Yellowjackets season 2 ended with plenty of blood spilled and, for the most part, these deaths were completely unexpected and absolutely shocking.
The second season of Yellowjackets did not pass by without a fair amount of blood being spilled, and for the most part, the five deaths that occurred were shocking and totally unexpected. Yellowjackets is a paranormal mystery series following dual timelines. The first is a girls’ soccer team that becomes stranded in the woods after a plane crash in the 1990s and the second follows those same girls decades later as adults, still being affected by what they saw and did. The series currently has two seasons.
Yellowjackets is far from a happy show, and its focus on violence is what makes it stand out from other series currently on television. This means that no character is ever safe on the showas they face mounting threats both in the woods as teenagers and in their hometown as adults. The cast of Yellowjackets season 2 was safe from the first season’s plane crash, but they still saw serious dangers, most of which came from their own peers. All of these deaths were disturbing and surprising in their own right, though some definitely shocked more than others.
5. Javi
Javi’s death in Yellowjackets season 2 was the one that was least surprising, mostly because of how close it had come to happening an entire season before. In the finale of Yellowjackets season 2, the girls have decided that their need for food is dire, and in response, they create a sort of lottery in which one person is randomly picked to be killed and eaten. Although Natalie becomes the chosen one, picking the queen of hearts, it’s actually Javi who falls through the ice and becomes food for the team.
While Javi’s fall wasn’t expected, his death sort of was. After the “Doomcoming” episode of season 1, Javi disappears, and it seems almost inevitable that he dies while out there, especially as winter closes in. However, as Lottie predicts, Javi does survive somehow, seemingly changed. Although Javi survives his months in the woods, his eventual death isn’t a major shock. This is especially true given that audiences knew Natalie wouldn’t be killed, and once Javi begins leading her away from the team, it made sense that he would die in her place.
4. Crystal
Following Javi, Crystal was the next Yellowjackets death that didn’t come as a major surprise in season 2. Over the course of the season, Crystal becomes a close friend of Misty’s, and the two irritate the rest of the team with their show tunes and dramatic friendship. In fact, the girls become so close that Misty feels like she can tell Crystal anything, and this is precisely what gets Crystal killed. When Misty reveals that she destroyed the plane’s black box, Crystal pulls away, horrified, and in the midst of their fight, Crystal falls backward off the side of a cliff.
The main reason why Crystal’s death isn’t the most shocking is that the audience is already aware of the cliff that eventually kills her. The scene begins with Crystal and Misty walking through the woods to empty the excrement bucket, which they pointedly do over the side of the cliff. Then, they begin their conversation which develops into a fight, and Misty’s desperate steps forward push Crystal farther back. In this way, the audience is totally aware of the cliff and essentially is waiting for that fatal moment.
3. Kevyn
When it comes to Detective Kevyn Tran, his death is one that audiences might miss if they aren’t looking. In the ending of Yellowjackets season 2, Kevyn shows up at Lottie’s mental health retreat intent on arresting Shauna for the murder of Adam Martin. However, Misty’s friend Walter Tattersall has other plans. Walter intercepts Kevyn and offers him a friendly cup of cocoa which is actually filled with a deadly dose of phenobarbital that kills him right as Jeff is turning himself in to protect Shauna.
Kevyn’s murder is fairly unexpected unless viewers are watching closely. Although Walter is seen writing to the police in a previous episode, it’s not totally clear whether he is on Misty’s side or intends to turn her in to the police. Therefore, when he hands Kevyn the cup of cocoa, some audience members might wonder if Walter, with his citizen detective knowledge, tampered with it to protect Misty. When he hands Kevyn the cup next to the one he just poured for himself, there’s a hint that Kevyn may not survive to make his arrest.
2. Natalie
In the Yellowjackets season 2 fin ale, Shauna, Natalie, Misty, Van, Lottie, and Taissa reunite and decide that to appease the Wilderness, they must play the lottery they created in the woods and kill one of their own. Similarly to the scenario with Natalie and Javi in the woods, Shauna is the one who picks the queen of hearts, however, she isn’t the one who dies. In a shocking turn of events, Natalie is the one that the Wilderness “chooses,” leading to Yellowjackets season 2’s most major death.
Natalie’s death is specifically surprising because there is no hint that it’s going to happen beforehand. Although the women have drawn their weapons, it still seems unlikely that one of the main cast members will die. This is confirmed even more when Callie appears, gun drawn, ready to defend Shauna. At that point, it seems more than likely that the confrontation will come to nothing more than a gridlock. However, in a sudden twist, Lisa appears and in a sacrificial move, Natalie moves in front of her where Misty accidentally doses her with phenobarbital. The death is sudden and jarring.
1. Shauna’s Baby
The most shocking death of all in Yellowjackets season 2 is Shauna’s baby. Although Shauna’s pregnancy is revealed in season 1, season 2 sees the effects of the pregnancy weighing on her, and the eventual birth is a horrifying prospect and inevitability due to their lack of medical expertise. When she does finally go into labor, it’s unclear what will happen to Shauna’s baby and Shauna herself. And though audiences see a sequence in which Shauna gives birth to a healthy boy, struggles to breastfeed, then ultimately succeeds, this is all a vision which ends in bloodshed that is both imagined and real.
Shauna’s baby’s death is the most shocking because the show leads us to believe that he did in fact live. Shauna and viewers watch this sequence in which motherhood is hard but possible, and yet, it ends gruesomely with the team using the baby as food behind Shauna’s back. In this way, the entire storyline is shocking because it offers possibilities that are both hopeful and horrible and finally shows us the sad truth of what has occurred. This death is not only the most disconcerting but also the saddest of all five deaths that occur in Yellowjacketsseason 2.
