With the penultimate episode of The White Lotus Season 3 now out, anticipation couldn’t be higher for the finale of the HBO drama, which will finally reveal what exactly happened in the flash-forward that began this season. Past seasons of the show started with the unveiling of a singular corpse; this season, all we got was chaotic gunfire overheard by Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), meaning that multiple people could be killed by unarmed gunmen — or maybe no one will? Still, the possibility of murder is in the air, and having lived with these characters for seven episodes now, the audience has had a chance to really understand this show’s large ensemble, see them at their best and worst. As a member of that audience, I’ve come to really like some characters and believe others aren’t great. So here is my highly subjective ranking of Season 3’s characters, based entirely on how much I hope they don’t survive the finale. To be clear: These are not predictions. To be honest, having watched the first seven episodes, the most likely victims at this stage feel very hard to predict — especially given the vagueness of the original Episode 1 prelude, which doesn’t confirm the existence of a single corpse. Still, with danger in the air… let’s assume no one is safe. (Though there are a few people who definitely need to be.)
Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell) is maybe the most morally upstanding person on this show right now! Belinda just wants to get the hell out of danger! She just had great sex! Belinda is smart enough to know a $100,000 bribe when she sees one! Belinda might be the character I’m most worried about, which unfortunately coincides with her being the one I most hope survives.
Zion Lindsey, on the other hand, throws himself into danger because he wants to protect his mom! Zion seems genuinely swell and protective, making him a character viewers can root for. Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) is described as a sweetheart who would find some sort of bright side even if hurt during the finale. Even if she does get hurt during the finale, she’d definitely find some sort of bright side to it.
Fabian (Christian Friedel) just wants to sing! Plus, I’ve been feeling guilty about my inability to separate Christian Friedel here from his character from The Zone of Interest (a movie he was very very good in), but it’s hard to say “you were great as the Nazi commander of Auschwitz” to a person, you know? So, as recompense, I’m ranking him as high as possible. Fabian also innocent!
Laurie Duffy (Carrie Coon) is maybe a bit of a mess right now (no situation that involves climbing out of a dude’s bedroom window can be described as “well-handled”), but she’s revealed herself to be a lady who’s not afraid to go after what she wants, and deserves a second act. She’s definitely my favorite of the girls’ trip bunch (and not just because she’s played by Carrie Coon, one of the best). Unfortunately, sleeping with Valentin may have put a target on her back. I’m also very worried about Laurie!
Thidapon “Mook” Sornsin (Lalisa Manobal) hasn’t gotten much of a chance to evolve as a character, beyond being a love interest for Gaitok, which might make her a prime target for the ensuing chaos. She seems like a good person, though, so it’ll definitely be sad if harm befalls her.
Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) is another genuinely good guy who wants to open a spa with Belinda! He deserves to live! I’d make a joke about Belinda deserving a happy ending except when you’re talking about masseuses… it gets complicated. Piper Ratliff (Sarah Catherine Hook) might seem pretty naive, but she was ballsy enough to manipulate her entire family into traveling to the literal opposite side of the world in the name of her own spiritual journey. I kinda respect that kind of gumption, especially since she overall seems to mean well. She certainly deserves to be ranked highest amongst the Ratliffs.
The season premiere teased at least one eventual death, with the potential for more victims, which can only mean one thing: it's time to start working on theories of who dies in The White Lotus season 3. It opened with what sounds like a potential mass shooting breaking out at The White Lotus. The only characters confirmed spared (so far) are Belinda's son Zion and Amrita, a hotel worker who is guiding Zion in meditation when shooting breaks out. Zion, worried about his mother, immediately goes towards the shooting and finds himself waist-deep in a pool of water as an unidentified body floats past. It's impossible to know which guest (or hotel worker) ends up dead, but that doesn't mean we can't speculate!
Few can out-think Mike White, but that hasn't stopped us — or, indeed, the entire internet — from trying to predict who is going to die in The White Lotus season three since pretty much the beginning. It's a fool's errand, really — White is about as impossible to predict as murder-mystery writers come — but there have been plenty of hints fuelling rampant fan speculation across social media. To start with, there's the killer fruit whose off-hand mention in episode one might foreshadow an accidental death. Jason Isaacs' suicidal Timothy Ratliff has spent the entire season revisiting a fantastical nightmare in which he kills himself and, sometimes, his family.
In the season's penultimate episode, Walton Goggins' Rick embarked on his long-awaited revenge mission but left his target, Lotus Thailand co-owner Jim (Scott Glenn) unscathed — you can't imagine he'd be quick to forgive and forget. Then there's the whole Gary/Glen (Jon Gries) plot, with Belinda threatening to expose his apparent role in the death of Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) in season two. And now we've a pack of criminal Russians to contend with who might just be hatching a new plot to extort, kidnap or murder Laurie (Carrie Coons) and friends (Michelle Monaghan's Jaclyn, Leslie Bibb's Kate).
Some among the ensemble seem pretty safe, while others enter the finale with their heads firmly on the chopping block. And don't bet on this season capping it off at the one major death — as Chelsea has said across the season, bad things come in threes. Here, then, we rank the ten characters with the best shot at kicking it, from least to most likely. Sweet, principled Belinda… can you please just take the 100 grand and run? Sure, we can sympathize with the whole “conspiracy to murder” thing, but being a good person seldom serves you well in The White Lotus, and her inability to sell herself out may just be Belinda's fatal flaw.
As the finale approaches, the stakes are higher than ever, and viewers are left to wonder who will make it out alive. With the combination of intricate character dynamics and the ever-looming threat of violence, the final episode promises to deliver shocking twists and emotional moments. Will the beloved characters survive, or will the chaos of the White Lotus claim their lives? Only time will tell.
