‘The White Lotus’ Finale And The Death That Should Have Been

If you’re like me, you’re still reeling after watching last night’s season 3 finale of ‘The White Lotus.’

Some theories that had been kicking around the Internet came true (like the suicide fruit making its way into the blender) and others did not (like my theory that Lochlan was the big bad.) Though you may be feeling some type of way about the main deaths of the finale or the change of character for sweet Belinda, there’s one character that should have died in the end, but didn’t. A few names may be running through your mind right now, but the answer may not be so obvious at first. We’re not talking about Greg/Gary or Frank or Gaitok. The person who should have died at the end of Season 3 is Lochlan Ratliff, the boy who lived.

What happened to Lochlan in ‘The White Lotus’ season 3 finale?

All season, we’ve been wondering who, if any, of the Ratliff clan would kick the bucket. And it certainly seemed like any of them could. After all, drugged-up Papa Ratliff had nightly fantasies of killing them and himself. In the last episode, he gets as close as he possibly could, making piña coladas laced with the poisonous suicide fruit that regularly dropped from around their gorgeous resort chateau.

In typical dramatic irony, the one person Tim didn’t want to drink the poisonous fruit was the exact one who did. After leaving the dirty blender overnight, the baby of the family uses it to make himself a protein shake for the first time in his life, only to wind up passing away beside the pool.

Well…until he didn’t. If the show is to be believed, Lochlan died and then came alive again without any intervention. As he opens his eyes to his thrilled and remorse-filled father, Lochlan says, “I think I just saw God.”

Here’s why I’m not happy with this ending for the family: Someone should have died. And it’s certainly poetic for that death to be the one family member who could survive an “uncomfortable life.” Lochlan hasn’t yet figured himself out, he still cares way too much for pleasing the people around him rather than himself, and he’s often the sibling that’s most easily forgotten in the eyes of their parents.

By killing Lochlan, his death serves as a message to the rest of the Ratliffs–and certainly an even deeper message to the family’s patriarch. By having him die and then come back to life, it lessens anything poignant that could have happened with this family, and it especially makes his story arc through the season rather pointless.

Here’s why Lochlan lived.

Now, I’m not living in creator Mike White’s mind, but I have some theories for why Lochlan lived after all. Firstly, the most hated richies, especially ones who are telegraphed to die from the very beginning, are of course going to all survive. It’s a message to the audience that we don’t always get what we want and that the richest people tend to be the ones who are just fine in the end, wealth-ending sandal notwithstanding.

Lochlan Ratliff is also the member of the family most likely to be moved and changed by his near-death experience. We’ve already seen that Piper isn’t the paragon of Buddhist ideals that she once wanted her parents to believe. While Saxon is at the beginning of his self-improvement journey, he still has miles to go before he’d be open enough to change from seeing “God.” In the end, it’s Lochlan who needed the experience so hopefully he’ll start worrying more about himself and his happiness than the feelings of those around him. And it’s watching this death and rebirth that turns the tides for Tim Ratliff.

How does Lochlan’s Sam Nivola think about the ending?

In a recent interview with Deadline, Sam Nivola, who plays Lochlan Ratliff, spoke about the season finale. When asked about the near-death experience, he said:

Yeah, I totally thought he was gonna die before I got to the end of the episode, and then I was happy he didn’t. I think it’s a good little red herring because I think it would have been too sad if he died, and it’s a great distraction from the people who actually die because then you don’t expect that even more. It’s great storytelling from Mike, as always.

Sam Nivola with Deadline

Is it great storytelling? Of course. But do I agree that it was the right way to go? I’m still on the fence.