Each week, Jenn and Joe discuss the latest episode of Showtime’s Yellowjackets S03. Spoilers ahead!
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- S01/S02: Murder Made Fiction Patreon
- S03: Episode 1-2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Episode 3.06: “Thanksgiving (Canada)”: The Yellowjackets start turning on each other. The Sadecki family vacation features a deep dive into questionable parenting choices. Misty uncovers an incriminating clue.
JENN
Joe, I cannot believe what I just watched. This episode not only brings the ‘97 timeline into the fall with a grisly Thanksgiving feast, but we’ve got a brand new leader and the most shocking cliffhanger ending in all three seasons. The present day timeline might be spinning its wheels, but the teen Yellowjackets are blowing the door off its hinges.
But before I get too carried away, or too hyperbolic, let’s backtrack a bit. You were right that Coach Scott (Steven Krueger) was not destined to survive his time in the wilderness and it seems all our fan-casting was for naught. Episode 5 ends with the poor outcast begging for his life, but within minutes of episode 6, he’s begging to die.
And who could blame him, roped up in the animal pen for the foreseeable future? We mark the passage of a few months not only with the girls—and Travis (Kevin Alves)—slowly wearing heavier clothes, but with Coach Scott’s increasingly bloodshot eyes and gaunt face. He truly is wasting away in front of our eyes and I can’t think of a more cruel and unusual punishment.
Convinced that he’s their vague “bridge home,” they’ve just decided to draw out his torture with no end in sight. It’s a clear indicator of how committed they’ve become to their Wilderness God. Even naysayer Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) has fully embraced this mystical vision—or the dark parts of her are enjoying Coach Scott’s prolonged suffering. They’re so far into the delusional cave that they can’t understand why Nat (Sophie Thatcher) would want to end his suffering and the group turns against their leader when she makes an executive decision.
It seems Nat’s time as benevolent leader is over and Shauna’s finally got the power she so clearly wants. But how will they fare with a leader not specifically “chosen” by the wilderness?
Ok, I’ve held out for as long as I can. Let’s talk about this feast. Not only are we back to eating human flesh, we’ve now moved explicitly away from survival cannibalism. While I would argue that Coach Scott’s death could be considered a mercy killing [insert rant here about how they could just set him free] they’re definitely not desperate for food. Shauna uses the task of butchering as a punishment and they “honor” his sacrifice by dressing up and placing his head on a plate. Lottie (Courtney Eaton) awakening the forest’s screaming spirits is just the icing on this cannibal cake.
No wonder visitors to their camp are stunned. Also: can this be real? Have they actually been rescued? Or will this damning evidence of what they’ve done keep them stuck in the woods for a little while longer? I fear we’re just moments away from the group swarming these outsiders and killing them to protect their secret. What do you think, Joe? Who are these visitors and do they stand a chance with our feral girls? And how will the group fare under Shauna’s brutal watch?
All this and I haven’t even touched on the adult timeline. Other than that clear plastic phone that we all had in the 90s, is there any part of the adult storyline that grabbed your attention?
JOE
Ugh – ok, we’ll get to the snoozefest that is the present timeline in a moment, but first I, too, need to spend a beat in 1997.
RIP Coach Ben Scott. I truly didn’t know how much I was invested in this character until I realized that this was definitely Steven Krueger’s final episode on the show and I got legitimately upset. The writing has been on the wall for several episodes, but I think a part of me thought he would last for longer (at least until the winter!), so it’s a low-key gut punch that he basically begs to be murdered by Natalie.
After all that he has endured, it makes perfect sense, and writers Libby Hill & Emily St. James are careful to mark the passage of time in a death-pleading montage between Ben and Natalie that clarifies that isn’t a sudden decision.
But it *is* effective (and affective) to watch Natalie grapple with the weight of committing murder to someone she grew extremely close to last season. Even when Ben lies and tries to take credit for burning down the cabin, Natalie’s faith in him never waivers. So, of course, it had to be her who fatally plunges the knife into his chest. Who else but her?
Jenn, all of this 1997 stuff is still so good, I legitimately don’t understand how the present day stuff can be so awful!
I’m unsure if the creative team thought that the mystery of Lottie’s death would be more exciting or entertaining, but it’s baffling how ineffective all of the adult stuff is. Here’s where we’re at, in brief:
- Callie (Sarah Desjardins) is recording Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) in an attempt to stay informed.
- Shauna is convinced someone is targeting the family for death and moves them into a motel.
- Misty (Christina Ricci) is calling Walter (an unseen Elijah Wood) an ASSFACE and getting lab tech Karl to test what was under Lottie’s nails.
- Tai (Tawny Cypress) wants to focus on feeling something positive because she feels powerless and Van (Lauren Ambrose) enables her until Shauna asks for help playing a DAT tape of the girls screaming back in the day.
It’s a big ol’shrug, honestly. In other shows, I’d complain that there are too many characters and not enough screen time to balance everyone out, but that’s not a new issue for Yellowjackets. And the reality is that all of the actors in this ensemble know how to make the most of their limited screentime, so when they are on screen, they’re giving it their all.
It’s just that Yellowjackets is so clearly lopsided in favour of its 1997 timeline that every time we return to the present, it immediately feels like a drag. The stakes in the past are quite literally life and death, whereas in the present the drama is centering around…outdated technology? I’m being glib (again!) but surely the writers know that this simply isn’t enough?
And where the hell is Hilary Swank? Like, FOR REAL, why did they tease the arrival of an actress who isn’t appearing until the final few episodes of the season?!
But back to your pressing question, Jenn: this random hiking couple in 1997 are absolutely doomed. If you consider the timeline from crash to rescue, we’re nowhere near the 19 months the girls were stranded in the wilderness. Never mind that these random folks saw a decapitated head on a table in front of a group of screaming girls.
Back to you: how are you feeling about Lottie and Akilah (Nia Sondaya)’s mild spiritual crisis? Did you notice that Travis was the only teenager not screaming in the fiery climax? And can anything save the present day timeline from the doldrums?
JENN
Joe, I know exactly what could save this present day timeline. Put Elijah Wood and Warren Kole in a couple of sweaters and follow Walter and Jeff around as they rescue cats and solve crimes. Give the people what they want!! Maybe they can find out where the hell Swank is.
While I’m admittedly not as interested in these cave hallucinations as I am in the ongoing Law & Order: Forest Victims Unit saga, I would like to dig into Akilah’s vision. While tripping it up in the caves, she sees Coach Scott forming a literal bridge that will send them home which they use to justify months of what can only be called torture. When Natalie finally relents and kills the man, his dismembered corpse may keep them from embracing help from the outside world. Had they simply executed the poor man immediately after that egregious verdict (I’m still mad at Shauna) they could be on the way home right now. Perhaps the forest doesn’t want them to leave.
I did not notice that Travis was the only one not screaming, but that just furthers my suspicions that he is the arsonist. I will die on this hill.
Ok, I guess we must talk about the adults. The seeds are planted for intrigue and danger. I’m now assuming that this DAT tape may have been brought by the hikers and probably includes audio of what I predict will be their grisly murder. Which explains why they’re so cagey about their time in the woods. Simple survival cannibalism could be explained and accepted (see our coverage of the Miracle in the Andes), but we’ve now entered a world of ritualistic murder and pagan sacrifice. And considering that all but one of the survivors are young women, I understand their reluctance to expose the truth.
I’m also interested in Tai’s possession and Van’s miraculous cancer reversal. The problem is, we’re not seeing any of this. Hill and St. James are wisely leaning on their charismatic leads, but not even Elijah Wood’s sparkling blue eyes and true crime enthusiasm can save this part of the story.
Joe, I do have one more question. What do you make of that stop motion bear? I know you haven’t loved the more imaginative sequences, but how do you feel about this ferocious guy? And what does the bear represent? Is this growing monster meant to represent outside forces or the monsters that the girls themselves have become?
JOE
Oh gosh, I’d almost forgotten about the stop motion bear! It’s kinda cute, but also unsettling, isn’t it?
As for what it means? I legit don’t know. It seems symbolic, for sure; though my natural impulse would have been to read it as a manifestation of the Wilderness, I kinda like your reading that it’s reflective of their internalized monsters.
It does seem like this cliffhanger is going to be something of a turning point for the series. Can we still empathize with the girls if we know they’ve killed to cover up their crimes (I would argue the answer is yes considering we’ve already seen both Adult Shauna and both Mistys do this), but arguably this random hiking couple is their best way out of the forest so if they just kill them, then they elected to keep their suffering going and should also be held responsible for any subsequent murders/cannibalism when the winter returns.*
*Sidebar: it’s definitely ominous when Tai and Van remark about how they’re better prepared for the winter this time, to which I immediately thought: “Oh, aren’t we tempting fate with that statement?!”
But yeah, Jenn, shit is about to get dark. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what comes next!
Yellowjackets airs Fridays on Paramount+ on Showtime (and/or Sundays depending on where you’re watching)
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