Season three of “Yellowjackets” is finally out, which means that audiences have waited longer than the girls occupied the Canadian wilderness to know what happens next.
“Yellowjackets” follows two timelines of a girls’ soccer team. One takes place in the woods in 1996, following the girls crash landing in the middle of nowhere while on their way to nationals. Cut to the adult timeline 25 years later, where viewers observe the survivors of the 19-month-long terror and what they are willing to do to ensure their past doesn’t come to light.
Season two ended with the girls watching their only source of shelter, a cabin, burn to flames as they are left to wonder how they are going to survive the rest of winter. However, survival didn’t apply to Natalie Scatorcio’s adult counterpart (Juliette Lewis) as she died in the season finale in an altercation during the hunting sequence.
Season three picks up on these consequences, as the girls, now in 1997, have built a little village of wooden huts, and teen Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) ascends into her new role as the Antler Queen. Although we miss adult Natalie, nobody is taking it harder than adult Misty Quigly (Christina Ricci) as she is coping with the loss of her best friend, as well as the fact that she was her accidental murderer.
It seems that death is a prevalent part of season three, as no one was expecting the death of adult Lottie Matthews (Simone Kessell) at the end of episode four and adult Van Palmer (Lauren Ambrose) at the end of episode nine, which now only leaves four of the 8 adult survivors now present in the show.
In an interview with Deadline, co-creator Ashley Lyle of “Yellowjackets” said, “The very first scene of the series is someone dying. And so, we knew when we were starting this journey that that was going to be a big part of the show, there are going to be character deaths, there are consequences for our characters’ actions. And now we made our bed and now we have to lie in it,” in response to the character death toll this season.
As a consumer of many mystery and thriller TV shows, I recognize the importance of a character’s death in driving the plot further or creating some sort of symbolism within the context of the show. That’s what I loved about Jackie Taylor’s death in season one, as she has been haunting the narrative of teen (Sophie Nélisse) and adult (Melanie Lynskey) Shauna Shipman and is an important arc in her character. However, I am struggling to understand the importance of the deaths of adults Natalie, Lottie, and Van.
What I liked about each of the adults was that there was still some progression of growth to each of the characters within the story. Natalie on her sobriety journey, Lottie’s loyalty to the wilderness, and a desire to see Van outside of her and adult Taissa’s (Tawny Cypress) relationship. Originally, I was devastated but accepted Natalie’s death in season 2 but have now retracted that statement in what is shown in the teen timeline in season 3.
After Natalie ascends to the role as the Antler Queen, Shauna starts to question her authority and wants some of that power for her own, thus creating a rivalry between the two. I would have loved to see some of this tension displayed in the adult timeline and it feels like it was wasted potential for each of their adult counterparts..
A plot twist that was introduced mid-season three was the reveal that teen Melissa (Jenna Burgess) actually survived the crash and is now revealed to be the eighth survivor. When adult Melissa (Hillary Swank) kills adult Van in episode nine, she reveals that it is an act of sacrifice for the wilderness. We still don’t know much about her adult counterpart but having her be in such good faith with the wilderness seems like a quick replacement of Lottie’s character in terms of her desire in wanting to reunite the girls with the wilderness.
This season took a lot of risks in terms of the plot that I particularly enjoyed. What I like about season three the most is that it starts to connect the two timelines together. We all knew that the girls engaged in cannibalism on their teammates, but the reveal of the frog scientists coming upon their campsite and what the girls did to them was a twist I was never expecting. Unexpectedly, one of the scientists, Hannah (Ashley Sutton), in an attempt of survival joins the cult to ensure she makes it back home, and I am curious about what role she will play in the future.
Until then, if there is a season four, I hope it remembers its existence as a show because I felt like it lost it a bit this past season.
I tuned into “Yellowjackets” because of its premise: A group of girls who go nuts and form a cult in the woods. Now I’m worried about the sudden trajectory of Shauna becoming angry and spiteful in season three and leaving everyone a bystander in their terrorizing actions.
The teen timeline is still the strongest aspect of the show. It’s what holds the most mystery towards the viewers. Going into the next season, I hope they flesh out the new plot points introduced this past season and show the same care to storytelling towards its adult timeline.
