If she trusts anyone at all …
Liv Hewson’s Van is in a dark place right now on Yellowjackets. The character kicked off the series as a fun-loving source of light who continued to have hope while stranded in the wilderness courtesy of her sense of humor, connection with Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and her faith in Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) teachings. However, the more tragedy the group experiences, the more Van’s light dims. Or rather, as Hewson themself put it, the more Van comes to the conclusion that “there is no way out but violence.”
As Hewson explained during their Collider Forces interview, Episode 6, “Qui,” marks a major turning point for Van. It’s a “gear shift,” as Hewson put it. Van’s been clinging to Lottie’s rituals. If rescue is unlikely, at least they can survive if they lean into Lottie’s teachings. However, then Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) baby dies. Hewson explained, “It’s like, ‘What am I fucking doing? Winter’s going on still, we don’t have anything more to eat, and the baby died. And it was horrible. Shauna’s still here, but by what margin and for how long? I do think it’s time we all woke up.’” Hewson insisted Van isn’t giving up, but we do see a drastic change in what she believes in, and it doesn’t seem to be Lottie anymore.
As for Van’s relationship with Taissa, the two have never quite seen eye to eye on the whole Lottie thing, but now they appear to be in drastically different headspaces overall as well. Whereas Taissa finds hope in them continuing to have each other, Van can’t seem to conjure any faith without knowing “why the fuck [she’s] still here.”
So at this point, does Van trust either of them? Does she trust anyone? Here’s what Hewson said when I posed that question on Collider Forces:
“Oh, that’s fascinating because I don’t think trust is the right word. I don’t know that she does Taissa very much. And then by that point in the season, I don’t think she trusts Lottie very much either.”
Yes, the current circumstances impact where Van places her trust, but Hewson also pointed out that Van’s had trouble relying on others long before the plane crashed in the wilderness:
“Trust is so specific, and that’s really interesting because I don’t think trust is something that Van allows herself very often, where it’s like, it’s one thing to love somebody or to lean on them or to care for them or to look out for them, but to trust someone, I think that is a very loaded thing for her to feel for somebody.”
Eager to hear even more from Hewson about what went down in Episodes 7 and 8 of Yellowjackets Season 2 including the Lottie/Shauna fight, the card game ritual, and more? Check out their full 50-minute Collider Forces interview below:
