A The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 1 clue that might reveal the fate of the Ratliff family, theories explored

There has never been a TV show that leads to as many online discussions on possible theories as The White Lotus Season 3. Now that the third season's finale is only days away, the theorizing has reached another level of obsession.

The White Lotus fascination has infiltrated the daily conversations of fans as they try to theorize possible endings to the upcoming finale episode. From how many or who might be dying to how they might be dying, the theories and the discussions are endless.

Amid all these theories surrounding the Ratliff family's fate in the finale episode of The White Lotus Season 3, one theory — based on a clue from the very first episode of this season — might have some weight to it.

Disclaimer: Everything you read from here on out is based on pure speculation. Reader's discretion is advised.

---

The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 1 clue on the Ratliff family's fate, theory explored

The first episode of the third installment of The White Lotus introduced us to the Ratliff family, the dad and mum Timothy and Victoria, played by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey. They have three children, Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.

The Ratliff family reaches The White Lotus resort jetlagged and ready to just pass out, but a hotel staff employee, Pam, played by Morgana O'Reilly, intercepts them and issues a very unique warning. She asks Saxon, the couple's oldest son, not to eat the fruit found on the trees in their villa.

Fans looking back on this have flagged this interaction, believing that this is a clue about something that might happen in the final episode.

Timothy Ratliff has been on an extremely distressing journey in The White Lotus Season 3. He is under investigation back in the United States for a financial deal that went extremely bad, and the possibility of him and his family having to face up to it when they get back home has caused him to consider killing himself as well as his family. He even looks for the gun he stole from Gaitok, although he doesn't find it, as Gaitok has now stolen it back.

The fact that his chosen method to commit this act is unavailable, fans are theorizing other ways in which this might come true in The White Lotus Season 3 finale episode.

Here's how the interaction between Pam and Saxon in The White Lotus Season 3 about the poisonous fruits at the start of the resort stay led to theories.

Pam tells Saxon,

"We have a lot of amazing fruit here, but I wouldn't eat that. That is the fruit of the mighty pong-pong tree and the seeds of the fruit are toxic."

To which he queries if they could kill someone. She replies that it could, as it is "very poisonous."

This interaction, coupled with Timothy toying with the idea of killing himself and his family to escape financial investigation into his shady business deals, has led to fans believing that the fruit — as well the protein smoothie maker that his son is continuously seen making throughout the season — might actually end up as the weapon that kills some or all of the Ratliff family.

This theory is pushed even more forward when Timothy is seen questioning Pam about the fruit in the trailer for The White Lotus Season 3 finale.

He is seen asking Pam if the fruit on the trees in their villa really is poisonous and plucking one out, to which Pam replies,

"Locals call it the suicide tree, so don't eat it," clearly emphasizing the danger of the fruit.

However, the fact that fruit is actually mentioned repeatedly through Timothy and Pam's conversation, and his plucking it in The White Lotus Season 3 finale preview, might make this theory too predictable and maybe a red herring (a clue meant to distract from the real truth).

And if The White Lotus Season 3 and both the previous installments have anything going for them, it is their ability to be completely unpredictable.

Even the creator, Mike White, in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, commented on the finale,

"My hope is that it’ll feel like a cathartic sad or a satisfying sad and not a 'What the f**k?' sad, but people are going to have a million different opinions. You just hope you stick the landing."

The White Lotus Season 3 is going a long way to ensure the audience is as surprised by the finale as physically possible. Unpredictability and secrecy come in handy when trying to stick to the landing of a show like The White Lotus Season 3. David Bernad, the producer, talked about this in the same interview as White. He said,

"Season two, we were super lax — even Jennifer’s death scene was on the [script] sides. Woody Harrelson happened to be visiting the set, and he read them and was like, 'You ruined it for me!' We were idiots. So, this season, our script supervisor wrote these crazy fake endings that we distributed on set. We didn’t distribute the real last script. People on set didn’t know, except the actors, obviously."

Nevertheless, the unpredictability and secrecy around The White Lotus Season 3 do not stop fans from coming up with their crazy, each as probable as the other, theories.

One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) came up with a theory that nobody would be killed in the actual shooting, but the fear and panic caused by it would be responsible for the death (a body seen floating in the pool).

Another user thinks that Chelsea (played by Aimee Lou Wood) might be the one dying, as "bad things come in three."

Whereas one said that the Ratliffs and the ladies would all be fine as the show has been about rich white people doing bad things and never facing any consequences for them.

---

The guesses on how The White Lotus Season 3 finale might end are endless, but the only way to find out if any of them carry any weight is to stream the final on April 6, 2025, on HBO.

Follow us along at Soap Central as we try to dissect every little angle when the final comes along.