The White Lotus Season 3 finale was mostly great, and despite a few small gripes regarding characters, I'd say most people are happy some of the wilder theories about the season didn't come to pass. There's one in particular that Aimee Lou Wood deemed the "weirdest" she'd heard, and yes, it involves the monkeys.
The actress spoke to EW about the wild theory surrounding a monkey being responsible for one of the biggest scenes in the season finale. For those who don't already know, I'll let her explain:
The weirdest one for us was that people thought that a monkey got ahold of the gun and did the shootout. Because they were like, 'Well, why would they keep cutting to the monkeys in the trees?' People were really [like], 'Oh, of course. [Creator] Mike [White]'s a genius.' Honestly!
I'll admit, I was one of the few convinced this theory was true. We were getting a lot of shots of the monkeys, and that gun was getting passed around a lot.
That said, I ultimately settled on the theory that there was more than one shooter, which explained the sporadic amount of gunfire in the opening sequence. I'm not saying a monkey with a gun would've been a terrible twist, but I would say it'd certainly be not as good as what we ultimately got.
Typically, stars of shows can't say anything one way or another when it comes to spoilers. After all, confirming or denying even a false theory scratches one possibility off the list and leads fans closer to the actual answer before they see it on screen.
Of course, actors don't always play by the rules, and Aimee Lou Wood said one of her co-stars just had to shoot the monkey theory down after seeing it too much:
I think Michelle Monaghan just couldn't be bothered with that rumor. So she was like, 'That is absolutely not what happened. That's just not [it].'
I think in this case, Michelle Monaghan didn't take that big of a risk dismissing the monkey theory. Even with that off the board, there was no way of predicting the twists and turns that would ultimately happen at the end. It might've kept people less occupied with all the Season 3 drama, which Jason Isaacs has since said he ultimately regrets bringing up.
Life goes on, of course, and there will be other shows on the 2025 TV schedule that will pull interest away from all of that. I must say, I think it's hilarious that while that theory didn't play out in The White Lotus, a service monkey with a gun became a vital part of the series finale of The Righteous Gemstones (which was airing in the time slot right after The White Lotus). Seriously, what are the odds of that happening, especially with the shows airing around the same time? It was a thing of beauty, and an underappreciated coincidence I felt was overlooked at the time.
Watch The White Lotus Season 3 on Max, but just don't pay too much attention to those scenes with all the monkeys. We still have some time to wait before Season 4, so now might be the perfect time for anyone looking to rewatch.
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