With a show like The White Lotus, every little detail is a possible clue to help solve the season’s big mystery. Each season we tune in each week to track all the hints about the season’s murder (or in season 3’s case, the season’s shooting spree). But while we’re all busy with our detective caps on during the episode, we just might be missing all the clues the opening credits are giving us. The White Lotus season 3 opening credits are full of easter eggs that might hint at the season’s ending.
A lot of thought went into the White Lotus opening credits, so we’re not overthinking it to go digging for clues in it. Plains of Yonder, a Seattle-based creative studio, designed the opening credits for all three seasons of The White Lotus. They included lots of important symbolism into the sequences for season 1’s Hawaii-set season and season 2’s Italian season, and they did the same for season 3.
“People naturally love a good puzzle. One of the reasons they’re attracted to the show is this nature of trying to sleuth out what’s happening, including in the titles,” Plains of Yonder co-director Mark Bashore told Slate. “There are some clues in there—actually a lot … Everything means something. It’s thought through. It wasn’t done lightly on any character.”
With all that thought in mind, here are all the easter eggs in the White Lotus season 3 opening credits.
A different image appears on screen for each of the main cast members’ names. And you know each image is full of easter eggs, so let’s get into it.
Sarah Catherine Hook
Sarah Catherine Hook plays Piper, a student studying Buddhism who is very dedicated to the sanctity of the faith. So of course, her name appears on screen with a person meditating.
Patrick Schwarzenegger
At the other end of the spectrum is Patrick Schwarzenegger’s character Saxon, who’s Piper’s brother and also a real creep. It makes sense that his title card shows some guys leering at women.
Parker Posey
Parker Posey’s character Victoria has been high on drugs for most of The White Lotus season 3 so far, so her title card depicts a monkey smoking.
Jason Isaacs
For Jason Isaacs, there’s an image of a man trapped in a tree of knives, which seems apropos for his character Timothy, who’s trapped by some sketchy business moves catching up to him.
Walton Goggins
Rick, played by Walton Goggins, has spent most of season 3 isolating himself from everyone around him, so his name appears next to a lonely figure in a tower.
Aimee Lou Wood
Here’s where it’s really time to start putting those detective skills to good use. Rick’s girlfriend Chelsea is played by Aimee Lou Reed, and her title card shows one animal attacking another while others watch. It’s clear there’s some violence surrounding Chelsea, but which animal is she supposed to be?
Leslie Bibb
We all know an elephant never forgets, which is also true of Leslie Bibb’s character Kate. Somehow she remembered meeting Parker Posey’s character Victoria a decade ago? I have a feeling that memory is going to come into play even more.
Carrie Coon
Carrie Coon’s character Laurie keeps getting left out from the rest of her girl group, and it’s clear from this image that this elephant is getting left out of the pack… and perhaps attacked.
Sam Nivola
For Sam Nivola, there’s an image of a man floating in water. We’ve already seen his character Lochlan floating in the ocean this season, so this could be referring to that. Or, it could be an easter egg hinting at a more ominous end for Lochlan in the water.
The Monkeys
There are a ton of images of monkeys throughout all of the White Lotus season 3 opening credits, especially monkeys moving in packs or attacking people. It might be an easter egg for the popular theory that a monkey is the season 3 shooter. Guess we’ll just have to keep tuning in and watching those opening credits closely to find out.
