Aimee Lou Wood discusses her 'The White Lotus' character

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Aimee Lou Wood reveals detail about co-star Patrick Schwarzenegger's thoughts on her 'The White Lotus' character

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Apr 12, 2025 10:33 AM ET

Now that the finale has aired, The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood is opening up about Chelsea and Rick's love story and tragic fate in the third season.

"She was not put in harm’s way by Rick, she was put in harm’s way by herself. So, she’s not a victim, she’s like many of the tragic heroines that I adore," she explained to The Hollywood Reporter, before noting that she is not denying that her character was not treated well. "But they’re also strong, tenacious, determined women. Even if Rick had bundled Chelsea into a car and sent her to the furthest away place that he could find, she would find her way back. She’d run back. And that is a very addict quality, and Chelsea is an addict — she’s a love addict and she didn’t defeat her addiction."

The actress says that Chelsea "literally runs towards her fate," but revealed that everyone wanted to save her, including Patrick Schwarzenegger, who played Saxon and wanted to know why he did not take a bullet for Chelsea. She expressed, "He was so upset that Saxon doesn’t take a bullet. He was like, 'Why didn’t Mike write it so that Saxon jumps in front, so Chelsea could live?'"

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Her concludes that the character was the only one who could have saved herself but believes that she lives on in Saxon: "He doesn’t get Chelsea, but he’s going to internalize everything that she taught him and he’s going to live with that. Like Mike says, the reading of the book at the end is very hopeful because it’s saying that he might use everything [he’s learned], and it’s very rare for a White Lotus character to actually change that much."

Surprisingly, creator Mike White was even questioning the decision. However, Wood insisted that the characters, specifically hers, had to die. "He was the one who started to wobble on the choice. He was like, 'But she’s hope and I’m killing hope.' And this is also Mike expressing himself through all these characters, and if I’m the hopeful, optimistic part of him and he then has to kill it, that must feel pretty terrible," the actress shared.

The finale is streaming on Max and totaled nearly 90 minutes, which makes it the longest episode of the show to date.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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