White Lotus Characters Ranked By How Much I Hope They Die in the Season 3 Finale
The post White Lotus Characters Ranked By How Much I Hope They Die in the Season 3 Finale appeared first on Consequence.
With the penultimate episode of The White Lotus Season 3 now out, anticipation couldn't be higher for the finale of the HBO drama, which will finally reveal what exactly happened in the flash-forward that began this season. Past seasons of the show began with the unveiling of a singular corpse; this season, all we got was chaotic gunfire overheard by Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), meaning that multiple people could be killed by unarmed gunmen — or maybe no one will?
Still, the possibility of murder is in the air, and having lived with these characters for seven episodes now, the audience has had a chance to really understand this show's large ensemble, see them at their best and worst. As a member of that audience, I've come to really like some characters and believe others aren't great. So here is my highly subjective ranking of Season 3's characters, based entirely on how much I hope they don't survive the finale.
To be clear: These are not predictions. To be honest, having watched the first seven episodes, the most likely victims at this stage feel very hard to predict — especially given the vagueness of the original Episode 1 prelude, which doesn't confirm the existence of a single corpse. Still, with danger in the air… let's assume no one is safe. (Though there are a few people who definitely need to be.)
[Editor's note: The following contains mild spoilers for The White Lotus, Season 3 Episode 7, 'Killer Instincts.']
The White Lotus (HBO)
Belinda innocent! Belinda maybe the most morally upstanding person on this show right now! Belinda just wants to get the hell out of danger! Belinda just had great sex! Belinda is smart enough to know a $100,000 bribe when she sees one! Belinda might be the character I'm most worried about, which unfortunately coincides with her being the one I most hope survives.
The White Lotus (HBO)
He throws himself into danger because he wants to protect his mom! Zion seems genuinely swell.
The White Lotus (HBO)
A bit of an odd duck (largely based on her devotion to Rick) but a real sweetheart of a person. Even if she does get hurt during the finale, she'd definitely find some sort of bright side to it.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Fabian just wants to sing! Plus, I've been feeling guilty about my inability to separate Christian Friedel here from his character from The Zone of Interest (a movie he was very very good in, but it's hard to say 'you were great as the Nazi commander of Auschwitz' to a person, you know?). So, as recompense, I'm ranking him as high as possible. Fabian also innocent!
The White Lotus (HBO)
Laurie's maybe a bit of a mess right now (no situation that involves climbing out of a dude's bedroom window can be described as 'well-handled'), but she's revealed herself to be a lady who's not afraid to go after what she wants, and deserves a second act. She's definitely my favorite of the girls' trip bunch (and not just because she's played by Carrie Coon, one of the best). Unfortunately, sleeping with Valentin may have put a target on her back. I'm also very worried about Laurie!
The White Lotus (HBO)
LISA from BLACKPINK hasn't gotten much of a chance to evolve Mook much as a character, beyond being a love interest for Gaitok… Which might make her a prime target for the ensuing chaos. She seems like a good person, though, so it'll definitely be sad if harm befalls her.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Another genuinely good guy who wants to open a spa with Belinda! He deserves to live! I'd make a joke about Belinda deserving a happy ending except when you're talking about masseuses… it gets complicated.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Piper might seem pretty naive, but she was ballsy enough to manipulate her entire family into traveling to the literal opposite side of the world in the name of her own spiritual journey. I kinda respect that kind of gumption, especially since she overall seems to mean well. She certainly deserves to be ranked highest amongst the Ratliffs.
The White Lotus (HBO)
This kid has some stuff to figure out, but he deserves to have a nice long life to do so. Ideally far away from his brother's influence.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Jaclyn definitely sucks, but all of her crimes feel centered around girl code violations. Nothing to necessarily justify full-tilt death.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Look, Rick's going through some stuff, and he's clearly not the most morally upstanding individual. Still, based on his behavior in Episode 7… there's still a bit of a soul in there. And maybe after confronting Jim, he'll be able to move forward with his life in a positive way. Chelsea seems to believe in him, at least, and that makes me want to believe in him too.
The White Lotus (HBO)
That lady is clearly hiding a lot of secrets, but none that feel like a reason to target her. Who wouldn't want to sit on a couch with her and listen to her tell stories? You know she's got some good ones.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Given how bad Gaitok is at his job, it doesn't seem like an extreme bet to guess that he'll be hip-deep in whatever violence will ensue — either instigating it or trying to stop it. It legitimately could go either way at this time.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Chloe tends to instigate a lot of messy behavior in those around her, but she's always pretty up front about things. She's certainly no angel, but it's hard to take issue with too many of her choices.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Despite hardcore falling off the wagon in Episode 7, Frank is on a very intense journey as a person and I respect him for his openness. I mean, did he have to be that open in Episode 5? Maybe not. But I'd be bummed if he bit it before he could reclaim his hard-won sobriety.
The White Lotus (HBO)
No question, Chelsea has the eldest son of the Ratliff family completely figured out — yet to his credit, he's gained enough self-awareness about his life to be capable of real change. Prior to Episode 7, it's easy to say that he might have been ranked far further down on this list — now, though, it'd be a tragedy if he died so soon after realizing just how empty his life is.
The White Lotus (HBO)
It's not that she voted for Trump… It's that she tried to be cute about it. This trio of lifelong friends has become rancid over the years, but while it's Laurie and Jaclyn who finally tear into each other during Episode 7, Kate feels like a real enabler for their worst qualities and behaviors — probably because she likes the feeling of superiority it gives her.
The White Lotus (HBO)
See, the thing about Victoria is, you know she voted for Trump, and she's not even embarrassed about it. Parker Posey's been making a delicious meal of this character, but 'I just don't think, at this age, that I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life'… It just says a lot.
The White Lotus (HBO)
On a moral level, Jim's easily one of the most unsavory characters of the season. However, it's beyond a long shot that Rick's long-awaited target will be involved in whatever happens, and he's already been humiliated in his own home by a man whose father he can't even remember. For a guy like that, that's vengeance enough.
The White Lotus (HBO)
Honestly, given his pending legal issues and ongoing mental disintegration… He might consider catching a stray to be a blessing. Dying in a mass shooting event would certainly be a less awful death than the murder-suicide visions this guy keeps having. Thank god he's lost that gun. Especially because, as my colleague Paolo points out, death might be too easy an answer for him.
The White Lotus (HBO)
This guy's just bad news. The kind of bad news that might just get away with whatever crimes he's up to. Which would be unjust, but if there's one thing The White Lotus does not do, it's promise justice.
The White Lotus (HBO)
So here's the thing — yes, we know that Greg didn't really kill Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge). Yet for his treatment of her in the first two seasons alone, all that gaslighting and emotional manipulation… Yeah, screw this guy. Death to Greg! (He'll probably outlive us all.)
The White Lotus is streaming now on Max.
White Lotus Characters Ranked By How Much I Hope They Die in the Season 3 Finale Liz Shannon Miller
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Helen Shaver — who directed Sofia's origin story and present-day takeover of her father's crime ring in the John McCutcheon-penned fourth episode 'Cent'Anni' — says the filming of the rather harrowing chapter was the polar opposite of what one might expect. 'The opportunity to make that terrible betrayal by Oz and Carmine the bedrock from which this iconic character grows was very joyful,' Shaver shares. 'As great as the Penguin is, Sofia makes him a greater character.' To make matters worse for Sofia, the one person who refuses to turn their back on her, her brother, Alberto, disappears. Despite initially suspecting that Oz was involved, his subsequent death is pinned on the rival Maroni family, courtesy of Oz and Victor's machinations, in the series premiere. Moments before her grisly discovery of Alberto's body, Sofia tortures an unclothed Oz, which tested Marino's team to the nth degree, significantly upping the already three-hour prosthetic application time. 'The daytime is the hardest difficulty for a prosthetic. Any flaws can be seen in daylight,' recalls Marino. 'Colin was wearing this totally naked suit that's covered in hair and scars, and he was sweating in a burning hot greenhouse while tied up to a chair. It was the most challenging day.' Oz's opening chess move involving Alberto began an all-out war for control of Gotham's drug market with ever-changing alliances. Sofia eventually receives confirmation that Oz murdered her brother, and based on a tip from Oz's lover, Eve (Carmen Ejogo), she abducts Francis for leverage. Oz had previously pretended his mother was dead in order to protect her from the type of blowback that comes with his affiliations. With the help of Sofia's Arkham ally Dr. Rush (Theo Rossi), she gleans through Francis that Oz was responsible for the deaths of his older and younger brothers, Jack and Benny, in 1988. Oz is then forced to face the truth or else Sofia will maim his mother, but he still wouldn't come clean, leading Francis to stab him in the gut and forsake him before suffering a catastrophic stroke. 'Sofia understands that the gravest injury you can administer to someone is mental because you can't escape that,' says Milioti. Frustrated by his brothers' insensitivity to his clubfoot during a fateful game of hide-and-seek, Young Oz's lack of impulse control factored into his decision to trap Jack and Benny in a water overflow tunnel. This is the same impulsivity that led him to murder Alberto Falcone three-plus decades later. Farrell knows Young Oz is responsible for the demise of his brothers, but he offers him some benefit of the doubt, at least until he allows hours to go by without sounding the alarm to his mother. 'I'm not excusing him, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't an architectural fucking engineer when he was 10,' says Farrell. 'I don't think he necessarily knew that, in closing one sewer gate, it was going to be hermetically sealed and the water was going to rise twenty feet, killing his brothers.' Reeling from his mother's newly persistent vegetative state and how Sofia exposed his Achilles' heel through her, Oz decides that family of any kind is only going to hold him back from achieving true kingpin status. Thus, in the series' most gut-wrenching moment, he strangles Victor to death just after the young man expressed gratitude for their found family. 'He's always been this man. We've just been a little bit forgiving of him,' says LeFranc. 'When Oz kills Victor, it's like he's ripping his own heart out, and it's appalling. There's no justification for it. I hope that it leaves the audience to question why we ever trusted a man like this.' Farrell, despite being 'nowhere close' to starting prep work, will next reprise his character in the long-gestating The Batman Part II. He also notes it would be hard to reposition Oz as a protagonist in a potential Penguin season two after ruthlessly murdering the pure-hearted Victor and contributing to his own mother's unresponsiveness. 'I certainly think it makes [a second season] more difficult. [Killing Vic] is a very hard thing to claw back from,' says Farrell. 'It's not impossible, but it's a tougher hill to climb.' As for the physical impact the show had on him, one of the somewhat overlooked details in Farrell's performance is his Penguin-like waddle because of Oz's clubbed right foot. Farrell had to wear a supportive leg brace for full effect. 'I wasn't as smart as I could have been, which is not the first time I've said that in relation to work or life,' jokes Farrell. 'I did have some issues with my hips for a while, and my pelvis was a bit out of line, but I sorted it out afterward.' In an era where the limited series is cheekily referred to as the new pilot, Milioti is excited about her character's still-undetermined future, whether that's a Penguin season two, The Batman Part II or a Sofia-led series that explores a relationship with her recently revealed half-sister, Selina Kyle (The Batman's Zoë Kravitz). In the concluding moments of the finale, Sofia receives a letter from Selina, providing her with a glimmer of hope after Oz finagled her readmittance to Arkham. 'I would love to continue to play Sofia in any way,' says Milioti. 'I would also love to see Sofia and Selina team up and wreak complete and utter havoc on Gotham. I don't think we've ever seen that in the Batman universe.' A version of this story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. 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