Yahoo Lifestyle Who Dies in 'The White Lotus' Season 3? Ranking the Possibilities After Episode 1
In the first episode of the new season of HBO's The White Lotus, a body is discovered floating in the river. Season 3 of the anthology series will follow the same format as the previous iterations — we know one of the characters we follow will die, we just don't know which one yet. With that in mind, we've ranked the characters in order of the likelihood their character is the one that doesn't make it out of the season alive.
There are several moments of potential foreshadowing for how the body ends up in the river throughout the episodes. We hear a gun shot during the scene, Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger) inquires about the poisonous fruit at the resort and Laurie (Carrie Coon) looks off at the monkeys and is warned about their aggressiveness when fed by Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan).
More importantly, we get some implications as to why someone might get killed this season. Rick (Walton Goggins) seems to be on the hunt for revenge against the husband of the resort's owner Jim. Timothy (Jason Isaacs) has some shady business dealings with Jim.
Related: Does Patrick Schwarzenegger Go Full-Frontal in 'The White Lotus' Season 3?
Finally, we get a small glimpse into the body in the scene. The character appears to have brown hair and is wearing a blue button-up shirt. The moment is a blink-and-you-miss it one, so we won't rule anyone out because of it. Let's get to ranking!
Who Dies in The White Lotus Season 3? Ranking the Possibilities After Episode 1 — From Least Likely to Most Likely
Belinda
The spa manager from Hawaii's White Lotus is in Thailand for a three month wellness training. It would be awfully rude of Mike White to kill off a self-proclaimed "burnt out bitch" like Belinda, especially after Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) was the one to die after returning for another season.
Mook
Armand (Murray Bartlett) was the one to die in Season 1, so it's not out of the question for a White Lotus staff member to be the one who ends up killed but odds that it ends up being Mook (Lisa) seems unlikely at this point in the show.
Gaitok
For the same reason as Mook, we'll put a resort security guard next. Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong). However, due to the nature of his job, we'll place him a little higher on the list.
Fabian
The resort staff member is only really on the list because he shares the slightest bit of resemblance with the body floating in the river. Otherwise, he seems like an unlikely candidate to be killed.
Related: 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Hints at Incest: What's Going on With the Ratliff Siblings?
Sritala
One of the owners of The White Lotus resort, Sritala (Lek Patravadi) feels a tad unlikely to be the victim off the murder this season but her position of authority and her marriage to Jim (who's being tracked down by Rick) moves her farther up the list than we might have expected. The White Lotus plays on themes of class, wealth and colonialism. Season 1 saw those themes culminate in the manager of the resort being killed, so why not take it a step further and have one of the owners of the resort being the victim this time?
Piper
The lone daughter of the Ratliffs, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) is on the trip researching Buddhism. Saxon tells Lochlan not to "humor her bullshit" and says she's "hot" but doesn't think she's ever been "laid" before. Seems as though Saxon already sees his sister as a bit of a victim. Perhaps the season will play out in a way where she ends up being an actual victim.
Jaclyn
Her death might send the most shockwaves inside the universe of the show as Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) is recognized multiple times in the episode as a famous actress. If she were the one to die, her death would undoubtedly dominate headlines, though there's not much else to suggest she is the body in the river.
Laurie
The episode continued a theme of there being more under the surface as Laurie (Carrie Coon) is the first to return to her room at night but cries as she watches the other two stay behind and chat. Her hidden sadness might suggest she may be harboring deeper secrets or regrets, ones that might lead her to meeting her fate in Thailand.
Kate
Kate (Leslie Bibb) warns Laurie to not feed the monkeys on account of their potential to get aggressive — some foreshadowing perhaps? Her awareness of danger could either be a sign that she’ll outlast the others or an ominous hint that she won’t be able to avoid a deadly encounter herself.
Lochlan
There's a lot of tension in the Ratliff family and there's a small possibility that Lochlan ends up on the bad end of it all. There is some allusions to him being closer than most to his sister (or maybe his brother?) and his dad seems eager for him to accept his admission to Duke, though he hasn't quite made up his mind. If family pressure and hidden tensions boil over, Lochlan could find himself caught in the crossfire.
Victoria
The next two entries on the list are here solely because of their proximity to a man on the show who we think has a higher chance of dying. Victoria's family is wrought with tension and secrets. Timothy’s phone calls and the eerie final shot of him and Victoria in bed suggest that someone is watching — and possibly targeting — them. If the body in the river belongs to someone in the Ratliff family, it could be the result of either internal family pressure boiling over and the matriarch paying the price.
Rachel
Her relationship with Rick is the biggest reason she ranks so highly. Rachel (Aimee Lou Wood) is most eager to enjoy the vacation while Rick stews on plotting revenge. She connects with another woman at the bar while her boyfriend is nowhere to be seen. It would seem to be one of the more tragic ends if Rachel wound up dead, which is partially why she's so high up on the list.
Timothy
The patriarch at the head of the Ratliff family seems to have something to hide this season. He gets a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter who keeps trying to get a hold of him. He doesn't hide the call from his wife. The end of the episode zooms out from Timothy and Victoria in bed, perhaps suggesting that they are being watched.
Rick
Rick arrives at the resort with a clear agenda — tracking down Jim Hollinger, the husband of the resort’s owner. He seems to get quite angry when he realizes that the man is not currently at the resort but instead in Bangkok. While Rachel tries to soak in the luxury of their vacation, Rick remains fixated on something, a fixation that could easily put him in harm’s way. Whether it’s Jim himself, someone trying to protect him, or even Rick’s own reckless actions, there’s no shortage of ways his mission could end in violence. Given this pursuit, Rick is one of the most likely characters to meet a deadly fate.
Saxon
It's actually due to the risk of being in association to Rick that Saxon makes the top of the list. Giving eyes to Rachel feels like the worst omen we get for a character in the show, considering how dangerous her boyfriend seems to be. He also gets stonewalled when talking to the trio of older women on their girls trip. Frustration may start to build for a man who seemingly has gotten everything he's ever wanted. There's a good chance he winds up as the one dead (though don't rule out the possibility that he does the killing).
Related: What Do the Monkeys Symbolize in 'The White Lotus' Season 3?
