Note: This story contains spoilers from “The White Lotus” Season 3, Episode 1.
“The White Lotus” Season 3 premiere revealed a familiar face at the Thailand resort, which might translate into trouble for Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda, who returns to the HBO drama series after starring in Season 1.
After introducing a new flock of vacationers at the White Lotus Thailand, fans might’ve recognized Jon Gries’ Greg, who orchestrated the death of his wife, Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), and is now introduced as the boyfriend of an ex-model (Charlotte Le Bon). Since Belinda had grown close with Tanya as the millionaire first started dating Greg in Season 1, Rothwell said Greg’s presence “evokes danger” for Belinda, especially given her son’s concerns over her safety in the season’s opening shooting.
“The fact that he’s seen in the first episode, it definitely evokes danger,” Rothwell told TheWrap. “It can be a scary place in the White Lotus — not everyone makes it out alive — so fingers crossed for Belinda.”
It was Tanya’s new relationship with Greg that drew Tanya away from Belinda in Season 1, with Tanya abandoning her after promising to give her funding to open up her own spa. While it’s unclear how much time has passed, Rothwell said the disappointment definitely left a mark on Belinda, saying “she’s definitely sage-ing her workplace.”
“She’s trying to move on and grow and heal, and not deal with the pain of what she went through,” Rothwell said. “She’s grieving having entertained a dream in front of someone, which is such a vulnerable thing to do. I think [when] she shows up to the White Lotus Thailand, it’s an act of hope for her to invest in her career and edify herself.”
While Belinda is on an exchange program to learn from the wellness programs at the Thailand resort in the hopes of bringing their practices back to Maui, Rothwell noted Belinda takes pleasure in “cosplay[ing] as a guest.” “I think there’s something a bit aspirational when she’s in guest mode,” Rothwell said. “You see in the first episode of the season that she is looking around at her room and like just feeling the newness of the moment and it’s really cool to see someone in that place of discovery.”
Below, Rothwell discusses working with Mike White again and teases how Season 3 will see Belinda’s “imperfections” as she steps out of her comfort zone.
TheWrap: What were some of those first conversations with Mike White like about bringing Belinda back?
Rothwell: I got brought into conversations with Mike about the character after the scripts were already done. That’s one of the reasons why I love working with him — he recognizes that he’s not a Black woman, and so he allows me to work with him on the character, to really bring authenticity to the role. We sat down and went page-by-page, and I pitched ideas for scenes, and he went away and would come back. We’re kindred spirits — we’re both writer/performer/ directors, and so we both put on our writers’ hat and nerd out a bit. He’s so collaborative, and it’s so rare in this industry to have a writer/director be so giving with their work, especially at his level. We had some amazing conversations about where she is and where we see her going. It’s just a gift to be able to put the character back on again and have him at the helm of the ship.
In Season 1, we didn’t really get to go home with Belinda. What were some parts of her that you were excited to explore more in Season 3?
This season, we get to meet her son, Zion, who’s played by the incredible Nicholas Duvernay, and being able to show her as a mother relating to her son as an adult — it’s that weird, precarious time when you’re trying to be your parent’s friend. And I think it’s also really cool to see Belinda not in her work uniform all the time, you know. She’s a woman; she’s single and I think there’s a bit of exploration to be done, and it’s really exciting to see how multifaceted she is. I think in Season 1, people definitely deified her and made her this perfect person, and we get to see a bit of her imperfection this season.
How does the resort — and the season’s — focus on wellness and spirituality impact Belinda’s journey this season?
Those themes permeate the entire series. The ability to look at yourself critically and really audit all of yourself — they call it shadow work — the deep, dark, ugly of who you are — Can you face it? There’s the quote that “you can only heal as much as you’ve met yourself without running away,” and those are kind of equal. We see each of these characters meet versions of themselves, and there’s more and there’s they can go deeper, but will they? Are they afraid to know more? It’s really cool to see the intricate tapestry [Mike’s] woven with each of these characters on a journey of self-discovery, trying to really look at who they were and who they are and who they want to be. Anytime you embark on the journey of trying to close the distance between those things, it’s not easy, it’s messy and it’s laborious work. I think audiences are going to be provoked to consider their own relationship to spirituality and mortality.
What can you tease about Belinda’s story for the rest of the season?
You’re going to see her try to explore the opportunities that the White Lotus Thailand brings. That’s the thing about travel — you get to audition a version of yourself. You’re the vacation you and so I think she’s going to try to step out of her comfort zone in a lot of ways, and I’m excited for audiences to see that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“The White Lotus” airs Sundays on HBO and Max.
