‘The White Lotus’: Will Belinda Avenge Tanya? Natasha Rothwell Weighs In
[This story contains spoilers from The White Lotus season three, episode three, “The Meaning of Dreams.”]
“Your name’s Greg, right?”
It’s the exact thing “Gary” never hoped to hear again. But it’s exactly what everyone has been waiting for Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda to say. Belinda, returning from The White Lotus season one, finally and fully clocks Greg, the murderous BLM (Bureau of Land Management) agent played by Jon Gries in all three seasons of Mike White’s vacation opus.
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In season three’s third episode, Belinda, trading in Maui for Thailand as part of a higher learning program, dares to confront the man who arranged for the murder of Tanya McQuoid, the character played by Jennifer Coolidge in seasons one and two.
Though, it’s not exactly a ferocious confrontation. Belinda, who seemingly doesn’t know what happened to Coolidge’s spa-super-fan since they parted ways in Hawaii in season one, merely tries to square the coincidence of seeing Greg here in Thailand of all places. But when she confronts him, the man currently posing as “Gary” disavows anything having to do with his old life — but he certainly isn’t forgetting the interaction, either. After Belinda goes back to her table, “Gary” shoots daggers at the masseuse.
What else will Greg shoot at Belinda? Given what we know from the opening scene of season three, someone is going to get shot, and now, Belinda is in Greg’s crosshairs — though someone out there is certainly hoping Belinda gets to him first.
“I hate Greg,” Jennifer Coolidge told E! News earlier this week, declaring how her on-screen ex “doesn’t deserve anything good. I hope he gets what he deserves, which is something really brutal.”
Will Belinda serve up brutal justice for Tanya? Whatever happens next, she has more on her mind than only Greg, as evidenced by an escalating workplace flirtmance with colleague Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul). Below, Rothwell speaks with The Hollywood Reporter about returning to The White Lotus universe and what to expect.
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What were your initial conversations like with Mike White when he asked you to return to The White Lotus?
He told me he wanted to explore spirituality and he knew he wanted it somewhere east, and Belinda, having been a spiritual anchor in season one, would continue her story here. I hadn’t read any scripts and I had no idea what it would involve, but when Mike White asks you to do something, you say yes. So I was really excited when it went from being just an idea to being an actual offer.
You start getting the scripts, and there you see it: Greg’s back, too. We’re circling back to season one in multiple ways.
That’s right. Wherever you go, there you are. She encounters Greg here and is trying to piece together how she knows him. It’s so funny, because Jon is the kindest, warmest, most loving human. But Greg?
Terrifying.
Terrifying! In a way I didn’t know he was, until we worked on this season. And it’s just with a look. So now for Belinda, any modicum of peace she was able to scrape together from Pornchai’s massage? It’s basically out the window once she’s pieced this together.
It feels like Belinda has the opportunity to avenge Tanya, or at least continue her story. Was that part of Mike’s original pitch to you?
No, not at all. Season one was sold to everyone as a limited series, one and done. Then obviously, the gift of success meant he got a second season and it’s continuing to grow. I’m incredibly grateful Belinda is a part of that continuation, but I don’t take anything for granted, and I have zero expectations, especially when it comes to storytelling.
The opening of the season features Belinda’s son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) reacting to a shooting. It’s a very harrowing scene. What was your reaction, especially knowing your initial connection through Zion?
It’s really intense. So I binge [read] the series when I got all eight scripts at the same time. I just couldn’t put them down, especially after page one. But there’s a scene where Belinda has a phone call with her son, and we really get to see their relationship and just how much they mean to each other. So to see this pain that Zion’s expressing in those first few short moments at the top of the premiere? It’s a catapult into this season.
On top of that, Belinda’s maybe experiencing some romance…?
You know what? I feel like in every circumstance, you have to be open, and for her to take a leap and go to a different country to grow her craft, it leaves her in this space of just saying yes and being open to what the universe has to offer. There’s nothing quite as attractive as someone seeing you and loving the same things that you do. She’s around someone who wants to see her have a full cup. How do you say no to that?
It’s a tale of two Belindas in some ways, where there’s this really uplifting story brewing with Pornchai, but now, this danger with Greg.
That’s life, right? We hold light and dark. The world is a fucking shit show right now. But today’s a great day. You can hold two things. For her, this terror that’s looming, and the potential of that, might lead her to some solace in Pornchai as a safe space, as a thing she can take some delight in. It might mean things are more precarious. You might be juggling one side a little bit better than the other, but I really think that’s the beauty of this season. Light and dark necessitate each other.
It’s a very dark season, but there are bright lights throughout, too, which shows how complex life is. When you start to investigate yourself spiritually, you bring up a lot of shit. That was really fun to play as Belinda, showing how complex her journey is, as someone who, I think more than the other cast in their roles, is genuinely seeking to find peace.
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The White Lotus season three releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max. Follow along with THR‘s season coverage and interviews.
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