Why Doesn’t The Wilderness Want The Yellowjackets To Leave? Natalie’s Return To The Plane Explained

Yellowjackets season 3 is nearing its end, and it’s still not entirely clear if the Wilderness is a supernatural entity, a manifestation of the survivors’ trauma, or both. Whatever it is, the Wilderness doesn’t want the teens in the ’90s timeline to return to civilization — and it’s looking for a way to keep them there again. Yellowjackets season 3, episode 8 sees the teens preparing to hike to rescue with Hannah and Kodiak. However, the ending of “A Normal, Boring Life” throws a wrench in that plan. Akilah’s vision and Natalie’s return to the plane suggest the Wilderness is to blame.

The meaning behind Akilah’s vision of the dead livestock in episode 8 feels pretty straightforward: they’ll lose their source of food and welcome death by rejecting the Wilderness. However, Natalie’s trip back to the plane is a bit more ambiguous. When she returns to the crash site to bid farewell to Coach Ben, she hears something she interprets as being the supernatural entity the girls have been worshiping in the woods. She speaks to it but receives no answer, and it may leave viewers wondering if the Wilderness is really there — and why it’s so insistent that the teens stay.

The Wilderness Feeds Off The Yellowjackets’ Darkness, Which Is Stronger In The Woods

The end of Yellowjackets season 3, episode 8 presents a major obstacle for the girls hoping to be rescued, and it’s not the first time they’ve been kept from society despite their best efforts to get home. They might just be unlucky, but it certainly seems like something is keeping them stranded in the woods intentionally. There’s no other explanation for why they haven’t been found yet, and Laura Lee’s death and Van’s near-fatal encounter with wolves both support the idea. Now, it seems the Wilderness is acting through Lottie, Shauna, and Tai to get what it wants.

Their rage can be let loose in the woods, and so, that’s where the Wilderness wants them.

Of course, with the Wilderness acting through nature and the girls, it’s not so simple to get a grasp on why it wants them there. But it’s likely because the Wilderness, whatever it is, is feeding off the survivors’ darkness. It continues to do so back home, but that darkness can’t reach the same heights once the girls are integrated back into society. Although Yellowjackets’ adult timeline sees the survivors doing some seriously questionable things, they can’t be nearly as sadistic or murderous publicly. Their rage can be let loose in the woods, and so, that’s where the Wilderness wants them.

What Nat’s Plane Scene Means About Her Belief In The Wilderness’ Powers

While viewers actually see Akilah’s and Shauna’s visions in “A Normal, Boring Life,” there doesn’t appear to be anything there when Natalie starts yelling on the plane. She hears creaking and what sounds like footsteps, but it’s hard to say if there’s truly anything present. The Wilderness isn’t a tangible entity, but the image of Natalie yelling at nothing further supports the notion that it’s all in the survivors’ heads. Whether the Wilderness is there or not, though, it’s obvious Natalie believes in its powers at this point in the series.

That’s why she’s so insistent when she tells it that they’re going to leave. Natalie and the other teens have trauma from being stranded in the woods, but they also know the risks of venturing outside their camp. That’s why they seemingly gave up on rescue for most of Yellowjackets season 3, even with better weather and circumstances making another attempt to escape possible. Believing in the Wilderness makes Natalie nervous that it will act out if they try again. And to be fair, she’s onto something; we know the girls aren’t going to go home just yet.

We Already Know That The Wilderness Gets Its Way (At Least For A While)

Whether it’s real or a collective creation of the girls, viewers already know that the Wilderness will get what it wants in season 3. This makes the Yellowjackets’ excitement about going home all the more tragic. While it’s unclear how Shauna, Tai, and Lottie intend to keep the other teens from embarking on their escape mission, they’re clearly going to find a way. Perhaps this will be how Kodiak meets his end and Hannah winds up captive in the camp. Whatever unfolds, Yellowjackets season 1’s opening tells us that the girls will spend another winter in the woods.

Yellowjackets fans can look forward to another failed attempt to escape and another desperate winter.

As the teen timeline appears to be nearing or in the midst of fall by the end of season 3, that means it’s too early for the remaining survivors to go home. There are also too many of them; even though Yellowjackets season 3 introduces an eighth survivor in its latest episode, the show can’t keep dropping twists like that one. Needless to say, Yellowjackets fans can look forward to another failed attempt to escape and another desperate winter — and that’s exactly what the Wilderness is hoping for.