The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 7 “Killer Instincts” features a couple of important reprieves for the main characters on the HBO hit.
**Spoilers for The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 7 “Killer Instincts,” now streaming on MAX**
Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) finally gets Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) alone in the latest installment of the HBO hit. He gets to confront the man who murdered his father, dredging up all the ways his life was ruined by this loss, all while pointing a gun at the elderly entrepreneur. He attempts to strike the old man, but can only bring himself to push Hollinger’s chair over.
Elsewhere in The White Lotus this week, Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) finally decides to pull the trigger on his murder-suicide plan, only to discover what audiences already know: Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) has stolen the gun back. Thus, Tim, wife Victoria (Parker Posey), and son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) are saved for now.
Oh, and Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) finally sits down with “Gary,” aka Greg (Jon Gries). He essentially attempts to bribe her with $100,000 he claims Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) would have wanted her to have. She asks for a night to sleep on it and he lets her go.
For now, many of the main characters in The White Lotus seem to be in a tense holding pattern until next week’s hour-and-a-half-long finale, but why? Why does Rick decide not to kill the man who murdered his father? Is Timothy truly on the verge of massacring his family? Who will turn Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and his Russian friends in for organizing the jewelry store heist? Who will die next week?
Here’s everything you need to know about the end of the penultimate episode of The White Lotus Season 3…
The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 7 Ending Explained: Why Didn’t Rick Kill Jim Hollinger?
All season long, White Lotus creator/writer/director Mike White has set Rick up to face and murder Jim Hollinger in retribution for murdering his own father. When Rick finally pulls off the incredible con of weaseling his way into the Hollinger’s Bangkok home, he joins Jim in his den to talk. Rick lays the whole situation out for a confused Hollinger. His mother Gloria Hatchett told him on her death bed that Jim Hollinger killed his saintly father to push forward a real estate deal in Thailand.
Hollinger doesn’t seem to know who Rick is talking about, but does repeat his mother’s name, insinuating that he might remember her. Rick draws the gun on Hollinger, makes two aggressive feints at the terrified old man, and finally pushes his chair to the ground. Rick then leaves with friend Frank (Sam Rockwell) — but not before telling the Hollinger bodyguards that their employer fell.
Later in the episode, Rick tells Frank that he had built this moment up in his mind for so long, but when he finally confronted Jim Hollinger, all he saw was a frail old man. He didn’t have it in him to hurt Hollinger, or hate him anymore. As Frank — now off the wagon — descends into full on decadent party mode, Rick looks on and smiles. He’s finally at peace.
Of course, there’s one more episode of The White Lotus and the Hollingers might be back for vengeance. After all, they do travel around with bodyguards. Could the Hollingers come after Rick and Chelsea in retribution? Is that what sparks the shooting incident that will eventually claim someone’s life?
(Also: is anyone else convinced that Hollinger actually is Rick’s birth father? And that Gloria Hatchett lied on her deathbed? Will Hollinger want to reconnect?)
Was Timothy Ratliff Really Going to Murder His Family on The White Lotus?
Yes, it appears that he was. The only thing that stopped him? Gaitok.
After two fateful conversations with Victoria and Saxon — one in which his wife says she’d rather be dead than poor and another where his son admits he’s nothing without his father’s success — Timothy games out shooting both of them before turning his stolen gun on himself.
Timothy goes for the drawer in which he hid the gun, only to discover it’s gone. He frantically goes through the decorative piece, looking for the firearm. The episode seemingly ends with him still resolved to kill his wife, son, and self.
“He cannot imagine life continuing,” Isaacs told DECIDER. “So he has to end it. He thinks about ending Victoria’s life because she’s very clear — and I think she’s probably right — she couldn’t live as a poor person.”
Does this mean that all Timothy needs next week is to get his hands on a gun and he’ll start shooting? Maybe.
Who Stole the Jewelry on The White Lotus? Valentin, Aleksei, and Vlad
Yes, we know for sure who robbed the resort’s boutique all the way back in The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 2! It was staff member Valentin and his besties Aleksei (Julian Kostov) and Vlad (Yuri Kolokolnikov).
Gaitok first pieces it together when he sees the three men out with Laurie (Carrie Coon) at the Muay Thai fight. Valentin distracted him so the other two could drive in.
Laurie later also realizes what’s happened when she sees a massive cache of stolen jewelry while she’s leaving Aleksei’s flat.
Who will be the first to speak up and bring the trio to justice? Our money’s on Gaitok, but an embittered Laurie might also want her vengeance after discovering Aleksei only seduced her to scam money from her.
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