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The Snakes In Episode 3 Of ‘The White Lotus’ Explained

Let's talk about the snakes.

Updated 2 months ago, March 3, 2025

The White Lotus Season 3, Episode 3 introduces a chilling new element: snakes.

While the series has always leaned into themes of wealth, power, and deception, the presence of snakes in this episode adds another layer of symbolism and foreshadowing.

Snakes have long been associated with danger, betrayal, and transformation in literature and film. Their presence in The White Lotus Season 3 is no coincidence. Mike White is known for his meticulous attention to symbolism, and these slithering creatures are bound to have deeper meaning.

Spoilers ahead!!

First and foremost, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) was fully bitten by a snake when her and Rick (Walton Goggins) attended the snake show.

Rick, grappling with his troubled past, seeks solace in marijuana. Under its influence, he stumbles upon a dilapidated snake show, where venomous snakes are confined in small cages. Disturbed by their captivity, Rick, in a haze, releases the snakes, leading to chaos. His girlfriend, Chelsea, follows him and is bitten by one of the freed snakes.

So what role do we think snakes play here? Just as snakes lurk unseen before striking, many of the characters in The White Lotus Season 3 are hiding secrets. Whether it’s a character plotting against another or a relationship poised for betrayal, the presence of snakes reinforces the theme of unseen dangers. Earlier in the episode, Rick is actively scheming to go to Bangkok and lies to Sritala Hollinger (Patravadi Mejudhon) about his business so he can meet up with her to get to her husband (who he has been seeking out the whole time). Rick is a snake here, but him freeing the snakes later in the episode may serve as a sense of inner conflict or guilt as he attempts to work through his issues and morality.

Also, let’s not forget that the piece of jewelry that Chelsea has her eyes on before the robbery was a snake!! Foreshadowing!!

Additionally, the symbolism of snakes, outside the dimensions of an actual snake, plays a role in episode 3.

Through the trio of longtime friends, Jaclyn Lemon (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb), and Laurie (Carrie Coon), uncomfortable yet all-to-relatable dinner, Jaclyn and Laurie learn their friend is more religious, conservative, and traditional than they believed. This of course leads to a Jaclyn-Laurie gossip session about Kate, in which she overhears. The whole season (the past three episodes), each of the women have been snakes to the other, gossiping about each friend behind her back. Thus, episode 3 compellingly uses snakes to explore themes of freedom, danger, and moral ambiguity and mirrors these themes to the friendships here.

Last, but not least, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) finally confronts Greg (or in this season “Gary”) (Jon Gries). She asks him questions about the White Lotus in Maui and his ex-wife, Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), all of which he denies. Greg (“Gary”) is a snake!!! His lies and deception continue throughout The White Lotus, and like a snake, he continues to change and disguise himself with new skin (aka a new name and a new backstory).