Warning: This article contains spoilers for the finale of Season 3 of White Lotus.
There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to what went down at the White Lotus resort at the end of Season 3.
But one key thing viewers didn’t see was a scene cut by White Lotus creator Mike White that depicted Piper, played by Sarah Catherine Hook, losing her virginity in the final episode.
White – who wrote and directed every episode – admitted the removal of the scene was “very disappointing” during a chat on The White Lotus Official Podcast.
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The scene involved Piper losing her virginity to Zion, played by Nicholas Duvernay, but was ultimately removed from the finale.
Piper spent most of the season trying to convince her parents Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey) to let her join a Buddhist monastery.
But the finale was going to see her getting it on with the son of masseuse Belinda (Natasha Rothwell).
White admitted it all came down to timing and the overall flow of the finale.
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“It was just one of these things where it’s an hour and a half already, and it would have added, like, 10 minutes to the thing,” he said on the podcast.
It also didn’t really work well with what was going on with Piper’s dad, who almost went through with a murder-suicide plan for the rest of his family.
“It had a little bit of a romantic rom-com vibe in the middle of [Timothy] trying to kill the family with the pong pong fruits,” White said.
The showrunner wanted to use the finale to call back to a conversation Piper had earlier with her older brother Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger).
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The two got locked into a heated sibling clash in Episode 1, and Saxon accused her of being a virgin – something she never outright denied.
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So after her less-than-ideal one-night stay in the monastery, she was going to have a big realisation.
“She’s like, ‘It’s true, Saxon’s right about this one thing, I need to get this over with,'” White recounted of the deleted scene.
“After she leaves the monastery, she’s just like, ‘I need to have sex.'”
The idea of drawing it all back to a conversation from so early in the season is part of the genius behind White’s storytelling, and why viewers were so hooked on every season of White Lotus.
And while fans of the show are grappling with what went down during the grim finale, the stars are taking it just as hard.
The White Lotus cast reunite before finale that has the world talking
Things came to a tragic climax with Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood, Rick, played by Walton Goggins, and Jim Hollinger, played by Scott Glenn – who was revealed to be Rick’s real dad – all dying after a shootout in the resort.
Goggings shared an emotional post on Instagram, reflecting on the journey of Rick and Chelsea, alongside a series of behind the scenes photos from the finale.
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“Rick + Chelsea. With the heaviest of hearts… To me, ours was a love story. It was only ever a love story, hindered by unresolved, childhood trauma. We all have them… but can we move past them,” he wrote.
“In the depths of our despair there is always beauty around us. If we can sit with our pain, just sit with it… not react… not be defined by it…It’s there… the love the world is constantly giving in any given moment is there. Always waiting for us to see it… Trust me I know,” he wrote.
“Thank you Mike White for your imagination, your tender heart, for the privilege of giving us the opportunity to tell it.
“Thank you Aimee Lou for being my partner… a journey I will never forget.”
Goggins went on to thank the rest of the cast and crew and everyone who was on the journey with him.
Wood also shared a touching message about the relationship between their characters.
The 31-year-old lives in the UK and in a post online admitted she only went home once during filming, but saw a bit of graffiti that stuck with her.
“I only went home once whilst filming White Lotus. This is what I saw on the first day back there. R and C forever,” read the caption.
In the photo was a spray painted love heart with R + C inside.
Schwarzenegger, whose public profile has skyrocketed with his role on the series, reflected on this chapter of his life.
“Today’s quite bittersweet. I teared up last night in the finale,” he said.
“First – because It was this beautiful yet devastating & profound ending – but secondly, because It was also the end of this chapter for me in my life… White lotus has consumed my life the past 16 months,” he wrote.
Between the prep, filming and press he called it a “beautiful” chapter of his life that he won’t forget.
“I just wanted to come on and say THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. Everyone that watched the show. Supported me. That didn’t count Saxon out !!! 🤣I hope you all enjoyed It and again I thank you for watching & supporting,” the post finished.
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