The finale of season three of the hit HBO show “The White Lotus” was full of confrontation and drama, leaving fans with a mix of emotions. From Rick’s deadly showdown with Jim to the Ratliff family’s cliffhanger ending, the internet has been buzzing with reactions and memes. All season, two questions dominated: Who gets killed, and who does the killing? One wild fan theory floating around suggested that the monkeys were the killers. Episode eight showed us that — thankfully — was not the case. The main killer turned out to be Rick (Walton Goggins). He shot Jim, believing he killed his father, then got into a shootout with the resort security guards. Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) got killed in the crossfire, and Rick was shot as she died in his arms. Fans were quick to share their outrage over Chelsea’s death and Rick’s behavior. One fan posted a meme saying, “If Rick really loved Chelsea the way she loved him he would have never put her in that position. He never even would have brought her on that trip and I will stand ten toes down on that. Y’all romanticize stuff too much. Open your eyes!”
Kate Bohr (Leslie Bibb), Laurie Duffy (Carrie Coon), and Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan) played friends who were at odds with each other through what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, only to reconcile in the finale. One fan posted a clip of Laurie running away the second the gun was pulled during the shootout, writing, “Laurie showing she’s a true New Yorker, if this was intentional, probably the smartest writing of any show in a long time. ! #TheWhiteLotus.” Another posted a “Sex and the City” meme referencing Laurie’s touching monologue that saw the friend group bury their hatchet and made fun of it, writing, “Carrie Coon, MAGA and actress after spending the entire week backstabbing and shit talking each other #TheWhiteLotus.”
Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) spent all season hiding his legal and financial troubles from his wife Victoria (Parker Posey) and children Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola). He also spent all season thinking of ways he could end it all in a murder-suicide. Posting a meme about Timothy considering death all through the season only to be ironically alive, one X user wrote, “Tim during the whole season just to be alive at the end #TheWhiteLotus #WhiteLotus.” Another even joked about Lochlan using a poisoned blender and almost dying in the finale, “It doesn’t matter that Lochlan doesn’t know that drinks were poisoned, he’s still using a dirty blender that stayed on the counter over night with coconut milk in it #TheWhiteLotus.”
Belinda and her son Zion get to sail away from the resort in style on a private speed boat, thanks to $5 million of blood money she’s just come into. As she pulls away from shore, we see Pornchai — with whom she had made plans to open a spa together — waving goodbye. Fans on Twitter were quick to point out that the moment comes full circle from season one when Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) abandoned Belinda and their dream of opening a spa together. One fan posted, “Belinda leaving Thailand after surviving a mass shooting with $5 million extra in her bank acct #TheWhiteLotus.”
Despite the chaos and drama, the trio of friends — Kate, Laurie, and Jaclyn — ended the season together, albeit a little shell-shocked. One fan posted a meme of the three friends drinking cocktails, writing, “The trio? Together again, a little shell-shocked, still drinking cocktails like nothing went down. HBO delivered murder, healing, chaos, and friendship bracelets: icons.”
Fans of “The White Lotus” seemed to go through a lot of emotions after the finale aired. One fan summed it all up with a “Peaky Blinders” meme, “Yeah TheWhiteLotus finale was not satisfying at all.. predictable ending all around. Chelsea’s fate just goes to show what happens when a beautiful woman devotes herself to a raggedy old fart like Rick.” Another posted a meme of a phone being thrown away, writing, “Chelsea dead. Rick dead. Rick killed his father. The Ratliff family still alive. Belinda doing Pornchai like how Tanya did her. The trio back together and yet somehow Greg is still alive-WhiteLotus TheWhiteLotus.” The internet has truly outdone itself with these memes, capturing the essence of the show’s dramatic and often absurd moments. Whether you loved it or hated it, there’s no denying that “The White Lotus” season three finale left a mark.
