The White Lotus season 3 ending explained: which three main characters die?

The White Lotus season 3 sees a new batch of ultra-wealthy guests heading to a luxury hotel on the sunny shores of Koh Samui in Thailand.

But, once again, they're about to see their trip of a lifetime descend into a living nightmare as the series opened with a flash-forward where we see at least one character meet a grisly end.

The holidaymakers this time include successful businessman Timothy and his family, while actor Jaclyn has brought her two best friends to the resort for a much-needed girls' catch-up. Then there is free spirit Chelsea, who arrives with her tetchy boyfriend Rick. But as each resort guest finds their holiday thrown off course, who will make it home from the vacation in one piece?

Here is everything that happens in The White Lotus season 3 episode 8...

The final episode of the third season opens with Piper and Lachlan waking up at the Buddhist retreat while Tim is back at the hotel taking more of Victoria's medication. In Bangkok, Rick wakes up in his hotel room after sleeping on a chair, while Frank has been partying all night and is well and truly off the wagon. Frank tries to stop Rick from leaving, but when more women arrive at the hotel suite, Rick makes a hasty exit.

At the hotel, Mook and Gaitok arrive for work and it's the morning after their date. He tells her that he knows who was responsible for the robbery and Mook is happy, knowing that if he helps catch the thieves, then it could help him get a promotion at work.

Jaclyn finds Kate and asks if she has seen Laurie that morning, but she is still sleeping after the eventful evening the night before. Jaclyn goes to wake Laurie and appologises for sleeping with Valentin as she didn't know Laurie cared so much, not realising what Laurie went through the previous evening.

Lachlan and Piper leave the retreat and he has decided he wants to move to Thailand with her, but she doesn't let on that she has changed her mind about moving. They get back to the hotel and Victoria is desperate to know how they got on, hoping it was awful... However, neither Piper or Lachlan want to talk about it and head off to get ready for breakfast.

Belinda and Zion are having breakfast when Pornchai comes over and Belinda introduces him to her son. Belinda explains that Pornchai wants to go into business, but neither of them has the cash - and Zion is quick to remind her that Gary's cash would be the answer to all her problems. She is adamant that it wouldn't be enough anyway and she doesn't want the blood money - but Zion is adamant that she should negotiate with Gary and get him to up his $100,000 offer to £1 million.

At breakfast, Tim is telling Piper he is happy she has realised she can live a simpler life and that they could all do with having a bit less while Victoria shoots him daggers from across the table. But Piper doesn't seem convinced and says the food was bland and not organic, and there wasn't any air conditioning. She says she feels awful for needing these things and cries becasue she can't help being a princess - while Tim looks on, horrified. Victoria is thrilled, telling her daughter that she doesn't have to prove anything and that Piper is right; they are very lucky, but they should just enjoy what they have, otherwise it is offensive to people who don't have what they have.

Back in their room, Saxon can barely look at Lachlan. Lachlan asks what he has done wrong, and Saxon reminds him of what happened between them at the boat party and Lachlan tells him he thought he looked left out and he is a pleaser, so he thought he was doing the right thing... Saxon doesn't want to talk about it and tells his brother to drop it. Forever.

Gaitok calls his boss and leaves a voicemail telling him that he knows it is his day off, but he has something important to tell him. Valentin comes over and says he looked for Gaitok and Mook after the fight but he couldn't find them. Gaitok asks what Valentin's friends are called and he fobs him off, telling Gaitok that they are just men from his gym.

Saxon finds Chloe and Chelsea on the beach and he tells Chelsea that he has read her book on meditation - while they are talking Chelsea sees Rick walking down the beach towards her and she runs to him, throwing herself into his arms and they have sweet reunion, where even Rick seems pleeased to be reunited with Chelsea. She asks him how it went and he tells her he didn't kill anyone and that he said what he had to say and got the monkey off his back, and she is happy for him.

Now that Piper has realized she is just as materialistic as everyone else in her family, a thrilled Victoria takes her to the resort store and encourages her to spend lots of money as Tim watches on, horrified. Eventually, he goes back to the room and finds Lachlan there, reading. He asks his youngest if he could live without money, and he thinks for a moment and says yes, which pleases Tim. He encourages him to go for a swim or to the beach as it is their last day, and Tim is left once again alone with his own thoughts.

Valentin confronts Gaitok and tells him he knows that he has worked out it was his friends who robbed the resort. He begs him not to report him as he will be deported and be killed when he gets back to his country. He says that reporting him is the same as killing him, but before Gaitok can respond, Fabian interrupts him and asks if he can get Jaclyn to agree to a photo with the Hollingers tomorrow when they return from Bangkok.

Tim goes to the tree in their suite that has poisonous fruit and picks one, but before he can eat it Pam arrives to return their phones as their holiday is almost over. Tim is adamant that he doesn't want them back, and she just assumes that he has enjoyed the break from technology and says she will put them on the boat that takes them back to the airport and he agrees. He asks her about the tree and the fruit and she says the locals call it the suicide tree becasue people who want to kill themselves grind the seeds and eat them. Once she has gone, he picks the fruit and tears it open.

Zion and Belinda go to see Gary to ask for more money and Zion goes into full business mode, launching into a speech about how Gary's initial offer wasn't enough, while Belinda sits there silently, terrified. Gary isn't impressed with Zion, especially when he asks for $5 million. Gary says it isn't happening, but Zion says that he has done his research and knows how much Tanya was worth and that surely $5 million is worth the peace of mind knowing that Belinda won't say anything about how Tanya died. Belinda looks like she has had enough and storms out, with Zion following behind, wondering why she walked out of the meeting when he was so close to closing the deal. Zion follows his mom and questions what she is doing, and realizes that it was all an act and that she wants Gary to realize that she is a threat to his future and tells Zion to get back in there and close the deal.

In his room, Tim gets all the poisonous seeds and blends them in Saxon's blender, but instead of eating them straight away, he hides them in the kitchen cupboard.

Mook goes to see Gaitok at the end of her shift and realises something is wrong... he tells her he has to quit his job becasue he isn't meant to be a guard. She tells him that he has worked hard to get to where he is now and that he would have to start at the bottom somewhere else. Mook clearly wants a successful boyfriend and tells him that she isn't sure she can make dinner tonight and when he asks when they can rearrange it for, she tells him she will think about it.

The Ratliff family head to dinner and as they order, Tim tells the waitress that it is their last night and he wants to make Piña Coladas in their room later and that they have the blender but could they deliver the ingredients to their room. She agrees and Victirua is surprised at Tim's new-found enthusiasm. Lachlan asks if he can have a Piña Colada later, but Tim says no as he isn't 21.

Laurie goes to dinner with Jaclyn and Kate and tells them what happened with Alexi - but while she is talking, Valentin comes and interrupts and asks about the photo that Sritala would like with Jaclyn. She agrees and then things are awkward, so he leaves.

Belinda says she is too nervous to eat because Zion failed to close the deal with Gary. He is going to think about the offer and while Zion thinks that perhaps Gary could be wiring the cash to Belinda's account right now, she thinks her son is delusional.

Rick and Chelsea have dinner tgoether and she says she is pleased to have him back and that she thinks they are going to be together forever, and this time, instead of fobbing her off or being mean, Rick tells her 'that's the plan' and she is shocked and silently thrilled that he seems happy at last.

At dinner Kate and Jaclyn are both talking about what a brilliant holiday they have and that they've been on cloud nine being with true friends, but Laurie disagrees and says that she has felt sad all week and that being with her old friends has made her question her life choices. She adds that she loves them dearly and wouldn't be without them, and the three women all cry.

Back in their room, Tim makes Piña Coladas in the blender - he pours out four, one for each of his family members who have said that they couldn't live without their wealth - Victoria, Saxon and Piper - but doesn't let Lachlan have any, telling him he should get a Coke. Tim claims it is becasue he is underage, but it is really becasue he told his dad earlier in the day that he could live without their money.

Tim makes a speech, telling his family that they have had a perfect life and that he loves them all. Saxon says the Piña Colada tastes weird, but Tim just claims it is a bit strong, that's all. As he watches his family drink he realizes the enormity of what he is doing and swats the glass out of Saxon's hand and tells them all that the coconut milk must be off as he pours the cocktails down the sink. Victoria says they should have wine instead. We then see the blender with some of the poisonous crushed up seeds in it has been left on the side of the bar.

The next morning, Sritala and Jim return to the hotel and Gaitok tells his boss that he isn't cut out for this job - but Pee Lek tells him he is a good worker and tells him to think about what he is about to say and that they will talk later.

Belinda checks her bank account and can't believe it when she sees she is $5 million better off. She tells Zion that she has checked with the bank and it is real and that she has booked him a treatment at the spa and then they are leaving as she wants to be as far away from Gary as she can possibly be.

Lachlan makes a protein shake in the blender without cleaning it out and soon collapses next to the pool while Tim sleeps and Saxon, Victoria and Piper go to breakfast. Lachlan is sick into the pool and then lies down all alone, and we see that he feels like he is drowning as underwater shots show him struggling to breathe. At the same time, Tim wakes and realises someone has used the blender before seeing Lachlan lying by the pool. He races out and grabs his son, yelling for help as he cradles his limp body in his lap.

Rick runs into Jim at breakfast and Jim is furious seeing him at the hotel and tells him he needs to leave. He tells Rick that his mother was a liar and that she has painted his father to be a hero, when he was anything but. Rick steps towards Jim, intending to hurt him, but he shows he has a gun on him and Rick walks away and back to Chelsea who asks him what is wrong. She is shocked to see that he is back at square one and once again haunted by his past. Before they know what is happening, Jim's bodyguards are chasing after Rick and he and Chelsea panic. Rick goes to find Amrita, saying he desperately needs to talk to her, but she has a session with Zion and says she will come and find him in an hour.

As Sritala and Jim have their photo taken with Jaclyn, Rick's demons return and he is consumed with hatred for what Jim has done. Despite Chelsea trying to stop him, Rick runs up to Jim, grabs his gun from inside his jacket and shoots him twice in his chest. Sritala yells at him as Jim lays in her lap dying, asking Rick why he shot Jim. He tells her it is revenge for him killing his father, and to his horror, she yells back that he IS his father. Soon, a gun fight gets underway with the Hollingers' bodyguards shooting at Rick, however, he manages to avoid their shots and kills them both.

As the gun fight is happening, Gaitok hears the shots from the security gate and grabs the gun before racing to where the gun fight is playing out between Rick and the security guards. As everyone dives for cover, Rick turns around and finds Chelsea lying on the ground, having been shot in the chest. He is beside himself with grief, telling her that she is going to be okay and that he is sorry as she dies in his arms.

Rick picks Chelsea's body up, telling her that they are going to be together forever, just like she said, as Gaitok finds Sritala with Jim and she yells at him to kill Rick as he is walking away with Chelsea in his arms. It takes Gaitok a little while to gather his courage, and then, with Sritala shouting at him, he shoots Rick twice in the back, killing him and causing him and Chelsea to fall into the water.

Meanwhile. Lachlan suddenly wakes up after eating the poisoned fruit and Tim is over the moon, relieved that his son is going to be okay and they have been given a second chance. He cradles him in his arms and kisses his head, relieved he is still alive.

Elsewhere, Belinda, now a multimillionaire, goes to see Pornchai and tells him that she is leaving and that as her situation has changed, she needs time to get her head straight. He asks about the business they were going to start together, and she says it might happen, but not yet... basically doing to him what Tanya did to her all those years ago.

As the episode comes to a close, we see the boat taking Tim and his family to the airport. Saxon is a changed man now reading a self-help book, while Lachlan looks a little worse for wear but alive. Victoria gets their phones back and hands them out to everyone, and Tim realises this is the moment they are going to find out about his money laundering. He tells them all that he loves them and that family is all that matters - as they all look at him, stunned as their phones ping into life and reality hits.

In another part of the boat, Kate, Laurie and Jaclyn are also heading home, and they hug each other after their holiday came to a traumatic ending with Jim being shot in front of them.

Back at Gary's house, we see Chloe chatting up a man at a party, and she is clearly trying to recruit him to act out Gary's sexual fantasy where he watches her have sex with someone else after Saxon turned her down. Gary is still the king of the castle, sitting in his huge house and although he might be $5 million lighter after paying to keep Belinda quiet, he looks like he might have just gotten away with Tanya's death.

The very end of the epsiode sees Valentin and his friends all partying with a new group of women, seemingly having gotten away with the robbery, while Frank is back on the wagon and finding religion again.

Gaitok and Mook hug as he leaves, this time in plain clothes - his security uniform long gone - as he has now been promoted to be Sritala's bodyguard after proving himself when he shot Rick. As he drives off with Sritala, Mook watches on proudly.

Finally, two body bags containing Chelsea and Rick are loaded onto a plane as Belinda and Zion head home on a very fancy boat. As Belinda waves goodbye to the hotel staff, we see Pornchai waving her off with a sad look in his eye as she speeds off into the sunset.

The White Lotus season 3 is available on HBO in the US and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.