Sam Nivola has opened up about The White Lotus season three finale and where his character may end up.
Since February, TV enthusiasts have immersed themselves in the third season of the hit HBO dark comedy series.
Set in Thailand, the latest batch of episodes follow a new set of dysfunctional, wealthy, and campy characters who check into the fictional White Lotus resort with their emotional and physical baggage in tow.
Since its showstopping premiere, season three has captivated viewers with its jaw-dropping storylines – like Kate (Leslie Bibb), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Laurie’s (Carrie Coon) doomed friendship, Rick’s (Goggins) vengeance quest, and the looming shooting catastrophe that ends with murder.
However, the storyline that has shocked fans to their cores has been the toxic dynamic between brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan Ratliff (Nivola).
Following the season three premiere, viewers speculated that the Ratliff siblings would develop an incestuous dynamic due to their various unhinged interactions.
In episode five, it all came to a head when the brothers attended Greg (Jon Gries) and Chloe’s (Charlotte Le Bon) full-moon yacht party.
During the celebration, an inebriated Saxon and Lochlan played a kissing game with Chloe and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), which resulted in the Ratliffs sharing not one but two pecks, with the latter being much longer and more intense.
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The shocking development didn’t end there, with episode six revealing that the brothers also had a threesome with Chloe, which featured Lochlan giving Saxon, his biological brother, a handjob.
While they didn’t share any scenes in the penultimate episode of the season, the full-moon party continued to plague the Ratliff boys, with the latter even proposing to stay in Thailand with their sister Piper to avoid Saxon and his actions seemingly.
Ahead of the highly anticipated season finale, Nivola opened up about his character’s journey in a recent interview with Gold Derby, including the infamous incest threesome on the yacht.
“I found it clear from Mike White’s brilliant writing that Lochlan was a pretty lonely, lost soul right from the start,” he explained to the news outlet.
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“And so when that [scene] came along, I was like, ‘Yeah, it makes sense. It’s his sad attempt at being a people pleaser. I think Lochlan really f***ed up; he’s really young and naive and did something really stupid and morally unforgivable, terrible – but I don’t think he’s evil.
“I don’t think he’s trying to, like, molest his brother. He’s just a people pleaser looking for attention.”
Nivola went on to acknowledge Lochlan’s sexuality, stating that he didn’t think his actions were sexually driven but came from a place of trying to bond with his brother.
“I think they’re more driven by, ‘What can I do to make my brother happy? And it’s like, my brother’s favorite thing is sex. He’s always talking about getting me laid. He wants to get me laid. So OK, let’s find a way to get me laid,'” he continued.
Elsewhere in his interview, Nivola opened up about the season finale and whether Lochlan’s story will have a satisfying conclusion.
“No, it’s definitely not satisfying for the character, but it is satisfying for me as a consumer of art to see,” he teased.
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“We, as humans, have solution-oriented brains, and we love recognizing patterns and sticking to that. I’ve said this before, but when I first spoke to Mike after having read the scripts, I was like, ‘My understanding was when a character leaves the White Lotus, they’re a totally different person – you change in some way, for the better or, the worse. Is that what the hotel does to you?’
“He was like, ‘No, no, because that’s unrealistic. Like sure that happens to some people, but some people never change or some people might change later, but one week in a hotel isn’t enough to do it.'”
While Nivola didn’t reveal any major plot points for the finale, he did hint at where the Lochlan will end up emotionally.
“Hopefully, this isn’t a spoiler – it’s more of an emotional thing – but Lochlan kind of winds up where he started. He doesn’t grow as much as he would have liked to have grown. I think it’s realistic and sort of devastating,” he said.
The White Lotus season three finale premieres on 6 April on HBO, and will stream on 8 April in the UK on NOW TV.
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