Aimee Lou Wood from White Lotus Breaks Down in Tears Over Controversial Finale
The White Lotus‘ Aimee Lou Wood is still navigating her character Chelsea’s fate following the shocking finale of season 3.
During the finale that aired on April 6, Chelsea and Rick (Walton Goggins) met tragic ends due to his choices in Thailand. Wood, 31, confessed at a post-finale panel, “It’s weird. For about two weeks leading up to filming, I felt an odd, ominous energy hanging over us.”
Foreknowledge of Chelsea’s destiny influenced Wood’s performance.
“I didn’t anticipate feeling this way for such an extended period. Chelsea is unaware of her fate, but I am. It’s a peculiar situation,” she elaborated. “[The finale] visually mirrored the feelings we all experienced, which was quite strange. I thought, ‘Yes, that perfectly encapsulates the feeling.’”
In another part of the finale, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) walked away with $5 million after she agreed to keep silent about Gary, aka Greg’s (Jon Gries) real identity and his connection to Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) death.
“That episode had so many elements that made me sob uncontrollably from the very beginning,” Wood remarked. “It’s brilliantly crafted, as by the end, you crave to embrace the joy of triumph. Yet it still lingers, making you sit with that deep ache. I definitely feel that ache.”
Wood previously shared that her thoughts about how Rick and Chelsea’s story concluded were “complicated.”
“While I was in the moment, I felt very at peace with it, but as time has passed and I’ve reflected, I don’t anymore,” she told Decider earlier this month. “Wearing my Chelsea goggles made everything seem much more straightforward because I was solely focused on her perspective, which is incredibly narrow.”
She added, “Now that I’ve stepped back from her character, I realize, ‘Wait, hold on. I’m seeing things more clearly, and I feel conflicted now. I believe everyone will share a similar feeling—it’s quite controversial.”
After the finale, Wood’s co-star Goggins, 53, paid tribute to their on-screen romance. “With heavy hearts … to me, ours was a love story. It was always just a love story, complicated by unresolved childhood trauma,” he captioned a post on Instagram featuring photos of him and Wood. “We all have baggage … but can we move past it?”
The actor shared his feelings about the connection he felt to Rick and Chelsea’s narrative, adding, “In our darkest moments, there is always beauty surrounding us. If we can simply sit with our pain … not react … not allow it to define us … the love the world offers is ever-present and waiting for us to recognize it … Trust me, I understand.”
Goggins ended his tribute with a quote from Aeschylus: “’Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’”
The White Lotus is currently available for streaming on Max.
