Max/YouTube Natasha Rothwell on 'The White Lotus' season 3 Belinda Lindsey did nothing wrong. Some fans were shocked to witness The White Lotus' altruistic spa manager not only accept a $5 million payout from the corrupt Greg (Jon Gries), but blow off her love interest Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) on the acclaimed HBO anthology drama's shocking season 3 finale. But Natasha Rothwell, the Emmy-nominated actress who portrayed the character on seasons 1 and 3, is defending her character's decisions.
Rothwell was recently asked if her character could possibly "turn evil" in a future season. "I don't think so. I think her heart is good, but I do think that she was flirting with being a baddie by taking this money," she told PEOPLE at Jim Thompson's White Lotus Soirée in Los Angeles in April.
"So I don't think she'll turn bad, but I do think there's maybe a consequence by all those decisions have, sort of that yin and yang." Belinda is one of the most pure-hearted characters to set foot thus far in a White Lotus resort, and it's that exact quality that led to her to also become one of the series' most grievously exploited characters. In the first season, Belinda formed a friendship with Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya McQuoid, a spacey socialite with money to throw around but no clear moral center.
Belinda's heart swells with hope when Tanya offers to finance her dream of running her own wellness center, but the feckless Tanya reneges on her offer without batting an eye, running off into the sunset with Greg. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. "She was so devastated by Tanya taking what little hope she had and shattering it," Rothwell told Entertainment Weekly in December, ahead of the third season premiere.
Though Rothwell praised series creator and showrunner Mike White's treatment of Belinda's arc across season 3 as "beautiful," she also worried, "I think audiences are not going to be ready for how that is explored this season." Especially given why Greg paid her off: to cover up his possible involvement in Coolidge's character's death in season 2. Mario Perez/HBO Natasha Rothwell on season 1 of 'The White Lotus' Will Belinda now face consequences for her own decision?
Rothwell isn't sure. "Who knows? I don't even know if she's coming back.
But in my mind I'm like, 'Yeah, that probably would be the thing,'" she said. The actress is certain about one thing: she does not accept the guilt some try to project onto Belinda for leaving Pornchai. "People tell me to my face, they're just like, 'Oh, you should have taken Pornchai with you,'" she said.
"And I'm like, 'No ma'am, no sir. She does not owe a man anything. She has decentered men.
She is centering herself.'" Seasons 1-3 of The White Lotus are currently streaming on Max. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
