Still, in the closing moments of The White Lotus Season 3, viewers were treated to a gentle yet deeply affecting beat — Saxon Ratliff, generally loud and seemingly uninterested in much beyond his own image and many vices, looks up from the sand to observe Chelsea and Rick embrace on the beach, and, for the briefest of seconds, compassion fills his eyes.
That long, emotional look fueled rampant speculation online: Was it regret? Was it love? Was it the start of a new chapter for Saxon?
As actor Patrick Schwarzenegger explains in a new interview, the gaze was more than about love or jealousy — it was desire. A brief yet telling change from a character who, for most of the season, felt emotionally closed off.
Let’s dive a little deeper into what that gaze signified, how it reflects Saxon’s journey, and what it may portend for his future.
The Scene That Broke the Internet
The beach reunion between Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Rick (Walton Goggins) was beautiful to behold, raw in emotion, and, most importantly, conducted through the eyes of a third party — Saxon.
When Chelsea runs to Rick and they have a forehead-to-forehead bonding moment, the camera lingers on Saxon. His face, a mask of smug confidence by nature, softens into something unsaid.
In earlier takes, Schwarzenegger says, he played the scene with overt emotional vulnerability. “I actually played a version where Saxon is just so sweet to the girls. It was a full come-to-Jesus moment,” he recalls. But creator Mike White pulled him back.
“Mike came up and said, no, he didn’t want me to play it like that. He didn’t want some huge change for Saxon yet — just a small moment and to hold on my face as I watch her go off into the distance.”
That restraint—intentional and masterfully executed—is what makes the moment so powerful.
A Slow Burn: Saxon’s Emotional Evolution
Though often portrayed as a wealthy, entitled party boy, Saxon’s relationship with Chelsea hints at more beneath the surface. In the latter half of the season, Chelsea begins to challenge his worldview—not by arguing with him, but by simply being emotionally honest.
"It’s longing. Over the last two episodes, he starts to form a more meaningful relationship with Chelsea. She opens him up by giving him books, and he’s exposed to the fact that she believes Rick is her soulmate."
She hands him books and, over time, casually drops hints about soulmates while revealing a side of herself that Saxon just can’t quite fathom. For someone who usually struts around wearing irony and bravado as if they were his everyday outfit, this raw openness is entirely uncharted territory.
"She’s really in love, and Saxon doesn’t understand that,” says Schwarzenegger. “He’s always laughing or scoffing at those things, but he watches her actually run off into the sunset… and he thinks, ‘Wow. Maybe this is what I want.’”
Why that look mattered
That one lingering look—it's more than just a glance. It’s the moment Saxon’s armor cracks just enough to show him what real connection might be like, something he’s either never truly felt or never even allowed himself to long for.
It’s not that he’s suddenly falling for Chelsea; rather, he secretly yearns to be capable of a love that isn’t just the high from money, sex, and control. In a time when everything feels overblown and emotions are in a constant free-fall, his quiet, vulnerable stare becomes one of the most genuine and unforgettable beats of the story.
No Redemption Arc… Yet
Despite many fans clinging to the idea that this scene signals the start of a redemptive journey for Saxon, Patrick Schwarzenegger makes it clear—this isn’t a full transformation. Not right now.
It’s simply a brief spark of insight, a flicker of awareness, and that’s exactly what Mike White envisioned. The way it plays out fits perfectly with The White Lotus’ knack for murky, non-linear character arcs: growth is messy, a bit slow, and often remains unfinished. Saxon’s look isn’t a promise of change—it’s just a fragile possibility.
The Bigger Picture: A Mental Deep Dive on The White Lotus and Its Tragic Awareness
Throughout its 3 seasons, The White Lotus has meticulously analyzed the sobering lives of the self-absorbed, wealthy, and stagnant. Characters fulfill goals and objectives, but rarely what is crucial to their development: ‘What do I lack?’
In Saxon’s case, that look probably means he’s starting to realize what he is missing, or at least coming close to it. He does not act on it yet, but the fact that he senses it is a lot different from what is usually seen within characters like him.
Perhaps, in a show where everything hinges on ambiguity and raw emotion, that moment of sadness is the most truthful thing The White Lotus has offered.
Final Thought
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Powerful character development is the result of desperate and extreme changes to one’s psyche, whether induced by beauty and violence, chaos, or tenderness. In this case, an entire new reality opens when one casts a single, lingering glance across a beach during sunset.
Like a saxophone waiting to be played, the beauty that Saxon thinks he might never have is what fuels his epiphany.
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