One of the stars of The White Lotus is weighing in on their final scene in the hit series, which has proved divisive.
HBO’s hit series has drawn to a close after a divisive third season, concluding with an episode that dramatically revealed which characters didn’t make it out of Thailand alive.
After the finale aired, many stars, including Aimee Lou Wood (Chelsea), Carrie Coon (Laurie) and showrunner Mike White, have been sharing their views on what went down – and Natasha Rothwell has now chimed in.
Rothwell reprised her season one role of Belinda for the latest run, which saw her come up against Greg (Jon Gries), whom she sussed out was behind the death of former White Lotus character Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge).
In the finale, Belinda, with help from her son (Nicholas Duvernay), convinced Greg to ensure her silence by paying her $5m – and her final scene shows her leaving the hotel with her new-found wealth.
Belinda is waved off by the hotel’s staff, including Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul), with whom she had a romantic relationship.
At one stage in the series, Pornchai suggested the pair go into business together and open a spa – which viewers know is Belinda’s dream. In season one, Tanya promises to give her financial backing to do exactly this before leaving her heartbroken when she backs out before leaving the hotel.
As Pornchai watches on with apparent sadness that Belinda is leaving him behind, many viewers claim the development mirrored what happened to Belinda in season one, stating that she has essentially become Tanya. Rothwell, adressing the divisive nature of the final scene, disagrees with this read.
“I didn’t want to play that moment with guilt. If people rewatch this season, she never agrees to go into business with Pornchai; she’s just considering it,” she told Variety. calling it “a subtle but massive difference from season one where you have Tanya being like, ‘Yes, let’s do it. Give me the papers. Show me your business plan.’”
Rothwell continued: “She doesn’t lead him on. Pornchai was definitely more into Belinda and the idea than Belinda was.
“They both really liked each other and had feelings for each other, sexually and relationship-wise, but professionally, I don’t think Belinda was all in, because it’s impractical. Her son doesn’t live there, and there’s a lot of that she would have to figure out. So it didn’t have the same sting.”
White is already teasing the location of the fourth season, which is expected to air on HBO in 2027.
