u/NecessaryUnable8036

Longtime fan, first-time poster in this subreddit!

One thing that has bugged me for a while is that, in Season 3, we never find out Rick’s profession, making him and Chelsea the only people on the show where we don’t really know how they were able to afford to stay at the White Lotus. Initially, we don’t know much other than that he “barely works” according to Chelsea, and that they travel quite a bit (even if it’s hinted that they don’t always stay at locations as nice as the White Lotus). Based on that info, I initially thought he might have had some nontraditional path to wealth, like being a lottery winner, a Bitcoin millionaire, a washed-up rockstar, or something like that.

However, he later says to Greg/Gary that he does “this and that,” implying something shady, knows Sam Rockwell’s also shady character in Bangkok, apparently from some kind of work they did together at some point in the past, and he’s shown to be very experienced/capable with a gun, which seems to point to something more sinister than any of my initial theories.

He may be retired or semi-retired, but it’s clear that at least at some point, Rick was involved in some unsavory activities.

The main theory I’ve seen from people is that Rick is an international hitman, which would explain why he travels so much and why he’s so experienced with firearms. However, there are two main reasons I feel this isn’t the case. First, for someone who is extremely angry about his Dad allegedly being murdered as a means to a financial end, I would struggle to see Rick being okay with making a profession out of doing essentially the same thing. Additionally, I think his relationship with Chelsea makes this possibility very unlikely. While Chelsea is a very understanding person, she clearly sees Rick as someone who is redeemable, and I think if he was a killer for hire, she probably wouldn’t view him as fondly as she does (she also makes a big deal of Rick potentially killing the man who he believes killed his father, which wouldn’t seem to a be a huge sticking point if your partner was a hitman). You could argue maybe he keeps Chelsea in the dark about his work, but I doubt she wouldn’t be intuitive enough to ask about it or pick up on it at all.

However, I read a comment from someone (sorry – don’t remember who or where) who aptly said that Rick is so angry and seems to view his life as so defined by the murder of his father that it seems like he probably hates and/or is morally conflicted about his job.

So, based on everything we know, here’s my theory:

Rick, orphaned fairly young and wanting some direction in life, joined the military shortly after he was old enough to enlist (he probably couldn’t afford college and was told by people around him that it was a good path forward). He rose through the ranks and saw combat, but had mixed ethical feelings about it. He probably left and tried to forge a different path, before falling on hard financial times as a veteran and realizing he could make money as a military contractor (given his age, this would line up with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars). In this capacity, he made a lot of money, but saw even more disturbing active combat, and became even more disillusioned by the fact he was making lots of money off of it (this disillusionment may have even caused him to get involved in some illicit side-hustles involving weapons or drug trafficking, hence him being involved in “this and that” and knowing Sam Rockwell). After working for several years, he had enough money saved up to travel and be basically retired, while taking some odd jobs here and there (some straight, some sketchy and drawing on old contacts) for some extra cash.

Thoughts? Does this sound plausible, or not so much? Any plot holes or scenes that I missed that would disprove this theory?

Anyone ever notice this?

Theory on Rick's Job