Natasha Rothwell has revealed that she was "really sad" to see one line cut from The White Lotus season 3 finale.
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The line in question came at the very end of the episode, as Belinda and her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) were leaving Thailand with the fortune gained from the acceptance of Greg's hush money – leaving behind her love interest and potential business partner Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul) in the process.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com shortly after the episode aired, Rothwell explained that the take used in the final cut differed from most of the versions which had been shot.
"[It] was one of the only ones that I wasn't crying in," she said. "I cried almost every take because it was – to see [Pornchai] waving to me on the beach and we're doing the speedboat and it just felt so much like, when you leave someone in real life it doesn't have that cinematic quality.
"So I could see him getting smaller and smaller in the distance and it was like he's going away and it was just very emotional, but I had my son's hand and I was just like, ‘No, it's the right decision’."
Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey in The White Lotus. HBO
She went on to discuss a moment which didn't make the finished episode but which she felt did a good job of summarising her journey throughout the season.
"There's a line that got cut that made me really sad," she said. "It was one line, it was the last line of the whole series. It was Belinda quietly to herself saying, ‘There is a God’. Because we're doubting all of that this season and I think that just really speaks to where her mind is."
Meanwhile, opening up further about how torn Belinda was by the decision to leave Thailand, Rothwell continued: "It's not fully on Pornchai, she's filled with gratitude for her son who fought for her because she couldn't fight for herself or didn't want to. At the same time, she's letting something go that was really good for her.
"So it was very emotional when we were shooting those scenes and having to sit with that decision and literally feel someone slip away, visually – it gave me a lot to work with for sure."
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
