Mari’s Fate as Pit Girl Was Right in Front of Us in ‘Yellowjackets’
Although the show does an incredible job deconstructing society, Yellowjackets is still a mystery at heart. While most of the lingering threads are set in the present day, multiple questions about the past remain unanswered even after three seasons. However, the finale did address what may have been the most popular mystery among fans: Who is “pit girl”? Now, we know for certain that it’s Mari who meets her fate at the end of the chase.
In many ways, Mari was always the prime suspect for the pit girl, who we get a good look at during the cold open of the pilot. Although her face was obscured by the camera, viewers could tell she was thin, had dark black hair, and wore a nightgown. The close resemblance was not lost on Alexa Barajas, who told Deadline that she had suspected the fate of her character since the start:
“I didn’t always know, but I did have a hunch. I think after watching the pilot, I saw this girl running in the woods, and I said, ‘I think I look a whole lot like her.’ So, I had a feeling that this was where it was gonna all end up, and I am so excited that we finally got to do it.”
With her larger role this season, it feels natural that viewers would grow more attached to Mari. Yet, as series creator Ashley Lyle recently noted to the Hollywood Reporter, that is exactly what made her death so impactful:
“We knew, and yet still, over the course of three seasons, you kick around other ideas occasionally. Strangely, it was in season three when we were doing the work that we always knew we needed to do to build her character up that we almost fell prey to ourselves. We’re like, ‘But we love Alexa, and we love Mari now.’ You start to go, ‘Is there any way we could not have it be Mari?’ But the fact that we didn’t want it to be Mari is what let us know that was exactly the right decision, and that we had, at least for ourselves, done the job well.”
While not a huge plot twist like other deaths we’ve seen this season, Mari’s death is a great example of a mystery hiding in plain sight. Sometimes, the simplest answer is actually the best.
The Context of the Pit Girl Scene in ‘Yellowjackets’ Challenges Our Perceptions
In any movie or show, a great opening scene can perfectly establish the tone for a specific work, and Yellowjackets knew this well. The opening hunt from the pilot, reused in the Season 3 finale, displays just how far these girls have fallen by the time of their rescue, and is an example of the barbaric acts they refuse to talk about in the present. As the first hint of cannibalism in the series, it’s the closest we get to their feral side until the second season, and it takes a long time for them to reach that point. Still, every time we see the younger team, the hunt is meant to loom over their story as a reminder of where the group is ultimately headed.
Now that we’re caught up to the pilot, it feels important to note how different the context of the fateful hunt actually was. For one thing, Mari is an unintended casualty. Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) suspects the rigging of the cards and intervenes, unwittingly saving Hannah (Ashley Sutton) from certain death. Second, the spikes in the pit were built as a death trap, but only for Lottie (Courtney Eaton) as their unhinged prophet. Lottie even attempts to warn Mari of the obvious danger, but she quickly dismisses it as just another vague prophecy and ignores this at her own peril. Finally, we now know why Misty (Samantha Hanratty) is smiling during the feast: The death of the goats that spawned the hunt was staged, allowing the other girls to enact their real plan.
What Impact Will the Pit Girl Scene Have on ‘Yellowjackets’ Going Forward?
Given that this moment has often been presented as the team at their worst, it feels perfect that the hunt also results in their best. By switching clothes with Hannah during the hunt and delaying Shauna in her pursuit, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) is able to escape just long enough to contact rescue, saving all of their lives. For so long, we have been led to believe that the girls have lost their humanity, and this is certainly true of some of them. Others, however, keep theirs intact, saving themselves and the spirits of their teammates.
The big question now is how much further the girls will go before they’re inevitably rescued. Natalie still has no idea of Mari’s fate, and we know Shauna will view her actions as nothing less than treason, and Van (Liv Hewson) is left plagued with guilt over sending Mari to her death. Just like with the buildup to the pit girl scene, we know the ultimate destination, but undertaking that final leg of the journey will be incredibly rewarding if Yellowjackets most likely returns for Season 4.
