‘The White Lotus’: 5 Clues That Quinn Mossbacher Is the One Who Dies
Mike White has fans on edge heading into the season finale of HBO’s The White Lotus, which will finally reveal whose body was being boarded onto the plane back in episode 1. The series spends much of its time building tensions between its ensemble cast. The escalating drama throughout The White Lotus leaves viewers to guess who dies later on — and how.
Many fans pegged Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) or Paula (Brittany O’Grady) as the person in the coffin. However, The White Lotus contains a number of clues that Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger) could be the one who dies.
The promo for ‘The White Lotus’ finale hints at trouble for the Mossbacher family
The first sign that something goes awry for the Mossbacher family appears in the promo for The White Lotus finale. Posted on HBO Brasil’s YouTube channel, the brief footage sees Nicole (Connie Britton) and Olivia Mossbacher (Sydney Sweeney) holding one another and crying. With emotions so high, it stands to reason they could be grieving a family member.
The promo also sees Quinn saying he’s not leaving the island around the halfway point, a comment that could have a dual meaning. On the one hand, now that Quinn has experienced nature, he may be reluctant to leave Hawaii. On the other, his character may wind up staying there in a more spiritual sense.
Quinn Mossbacher has grown the most, so people will be devastated if he’s the one who dies
When Quinn first arrives at the White Lotus resort, he’s absorbed in technology and not interested in what’s happening around him. After his phone, iPad, and game system get pulled out to sea, he becomes more attuned to what the island has to offer. He also learns to appreciate his family a bit more. He even offers to wait for his father to go scuba diving in episode 5.
Many fans believe this growth is precisely why Quinn will die in the finale. Revealing him as the person who dies would prove a heart-wrenching way to end the series. Such a surprise would allow The White Lotus to pack a punch in its final episode. After all, not many of the characters from the HBO series would evoke an emotional reaction from fans like Quinn.
“He’s kind of the only character they could kill off where it would be actually gut-wrenching to the audience, which is also why I think they’ll go this route,” one Reddit user wrote.
“My money is on Quinn, this show is so dark I think we got the laughs all season, [the] finale will be pretty depressing. Gotta kill the only one enjoying their time,” another Redditor added.
‘The White Lotus’ keeps alluding to death in its dialogue
The White Lotus is one of those series where even the smallest details have meaning, and some of the dialogue between Quinn and the other characters can be construed as quite ominous. As one Reddit user points out, the men Quinn goes boating with refer to him as “dead weight.” While they do this in good spirits, the comment could foreshadow something darker.
This scene isn’t the only time The White Lotus plays with dialogue to suggest Quinn is the one who dies. During the very first episode, Nicole comments on Quinn sleeping in the kitchen. “I just don’t think it’s fair for your brother to have to spend his entire vacation in a windowless box,” she says.
One Redditor likened the description Nicole gives to another type of small, windowless box: a coffin. “Just a bunch of death/coffin references surrounding that character,” they wrote.
The ocean imagery in ‘The White Lotus’ could hint at who dies and how
In addition to the small comments that could foreshadow Quinn dying, Mike White’s HBO series uses ocean imagery to build suspense. This led many fans to guess that whoever dies on The White Lotus will drown.
As one Redditor points out, the most likely candidate to have a mishap in the ocean is Quinn. He’s been sleeping on the beach, even after his electronics were washed away with the tide, and he’s going scuba diving during the finale. Both can prove dangerous endeavors, and it’s not hard to see Quinn’s newfound admiration for nature taking a wrong turn.
In addition to that, the same Reddit post notes that “A Mistake & the Ocean” plays when Quinn’s belongings get pulled out to sea:
“The OST seems to contain some clues as well. Eg the song ‘A Mistake & the Ocean’ plays when Quinn’s stuff is washed out to sea, it sounds like a warning to me idk. The ending song, ‘I Want To Live’ is heartbreaking and I think listening to it before watching the last episode would spoil it, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking of playing the tracklist. I regret doing it.”
Could the music playing while Quinn sleeps point to his fate? It’d be a clever way of warning fans of what’s coming, that’s for sure.
Having Quinn die would put an interesting twist on Mark’s ‘White Lotus’ storyline
Quinn dying at the end of The White Lotus would prove a surprising twist, especially since Mark (Steve Zahn) believes he might die in episode 1. At the beginning of the show, Mark comments that he was Quinn’s age when he lost his father. He finds meaning in that parallel, but what if the series turns that on its head?
If there’s one thing The White Lotus finale is sure to do, it’s surprise fans. Having Mark’s son pass away instead of him would certainly fit the bill. Fans will know if that’s the direction the series is headed in when the season 1 finale airs on HBO on Aug. 15.
