The White Lotus Boss Explains The Finale's 'Greek Tragedy' Ending — and Teases A Big Change For Season 4

Well, we knew there would be a dead body in The White Lotus' season finale... we just didn't know there would be so many.

Rick's anger at Sritala's husband Jim set off a hail of gunfire that claimed the lives of Jim — who was actually Rick's father, it turns out — as well as Rick and his girlfriend Chelsea. (Read our full finale recap here.) Series creator Mike White sifted through the carnage in a post-show interview, saying that "Chelsea has this sort of romantic fatalism about their relationship, and you want to buy into it." But Rick's lust for vengeance ended up being the thing that claimed Chelsea's life, and White pointed out that "it's a classic theme of Greek tragedy: somebody killing the thing that they love trying to get some revenge."

White also noted that Gaitok's decision to kill Rick was a betrayal of his Buddhist principles: "The only way he can do it is by going against his spiritual beliefs." Plus, he weighed in on Belinda taking a big payout from Greg to stay silent: "I just thought it would be a fun way to have somebody else benefit from this tragedy that befell Tanya." As for the Ratliffs, White sees it as "a bittersweet ending," with the family surviving but having to face life without money: "I don't think Victoria is somebody who can live in poverty. I'm sure she can find some other solution."

Most intriguing of all, White dropped a hint about the upcoming Season 4 of the HBO series: "For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the 'crashing waves against rocks' vernacular." Hmmm, does that mean we're headed somewhere snowy rather than tropical next time? But no matter where Season 4 lands, the show won't change that much, White promised: "There's always room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels."

Press PLAY below to watch White's interview in full, and give us your thoughts on the finale — and where the show should head next — in the comments.