The White Lotus Season 3 Finale: All The Clues Teasing What Was To Come

Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood in the White Lotus season three finaleWarning: This article contains major spoilers for the final episode of The White Lotus season three.We’re finally just about recovered enough to discuss what went on in the gripping – though devastating – White Lotus finale.As viewers will already know, the satirical US dramedy’s third season wrapped up with a triple-whammy of deaths, beginning with hotel owner Jim Hollinger, followed by Cheslea and Rick (played by Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins).Chelsea’s death in particular has left fans reeling, but the signs were already pointing towards the character being killed off in the lead-up to the finale.In the last few weeks, fans had been sharing their theories as to who would die in the last instalment, with several suggestions that it would be Chelsea.Are we ever going to get over this scene? Probably not...For one thing, there was the fact that after being caught up in the hotel robbery and bitten by a snake, the character had been warning her partner Rick that bad things “happen in threes” – and there were, indeed, three bodies in the final episode.There was also some foreshadowing from Chloe when she warned Chelsea that all the romantics she knew ended up “’broke, heartbroken or worse”, to which she responded: “What could be worse?”But there was one particular theory that really picked up a lot of attention, relating to a certain necklace that Chelsea wore throughout the season.Chelsea's "stay gold" necklace may have hinted at her death earlier on in the seasonFashion editor Tara Gonzalez racked up hundreds of thousands of views on a TikTok post she made about Chelsea’s jewellery.“There is an outfit detail with Chelsea that I think no one is talking about that scares me very very much, and I don’t even want to speak it into existence,” she claimed, pointing out that Chelsea “almost always” wears a pendant emblazoned with the message “stay gold”.Tara went on to explain that the “stay gold” quote comes from the Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders, in which Ralph Macchio’s character’s final words were “stay gold”.@taramariagonzalezI don’t even want to speak this into existence but had to share #whitelotus#chelsea#hbo#thailand#theory#fashion#costumedesign#greenscreen♬ original sound - Tara GonzalezWhite Lotus devotees might already be familiar with a different Easter egg from season two, in which showrunner Mike White used a reference to another Francis Ford Coppola movie, The Godfather, to signpost that Jennifer Coolidge’s character was also in trouble.Some fans have also pointed out that after Chelsea compared herself and Rick to “yin and yang” that the final time we see the characters, they are shown in a formation referencing the iconic symbol, which originated in Chinese philosophy.the yin & yang foreshadowing is unreal #TheWhiteLotuspic.twitter.com/GGUM2TAGbg— jolt (@meltborne) April 7, 2025holy crap Rick and Chelsea's bodies literally formed the yin and yang symbol after they died in the White Lotus pic.twitter.com/Gqu0a1tjc3— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) April 7, 2025rick faceup in the water because him and chelsea are yin and yang and his pain won in the end #TheWhiteLotuspic.twitter.com/GbSD8cBr6T— eggy misses hobi 🤍 (@kill4stalli) April 7, 2025laurie's monologue,the yin yang scene, lochlan at death’s door. I just can't be mad. https://t.co/7tXnLpDvz5pic.twitter.com/mQDMycaBAy— anood (@alanoodya_) April 7, 2025Last week, Aimee sat down for an interview with BuzzFeed in which she was asked about fans’ theories.“There are some things that people have started talking about recently, and I’m not going to say what because I don’t want to give anything away, but there are things that are being noticed where I’m like… stop making the videos! Be quiet!” she admitted.“I’m being tagged in [them] and I’m like, ‘no!’. It’s starting to feel very close, and so I’m very desperate for it to be Sunday.”Asked whether she’s aware that certain details are Easter eggs, “like a necklace perhaps”, Aimee responded: “Yeah… and a few things were discussions with different departments.“But also, what you have to remember is that Mike loves a red herring. He likes to throw people off the scent. So sometimes there’s a lot of reverse psychology going on, and you have to remember that he is always one step ahead. And he is very mischievous.”Meanwhile, since the very first episode, there were theories that Sam Nivola’s character, Lochlan Ratliff, would be the body discovered in the hotel, thanks to several water-y details linked to his character, including the fact the actor’s name was listed next to a figure floating in the sea in the opening credits.While this turned out not to be the case, during Lochlan’s near-death experience he was pictured swimming in deep water, so at least those people speculating about what the titles were hinting at were half-right. Sort of.This moment in The White Lotus' opening titles has led many to ponder whether Lochlan could be the one who drownsAll three seasons of The White Lotus are available to stream now.MORE WHITE LOTUS:21 Best Behind-The-Scenes Stories From The White Lotus Cast About Their Time On SetWhere Will The White Lotus Be Heading For Season 4? Here's Everything We Know11 Hidden Details You Might Have Missed In The White Lotus Season 3