The third season of mystery drama The White Lotus began with more than a few surprises on Monday, and one of the biggest was the shock return of a character from the previous seasons.

While many fans knew that Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), the spa manager from the Hawaii-set first season, would be coming to Thailand for the new series, the return of Greg from season one and two was more of a surprise.

Greg, played by Jon Gries, first appeared at the White Lotus resort in Hawaii in the first season as the shifty single man who struck up a romance with heiress Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge). In the second season, the pair, now a married couple, stayed at the White Lotus in Sicily, and Greg’s indifference to his girlfriend led to Tanya forming a friendship with British expat Quentin (Tom Hollander).

She later discovered a photo that linked Quentin to Greg, and it was hinted that Quentin’s attempt to kill Tanya on his luxury yacht may have been planned with Greg, who stood to inherit all her money. Unfortunately, while Tanya fought off her assailants and killed them all, she then slipped off the boat and hit her head, dying instantly.

In the first episode of the third season, Greg pops up towards the end. Young British woman Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) chats to a woman named Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) at the hotel bar, who reveals her boyfriend is an ageing bald white guy, known as an ‘LBH’, which she says is a local term meaning ‘losers back home.’ She points out which man sat at a table is her partner, and there sits Greg.

Chloe says they are not staying at the hotel, they live in a house up the road, which indicates that Greg may have come into some money, but no more has been revealed at this point. It will also be interesting to see if hotel guest Belinda recognises him, as she became close to Tanya in the first season as Tanya and Greg got to know each other.

Fans are thrilled at Greg’s return. “Incest plotline, toxic female friend group, Greg… oh we are so back,” said one viewer, while another commented: “When they showed Greg I just about jumped through the screen omfg.” A third said: “I need Greg dead… but not until episode 4,” while a fourth added: “Can we talk about Greg. The young girl’s boyfriend. My jaw. On the floor.”

Viewers also tried to guess what Greg may be up to. “Is Greg the killer?” wrote one, referring to the gunshots heard at the start of the episode, and the unidentified dead body that appears. Another said: “My prediction: I think Greg is there for Belinda. I think Tanya left Belinda a lot of money after feeling guilty for what happened in season one. And Greg is there to get her. Belinda, get behind me, girl!”

Show creator Mike White has teased to Time Magazine what Greg’s reappearance may mean. “I got excited, because I was like: This is how we can keep the Tanya storyline alive. This is where he would end up, and this is the kind of situation he’d be in,” he added, while the tagline for the new series, “Karma comes for everyone,” could be a hint that thing could get complicated for Greg as the season continues.

The first episode has not only had some surprises, it has also caused some controversy for a scene featuring Patrick Schwarzenegger, who plays Saxon Ratliff. Saxon is in Thailand with his parents, sister and brother, and while sharing a room with his brother Lochlan, he makes a comment about his adult sister being “pretty hot” and also walks to the bathroom naked (baring all in a brief full frontal reflection in the mirror) while making an ambiguous remark that some viewers have interpreted as the hint of an incestuous subplot to come.

Following comments online, including one in which a fan said they wanted to “kill Saxon with a hammer,” and another mentioning the “weird” family dynamic between him and his siblings, Patrick has responded by sharing some of the tweets and also adding his own laughing emojis to the comments.

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