The White Lotus typically welcomes a new cast for each season. But in Season 3, two characters returned: Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) from Season 1 and Greg (Jon Gries) from Seasons 1 and 2. The characters intersected in a meaningful way that led to a complete twist in Belinda’s story.
It was a move no one saw coming, especially since Belinda was high in the odds of the characters who would become the victim in the end. But both survived, their worlds forever entangled. However, it’s what Belinda did to Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) that has fans devastated, and feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Belinda’s Story From Season 1
Belinda is the spa manager at The White Lotus resort in Hawaii. In the first season, wealthy guest Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) takes a liking to Belinda. She finds her to be incredible at her job. She’s also someone to talk to who will listen. When Belinda talks about her dream of opening her own spa one day, Tanya says she wants to help. She flippantly mentions that she’d be happy to invest, which gets Belinda excited. She gets to work devising a business plan, wanting to prove to Tanya that she’s serious, and that an investment in her would be worth it.
But when Tanya meets Greg, the handsome older man staying in the room next door, and he strikes up a conversation, she is taken. The two go on a date, and it seems he’s interested in her. He claims to have a terminal illness, but his gold-digging claws are clearly in it for her money. Despite this, Tanya ironically tells Belinda that she has decided not to focus on friendships rooted in financial transactions, crushing her dreams. She leaves Belinda a nice tip, but Belinda is gutted that her dreams will not be happening anymore.
Belinda and Pornchai’s Story
When Belinda returns in Season 3, she is in Thailand on a work exchange program. She’s sent there to learn about their methods and treatments so she can bring the new knowledge back to the resort in Hawaii. She is assigned to work with Pornchai, a soft-spoken staff member at the spa who walks her through the various treatments they provide. He also wants to learn from her. It’s evident from the beginning that there’s a mutual attraction, especially when Pornchai appears in his underwear for Belinda to give him a massage. She’s taken aback, but he appears to be smitten with her, too.
As the pair grows closer, they have dinner together, and she invites him in to spend the night. At first, it seems innocent. They talk, drink wine, and he finds a hidden snake in her room, lightheartedly laughing at her terrified reaction. But when she opens the door for him to make a move, he does, and they sleep together, marking an adorable love arc between them.
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Later, as the pair works together, Belinda talks again about her desire to open her own spa. He suggests that they could do it together, and Brenda seems receptive to the idea. Having a partner who knows the business and has something unique to offer could work as well. Plus, two investments are better than one. The pair doesn’t discuss it any further, but it’s implied that they’ll likely have that conversation before Belinda is due to head back home.
Belinda Takes Greg’s Deal
At the resort, Belinda spots Greg, one of the most unlikable characters from the show, and instantly recognizes him as the man that Tanya met in Hawaii. She shares passing glances, then decides to approach him one night at dinner. But he pretends he’s someone else named Gary and claims not to know her. Belinda is convinced, however, so she does some online research once she gets back to her room.
There, she learns that Tanya is dead, suspected to have been murdered, and that Greg is wanted for questioning. Cross-referencing a photo of Greg, she confirms that he is indeed the man who is there in Thailand. She glares at him a few more times when they cross paths, and eventually, he realizes that the jig is up.
Greg invites Belinda to a party at his home, which she reluctantly attends when her son, Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), urges her to at least hear him out. Greg wants to offer her $100,000 to keep quiet. He says Tanya would have wanted her to have it, and he just wants to live in peace. Belinda says she needs to think about it, but morally, she wants to decline the offer. Instead, Zion reminds her of her dream to open a spa. What’s more, he suggests that she can probably squeeze a lot more out of him. She has him backed into a corner.
With Zion’s help, they meet with Greg again to renegotiate. Zion reminds him of the trouble he would be in, and that he knows from public records how much Tanya was worth. He believes $5 million is a fairer amount to make everyone happy and would be a mere drop in the hat relative to the fortune that Greg has amassed. Greg says he’ll think about it, and Belinda anxiously checks her banking account every few hours, waiting for a wire transfer. Finally, it arrives, and she and Zion are elated. He tells her she can finally open her business now. Instead, she asks him if she can just enjoy being rich for a bit first.
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Being Rich Changes Belinda
HBO
In the final episode, as everyone is getting ready to depart following those tragic murders, Pornchai goes to see Belinda and learns that she is leaving, too, even though she was supposed to be staying longer. In a sad twist of fate, Belinda blows Pornchai off in the same way Tanya did to her. She tells Pornchai that she’s leaving early because circumstances have changed. He asks about their plans for a spa, and she dances around it, just reiterating that there are other things she needs to do, and her circumstances are different now. The money is calling her away just as Greg called Tanya away.
Belinda is high on the idea of finally having a lot of money. What’s more, the idea of going back to work at a spa, whether it’s her own or not, doesn’t seem to be appealing to her right now. She’s looking to enjoy some R&R instead of jumping right into a business. There’s nothing wrong with that. But what becomes apparent is that if she ever does use that money to start a business, she has no desire to bring Pornchai along, despite having fueled his dream in the same way Tanya did hers.
Pornchai seems just as devastated as Belinda was when Tanya did the same thing to her. It was a low moment for the character, one of the most likable characters on the show. Sure, Belinda only just met Pornchai, and perhaps it was just a meaningless fling. But before she had the money, Belinda was enamored with Pornchai. Once she had it, she was ready to leave without even saying goodbye. She had seemingly forgotten all about the connection she made with him.
It would be interesting if this story somehow resurfaces in season four, should Belinda return. Might Greg be found out, and Pornchai pieces together why Belinda left in such a hurry?
Whatever the case, Belinda treated Pornchai poorly after everything he did for her and how well he treated her. He didn’t deserve that. While the high she was on after a windfall like the one she received was understandable, it should not have come at the expense of someone else’s feelings. Belinda deserves every penny, especially knowing that nothing will bring Tanya back, and Greg has enough resources and money to skirt the law anyway. But there’s no price on integrity, and Belinda lost some of that when she left Pornchai in the lurch.
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