Everyone dies in the season finale of The White Lotus. Well, not everyone. But a lot of people do. Most importantly, Chelsea dies. Bright-eyed and beaming, spouting astrological analysis in a Manchester accent, she was the season’s most consistently endearing character.
In the highly anticipated finale of The White Lotus, Mike White makes a powerful argument about belief systems, or the lack thereof. As he wraps up each storyline, he exposes the underbelly of his protagonists’ true values. Piper, a “sheltered” North Carolina native, abandons her aspirations of spiritual enlightenment and a year at a Buddhist monastery for the affluence and comfort she has always known. Belinda escapes with her newfound fortune, leaving Pornchai and any dreams of co-opening a spa behind in Thailand. Gaitok listens to Mook’s advice and compromises his morals in order to be promoted as Sritala’s personal bodyguard.
In a world of characters crippled by material obsessions and weak principles, Chelsea is an anomaly. Sometimes as a mockery, the 7 episodes prior to the finale displayed her obsessions with “twin flames” and fickle astrological predictions. Still, her firm belief in fate, soulmates, and Rick make her stand out among the morally questionable cast of characters. Surrounded by corruption, Chelsea is pure of heart.
With her buck-toothed smile, confidence, and unwavering positivity, she is a unanimous fan favorite. And, ultimately, she is the season’s martyr. Her death comes as a heartbreaking punchline to the final episode. So it only feels only fitting for her to die in the arms of her lover, by whose side she has stood so faithfully.
Over the last 48 hours, I’ve seen edit after edit of Chelsea running across the beach and leaping into Rick’s arm, clips romanticizing their tragic yin and yang ending set to lyrics like I have a feeling you got everything you wanted. But I’ve begun to question Chelsea’s belief system and this relationship that we’ve begun to celebrate posthumously.
How did Rick actually treat her throughout the season? He walks away in the middle of meals at the slightest annoyance. He releases a poisonous snake that bites her and sends her to the hospital. He abandons her in the middle of their vacation with a death wish to fulfill. Yet Chelsea’s adoration for him and her faith in their fated love remain steadfast. To her, they are life partners, intertwined on a spiritual level.
Is unwavering dedication to a troubled, balding, middle-aged boyfriend who seems to have nothing but contempt for her really the strong belief system that we as viewers are supposed to admire?
Some may argue that Chelsea does more than provide emotional support to Rick. When she is left alone at the White Lotus, she forms a relationship with a similarly adrift Saxon. By the end of his vacation, he seems to be on a path to spiritual renewal. All thanks to Chelsea: his transformation becomes her legacy. Ultimately, her great purpose in life has been attempting to enlighten self-obsessed, self-pitying men. Although the show depicts her as its most likable character, both for her loyalty and her genuineness, Chelsea is in the end defined by her devotion and generosity toward selfish men who don’t seem to truly value her until she becomes unattainable––in life for Saxon and in death for Rick.