It’s likely that this is only the beginning of the team’s true descent into madness.
In the Season 2 finale of Yellowjackets, events in the present timeline gave fans some closure and raised a dozen more questions for the next season. Questions will likely be answered with even more questions. In the past, it all comes crashing down, literally and in flames, placing the Yellowjackets in a terrifying new position. This is going to open up a few interesting (and blood-soaked) avenues for the writers to explore in Season 3. The fiery cliffhanger in the Season 2 finale, however, will likely see the girls devolve into a more tribal, barbaric group and embrace the hunt if they are to survive the wilderness.
‘Yellowjackets’ In the Past
In the finale, Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) returns from a safe space he found in the woods, excited and eager to tell Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) they can sit the winter out in his new hideaway — that is, until he clocks the butchered remains of Javi (Luciano Leroux) and becomes angered and distressed. Later in the episode, he stands outside the cabin, observing the group feast on Javi’s meat. He is gripping a box of matches, and it is heavily implied he burns the cabin to the ground, locks the door, and attempts mass murder. This is unlikely, given the moral stance Coach Ben has taken in previous episodes. Are we to really believe Coach Ben would contemplate murder on this scale? Not when it has been seamlessly integrated into the plot that Coach is the group’s moral compass. Coach Ben’s involvement in the cabin’s destruction could be a big red herring — so if not him, who tried to kill everyone?
Now, with no shelter or source of food to sustain the group during the harsh winter, the Yellowjackets will need to resort to more savage methods if they want to live. Coach Ben is injured, alone in the woods, and there is a good chance he’ll end up on the chopping block next if they locate his hideout. Javi, before he drowned, tries to aid Natalie’s escape, assuring her about a safe space he could lead her to and alluding to a woman earlier in the season who inhabited a beyond the lake. Was this where he was bringing Natalie? Speaking of a woman issuing ominous warnings – is she a recluse, an extreme survivalist living off the grid, or something else?
A parallel storyline sees Lottie (Courtney Eaton) abdicating her rustic throne and Natalie stepping into the Antler Queen role. Natalie finally feels accepted by her peers and the fact that she’s tackling this role makes more sense — like a teenage Artemis, Natalie is the survivors’ goddess of the hunt. It has been confirmed that Juliette Lewis will not reprise her role next year, so Thatcher will be doing all the heavy lifting in Season 3 – maybe we’ll learn more about the hypnosis vision adult Nat experienced at the compound and whether it might be related to this mystery woman. Teenage Van (Liv Hewson) has become worryingly bloodthirsty as well, and her brief interaction with Travis (Kevin Alves) about survival and Javi’s demise is profoundly cold, the barely-there smirk on her face speaking volumes.
‘Yellowjackets’ In The Present
First things first: we need to talk about Natalie (Juliette Lewis). Natalie was the most tragic character in Yellowjackets and for many, the one we all cared deeply about. After Misty (Christina Ricci) accidentally kills her while attempting to save her, Natalie finds herself on a plane, surrounded by apparitions. In the last hour of Season 2, the show appears to offer answers regarding the wilderness, explaining it away as the psychotic delusions of a sick woman. It’s possible Lottie was a deliberate misdirection all along, and the real threat is still lurking nearby.
Another primary plot in Season 3 will likely follow how Tai (Tawny Cypress), Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), and Van (Lauren Ambrose) treat Misty (Christina Ricci), knowing she is responsible for Natalie’s death. From the start of the series, most of the characters have openly expressed a dislike and mistrust of Misty. Will the group freeze Misty out completely? How will Misty react now that she is with the equally unhinged Walter (Elijah Wood)? Towards the end of Season 2, the showrunners also seemed to forget all about Tai’s dissociative states once she reconnected with Van and they sought out Lottie’s retreat. Are they unrelated to the supernatural, or attributed to trauma? After the cult scandal and her background, will Tai be able to keep her seat as a senator, or even make amends with her family?
Van should definitely play a more prominent part next season, and not just because Lauren Ambrose is amazing. So far we’ve not seen (or heard) much about her in the present timeline, as the newest addition to the cast has been living a quiet life of retro bliss owning a video rental store. Later on, however, Van confesses to Tai that she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and takes opiates to help with the pain, both physical and psychological. In the past, Van is growing into a brutal, cold-hearted young woman — is adult Van really so far removed from her younger self, given the hint that she may have sacrificed a member of the team in order to cure herself? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, Shauna is becoming the most unlikeable member of the group, constantly lying to her family and friends, withholding vital information she knows will eventually come out, and behaving like the wronged party when people are pissed off at her. Her husband Jeff (Warren Kole) could barely hide his disgust at the crime scene photos of Adam Martin’s (Peter Gadiot) dismembered body and though he has stood by Shauna, it has become clear that he now sees her in a new light.
Another narrative element that has been sidelined is Yellowjackets’ voyeuristic themes – starting from the premiere episode, with the docustyle introduction to the world of the core characters via Jessica (Rekha Sharma), the idea of watching and being watched has been a secondary plot point. Tai brings Jessica in to watch the others, the blackmailer is watching Shauna, Misty secretly records Natalie, Lottie watches Natalie, and Walter spies on Misty from afar. Are these only creative flourishes playing into Yellowjackets’ warped internal logic? Or will the showrunners throw us a curveball further down the road? The nature of reality and how we perceive it are integral components of the show – many beliefs and assumptions surrounded Lottie, believing it was all intrinsically linked to her. However, what remains true is that we’ve just scratched the surface of what the survivors did out in those woods, an ongoing mystery continuing to intrigue and frustrate audiences. Sure, they’ve resorted to murder and cannibalism already, but this being Yellowjackets, it’s likely that this is only the beginning of the team’s true descent into madness.
