The White Lotus: The 5 big clues that revealed which major character would die in finale

It was actually quite obvious if you were paying attention

The White Lotus featured several hints that essentially revealed who would die in season two.

All season long, viewers have been turned into sleuths, attempting to discern which character’s body was discovered by Daphne (Meghann Fahy) in the opening scene.

White there were several theories doing the rounds that make strong arguments for several different characters, fans were ultimately left heartbroken when it was finally revealed who the deceased person was.

It turns out, though, that creator and writer Mike White dropped in several hints throughout the season, which retroactively makes it obvious who the unlucky charcater was.

*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*

It’s revealed in the finale that Tanya McQuoid, the beloved character played by Jennifer Coolidge, was the one who died.

Tanya dies in a fall while she’s trying to escape a yacht, on which she killed her captors, led by Tom Hollander’s Quentin, who were working in cahoots with her money-grabbing husband, Greg (Jon Gries).

While trying to jump onto a speedboat, so she could reach the mainland, Tanya misjudged the fall and, after hitting her head on the side of the speedboat, fell into the sea.

The biggest clue that Tanya would die came early in the finale.

Episode one

The first big clue came from Greg’s reaction upon realising that Tanya had brought her assistant, Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), with her to Sicily. “What the hell is she doing here?” he asks, clearly realising Portia will prove a big wrinkle in his plan to have Tanya bumped off.

Pretending that he’s sad, telling Tanya that he hoped their trip could be as romantic as possible, he tells his wife to “get rid of her” and to “put her on a plane”.

Jon Gries and Jennifer Coolidge in ‘The White Lotus’ (HBO)

Episode two

In episode two, while arriving at breakfast with Greg, Tanya can be heard saying: “Oh God, this is such a beautiful view. I wonder if anyone’s ever jumped from here.”

While Tanya was prone to say hilariously odd things throughout her time on the show, this certainly seems like it was foreshadowing her death scene.

Episode three

In episode six, Tanya is shown to be wearing the exact same dress that was seen earlier in the season, during an episode three scene involving Dominic (Michael Imperioli), Bert (F Murray Abraham) and Albie (Adam DiMarco).

While the family are on their Godfather sightseeing trip with Portia, they see a car with a mannequin that’s intended to replicate the death of Michael Corleone’s wife Apollonia, who is killed in the gangster classic with a car bomb.

A big ‘White Lotus’ clue arrived in episode three (HBO)

The mannequin is kitted out in Apollonia’s dress that keen-eyed viewers noticed (thanks to a preview of the finale) that Tanya would be wearing later.

“I was pretty surprised by the internet sleuths’ ability to put things together,” costume designer Alex Bovaird told Page Six Style.

This particular scene seems to have a few extra hints to Tanya’s fate, also. When Portia says that the mannequin is a little “tasteless”, Albie tells her: “Oh, they’re just trying to make a buck,” which could perhaps be a nod to Greg’s money grabbing ploy.

Also in that same scene, when Portia gets a call from a frantic Tanya, she is forced to leave – although, Albie believes his father and grandfather drove her off.

Dominic then says to Albie: “Her boss needed her. You think she just wanted to get away from us?”

Little did they know that, later in the season, Portia will be trying to get away from Quentin’s “nephew” Jamie (Leo Woodall) in order to save Tanya.

Haley Lu Richardson in ‘The White Lotus’ (HBO)

While White has explained why he felt it was time to take out season two’s only returning character, he has also admitted to feeling unexpectedly “sad” after watching the episode with Coolidge when it was broadcast live.

The White Lotus is available to stream on NOW – find The Independent’s review of the finale here.

A third season has been announced by HBO.