Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 8 of Yellowjackets
Yellowjacketsis no stranger to jaw-dropping twists, from the feast of Jackie (Ella Purnell) to the deaths of main characters like Natalie (Juliette Lewis) and Lottie (Simone Kessell). Season 3 in particular has been dishing out theplot twists and cliffhangers in nearly every episode. There’s been Coach Scott’s (Steven Krueger) capture and death, and the shocking reveal thatMelissa (Jenna Burgess/Hilary Swank) is one of the present-day survivors.
However, the biggest and most unexpected moment yet was when agroup of researchers stumbled across the Yellowjacketsdeep in the wilderness. Up until this point, it seemed as though the team was completely secluded, with civilization nowhere near. So forpeople to suddenly show upwas a shock to the system. It was a promise of freedom and rescue which had once seemed so out of reach. But just as quickly as it’s offered, it’s ripped away once again, and it’s infuriating the way it’s done.
The Yellowjackets Turn Their Backs on Rescue in Season 3, Episode 8
After Lottie (Courtney Eaton) kills one of the researchers, the team realizes they’re in a much more precarious situation than they were originally. When the group first arrived, they could have made up some plausible-sounding story as to why they had Coach Scott’s head on a platter (what that story would be, I have no idea.) But the second Lottie killed Edwin (Nelson Franklin), any chance at gaining the others' trust was quickly squandered. This move sends Hannah (Ashley Sutton) and Kodiak (Joel McHale) running for the hills, only to be captured by the team, and surprisingly spared as they realize they may actually be useful to them in the long run. As it turns out, they’re right. Not only do the researchers have supplies that the team doesn’t, such as basic first aid, butKodiak is a trained wilderness guide and can get them all back to the pickup pointwhere they’ll be rescued and brought home.The team rejoices in thisand begins packing for their 6-day trek to the pick-up point.
After all they’ve gone through, they finally get to go home… at least, that was the plan. As soon as they set out to leave, Lottie announces that she’s staying. At first,Natalie (Sophie Thatcher)sympathizes with her, saying that she understands the idea is scary, but this is a real rescue, and they get to go home. However,Lottie feels the wilderness is her home now, and she admits that she doesn’t know who she is outside of it. Unable to change her mind, Natalie agrees to let Lottie stay and the rest of them plan to go on. But then Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) drops her bag and says she’s staying too, and to everyone’s surprise, Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) joins them. Both Shauna and Tai admit that something doesn’t feel right, and that it hasn’t since Kodiak and Hannah arrived. Baffled and frustrated, Natalie is content to let them stay behind, but then Shauna tells her that none of them are leaving. And since she’s recently been deemed the leader of the group, what Shauna says goes.
This ‘Yellowjackets’ Twist Is Shocking
Admittedly, this isn’t all that surprising of a twist, since we know that the team spends a second winter in the wilderness. In this sense, the show itself spoiled that in the pilot episode. What is surprising, however, is the motivation behind it. The wilderness timeline is fascinating as we see the team navigate their new reality and struggle to stay alive. It’s understandable the show would want to carry that out a little while longer. But it doesn’t make sense that the characters would actively turn their backs on rescue — not when they’ve been dreaming about it and praying for it. And certainly not afterall the loss they’ve faced.
Lottie’s decision to stay makes sense, as we’ve seen her go through the most noticeable character transformation. She went from being an average teenage girl, to suddenly being seen as a prophet and being relied upon as a vessel to help her teammates survive the wilderness. Now, she’s unable to hear the wilderness or speak to it, and it’s taking a toll on her. She’s lost her position of importance, and at some point that became all she had to hold onto. In a way, the same is somewhat true for Shauna. She lost her best friend, and blames herself for it. She also lost her baby, and will never heal from the trauma of this loss. But it also seems like these would be reasons for her to want to leave — so she can leave everything behind. Meanwhile, Taissa has never been one to believe in the wilderness hierarchy everyone preaches about, and now she says she feels the same wary feeling that Shauna and Lottie do. Of course, this islikely “Other Tai” projecting, but still, it all just feels like a strange way of keeping them stuck in the wilderness longer.
‘Yellowjackets’ Needs To Move On Without Jackie
Some bodies need to stay buried.
It just doesn’t seem plausible that the team would turn away rescue and listen to Shauna telling them they can’t go, even ifshe is the leader now. Surely, a chance at rescue would overrule her leadership by a majority vote? It’sliterally the entire team against Lottie, Tai, and Shauna.Perhaps this twist would work better if it had been accidental. For example, had the wilderness been literally trapping them there, like if their guide got injured and they had to turn back, the twist would feel more realistic. This way of going about it comes off lackluster and more than a little cheesy.
This Is a Turning Point For ‘Yellowjackets’
Even if the reason for their staying isn’t the best, this twist is a huge turning point forYellowjackets. They’re so entranced by the wilderness that they’ve come to see it as their home, and it’s hard for them to imagine going back to civilization.Now they’ve sealed their fate ofhaving to spend yet another grueling winter in the woods. Doing so will undoubtedly change them further, especially now that they don’t have the cabin as refuge and are at the mercy of the elements. As the weather changes, things are about to get a lot more brutal for the Yellowjackets, which makes this point in the series an even bigger deal.
Showing them having rescue in their grasp and willingly giving it up is a jaw-dropping moment that may not make sense at the moment, but will likely be of bigger purpose later down the line. Itgoes to show just how far gone they arein their belief in the wilderness, andhow disconnected they’ve becomefrom society. The Yellowjackets are in for a long and treacherous ride.
Yellowjackets
