Warning: This article contains potential spoilers for the third season of The White Lotus.
There are still six weeks to go until the season finale of The White Lotus airs – but some viewers reckon they’ve already cracked the show’s biggest mystery.
As always, the third season of The White Lotus began with a fast-forward to the very end of the show, when a body was found floating in the water at the luxury Thai resort.
Since then, fans have been speculating about who the character that meets their watery end could be – with one theory in particular beginning to pick up traction.
And we’re sorry to report that it looks like bad news for Sam Nivola’s character.
Since season two aired, some fans have picked up on the fact that Sam’s character, Lochlan Ratliff, has a strong connection to water.
In the latest episode, he opted for a sensory deprivation tank while his family each had their individual treatments, and he also had heart-to-heart with sister Piper in hammocks over the ocean.
He was also heard telling an anecdote about the 2004 tsunami in the episode, while the same episode opened with him splashing his face with water (after staring for a little too long at his brother’s bare bum).
Then, there’s this years’s White Lotus opening title sequence, which sees Sam’s name flashing up alongside the image of a figure half-submerged in water, while even his name comes from the Gaelic for “from the land of lakes”.
As fans began to speculate what Sam’s connection to the water could mean, some pointed out that it could be an indicator as to what’s to come later in the series.
“His connection to the water is something to watch for,” one Reddit user wrote, while another fan suggested it could be foreshadowing and an allusion to Ophelia, the William Shakespeare character who drowns after entering a state of madness when she’s rejected by Hamlet.
Another said simply: “He’s definitely the person who ends up in the water and it’s hard for me to be convinced otherwise.”
However, others have suggested these clues might actually be a red herring.
“Why would they make it so obvious?” one viewer responded on Reddit. “If that was the case just by the title card you would know who gets killed, that’s why I’m inclined to think he won’t get killed and has to do with something else.”
Another pointed out that “water can also mean change or rebirth”, adding: “There’s lot that has been set up here that can be played with.”
“The title card makes it way too blatant that he’s the one in the pond,” a third claimed. “Surely they wouldn’t give it away so easily. Even last season, there was some subtleness to who died in the opening theme. Maybe it’s revealing him as the killer and not the victim.
“Plus I think the title card can be interpreted in another way. He’s not drowning face down but face up floating on the water. The colours used in his title card are soft and gentle. Also in his title card, there is no danger lurking. If you look at other title cards, the colors used are dark and harsh and there is danger lurking around.”
Judge for yourself in The White Lotus’ season three opening titles below:
The White Lotus continues on Mondays on Sky and Now in the UK.