The White Lotus Finally Revealed Why Walton Goggins' Rick Is At The Resort, But That Wasn't Even My Biggest Question About Him

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched The White Lotus’ latest episode on HBO or with a Max subscription, so be warned!

The White Lotus’ third season has already given the 2025 TV schedule a huge dose of foreboding foreshadowing, with several different plotlines seeming like the surefire catalyst for the sporadic gunfire heard in the season premiere’s opening sequence. Jason Isaacs’ Tim certainly seems ready to explode (not in reference to his full-frontal penis flash), while security guard Gaitok is seemingly being targeted. And then there’s Walton Goggins’ worry-mongering Rick, whose mysterious resort-visiting motivations were finally revealed.

Getting any kind of confirmation on where Rick’s head is at is a good thing, but his therapeutic conversations with Amrita pretty much already gave fans what they needed to make those connections. As such, my biggest question about the snake-fearing Goggins’ snake-freeing character had already moved beyond his reasoning for visiting this particular branch of the White Lotus brand. But we’ll get to that in a few.

Why Rick Is At Thailand's White Lotus Resort

As previously revealed, Rick’s childhood and later years were heavily impacted by the sudden death of his father, whom he says he never had a chance to know. While the details surrounding that claim are still wishy-washy and unclear, Rick finally broke down in “Hide and Seek” and confessed to Chelsea that the whole reason they’re even in Thailand is based on a death-bed confession from his mother.

She claimed that Rick’s father was murdered by a man named Jim Hollinger, who just so happens to be the husband of Ko Samui’s White Lotus co-owner Sritala, as portrayed by local legend Lek Patravadi. Of course, as it was already made clear in the first episode, the target in question had a medical emergency and was taken to a hospital in Bangkok, throwing a wrench into Rick’s plans.

So as viewers go into Episode 5, we have a far clearer picture of the feelings and emotions that drove Rick to travel halfway across the planet to look into the eyes of the man who (at least allegedly) helped send him down a path of recklessness and criminal activity. But despite being as close as he is to potential catharsis, not even Rick knows what he’ll actually do when facing his would-be tormentor.

And while this story could very well turn out to be genuine with all of the details that have been revealed thus far, I know I’m not alone in harboring the suspicion that Rick’s mom wasn’t telling her son the truth, and that he’s held onto this revenge-esque mission for all the wrong reasons. Which isn’t to say I think either his dad or Jim Hollinger are angels at heart, but just that neither man’s fate is quite as set in stone as Rick believes.

Now viewers’ curiosities can be more pinpointed on exactly what Rick is going to do if and when he crosses paths with the man he thinks killed his father. And whether or not either of them will actually be at the resort when all the gunfire goes down. But until then, I’ll be hoping my biggest question about Rick’s trip gets answered.

My Actual Biggest Question About Rick

Given the breadth of Walton Goggins’ performances across his career so far, I can easily buy into him playing a man whose rope is reaching its end, and he’s making what may be his final moves as a way of finding catharsis. But am I nutty for thinking that this kind of potential suicide mission is one that’s best taken alone, without a doting significant other constantly questioning his actions and mindstates?

If not, then my biggest question is this: why did Rick even bring Chelsea with him to the White Lotus if romance was never the goal, and all he wants to do is ignore her? And why are they even together?

To be fair, I think Aimee Lou Wood has imbued Chelsea with all the right levels of kindness, compassion and youthful verve, and after four episodes, I feel as close to convinced as possible that something resembling true love is what brought these two together, even if Rick is clearly unable to display that side of himself while on the island. So I can generally buy into the idea that they hooked up on a whim and it all clicked enough to keep the good times rolling, based solely on the smiles that Wood beams at Goggins.

And sure, it makes sense for Chelsea to want to go on the trip with Rick, considering White Lotus locations are as lush and luxurious as it gets. But if he went all the way out there with even the smallest inclination that he might commit a vengeful murder, doesn’t it feel like a truly shitty move for him to put his girlfriend through that kind of stress in a country so far away from home?

It’d be one thing if he showed even the most minimal signs of affection for Chelsea, but Rick doesn’t seem like he ever wants to be around anyone, and only wants to sit and fester his foul feelings. Which he could have very easily done alone, and without having to hurt a nice person’s feelings on a daily basis.

Perhaps the idea was that Chelsea’s presence and influence might ward him away from committing any overtly stupid acts while abroad, or that she would keep him too busy and occupied to obsess over his father’s supposed killer. Sadly, that hasn’t been the case, and all he’s really done is push her into the friendly embrace of a woman who is dating a presumed murderer. And that’s just a random week at the White Lotus.

Join me in watching Rick's story play out amidst all the other family-and-friends mayhem on display when The White Lotus airs new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and Max at 9:00 p.m. ET.