Natalie’s Yellowjackets Season 2 Death: Juliette Lewis Gets Candid About Her Series Exit
Yellowjackets star Juliette Lewis opens up about her character’s shocking death, candidly discussing her departure from the show. Lewis played Natalie “Nat” Scatorccio, the first of the core Yellowjackets cast members to die when Nat is accidentally stabbed with phenobarbital by her friend Misty (Christina Ricci) in a mistake that will have a massive impact when the Showtime horror drama returns in 2025.
While promoting her new movie The Thicket, which releases in theaters on September 6, Lewis opened up on Marc Malkin’s Just for Variety podcast about Nat’s death. The Oscar nominee doesn’t explicitly state her reasons for departing the Showtime hit, but she does mention how she prefers to only remain on any given show for a few seasons. Lewis then elaborated on her love for movies and how Yellowjackets season 2 led into The Thicket, which is a Western that co-stars Peter Dinklage. In the quote below, Lewis also stated she’s excited to watch season 3 unfold:
Lewis: I very much knew. I think I’m good for series for two seasons. And, um, it’s a different kind of work. that’s why—so what do I want to say? I can’t wait to see the third season. I think the writing team is so phenomenal. They had many storylines that were always to be realized and so that’s what they’re doing
For me, you know, there’s so much in our industry wwith series that’s exciting. But, in my creative DNA, I like movie-making. It’s something I thoroughly understand with a single director, a finite period of time and knowing beginning, middle and an end. I really relish those confines, and so I’m excited. The Thicket is my return to film in quite some time to me. Pre-pandemic, last movie I was in was [Breaking News in] Yuba County. Tate Taylor directed. It was just a fun movie, starring Allison Janney, who I love. So this is a big deal for me.
Malkin : So, when you sign up for Yellowjackets, do you say to them: “Hey, two seasons. That’s enough for me. I can’t do more than two.”
Lewis : No, I didn’t say that. We just worked stuff out. But I did finish Yellowjackets. And then I, um, no I did say very other specific. things. But I finished Yellowjackets. And then I went right into The Thicket, which is not a joy ride, but it was all perfect for the movie, and I knew it was gonna be done in 24 days. So it was great.
Nat’s Death Highlights The Potential Problem At The Heart Of Yellowjackets
Nat’s death highlights a potentially recurring problem for Yellowjackets season 3 and beyond, which is that the main source of tension and forward momentum can only really happen in the present-day timeline. While it’s frequently implied that the teens go to dark lengths during their time in the wilderness, some of that darkness and tension is inevitably diffused when audiences see the adult versions laughing and getting into schemes in the next scene.
However, it does bring to mind whether the series would have worked better in a chronological format that perhaps occasionally reveals glimpses of the present but does more to maintain the atmosphere and mystery of the wild.
It’s not to take away from the excellent performances of the young actors on Yellowjackets, including Sophie Thatcher as a young Nat. She perfectly echoes Lewis’ adult Nat while still bringing her own specifics to the portrayal. However, there are wonders about what sort of tension will exist for Nat in the past timeline, and her evolution, when viewers have already seen that the character is deeply unhappy in the present and ultimately perishes in an accident that seems to spring from nowhere.
The end of Yellowjackets season 2 does its most to give Nat an elegant farewell despite the abrupt nature of her death, allowing Lewis and Thatcher to share the screen and hinting that Nat is finally at peace with her fate. However, it does bring to mind whether the series would have worked better in a chronological format that perhaps occasionally reveals glimpses of the present but does more to maintain the atmosphere and mystery of the wild.
