So, it's been nearly 24 hours since The White Lotus finale aired, and we've still got a lot of questions about that 90 minute episode. Like, what is going to happen to the Ratliffs when they get home? What was the point of Victoria and Kate's awkward breakfast interaction? And crucially, who was the body Zion saw floating in the water in episode one? Because something isn't adding up here.
Episode one of the third season kicked off with a scene of Belinda's (Natasha Rothwell) son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) having a meditation session with Amrita (Shalini Peiris). However, soon into the session, the pair hear shooting. They make a run for it, with Zion choosing to go into the surrounding lily ponds and hide from the shooter. As he sinks into the water, he is horrified to see a body floating past him.
Having watched episode eight, we now know that three people were killed - Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), Rick (Walton Goggins) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn). Rick attacked and shot Jim after Jim insulted his mother at breakfast. Jim's security then started shooting at Rick, and Chelsea is caught in the crossfire and shot by one of the men. Rick is then killed by Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), who is instructed by Sritala (Lek Patravadi) to shoot Rick. Rick and Chelsea then fall into the water, and Jim remains on the dock in the arms of Sritala.
In the first episode Zion runs away from a floating body and appears absolutely terrified. However, cut to the end of episode eight and he's having a great time on the boat and waving to the staff as he and Belinda disappear into the sunset. Sorry but what is going on? We got no insight into how Zion actually reacted to the shooting in the final episode, and whether or not he found Belinda, who he was worried about. We also have no idea who the floating body was as they don't appear to match Rick, Chelsea or Jim, or even hotel manager Fabian (Christian Friedel), who fell in the water but wasn't hurt.
And now fans are calling out the plot-hole, with one person on X (formerly known as Twitter) writing: "also there was continuity error with the beginning of White Lotus and the end. Zion hearing those shots and his mother looking for him?! what happened there?"
While another said: "In S3E1 of The White Lotus, Zion hears gunshots in his meditation session and gets in the water to hide/pray for his mother’s safety, and a body floats into scene, face down. It has dark hair and an unpatterened off-white shirt. It was no one we saw die. Who was it?"
And another asked: "Wait did Fabian die in the White Lotus finale? We say him running away after falling in the water but does that mean he’s the person that Zion saw floating in the first episode?"
Fabian doesn't die as he is seen waving the guests off at the end of the episode. But maybe he passed out from the shock of it all and that's who we saw floating in the water at the beginning of episode one?
Either way, Mike White, if you're reading this we'd like an explanation please.
The White Lotus is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW
