The White Lotus incest tw was no surprise to these netizens who predicted it weeks ago; here’s how

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5 of The White Lotus. Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola in The White Lotus S3. The White Lotus is no stranger to shocking moments, but the fifth episode of Season 3 definitely took the cake with an unexpected, eyebrow-raising tw: brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) lock lips during a drug-fueled trip on a yacht. While fans were left stunned and scrambling to process what they’d just witnessed, there was one group of White Lotus aficionados who saw it coming from a mile away. In the now-infamous Reddit thread titled, “If not brocest, then what?”, one user kicked things off with, “I’ve seen a lot of baseless theories, people completely denying the incest or even people seeing it but not thinking White would go all the way. I just wonder, how is this supposed to go then?” Their prediction? A dramatic, incest-like tw— and they argued that the show had already laid down the breadcrumbs to make it happen. “The show has already shown us all we needed to know about Lochlan’s desire for Saxon or Saxon’s problematic behaviour towards Lochlan,” the post continued. And guess what? They were right; it is also noteworthy that this thread exed much before the episode was released on March 16. But don’t take our word for it — read the comments. Within moments, users were breaking down clues from the earlier episodes, offering their own wild theories about what could unfold. One Redditor commented, “A late-season tw seems engineered specifically to cause an internet meltdown,” while others were quick to declare their early victory, with one saying, “I clocked it from episode one, but here’s why I don’t think they’ll go all the way.” They pointed to an interview where White Lotus stars Sarah and Sam mentioned the “weird sibling dynamic” and how Mike White’s “controversial choices” are sometimes just a “taste” —leaving many to believe that the show wouldn’t actually go all the way. Spoiler alert: They were wrong. Then, there was the theory that came so close to the mark it was practically prophetic. One user speculated, “My theory is that they’re at a yacht party, things get druggy and loose, and an orgy breaks out. The boys stumble in, decide to partake together, and — bam — Saxon realizes he’s okay with men.” Now, while the orgy part didn’t exactly come to fruition, the tension between the brothers and the kiss was definitely on point. Post kiss conversationFast forward to the moment of truth, and Reddit’s so-called prophets were rewarded with a scene that made waves across the internet. As expected, netizens didn’t hold back. “Okay, this alone convinced me to go watch this series,” wrote one user, while another joked, “Soft launching being an incestophile is CRAZY.” Meanwhile, some were downright critical of the whole ordeal, with one comment reading, “It’s not even nuanced enough. Why would a little brother want to kiss his older brother? Last season, those two straight guys actually had more reason to kiss or do something.” Ouch. But not everyone is slamming the moment as pure shock value. Executive producer David Bernad, in an interview with the New York Post, defended the kiss, saying, “Mike (creator) is brilliant, and I think those big story turns are not just for shock.” He credited creator Mike White with crafting a larger narrative purpose behind the scenes, explaining that it’s all part of a bigger thematic idea. “As the season wraps up, you’ll see the purpose of that story turn,” Bernad teased. “It culminates in a very satisfying way.” Honestly, what’s more telling than the kiss itself is the fact that a Reddit thread was able to predict one of the show’s most major tws weeks before it aired. It highlights how the line between publicity, spoilers, and storytelling has become increasingly blurred. Much like how trailers and song previews often give away key plot points before we even have a chance to experience them, first reviews can now spoil crucial moments too. The reason a Reddit thread was able to predict the scene so accurately might lie in the fact that today, PR has shifted from building intrigue to prioritising mass visibility. The thrill of discovering a tw no longer belongs to the audience—it’s a power held critics and creators who control the narrative. This trend undermines the very purpose of storytelling, where the excitement should come from the viewer’s own journey, not from having the plot laid out in advance. It seems that we have all just resigned ourselves to the fact that the thrill of discovering a tw no longer lies in the eyes of the watcher.