WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The White Lotus season 3.
Following theThe White Lotusseason 3 finale, series creator Mike White and multiple season 3 cast members are revealing a slate of interesting deleted scenes that didn’t make the final cut. Even thoughThe White Lotusseason 3 finalehad a film-length runtime of 90 minutes, several scenes – and in some cases, entire storylines – were cut from season 3’s ending. A few of those cut scenes may have been some of thebiggest WTF moments inThe White Lotusseason 3.
While details forThe White Lotusseason 4are still very much under wraps, there’s still a chance that some of season 3’s cast could return in the future, perhaps even in an “all-star” season inspired by the popular reality competition series format. AlthoughThe White Lotus’stime in Thailand is officially over,hopefully White and HBO will release some of the various deleted scenesto satisfy viewers' curiosity.
White Felt These Scenes Didn’t Tonally Match The Finale’s Dramatic Tone
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According to Mike White and Sarah Catherine Hook, who played Piper inThe White Lotusseason 3, an entire storyline between Piper and Zion, Belinda’s son (played by Nicholas Duvernay), was cut from the lengthy finale. Hook revealed that as many as eight scenes between her and Duvernay werecut because they didn’t match the dramatic tone of the finale, playing out more like a feel-good rom-com. One of these scenes was a sex scene, which was filmed but not released.
White said onThe White Lotusofficial podcast, “It had a little bit of a romantic rom-com vibe in the middle of, you know, trying to kill the family with the pong pong fruits….It just felt like I was trying to do too much narratively.” White noted that Piper choosing to have sex with Zion would have made her decision not to stay in Thailand and study Buddhism more apparent.It would also have related to Saxon and Lochlan’s awkward inquiriesabout whether their sister had lost her virginity. White added, “You know, it’s an hour and a half already, and it would have added like 10 minutes to the thing.”
6Kate’s Dinner Scene Monologue In The White Lotus Season 3 Finale
A Lot Of Kate & Laurie Material Was Left On The Table
In an interview withThe Wrapon their Unwrapped Podcast, Carrie Coon, who plays Laurie inThe White Lotusseason 3, revealed several deleted scenes between her, Kate (played by Leslie Bibb), and Jaclyn (played by Michelle Monaghan).These scenes were cut from several episodes, not just the season 3 finale. “A lot of our material has been cut. One of the scenes from [Episode 7] was literally cut in half. So much of the material is gone, and that’s just what happens when you’re making TV.”
These cut scenes might explain why Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie didn’t have much of a dramatic fate in the finale like other characters. One of those scenes includes Kate making a speech at dinner on their final night in Thailand, much like Laurie did, which brought the friend group closer together.Coon reveals that Bibb’s Kate has “an entire monologue about pickleball”, which sounds painfully hilarious. Coon also alludes to “a lot of rich character stuff” between Laurie, Jaclyn, and Kate not making it into the series.
5Kate’s Ping-Pong Dream Sequence
Coon also mentions on the Unwrapped Podcast that “a whole dream sequence of Kate” failed to make it to air. This would have been interesting to analyze with the recurring tsunami dream that Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff had throughout The White Lotus season 3. According to Leslie Bibb, in an interview withHarper’s Bazaar,Kate’s dream was quite an unforgettable scenethat may have taken inspiration from a Stanley Kubrick classic. “[There were] ladyboys and ping-pong and everything was glowing. It was also kind of like The Shining. There just wasn’t room for it.”
White Inspired An Improv Session For Coon, Bibb & Monaghan
The notable “bean scene” between Kate, Jaclyn, and Laurie in one of the earlier episodes ofThe White Lotusseason 3 apparently the result of a hilarious improv session between White, Coon, Bibb, and Monaghan. As the “victory tour” trio lounge on the resort beach, Bibb’s character,Kate, discusses how she started forcing herself to eat beansuntil she learned to like them since they’re part of a well-balanced diet.
Coon revealed on the Unwrapped Podcast, “Mike just let the bean stuff — he was like, ‘And now Laurie, say you love medium beans!’ He just wanted more beans in prestige TV.” She noted that there werea lot, potentially an entire episode’s worth, of lengthy scenes that White’s script originally called for. “Most of the scenes with the women were some of the longest in the scripts. Mike loves these women, and we would just sit around the table and talk and talk.” Coon also stated that the dinner scene between Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie in the finale was originally “twice as long as what you see in the show.”
Lochlan Thought Piper Discovered What Went Down With Saxon
In an interview withTV Insider, Sarah Catherine Hook reveals that there was more to her disappointment about Lochlan wanting to join her in Thailand than her character lets on in the show. Based on a deleted scene fromThe White Lotusseason 3, part of Piper’s frustration with her family is that she views them as a"cult” who are stuck in their toxic views and dysfunctional dynamics.
In the scene, Piper confronts Lochlan about how they have to fix their family from the inside out, calling their family “borderline incestuous.” Lochlan reacts to those words with fear,thinking that Piper is alluding tothatunsettling exchangebetween him and Saxon on the yacht.
More Of Their Shared Backstory Was In The Original Script
Although Chelsea and Rick were apart during roughly half ofThe White Lotusseason 3,they tragically reunited in the finale as they were both shot and killed. Aimee Lou Wood, who played Chelsea, revealed toThe Hollywood Reporter, “There was a scene where they’re back in the bedroom, and she asks him if he did anything bad [while he was away], and he says no… then he picks her up and he kisses her and he puts her on the bed.”
Wood notes that this sentimental scene would have deflated some of the impactof Rick telling Chelsea “that’s the plan” when she asks him if he thinks they will be together forever. “I know why it had to go. There was lots of Rick and Chelsea stuff that didn’t make it…” Wood also revealed that there were several scenes in which Chelsea and Rick got into heated fights that failed to make the final cut, as well as a bit of their backstory of how they met in “Cancun” on “meth”. “There was way more like that, but it was cut because we can’t have anyone doubt, even for a second, that Chelsea loves Rick.”
This Would Have Added A New Layer To Her Disapproval Of Kate’s Politics
In Carrie Coon’s interview withHarper’s Bazaar, she reveals more of the impact of Kate’s conservative views on her character,Laurie, considering she has a daughter who identifies as nonbinary. Kate had quietly gossiped about Laurie’s daughter to Jaclyn inThe White Lotusseason 3, episode 2, revealing that there were some behavioral issues resulting in multiple school changes.
Coon reveals, “You originally found out that her daughter was actually nonbinary, maybe trans, and going by they/them. You see Laurie struggling to explain it to her friends, struggling to use they/them pronouns, struggling with the language, which was all interesting.”
This additional context would have added more personal weight to Laurie’s disdain for Kate having possibly voted for Trump. Coon also reveals thatMike White intentionally chose not to keep that part of Laurie’s story in the show. “When the time came to cut the episode down, Mike felt that the scene was so small and the topic so big that it wasn’t the right way to engage in that conversation.” With all the cut Laurie, Kate, and Jaclyn material inThe White Lotusseason 3, perhaps a movie spin-off is in order.
