'The White Lotus' Season 2 Finale: Our Predictions
Well folks, as they say, all good things must come to an end. On Sunday, December 11, HBO will release the final episode of The White Lotus—which means we’ll have to say goodbye to the Sicilian hotel and (at least!) a few of its guests.
Season Two, if you somehow forgot, begins with Daphne discovering a dead body in the ocean. An investigator soon after confirms that multiple guests died on the property. But who are the victims? The always-bickering Ethan and Harper? Daphne’s husband, Cameron? It could be someone lost in the Tanya-Greg-Portia mess. Don't forget the Di Grassos and their new friends—local sex workers Lucia and Mia. With the odds simply in no one’s favor, your fellow vacationers at Esquire coughed up our best, most twisted predictions (which are... mostly about Tanya's fate) for the finale, along with our favorites from the depths of Reddit's fan theory machine. Here we go.
Esquire's Predictions
Tanya is Absolutely the Killer, People
“It was self defense!” That’s exactly what I’ll say if anyone criticizes Tanya for killing someone in The White Lotus finale—which, honestly, I think could happen. For starters, her no-good husband Greg has been testing his luck all season. When they meet in Italy, he insists they’ll have a good vacation—then yells at Tanya her for inviting her assistant, Portia, along. Then, you know, he leaves for a “business trip.” I know a marital spat isn’t exactly grounds for murder, but it sure does feel like a catalyst for it.
Also, Greg might be in cahoots with Tanya's new buddy, Quentin. After Greg leaves, Quentin charms her with fabulous day trips and never-ending parties. As they grow closer, he shares a story from his past about a mysterious cowboy he once loved. “I’d have done anything for him,” Quentin says. “And the amazing thing is, after 30 odd years, I still would.” At first, Tanya thinks nothing of the encounter—until she finds a photo of a young Quentin posing next to and a man who looks a hell of a lot like her husband. Greg’s background is a bit murky (to say the least!), so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been scamming Tanya all along.
In my version of the finale, Quentin kills Tanya so that he can start a life with Greg and take her inheritance. But when they try to cast the final blow, she’ll flip the script and kill one (or both) of them instead. —Bria McNeal
No No No, Tanya Dies (Obviously)
While I wish I was in the “Tanya Is The Killer Boat,” I think Tanya is going to bite the dust this Sunday. There’s been some major foreshadowing this whole season to imply her fate. (See: the fortune teller saying she’ll go mad and die and the heroine in the opera who kills herself at the end of the show.) I simply cannot think of one reason as to why, if Tanya stuck around for Season Three, she would feel the need to go to yet another White Lotus hotel! That said, I’m hoping she’ll take Quentin down with her, somehow. He is, after all, also a guest at the hotel. I’m also feeling like either Ethan, Nonno, or Dominic will die, but Cameron will be left unscathed. Daphne might be the killer—but I don’t think she’d want to kill the man who provides her with her luxe little life and fuck all of that up. —Trishna Rikhy
Yes, Tanya Survives—But Everyone Else Dies
Think about the shocking finale of The O.C. Imogen Heap’s “Mm Whatcha Say” song and all. Almost everyone staying at The White Lotus this season is having an awful time and wants to murder each other. So... just let it happen! Lucia and Mia are murdered for their services instead of just getting paid–and take the Di Grasso family down with them. Harper, Ethan, and Cameron kill each other in a fit of jealousy. Tanya shoots Quentin for seemingly sleeping with her husband. Getting away with the crime somehow, Tanya is free to join Season Three and keep this crazy anthology train running. Maybe in the deserts of Dubai this time! Or the freezing cold temperatures of the Alps. Either way, I’ll be there—cheering for the bloodbath once again. —Josh Rosenberg
Lucia and Mia vs. the World
Lucia and Mia are the thread that connects all the separate characters and plots, so they're the ones who are going to bring everyone down. I think Alessio will have everyone that owes Lucia money killed—she could very well be in on it, too!—so the bodies floating in the water are Ethan, Cameron, and all/some of the Di Grasso men. Daphne went to get another massage (or something) and came to the beach to find everyone, so she doesn’t know they are missing yet. Valentina won’t be able to blame Lucia and Mia or tell the police, since she engaged in sex with Mia and allowed both women to stay at the hotel. I just don’t know how that all connects to Tanya and Portia, though. It might not in the end, of course. But thematically, everything connects back to money, since Tanya is also in the process of being robbed in Palermo. —Lauren Kranc
Albie Goes Batshit
Do you all realize there are other characters in this damn show? It'll be simple. Someone's going to go full heel turn, and that someone will absolutely be Albie. Portia rejects him early this season. In the finale, I'm sure Lucia will, too. The shame will be too much for our sweet Stanford boy. He'll snap. I don't know how he'll kill everyone, exactly, but it's happening. Bet on it. —Brady Langmann
Honorable Mentions From—Where Else?—Reddit
Daphne and Ethan, Sittin' in a Tree, K-I-L-L....
Less of a theory, and more of a something-is-weird-here observation, from Reddit user wheredidspringgo:
Have we seen Daphne and Ethan have a one-on-one conversation? The preview for the finale shows them speaking alone but I don't recall it happening in any prior episode. Everyone else in the couple duo has had one-on-ones with each other on screen.
If that's the case, my spidey senses are up that there is more to that relationship than we know. If that's not the case, I'll delete this post 😂
A New Wrinkle in the Greg-Quentin Cowboy Theory
We're buying stock in this theory, from mzlange:
Quintin was never in love with a cowboy, that's just a story. Greg was once a "naughty nephew." Quintin somehow saved Greg in exchange for sex work, just like he's doing now with Jack. That whole table of pictures features his boy toys over the years, and maybe this is Greg's last job before he's finally free. I think Greg's been hunting Tanya since Hawaii.
Will Harper and Ethan Have a (Somewhat) Happy Ending?
We sure hope so, chickenpotpioneer:
I think their story will end with them getting their mojo back after a lack of sexual attraction, but we won't feel good about it as the audience, because it means they will wind up taking a cue from Cam and Daphne's dynamic and "play games" with each other. Thematically, that makes sense to me and follows Season 1 ending with the tragic inevitability of the new wife staying with her husband for the money.
Ethan will wind up killing Cam in the ocean after he tells Ethan that him and Harper were hooking up, until he ruined it and came back to the room. We still won't get it fully confirmed from Harper whether or not it actually happened though. Harper will figure out that Ethan did something bad to Cam, but it is basically unspoken mutually assured destruction for the both of them at that point to go through the whole truth of the situation. That, in turn will ramp up their attraction for each other in a slightly sad, disturbing way.
The punchline of it all will be that Cam's death will get lumped together with whatever deadly end the Quentin storyline takes, no one will suspect Ethan, and Daphne won't even care that Cam is out of the picture because she can go be with her trainer full-time now. Especially if it is revealed that Cam didn't have all the money he says he did.
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