White Lotus season 3 finale recap: Who dies and every detail you missed from episode 8

Warning: Spoilers ahead - Do not continue reading if you don't want to know what happens in The White Lotus season 3 episode 8.

Everybody stay calm, the finale episode of The White Lotus season 3 is here, and it's nothing short of a dramatic ending to the Thailand storyline.

While we're absolutely gutted to lose our Sunday night entertainment, there's only been one question on everybody's lips over the last week: Who will die?

Rewind to episode seven and we were left with all options on the table. Timothy's stolen gun had gone missing, however, a trailer for the finale episode saw him pondering over some poisonous fruit, which left fans questioning whether that would be his next move - or if he'd even take his family down with him.

Rick went to kill Jim, backed out, but then found himself immersed among a now-erratic Frank who was insistent they'd still get the job done.

White Lotus season 3 finale recap: Who dies and every detail you missed from episode 8 HBO

Two of the iconic blonde trio have now found themselves entangled with Russians, which while it hasn't come back to haunt them just yet - there's still 1.5 hours to go.

And of course, we can't forget Belinda, who's currently deciding whether to take $100,000 in blood money from Gary/Greg to set up her own spa in return for covering up the death of Tanya.

There's a lot to unpack here, and let's just say, episode 8 gets even wilder. Read the full episode 7 recap here.

Ready to get into it? Don't say we didn't warn you...

What happens in The White Lotus season 3 episode 8 finale?

The White Lotus season 3 episode 8 starts with Lochlan and Piper returning from the monastery, with the younger Ratliff brother insistent that he'll join his sister on her new quest - except, in a hilarious twist of events, she's decided she's just like her mum and prefers a life of luxury, much to the horror of their now-broke father who's destined for jail after committing fraud.

We also quickly go back to the hotel in Bangkok where Frank and Rick have been partying with strippers all night after backing out of killing Jim, with Rick deciding it's time for him to return to Chelsea, and walking away from the chaos.

Saxon and Lochlan then finally butt heads over *that* incest storyline, but thankfully, they decide they'll never speak on it again. Cue viewers globally breathing a collective sigh of relief.

The episode then cuts to Gaitok confronting Valentin about his two Russian friends that he thinks were the people that robbed the hotel jewellery shop way back at the start of the series, but he insists they're just "some guys he knows from the gym". However, he later comes back and anxiously tells Gaitok "I know you know, please don't say anything...if you do, I'm dead" - could his bid to silence him be pending?

HBO

Once Rick returns to the hotel, it becomes clear that the scene predicted to be a dream from the finale trailer was actually really life, and he and Chelsea were actually just really happy to see each other on the beach after being apart for a few days.

However, we're then left feeling on edge once again, when Chelsea brings up "Amor fati", which is the idea of accepting one's fate whether good or bad - and also happens to be the title of the episode. "If a bad thing happens to you, it happens to me", she says. Please, no.

Timothy once again starts spiralling when he spots Victoria and Piper going wild in the pricey gift shop, because he's still not told them about everything that's going on, and with his gun now missing, he needs to find another way out. He asks Saxon whether he thinks he could "live with no money, no house, nothing" and is relieved to hear him say yes.

Enter: The poisonous fruit.

Timothy pulls a piece of the fruit from the pong-pong tree, when he's rudely interrupted by Pam, who explains that it's also known as the suicide tree, because the seeds of the fruit are deadly. So naturally, he rips open every fruit he can find as soon as she leaves, and uses Saxon's blender to create his deadly drink.

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However, it's not over just yet, because he doesn't drink it, he instead hides it in a cupboard. But, at the family's final dinner, Timothy asks the server to bring cocktail ingredients up to their room for later, and notes that they "have a blender". We don't like where this is heading.

Later that evening, we see him throwing the pina colada ingredients in with the deadly seeds, and not only making a drink for himself - but his family too, except for Lochlan who he says is too young to drink it.

It's thought the family's fate is sealed when they all take a sip and question why it tastes weird, but Timothy once again backs out, and knocks the glass from Saxon's hand claiming the "coconut milk is off".

Meanwhile, Belinda and Zion go and meet Gary/Greg to negotiate new terms of their blood money deal - they want $5 million compared to the $100,000 originally offered - and Greg isn't willing to budge. When Belinda pretends to walk away, however, he confirms he'll think about it.

By morning, their debts are settled and they're $5 million richer.

Speaking of silence, it could appear that Gaitok is willing to cut a deal with Valentin, as he's seen praying at the temple, presumably for forgiveness that he's covering up the robbery, before questioning whether he should quit being a guard entirely because he "doesn't want to hurt anyone".

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By morning, the whole Ratliff family is asleep, except for Lochlan, who goes to make a protein shake in Saxon's blender - with the remnants of the poison fruit still on the tub. He quickly begins to feel unwell after drinking it and collapses by the pool.

Jim and Sritala Hollinger return to The White Lotus following the Bangkok ordeal with Rick and Frank, and he doesn't seem happy about what happened.

"You come into my house, lie to my wife...get the f*** out of here", the hotel owner tells Rick at breakfast, hurling insults at his mother, and unveiling a gun under his jacket. "What, you're going to try to kill me now?", he adds.

Chelsea tries to talk Rick down from overreacting. "Please don't do something stupid", she begs.

When a shootout unfolds, it's finally Gaitok's time to prove himself.

Who dies in The White Lotus season 3?

HBO

While we've been led to believe there's only one death during The White Lotus season 3, there ends up being five.

Death one: Jim Hollinger.

After Jim and Sritala Hollinger's bodyguards begin chasing Rick down at breakfast over his trip to Bangkok (and plot to murder Jim), Chelsea follows them around the resort as things take a bad turn.

Rick pulls the gun out of Jim's pocket and points it at him, before saying "f*** you" and shooting him twice.

Except that isn't the biggest bombshell, because Rick tells his wife that he killed Jim for "killing his father" - before learning that Jim was his father the whole time. Awkward.

Death two: Jim's bodyguard.

It's too late for explanations with Rick when he and Chelsea then face a tense shootout with Jim's bodyguards, with Rick managing to catch one pretty quickly from behind a statue.

HBO

Death three: Jim's other bodyguard.

Of course, that's not the only bodyguard the richest guy at the resort had - and he fires again, successfully killing another one.

Death four: Chelsea.

However, prepare for your heart to break, because within seconds, Rick turns around to find his girlfriend, Chelsea, lying on the ground having been caught in the firing line, leaving him distraught as she dies in his arms.

"We'll be together forever ok? Just like you said", he tells her, as he drops the gun and carries her away from the scene.

Death five: Rick.

As Rick carries Chelsea away, Gaitok arrives at the scene of Sritala cradling a dying Jim. She orders him to shoot and points him in the direction of the perpetrator.

He quickly catches up to Rick, and second-guesses himself when he realises who it is.

"Kill him!", Sritala demands, before Gaitok pulls the trigger, also killing Rick, who holding Chelsea, falls into the pond.

The pair are seen floating next to each other in the water, confirming it's over for them.

How does The White Lotus season 3 end?

HBO

During the final shots of The White Lotus season 3 episode 8, we see Lochlan awaken from being unconscious after drinking the poisonous fruit, lying in his father, Timothy's arms. He's somehow survived the ordeal, and in turn, made Timothy realise that perhaps he can fix things with his family.

The Ratliffs then board the boat back to the airport, looking drastically different to how we saw them in episode one. Saxon's reading a book, Piper is looking more confident than ever, and Lochlan is hiding beneath a Louis Vuitton hoodie and sunglasses.

As they all get their phones back (and undoubtably catch wind of what their father has been up to the whole time), he tells them: "Things are about to change...we'll get through it."

We then get a glimpse of how everyone else is doing - Frank's gone back to the temple, Gary/Greg is enjoying watching Chloe finding her next casual fling at a villa pool party, and Gaitok gets Mook's seal of approval.

The show ends with two bodybags being wheeled across the airport runway - Rick and Chelsea, with Zion and Belinda, along with their new-found fortune, leaving the island on a plush boat.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offer support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.

Why not read...

The White Lotus season 3: Every Easter egg that points to who the killer could be

White Lotus season 3 episode 7 recap: Everything that happened in the latest episode

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