The White Lotus theory claims answer to season 2 mystery was revealed 6 minutes in

The White Lotus may have given away its ending just 10 minutes into the series.

On Sunday (11 December), season two of the HBO mystery comedy drama comes to an end, and will reveal which characters die.

The first episode, which aired in October, revealed that at least two will die, but kept the identity of the unlucky characters a secret.

There are numerous theories doing the rounds, but the series will keep viewers guessing until the end.

However, one theory shared on Reddit and Twitter, and highlighted by Mashable, suggests that the answer to the mystery was, unbeknownst to viewers, revealed immediately, with the clue to the answer all coming down to one word: “Ciao.”

The first episode is named after the Italian greeting and it’s the uttering of this word that puts a whole new light on a storyline that occurs later in the season.

This storyline involves Lucia (Simona Tabasco), the sex worker who is currently having a romance with one of the residents, Albie (Adam DiMarco).

Albie has become increasingly besotted with Lucia after being ditched by Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) and, during one night out a nearby Sicilian town, he grows concerned after seeing her pimp, Alessio, getting angry with her.

Matters grew more intense in the next episode when Alessio chased Lucia, who was on a family day trip with Albie and his father and grandfather (Michael Imperioli and F Murray Abraham).

Lucia urges them to stop the car and, after another angry showdown with Alessio, she agrees to go with him. That evening, Lucia explains to Albie that Alessio wants to “control” her, and she owes him a lot of money in order to be free.

However, viewers who have watched the series back noticed that, in the first episode, Lucia and Alessio seemed to be on good terms; in fact, it looks as if he is not her pimp at all.

After the cold open reveals the death of two characters, the story jumps back in time to show the characters arriving at the hotel.

The first characters we see are Lucia and her friend Mia (Beatrice Grannò) as they prepare to greet the boat to see who the new arrivals are. As they’re walking through town, Lucia, in a seemingly throwaway moment, walks past a character to whom she says in a friendly manner: “Ciao!’

She adds, in Italian that is not subtitled, that she will call him later. This character is Alessio.

Episode one is also called “Ciao”, which viewers would ordinarily think is an apt name for an episode introducing them to new characters, but could actually be a reference to Lucia’s greeting to Alessio.

It seems that Lucia and Alessio might have cooked up a plot to scam one of the rich holidaymakers. Id this is the case, it certainly puts Albie in pole position to meet his maker as the scam could go horribly wrong, or Albie could get angry upon realising he’s fallen victim to a long con.

It also puts his father and grandfather in harms way, too; in episode five, when Alessio chases them in the car, both are shown to be protective individuals in the face of violence, and could get in the way to protect their son.

Time will tell – and, of course, this is just one of many theories doing the rounds.

The White Lotus season two finale will air on Sky Atlantic the following day in the UK (12 December). and will be available to stream on NOW.