[SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE OF THE WHITE LOTUS SEASON 3]
A lot of fans had been worried about Belinda’s fate by the end of the third season of The White Lotus, but she eventually got out alive and with $5M in her bank account.
Though virtually this is a win for Belinda, it does seem like she’s mirroring Tanya in the end of the first season, with her eventually leaving Pornchai—who she said she would start a business with—to hide away somewhere Greg can’t find her.
Some say that this was a moral failing on Tanya’s part, but talking to Variety, Belinda actress Natasha Rothwell shares how she understood her ending:
“I didn’t want to play that moment with guilt. If people rewatch this season, she never agrees to go into business with Pornchai; she’s just considering it. Which I think is a subtle but massive difference from Season 1, where you have Tanya being like, ‘Yes, let’s do it. Give me the papers. Show me your business plan.’ She doesn’t lead him on.”
If anything, it did seem like Belinda was never all-in on starting a business with Pornchai, and it looked like something they came up with at the heat of the moment. Rothwell continues:
“Pornchai was definitely more into Belinda and the idea than Belinda was. They both really liked each other and had feelings for each other, sexually and relationship-wise, but professionally, I don’t think Belinda was all in, because it’s impractical. Her son doesn’t live there, and there’s a lot of that she would have to figure out. So it didn’t have the same sting.”
Admittedly, it’s still sad that Pornchai would come out of the season with his hopes being dashed, but there wasn’t enough time to cultivate something very serious with Belinda during her stay—especially with the money now being involved.
Who knows, with the series loving to play on the dynamics of rich and poor people, maybe Belinda has a new arc down the line where she’s getting used to a new status. We’ll just have to wait and see what Mike White comes up with.
The complete White Lotus 3 is now streaming on Max.
