), who knew that Greg / Gary (John Gries) killed his ex-wife Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) were successfully able to get him to give them five million dollars as a payoff for their silence about his crimes.
So, Belinda and Zion rode off into the sunset newly rich, in a rare happy ending for “The White Lotus.”
All’s well that ends well — except for poor Chelsea.
