Chilling Yellowjackets Season 4 Theory Gives The Man With No Eyes A Key Role In Major Deaths

Across its three seasons so far, Yellowjackets is great at building mysteries surrounding its characters’ time in the wilderness, including through the recurring appearances of the Man with No Eyes. In the immediate aftermath of their plane crash in the wilderness, Yellowjackets‘ cast of characters became increasingly convinced of some higher power guiding them to stay alive. Largely under Lottie’s instruction in the first two seasons, the group came to believe in their rituals and disturbing methods of staying alive, but even as adults, the women can’t avoid the wilderness’s pull.

By Yellowjackets season 3, tensions flared even more in the 1990s timeline, and the women reverted further to their wilderness personas in the adult timeline. By the end of Yellowjackets season 3, Nat made a huge decision in the wilderness, and Misty and Taissa chose to team up against Shauna in the present-day timeline. Throughout all of this, the horror series still leaves questions unanswered going into season 4, but one new theory suggests that the Man with No Eyes will be far more connected to the characters’ fates than audiences previously knew.

The Man With No Eyes Is The Pilot Of The Plane In The Yellowjackets’ Death Visions – Theory Explained

He Carries The Yellowjackets To Their Deaths

The Man with No Eyes has been a figure in Yellowjackets since season 1. Taissa’s grandmother first mentioned him as she was dying, with a young Taissa standing by as her grandmother began to yell. Since then, the mysterious character has appeared several times, mostly to Taissa, creating a connection back to her childhood memory. In line with Taissa’s grandmother seeing the Man with No Eyes right before her death, though, a recent fan theory has suggested that he could have a much larger role in the characters’ deaths.

The theory suggests that the Man with No Eyes is the pilot of the airplane that the Yellowjackets appear on in their death scenes (via Reddit). The theory also suggests that season 4 may eventually see the Man with No Eyes speak for the first time. Both Natalie and Van appeared in an empty airplane at the moment of their deaths. This connects them back to their initial crash into the wilderness, but it also seems to represent death as their final journey and finding freedom from everything that happened to them in the wilderness.

Interestingly, this theory would actually fit with something that Yellowjackets‘ showrunner Ashley Lyle said back in 2023. During a panel at PaleyFest, an audience member asked the cast and crew who exactly the Man with No Eyes is and what his significance is to the series. Though the creator remained fairly secretive about his true identity, Lyle did share that the figure could be seen “as death incarnate” and that he represents “the unknown” (via Business Insider).

Whether the showrunners do end up making the Man with No Eyes the pilot of the afterlife airplane or not, the theory does work with what the figure represents to Taissa. Beginning with the death of her grandmother, death and the Man with No Eyes as the physical representation of death is something that Taissa is both afraid of and cannot ever escape. He may not have quite the same significance to the other characters, but knowing what Lyle has said about him does make it possible that he could be revealed as the pilot in season 4.

The Man With No Eyes Has Already Been A Guiding Force In Yellowjackets

He Has Always Been Significant In Taissa’s Story

The Man with No Eyes is definitely a vision that Taissa has been afraid of in Yellowjackets, but at the same time, the mysterious character has also served as a guiding force for the “other” version of her. Both in Yellowjackets’ present-day timeline and in the wilderness timeline, Taissa’s sleepwalking has brought out another side of her that is often at odds with who she is most of the time. The “other” darker Taissa was led by the Man with No Eyes to the symbol on the trees back in season 2, solidifying their connection.

While she is awake, Taissa often rejects the power of the wilderness, but the “other” Taissa seems to have a very strong connection with it and the Man with No Eyes is likewise connected to that. Teenage Van is especially convinced that Taissa’s sleepwalking connection is a gift for the Yellowjackets since it seemingly helped them locate Javi. If her reasoning is correct and the Man with No Eyes was actually guiding Taissa back in the wilderness, it would fit for him to be the pilot guiding the characters to their deaths.

The Man With No Eyes Has To Have A Deeper Purpose Beyond His Season 3 Commercial Reveal

The Commercial Was Creepy, But Surely There Is More To His Appearances

The Man with No Eyes was a pretty big (and disturbing) mystery throughout Yellowjackets seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 finally revealed his true origin. Both his appearance at the time of Tai’s grandmother’s death and his guidance to “other” Taissa in the wilderness implied that he was a supernatural entity, but season 3 revealed that the Man with No Eyes was actually from a commercial. Early in season 3, adult Van and Tai watch tapes of Pee-wee’s Playhouse together, during which an advertisement for Ozzie’s Homemade Ice Cream Parlor plays.

The advertisement shows the Man with No Eyes as a customer at the ice cream parlor, whose slogan mentions the ice cream being good enough to “make your eyes pop.” After confirming that Van does, in fact, see the man too, the pair immediately begin to investigate, but learn that the parlor has closed. However, the ad does give Taissa some closure as to where the figure originally came from. Admittedly, he is very creepy, so seeing that commercial as a child likely scared Tai, so the figure grew into something bigger for her.

Taissa may have just associated her grandmother’s statement with the only person she could think of who had no eyes. From there, the Man with No Eyes grew to be even more significant to her, and she saw him in other contexts. Though this more logical solution does answer questions about his existence, it does feel a bit underwhelming for a show like Yellowjackets. Especially since mysteries like the symbol still feel quite supernatural, it would be more satisfying if Yellowjackets continued to integrate him into the story in a deeper way, such as the pilot theory.