Warning: Spoilers ahead.
HBO’s hit episodic dramedy series The White Lotus has just been renewed for a third season – which means, for us, a third season of scheming, scandal, and sublime sandy beaches. There’s no air date yet for the third season, but sources close to the staff and cast have hinted at it possibly airing at some point in 2024. With that out in the way, let’s get onto some of our juiciest predictions.
People. Will. Die.
In the words of showrunner Mike White, each season has a central theme: “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” he said, following it up with, “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”
It’s from the horse’s mouth directly here: the first season’s theme was money, the second’s was sex, and it looks like the third season is going to focus on death. In any case, you can’t explore themes of death without, y’know, killing off your cast members. While it’s still unclear which characters will be returning, or how big the cast will be, one thing seems almost certain: the Thai mortuaries will have their hands full by season’s end.
Tanya’s legacy
The Season 2 finale ended on a shocking note, with Tanya McQuoid-Hunt’s (Jennifer Coolidge) death at (sort of) the hands of her husband Greg (Jon Gries). Greg’s fate is currently unknown – did Tanya kill him at the end of Season 2, did she merely wound him, or was he even on the boat to begin with?
Season 3 strongly hints we’ll get an answer – and not just because Coolidge is a favorite actress of White’s. We already know Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is confirmed to be returning – yes, the very same Belinda that Tanya screwed over back in Season 1. While Tanya did seriously emotionally hurt Belinda, they were close friends before that, and it’s possible that Belinda’s feelings may be more complicated than previously thought.
Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries in The White Lotus
The White Lotus could be setting up for a confrontation here, one between Belinda and Greg. Belinda and Greg are narrative foils for each other – they both want Tanya’s money, for equally sympathetic reasons (Greg wants to cure his disease, while Belinda wants to achieve her dream of opening her own spa). However, what sets Belinda and Greg apart is how they approach Tanya – Belinda tries to befriend her and is betrayed by Tanya, while Greg betrays Tanya himself. This relationship of foils could come to the forefront in Season 3, resulting in a juicy crisis of faith as Belinda tries to reconcile her feelings about Tanya in the wake of her death – as well as maybe bringing Greg to justice.
Who Else Could Come Back?
So far, we don’t know—though it has been teased that Nicole Mossbacher (Connie Britton) will return. Britton has teased her character’s return for Season 3, stating that the idea of Nicole’s return was a plot point floated for Season 2 but ultimately dropped. At this point, it’s impossible to tell what her arc will be, though.
The White Lotus is streaming now on Max.
