• The White Lotus season 3 has come to a close
  • Its final moments have divided the internet
  • Series creator Mike White explains his decisions…
Greg (Jon Gries) in The White Lotus finale.
Greg (Jon Gries) in The White Lotus finale. Credit: Warner Bros.

Well, The White Lotus finale has finally aired… and its final moments have divided fans. 

For the past few weeks, audiences have tuned in every week for a small escape into a tranquil paradise. Except, White’s latest series was anything but…

Read more: Why did Woody Harrelson turn down The White Lotus?

The show follows a bunch of wealthy tourists holidaying at the fictional White Lotus resort. Season one took place in Hawaii, season two in Sicily and season three transported us to Thailand. Here, we met some new monied-up vacationers, each of whom had some kind of internal problem that was ruining their good time. 

While fans picked apart Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger)’s weird relationship with his younger brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola), others found themselves empthasisting with Rick (Walton Goggins). A tortured bad guy with a score to settle, his bad intentioned plans were always kept at bay by his good natured British girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). 

Read more: The White Lotus composer leaves the series: Why?

Meanwhile, stressed-out businessman Timothy (Jason Isaacs) was having his own personal meltdown moment as his career begins to crumble back home while his family remain oblivious. All this, and the first episode’s flash-forward starter showed us that a gunman eventually goes on a killing spree, leaving some better off than others…

Needless to say, The White Lotus finale had a lot to answer for – and now that it’s been and gone, show-creator White has finally spoken up about his decision process. 

The White Lotus finale unpacked

Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) in The White Lotus finale.
Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) in The White Lotus finale. Credit: Warner Bros

Reader beware: The White Lotus finale spoilers lurk below…

While we won’t get too much into the weeds of specifics regarding The White Lotus finale, one of the show’s most shocking moments came at the expense of one if its most loved characters. 

During the episode’s final moments, Chelsea ultimately loses her life. It’s something that perhaps could have been predicted after she’s almost died twice already in the season. The first came at the hands of a masked gunman raiding The White Lotus’ luxury hotel shop while the second came after she was bitten by a rattlesnake that Rick had released. 

Her death shocked and divided viewers, as she was one of the series most beloved new characters. Shortly after the finale ended, White explained why she had to die. 

“Chelsea has this kind of romantic fatalism about their relationship, and you want to buy into it,” explained White in a clip that aired after the episode. “She says to him, ‘Stop fixating on the love you didn’t get and start thinking about the love you have. I’m right here.”

It was Rick’s dedication to revenge that eventually led to Chelsea losing her life. 

“It’s a classic theme of Greek tragedy,” added White. “Somebody killing the thing that they love to try to get some revenge.”

Season finale divides internet

Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) in The White Lotus finale.
Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) in The White Lotus finale. Credit: Warner Bros

Naturally, the moment divided fans.

Some fans were sad that the character met such a depressing end – while others say they should’ve seen it coming.

“They always kill the likeable popular character,” said one user on X.

Others hit home how she was this series’ best character.

Meanwhile, some found the whole thing just too emotional.

author avatar
Simon Bland
Simon is a freelance entertainment journalist and SEO writer based in the UK. He writes about movies, TV and pop-culture and his work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Beast, IndieWire, Yahoo Entertainment, Rolling Stone, Little White Lies and more.
See Full Bio