The latest installment of “The White Lotus” comes to an end on Sunday and everyone is speculating about how the series will wrap up its loose ends, who will die and how.
We asked readers to share their theories for how Season 3 will end.
Three ideas that people shared the most: Piper isn’t staying in that Buddhist monastery; Rick’s father is Jim Hollinger and Gaitok is going to confront the Russians over the robbery.
See below for more theories, broken up by character as well as a few general predictions. Responses have been edited for clarity.
Check back Sunday for more coverage of the Season 3 finale.
The Ratliff family
Timothy Ratliff will make a poison protein shake out of the forbidden fruit of the island so that Saxon will drink it and ultimately be blamed for the corruption of the company. Timothy will not be implicated. Piper decides the monastery is not for her after all, but the youngest brother, Lochlan, stays at the monastery. — Diana Perez, Granada Hills
Victoria Ratliff is going to die, unfortunately. The whole family is going to stay in Thailand in a fog for the rest of their lives while they do good things for other people. — Shelly, Highland Park
Victoria takes over the world, Piper ditches Buddhism for Duke, and Chelsea leaves Rick for Saxon. Lochlan stays behind in Thailand, taking Piper’s place. — Eva Sippel, L.A.
Timothy will not go to prison. After all of his worry on the entire trip and all of his criminal behavior, he will be another wealthy, middle-aged white man who somehow avoids hard time. And someone close to him will take the fall. Possibly his own son — who is completely losing his mind after the full moon party. — Allison Gold, L.A.
Timothy makes a poisonous shake for Victoria, Saxon and himself to drink. Piper and Lochlan accidentally start to drink it. Timothy breaks the glasses as the family discovers the truth, but not before Piper and Lochlan are sick. Piper returns home and Lochlan joins the monks. — Linda Weisbrod, Redondo Beach
Victoria Ratliff learns of what’s about to happen when she returns to America and about her youngest son’s sexuality. She does not agree with her daughter’s choice to stay at the monastery. She loses it, and kills herself and her family. She has said she would rather die than be poor, and her oldest son has said his entire life is tied to his dad’s business. — Michael Rogers, Edmonton, Alberta
Gaitok
Gaitok tries to stop the Russians from committing another robbery/crime at the resort but accidentally shoots a guest because he’s so incompetent. — Katie Den Bleyker, L.A.
Gaitok sees another robbery about to happen with the three Russians, chases them and is ambushed by one of the Russians who takes his gun and shoots him. He dies in Mook’s arms. — Cliff Klein, L.A.
Gaitok feels threatened by the Russian friends of Valentin who he is certain are the robbers. He confronts them and a struggle ensues, which culminates in the accidental shooting and death of Mook. — Myrna, Redondo Beach
Gaitok confronts Valentin and is disarmed. And Mook shoots Valentin to rescue Gaitok. — Andrew Katzenstein, L.A.
Gaitok protects the resort with his firearm. Gaitok reports the Russians as the robbers. [Fabian] is fired and Gaitok replaces him. — Shakti Newman, L.A.
Gaitok will show his girlfriend, Mook, that his compassion and preference for care over violence will not stand in his way in apprehending the robbers. Her life view is changed as a result. — Nick Panza, L.A.
Both Mook and Gaitok’s superior tell him he’s not strong enough. Gaitok spots the jewelry thieves and will show his strength by killing them. — Stephen Shapiro, L.A.
Mook
Mook will be revealed to be in cahoots with the Russians and will get killed. — Ashley, L.A.
The messy besties (Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie)
Aleksei’s girlfriend shows up at the White Lotus and kills Kate, mistaking her for Laurie since no one could tell them apart since childhood. — Bea, California
The three friends bond over Laurie’s incident with the Russian thief. — Bill Nuss, L.A.
Rick
Rick will die because he enjoyed committing a violent act — and Hollinger is his father. — Sylvia, L.A.
I believe [Jim Hollinger] will send some gunmen as proxy to off [Rick]. But he could really be Hollinger’s love child — who knows? Remember they both drink whiskey like real men. — Cheryl Penn, L.A.
Jim Hollinger is Rick’s father, not the guy who killed his father. The mom meant that metaphorically and an 11-year-old kid took it too literally. The body had on a white shirt and had short, dark hair. Rick had a white shirt in Episode 7, but with 90 minutes in Episode 8, it could be someone else. — Angel Zobel-Rodriguez, San Fernando
Rick’s encounter and less-than-violent actions with Jim will involve the police. Police will go to the resort searching for Rick, and all characters will feel like the police are there for them, which may result in each character panicking to flee or deal with the situation. — Benjamin Cendejas, Glendora
Chelsea
I think Gaitok accidentally shoots Chelsea and kills her. — Susan Scelfo, Hollywood, Fla.
Rick and Chelsea live happily ever after. — Nick Panza
Greg/Gary
Greg/Gary comes to the villas looking for Belinda and gets bitten by the snake that’s been loose in her room — and he dies! (Yay!) — Jill Frank, L.A.
Greg/Gary finally gets his due. Gaitok must overcome his Buddhist desire for nonviolence and shoot him to defend Belinda. Fabian helps Gary get access to Belinda when he thinks she and Pornchai are conspiring to take over his job. — Marika, Marina del Rey
Gary/Greg is revealed to have a connection to the GM or the owner, which explains his easy access. — Bill Nuss
Belinda
Belinda takes the money. I worry that Pornchai has alterior motives when he rushed to have her stay and open a spa in Thailand, but I think the Russians will corner the market on the grift. — Angel Zobel-Rodriguez
Belinda gets a gun and when she is about to shoot Gary in the dining room she accidentally shoots and kills Chelsea. As she is dying, Chelsea tells Rick to live a good life. He becomes a Buddhist. — Linda Weisbrod
Pornchai
Pornchai, Belinda’s colleague and new friend, is going to die. He told her, “I will protect you.” He will do that, but only by losing his own life. — Allison Gold
Fabian
Hotel director Fabian will finally have a big singing number that goes so badly that multiple guests start taking shots at him. — Chad McDonald, Saratoga Springs, Utah
Frank
Frank continues his debauchery and gives up his sobriety for good. He ultimately starts working for Sritala, as she was charmed by him — even if he really wasn’t a producer. — Diana Perez
The theories that tie up everything
Two sets of killers will descend on the hotel — the Russians looking for their re-stolen necklace and Sritala’s guards looking for Rick. Both efforts will get stymied. Chelsea and Laurie will elude them by connecting with Gaitok. A cross fire will ensue, distracting Timothy from eating the suicide fruit long enough to reunite with his family. He will decide to stay at the temple with Lochlan, and the rest of the family will decide to go home. Belinda will find solace in the arms of Pornchai. Gaitok will aim to defend the hotel from the attackers, and succeed in killing a couple of them, but in the chaos, he will also accidentally kill Fabian and Greg, who will wander into the fracas on their personal missions to micromanage and control others. Saxon and Chelsea will go back to England. Rick and Frank will be too hungover to get back to the hotel, and will stay in Bangkok. Mook will be proud of Gaitok and he will get promoted by Sritala. — Louise Yarnall, La Selva Beach
Oh this is easy. Gaitok wins Mook’s heart by identifying Valentin as one of the robbers, securing his place among the detail of bodyguards to arrest the thieves. The hotel owner persuades the girls to invite Valentin and his buddies to a party the night before they are scheduled to leave. The plan is to arrest them there. The security guards include those of the owner’s husband who have arrived to exact revenge on Rick. Meanwhile in another part of the resort, Greg/Gary prepares to flee but tries one last time to persuade Belinda and doubles his offer. She resists, against the wishes of her son. Gary/Greg is desperate and reveals a gun. Meanwhile, at the party Valentin’s buddy seizes Mook as a human shield. It’s a stalemate, and at the moment of highest tension, Fabian intervenes to exchange positions with Mook, saving her. Gaitok tries to take a shot but only grazes Valentin’s shoulder. Greg/Gary is distracted by gunfire that breaks out between Valentin’s gang and the bodyguards. Greg/Gary decides to flee, and on the way out, he is intercepted by Rick, who takes the gun. Rick runs toward the gunfire. He finally has a chance to be a hero, but he misses when he shoots. The Ratliff family, trying to escape the mayhem, takes the bullet. It’s Piper who goes down. Mike: Next season, make it harder! — Alan Farago, L.A.
General predictions
A tsunami arrives. — Liz Wex, Woodland Hills
Those monkeys have had it! They’ve been watching bad human behavior — and we all know the security guard doesn’t keep a good eye on his gun. — Cherie Wasoff, L.A.
Blackpink will show up and save the day. — Jason Lew, L.A.
They were there for six months — enough time to film two seasons. I predict a cliffhanger to be continued in Season 4. — Kurt Beske, Gig Harbor, Wash.