Yellowjackets Season 3: Young Natalie’s Arc Gets “Really Dark” In Tease From Star Sophie Thatcher
Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher hints at an emotional and intense season 3 for young Natalie. A rebellious teen with a troubled past, Natalie Scatorccio is one of the survivors of the plane crash that left the titular high-school soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness. In Yellowjackets’ present-day storyline, Natalie was played by Juliette Lewis as she is freshly out of rehab and drawn back to her teammates to unearth a mystery, though season 2 would conclude with her accidental death at the hands of Misty (Christina Ritchie).
Though Natalie’s present-day story ended, Thatcher opened up to Vanity Fair about how her story in the wilderness is far from over. She stated that Yellowjackets season 3 sees young Natalie in some of her darkest moments yet, with her filming for the series punching the star to the point of her truly connecting and becoming incredibly invested in her character.
“I think it resonated. It sets people up for the season, ’cause it gets really dark. You get to see more of my Natalie. It makes me really emotional. People really feel for my character. I love my character more than anything in the world, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel this again. There was a point toward the end of the season where I would talk about Natalie and just start crying. I’m so protective of her, and that just makes for a really beautiful, intense experience.”
The star also revealed that while she set out to make the character her own after feeling that she had to align more closely to Lewis’ portrayal, she still felt her older counterpart’s absence. With the pair having helped craft the same character over two seasons, Thatcher stated that she felt a unique connection with Lewis unlike anything else, calling her co-star “an inspiration.”
I felt less pressure to match [Lewis’s] voice, because that was always in my head. Once you read praise, like, oh, their voices are so similar, I just got too self-aware. Season two, it got in the way of me being present because I was so keen on just matching everything. But this season there’s a freedom where I could be present in the scene and know that Natalie is in me at this point.
I really miss Juliette. It makes me so sad. Any interaction with her is very sacred. Sharing a character is the most vulnerable thing possible. I’ll never have that connection again, ’cause it’s so rare that you get to have this as an actor. She’s just a really big inspiration for me.”
What Thatcher’s Comments Mean For Natalie In Yellowjackets Season 3
Going into Yellowjackets season 3, Natalie in the 1996 wilderness storyline has been placed as a key figure for the group’s survival. Despite being chosen as a sacrifice to Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) mysterious doctrine, she becomes the group’s leader after Lottie claims the power to hear the wilderness has passed onto her. With these newfound responsibilities in a season that has been promised to provide long-awaited answers, it is possible Natalie’s perspective can shine a light on just what “The Wilderness” is.
However, while Natalie may be leading the survivors, she has already found herself in a position that will test her loyalties. After Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) sets out to find his own refuge in the events of Yellowjackets season 2’s ending, he is the prime suspect who started the cabin fire that almost claimed the survivors’ lives and left them without shelter. He and Natalie struck up a close friendship in the first two seasons that saw her view him as a good person, so season 3 may leave her questioning his allegiances.
Our Thoughts On Natalie’s Yellowjacket’s Season 3 Journey
After present-day Natalie’s tragic fate, viewers will enter season 3 with a truly unprecedented sense of foreboding. Though there has been no shortage of deaths in the wilderness so far, Natalie is the first of the main cast of survivors who perished. As such, her interactions in the past will now have a tragic undertone, as no matter what happens, her fate is sealed.
Furthermore, Natalie in 1996 is in an incredibly vulnerable place. After narrowly escaping a sacrifice after letting Javi (Luciano Leroux) take her place, she is also forced to assume the mantle while feeling the immense guilt of betraying Travis (Kevin Alves) by letting his younger brother die. As such, Yellowjackets season 3 sees her grappling with not only the pressure of ensuring the group survives but also questioning whether she is a good person, something that she seems to carry long after they return to civilization, given where she was in 2021 when audiences met her older self.
