Questioning if a group of young women would, or even could, act like the boys in Lord of the Flies is what inspired the idea behind the Showtime series Yellowjackets. That, and several real-life events, including the Donner Party of 1846-1847 and the 1972 Andes flight disaster. The show set out to prove that when put in such a dire situation, young women could very well resort to disturbing lows. And it achieved that goal in spades. No more so, however, then when the tensions reach a boiling point in the third season of the shockingly unsettling show. (Note: this review is based on episodes 1-7 of season three, which were provided for screening purposes).
Season 2 Recap
As fans of Yellowjackets know, the story is told in two separate timelines: back in the ‘90s while the ladies, still teenagers, are stuck in the wilderness after a plane carrying their soccer team to nationals crashes.
What Happened In Present Day?
In present day, 25 years later, the women have gone on with their lives since being rescued 19 months after the crash. But they still carry the trauma and darkness from the wilderness with them.
Everything came to a head in season two when Natalie (Juliette Lewis) ended up at Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) compound, realizing her old friend was effectively running a cult. When the other ladies arrive to save her, Lottie tries to convince them that the wilderness needs a sacrifice. She sets out cups with drinks, one of which is laced with poison. Her idea is that they each take a sip, herself included, and whoever has the poisoned cup is who the wilderness has chosen.
The ladies convince Lottie to do things the old way using a deck of cards: the person who draws the fatal Queen of Hearts card is the sacrificial lamb. The intention is to stall as long as possible until a psych team arrives. But Van (Lauren Ambrose), believing she has nothing to lose since she’s dying of cancer anyway, calls off the team, unbeknownst the others, except Tai (Tawny Cypress).
Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) pulls the doomed card and the ladies chase her in the forest until her daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) arrives and shoots Lottie in the shoulder. When Lisa (Nicole Maines) shows up with a gun to Natalie’s head, Misty (Christina Ricci) reacts in the heat of the moment and rushes at Lisa. At the last second, Natalie jumps in front of the young woman to whom she had grown close to save her. Misty accidentally plunges the needle with phenobarbital into Natalie instead, and she perishes.
What Happened In The Flashbacks?
Back in the flashbacks, the teens have become increasingly desperate. Not only have they already resorted to cannibalism with Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) body, they are playing games to decide which one of them dies next, driven by their extreme hunger. The temperatures are frigid, food scarce, and there’s no other option.
Natalie draws the Queen of Hearts and goes running. As they chase her, Javi (Luciano Leroux) falls into the frozen water. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) tries desperately to pull him out, but instead of helping, the others urge her to let him go. The wilderness has chosen, they believe. And unless she wants to die instead, he is it. Reluctantly and tearfully, Natalie lets go and the ladies return with Javi’s body, to Travis’ (Kevin Alves) horror. And well, you remember what happened next.
Witnessing the ladies eating Javi’s cooked remains, Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) is horrified. He believes he is going to be next, so he disappears into the cave that Javi told him about. Later, the cabin erupts in flames in the middle of the night. The ladies come running out. As they watch their only shelter burn to the ground, Ben, or someone who looks to be Ben, looks on from a distance. It’s implied that he set the fire.
While the creators initially promised a bonus episode between seasons, since season two was one episode short, that never came to fruition. So, on we went to season three, almost two years later. And it was worth the wait.
Yellowjackets Season 3 Review
Yellowjackets season 3 continues in the same vein as you’d expect. But if you can imagine, it gets even weirder, creepier, and more distressing. While we’d much rather see the flashbacks of the young women in the wilderness, like with seasons one and two, the scenes are not nearly as frequent. On the positive side, this nicely draws out the story and builds tension as we learn piece by piece what happened. But while the adult actors play these characters amazingly well, what we really want to see are the moments that got them to this mentally fractured point.
The young cast of actors continues do a brilliant job portraying teens on the brink, resorting to doing things they never thought possible and slowly but surely losing every semblance of their prior selves. Some are impressionable followers, others emerging leaders. The one truth that binds them all is that they have all been tormented, brutalized, and traumatized by their experience in varying ways. Some won’t make it back alive and the ones who do are never the same.
In present day, the aftermath of Natalie’s death is hard on everyone, most notably Misty who rightfully blames herself for her deathly knee-jerk reaction, despite her good intentions. Elijah Wood is back as citizen detective Walter, bringing his nerdy, doe-eyed sensibility to the cast, a clever addition as one of few male characters who ironically bring very little male energy. His character, however, and characters like Jeff (Warren Kole), serve their purpose well. That’s to further solidify the strength of these female characters, and the emotional walls they have put up so high that even they can’t climb back over them.
Learning bit by bit what each woman was responsible for doing back in the wilderness helps explain the way they are now, and why they have been so secretive about what they went through. Rumors have always flown around about everything from witchcraft to cannibalism. Which ones are true, however, and just how far the ladies went, is what most haunts them. It also makes viewers simultaneously curious to know the truth while also hopelessly fearing it.
One of the big questions this season sets out to clear up relates to the future of Coach Ben, one of the only male survivors of the crash. It’s already established in the trailer that he survived, at least for some time on his own. The first few episodes indicate how and what happens to him, while episode three suggests that his day of reckoning is coming. Whether or not he deserves it, and if he started the cabin fire or not, is the million-dollar question.
Along with answers to burning questions, season three presents new questions (and characters) as well. Confirmed new cast members include Hilary Swank and Joel McHale, both of whom play pivotal roles in driving the plot forward. There’s plenty of unexpected twists as well that add angles to the story you won’t see coming.
It’s A Wild Ride
The best way to describe season three of Yellowjackets is that it’s a wild ride the entire way through. Grasp your pillow tight, get some popcorn, and prepare to wince, beg, and plead for the ladies to do something or not do something or at least do the right thing. That goes for both the teens back in the ‘90s and the adults in present day who, in some ways, are facing the same internal struggles they did back then, just in different settings (and decades).
The supernatural elements kick up a few notches this season, as is the graphic nature of things that happened in the wilderness. Some of the characters who faded to the background before have more of a voice while others have troubling arcs that will make you view them in an entirely different light.
The best thing about Yellowjackets season 3 is that it drives the story forward for so many of these characters, ups the intensity, and leaves you absolutely gutted. It touches on everything from mental illness to breakdowns, struggles for power, insecurity, and a loss of oneself. The supernatural elements are creepy, sure. Yet they’re oddly less horrifying than what’s happening in reality.
So, if the initial question set out to be answered with the conception of Yellowjackets was “how would young women act in this situation compared to young men?” the frightened look on Ben’s face every time he saw what these ladies were capable of doing says it all.
To use a simpler analogy, have you ever seen a women’s public bathroom? It’s usually not pretty. Women can be filthy creatures, reverting to animalistic instincts on every level. Now imagine a bunch of post-pubescent teenage women stuck in the wilderness with no food, shelter, or hope for survival. They’ll do just fine on their own, no doubt. They’re resourceful, smart, and practical. But as these ladies prove, the same conflicting personalities, moral ambiguity, and outright chaos as was depicted in Lord of the Flies would rear its head. And chances are, it would end in a menacing bloodbath.