The White Lotus Season 3’s Surprise Cast Member Could Have Major Implications

Spoilers for “The White Lotus” Season 3, Episode 1, “Same Spirits, New Forms,” lie ahead!!!

As it turns out, Natasha Rothwell isn’t the only person returning to “The White Lotus” after making her debut in Season 1. Partway through the Season 3 premiere of Mike White’s international anthology and murder mystery series, we find out that Greg, played by Jon Gries in both Seasons 1 and 2, is back … but he’s going by the name “Gary” this time and has been living in a private residence in Thailand for about a year.

Two of the new guests at the fictional luxury resort in Thailand — Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea and her much-older and seemingly troubled boyfriend Rick Hatchett (played by Walton Goggins) — end up fighting pretty quickly after they arrive, at which point Chelsea decides to have a solo drink at the hotel bar. It’s there that she meets Chloe, who also happens to be vacationing with a crabby older guy; when she points him out alone at their table, the grump is none other than Greg, but again, Chloe refers to him as Gary. If we’re assuming that Chloe isn’t in on Greg’s apparent deception (and I am assuming that for now), he might be on the run, but the point is that he has some reason to want to remain anonymous … which could become a problem when you consider Rothwell’s character. Rothwell played Belinda, the spa manager of the Maui location of the White Lotus, in the series’ debut season; if she recognizes Gary as Greg, he could end up exposed … especially because Belinda knows about Greg’s connection with Tanya McQuoid (played by Jennifer Coolidge).

When we first met Jon Gries’ Greg in Season 1, he was staying at the White Lotus in Maui alongside Tanya McQuoid, a wealthy, erratic, and single woman visiting the Hawaiian paradise to scatter her late mother’s ashes. During their stay, Greg quietly and then pretty aggressively romances Tanya, who is completely overwhelmed by his attention … and unfortunately for Belinda, Greg’s dalliance with Tanya affects her livelihood. When Greg first asks Tanya out to dinner, Tanya already has plans with Belinda because she promised the spa manager they could discuss a sizable financial investment for Belinda to start her own wellness center. Tanya, desperate for Greg’s attention, cancels on Belinda and ultimately reneges on their deal, crushing Belinda’s dreams. (Greg also tells Tanya that he’s terminally ill and needs financial help for treatment; whether or not this is true is still up in the air.)

Greg and Tanya ultimately reappear in Season 2 — which takes place in the coastal town of Taormina in Sicily, Italy — and right away, it’s obvious that Greg is losing his patience with Tanya, who’s now his wife. Not only is Greg furious that Tanya brought her beleaguered assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) on the trip (to the point where Tanya orders Portia to hide from Greg during the whole vacation), but he also vanishes partway through the season, claiming that he has to go to Denver for a work commitment. Just before he leaves, however, Tanya overhears him make a phone call that definitely seems like it’s directed to another lover … and after Greg leaves Tanya alone in Sicily, things go from bad to worse for her.

As far is Greg is concerned, there are only two things he needs to know about his wife Tanya: 1) she has a ton of money, and 2) he absolutely hates her. Based on this, fans have been speculating ever since Season 2 aired in 2022 that Greg orchestrated everything that happens to Tanya after he leaves Sicily.

Shortly after Greg leaves, Tanya and Portia meet Quentin (Tom Hollander), a wealthy queer man with a ton of hard-partying friends who ends up bringing Tanya as a guest to his palatial home in Palermo. While she’s there, the two attend the opera together and Tanya is treated as Quentin’s guest of honor, but it all feels really sinister, especially when Tanya accidentally makes two discoveries: 1) she finds a photo of Quentin in his younger years with a guy who just might be Greg, and 2) she also catches Quentin in flagrante with the young man he refers to as his nephew (Jack, as played by “One Day” standout Leo Woodall). Aboard Quentin’s boat on the way back from Palermo, Tanya finds suspicious items including a rope and a gun and realizes her life might be in danger; in one of the series’ funniest scenes, she squeezes her eyes shut and shoots her way through the boat, asking Quentin if Greg is having an affair right before killing him. Even though she mows absolutely everyone down, Tanya ends up dying when she tries to jump off of the boat and into a dinghy to get back to the resort, and her body is discovered the next day.

So, was Greg behind Quentin’s apparent attempt to kill Tanya, presumably for her money? We might just find out as Season 3 of “The White Lotus” continues, with new episodes debuting every Sunday on Max and HBO at 9 P.M. EST.