‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, episode 7: Did Jim Hollinger kill Rick’s dad?

The White Lotus Season 3, episode 7 finally gives the show’s most miserable character a bit of closure.

After some crafty scheming, Rick (Walton Goggins) and his friend Frank (Sam Rockwell) travel to the fancy Bangkok residence of wealthy White Lotus hotel owners Sritala (Lek Patravadi) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) — the man Rick is convinced murdered his father.

Rick finally gets the confrontation he’s long dreamed of, but it almost feels like the scene raises more questions than it gives answers. So did Jim really kill Rick’s dad? Let’s recap.

What happens between Rick and Jim Hollinger in episode 7?

After breaking away from Sritala and Frank, Rick and Jim head inside to have a conversation about doing business in Thailand.

Rick looks at black-and-white photos of a younger Jim with various important figures, all the while circling around the topic of the things he has and hasn’t done in order to build and maintain his empire. Finally the tension comes to a head. Rick accuses Jim of having his father killed “over a land deal or some shit,” explaining that his mother told him what happened as she was dying. Jim’s only response before Rick gets a gun out? Silence, other than eventually repeating the name of Rick’s mother – “Gloria Hatchett?” – with an emphasis that could imply he knows her, or could imply he’s never heard of her.

Rick seems happy with how the interaction went afterwards, but the unanswered question remains: Did Jim Hollinger really have his father killed?

Did Jim Hollinger really kill Rick’s dad?

Let’s look at the evidence for and against. On the one hand, Jim doesn’t exactly do himself any favors during the conversation he has with Rick in the den.

“This is a great country,” Jim growls. “And back then, not much red tape. You hit a road block, you had a lot of options.”

“And if somebody got in your way?” responds Rick. “Made your life difficult?”

“Lots of ways to take care of that,” says Jim. “I’m more careful now.”

Talking about “ways to take care of” people getting in the way definitely makes Jim sound a bit murder-y, but it’s possible we’re just seeing him through Rick’s lens. It sounds sinister because he’s been built up as a killer throughout Season 3, but he could just as easily be talking about threatening people, or even simply circumventing them using his political connections.

The only other evidence we really have to go on is his reaction to Rick’s accusation. The problem? Jim doesn’t say all that much, and he does do an excellent job of giving very little away.

Ultimately, it’s still not really possible to say whether or not he’s guilty of the crime Rick suspects him of. Our best guess is that Rick’s actions in episode 7 will catch up with him when he returns to the White Lotus in the finale — and maybe, just maybe, there will be some kind of twist in the Hollinger/Hatchett tale.

The White Lotus is streaming now on Max, with new episodes dropping weekly at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO.