HBO’s The White Lotus brings its third season to a close with the highly-anticipated finale that finally reveals the identity of the mysterious corpse in the premiere.

Like each season before it, The White Lotus Season 3 begins with a flash-forward of one week, revealing how the corpse is found.

The rest of the season then flashes back a week, showing all the guests arriving at The White Lotus, introducing both the hotel guests and the employees.

The Season 1 corpse belonged to troubled White Lotus Hawaii manager Armond (Murray Bartlett), who was inadvertently stabbed by Shane Patton (Jake Lacy).

The Season 2 victim was Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), a wealthy heiress featured in Season 1, who died after slipping and hitting her head trying to escape from a yacht… after she murdered three men she suspected her husband Greg (Jon Gries) paid them to kill her. 

The finale is also a super-sized one spanning 90 minutes wrapping up all of the complex storylines this season.

HBO’s The White Lotus brings its third season to a close with the highly-anticipated finale that finally reveals the identity of the mysterious corpse in the premiere.

Like each season before it, The White Lotus Season 3 begins with a flash-forward of one week, revealing how the corpse is found

The episode begins in the Buddhist temple, where Piper and Lochlan had spent the night.

Piper wakes up, as a monk says sometimes people wake up with anxiety and an anxious energy as Lochlan is already awake.

The monk says that people take life into their own hands and take action, as their father Timothy takes more of his wife’s drugs, as the monk says that people’s solutions are ‘quick fixes.’ 

A determined Gaitok is seen riding on his scooter as Jaclyn is deep in thought after reading a book.

Rick wakes up in a hotel room chair as Frank is heard in the next room, still partying with the women they picked up last night.

Rick says he has to catch a plane as Frank chases him in the hallway as Frank tries to talk him into staying.

More women arrive but Rick gets in the elevator and heads to the airport.

Gaitok arrives just as his perpetual crush Mook does, asking if she had fun on their date, though she just meekly nods. 

He tells her that he knows who pulled off the robbery as Mook is excited for him since it could help his career. 

Jaclyn goes and talks to Kate, asking if she’s seen Laurie, as Jaclyn says she’ll go ask to see if she wanted to get breakfast.

Jaclyn goes into Laurie’s room and says she’s going to get breakfast, but Laurie says she’s going to keep sleeping.

Jaclyn apologizes about Valentin, says she didn’t even know she cared as Jaclyn insists, ‘I want to be your friend.’ 

Lochlan says he wants to wait to tell their mom Victoria that he’s coming with her to Thailand, but Piper doesn’t want him to come.

She doesn’t want to be responsible for ‘f***ing up’ his life, says she just wants to f**k up her own.

Piper and Lochlan return to the family villa, Piper wants to talk about it later since she wants to take a shower.

Piper leaves and Victoria wants Lochlan to tell them how it was but he angrily says he doesn’t know anything.

Belinda and Zion are having breakfast as Pornchai comes over and they hug, as Belinda introduces him formally to Zion.

Zion realizes Belinda really likes him and Zion wants his mom to take the money, but he wants her to see how much he can get from Gary/Greg.

She thinks he’ll mess her up but Zion says he’ll be there with him if he tries anything, and Belinda clearly considers it. 

During breakfast, Timothy asks Piper if she likes the place and she said, ‘it’s a really cool place,’ insisting, ‘it’s not a cult.’ 

Timothy makes a strange comment that they’d all be fine with less, as Piper complains about the temple food.

She said it was really bland and wonders if she could eat it for a whole year and she complains about the small room.

Victoria seems happy that her daughter is disappointed but Piper thinks it’s pathetic that she’s so spoiled as she realizes she can’t live like that. 

Piper starts crying because they have it so good and so many others have it so bad, as Victoria admits they are lucky and claims no one in the history of the world has lived like they have.

Victoria says it’s ‘offensive’ if they don’t enjoy their luxurious life and the mother and daughter hug as Piper apologizes for bringing them there.

Timothy watches on with an odd look on his face as Victoria flashes him a thumbs up sign.

Saxon basically ignores Lochlan when he gets home until Saxon says no one  is going to make him a man, he has to do it himself.

Saxon says he’s going to read at the beach and basically brushes Lochlan off, and before he leaves Lochlan asks if he’s mad.

Saxon says it’s ok to worship him but not to really worship him that way. Lochlan says all he cares about was getting off and he thought he looked lonely and he’s in a family of narcissists.

Saxon asks him to drop it forever before he leaves to go to the beach alone. 

Laurie wakes up and finds Jaclyn and Kate in the pool taking pics of each other. 

Gaitok calls his security boss and finds Valentin, who asks if he liked the fights. Gaitok said his friends are ‘guys I know from the gym.’

Gaitok asks their names and says he thinks he knows them from somewhere but Valentin doesn’t tell him and leaves. 

Saxon brings Chelsea’s book to the beach, saying he’s almost done with the book, which surprises Chelsea.

He says he thought the sex stuff was interesting and she says he should read the other books she gave him. 

Rick arrives on the beach and Chelsea runs to him and jumps into his arms as Rick smiles and kisses her.

She asks how it went and he says that he said what he needed to say and he didn’t kill anyone and she says that’s good.

Saxon is kind of sad watching them embrace as he lays down in his beach chair while Rick and Chelsea walk away.

Saxon apologizes to Chloe for not helping her the other night but she says it’s fine, she’ll jus tifnd someone else. 

Victoria and Piper go shopping at the resort as Timothy walks back to the villa, finding Lochlan reading.

Timothy asks Lochlan if he could live with no money, no house, nothing, and Lochlan says he thinks he could.

Timothy says it’s his last day, he should go swim or do something and Lochlan puts his book down and leaves.

Timothy remembers the pong pong tree fruit that his health mentor Pam had warned has poisonous seeds.

Valentin approaches Gaitok, saying, ‘I know you know. Please don’t say anything,’ adding he will die, they will deport him. 

He says they can’t work and have no way to get money, when Fabian arrives, saying the resort owners are returning today and they want a picture with the famous Jaclyn.

He picks up a fruit from the pong pong tree when Pam arrives with their phones, but he says to put them on a bus to the airport.

He asks her about the fruit and she reiterates that it’s poisonous and that the locals call it ‘the suicide tree.’

Pam leaves and Timothy starts ripping into the fruit to find the poisonous seeds. 

Belinda and Zion arrive at Gary/Greg’s home, as Zion asks for two whiskey drinks on the rocks.

Zions she always talked about being ready for her moment as she flatly says, ‘He killed the b***ch.’

They meet with Gary and Zion says they are passing on the initial offer, with Zion adding it’s not enough to start her business.

Zion asks for $5 million as Belinda coughs and takes a drink, but Gary/Greg says it’s not happening.

Zion says Tanya was worth at least half a billion dollars, and he’s asking for a mere one percent of that.

Belinda stands up and says they’re not doing this and it’s a waste of time and Zion wants her to give them time alone but she says no and they leave. 

Belinda tells him what to say, and wants him to make Gary scared, and tells Zion to go close it. 

Gaitok goes to pray, seemingly about whether or not to turn Valentin and his friends in, to a golden idol.

Timothy keeps grabbing all of these fruits that he can, putting the seeds in a blender and pouring it into a glass, hiding the blender in a cabinet.

Mook goes to visit Gaitok, saying he may have to quit, saying he’s not meant to be a guiard. Mook wants him to be practical and stop overthinking, but Gaitok says he thinks he can find another job. 

He asks when she wants to go to dinner and she says she will have to think about it and leaves. 

Timothy takes the last of Victoria’s pills as they go to dinner. Timothy wants to have cocktails at the villa, says they already have the blender, seemingly hinting about killing his whole family with the seeds in the blender.

However, he says Lochlan won’t have a pina colada since he’s not 21 yet.

Laurie says she had a late night, she went to the fight thing and went back with Alexei to his apartment.

Valentin arrives, saying the owners are arriving tomorrow and they want to take a photo with Jaclyn, and she says that is all right.

Belinda and Gary are at dinner, with Zion saying he needed time to think about it, with Zion saying he gave him her routing number and account information.

Chelsea and Rick are at dinner and Chelsea says Rick is free, and Rick says he told her she had nothing to worry about.

She says she really wasn’t worried because of ‘Amor Fati,’ which means that one has to embrace their fate, good or bad.

She says she thinks they will be together forever and Rick says he thinks they will too, which makes Chelsea quite happy.

Kate says she’s so glad they did this and Kate asks Jaclyn if they can’t help pay a little but Jaclyn says it was her pleasure. 

Kate says she feels like everything is ‘in bloom’ for all three of them, as Jaclyn says she’s been in the best mood all week. 

Jaclyn says nothing makes her feel more grounded than being with friends, says she was on Cloud 9 all week and she really needed it.

Laurie says all week she was just so sad, says her expectations were too high. She says when she’s with them it’s so ‘transparent’ what her choices and mistakes are.

She says she has no belief system and she lost her belief in religion as she starts breaking down crying, adding being a mother didn’t save her either. 

She says religion or God doesn’t give her life meaning, because time gives life meaning. 

Some of the primary guests are the wealthy Ratliff family – Timothy (Jason Isaacs), Victoria (Parker Posey) and their kids Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger, above), Lachlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).

Other prominent guests are Rick (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood, above).

Some of the primary guests are the wealthy Ratliff family – Timothy (Jason Isaacs), Victoria (Parker Posey) and their kids Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lachlan (Sam Nivola) and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook).

Other prominent guests are Rick (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).

There are a trio of longtime girlfriends – Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon).

Those who are employed by The White Lotus include owner Sritala (Lek Patravadi) general manager Fabien (Christian Friedel), security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), health mentors Mook (Lalisa Manobal), Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Pam (Morgana O’Reilly), wellness expert Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).

Also returning from Season 1 is Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), a spa manager from the Hawaii White Lotus who is at the Thailand White Lotus on an exchange program.

Finally there is the couple that are merely ‘regulars’ at The White Lotus, Gary (Jon Gries) and his girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon).

Given that the first two victims were quite surprising for fans, theories that are the most obvious or that have been seemingly foreshadowed by creator Mike White are probably the least likely to happen, though it’s worth putting them all out there first. 

The season has also features an incest storyline, which creator Mike White has defiantly defended during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 

Schwarzenegger, 31, played the role of Saxon Ratcliff while Sam Nivola, 21, portrayed his brother Lochlan in the show – and the sibling characters have been involved in an incest storyline which some viewers have labeled ‘disturbing.’

Those who are employed by The White Lotus include owner Sritala (Lek Patravadi) general manager Fabien (Christian Friedel), security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), health mentors Mook (Lalisa Manobal, above), Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Pam (Morgana O’Reilly), wellness expert Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).

Finally there is the couple that are merely ‘regulars’ at The White Lotus, Gary (Jon Gries) and his girlfriend Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon)

In episode five, the brothers shared a drunken kiss and in the following episode it was revealed that Lochlan performed a sex act on Saxon during the same drunken night out. 

During the scene, Lochlan masturbated his own brother Saxon while having sex with Chloe – played by Charlotte Le Bon. 

White was joined by other cast members while talking to the publication and explained, ‘There’s some kind of pleasure in getting a bigger audience on board with these erotic moments.’

He added, ‘And the incest thing, it’s really more about someone who is trying to connect with his brother and his sister through the things they value.’

Sarah Catherine Hook plays Piper Ratcliff, the sister of Saxon and Lochlan in the series. And Mike continued, ‘Saxon is all about getting off, and Piper is renouncing the materialistic.’