The second season of Yellowjackets concluded with a fire and a death, one disaster in each of the Showtime series’ two timelines. Both events sent catastrophic ripples through the storylines that linger in the new season, although creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson quickly propel the episodes forward with new drama and added mystery.
In the tumultuous finale, the teenage survivors dined on the body of one of their own, declared Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) as their new leader and were nearly killed after someone burned their cabin to the ground. Meanwhile, in present day, chaos ensued at Lottie’s cult after the women reenact a ritual from their prior time in the forest, resulting in the surprise death of Natalie (Juliette Lewis) at the accidental hand of Misty (Christina Ricci). The third season premiere picks up shortly after the present day timeline as Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Taissa (Tawny Cypress) and Van (Lauren Ambrose) grieve the loss of Natalie—Lewis is sadly absent from the new episodes. Misty, still shacking up with her new beau Walter (Elijah Wood), is slowly going off the rails with guilt. Shauna’s daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins), who witnessed the ritual, is overcome with curiosity about her mother’s deranged high school pals and is looking for any opportunity to uncover more details.
In the past, time leaps forward from the desolation of winter to a more peaceful summer, when the girls and Travis (Kevin Alves) are seemingly thriving. They’ve overcome the trauma of losing the cabin and have rebuilt in the form of a Bohemian camp, with numerous teepee structures and pens containing ducks and rabbits. They’ve stopped hunting each other for food and are instead sustaining on the wilderness itself, seemingly unfazed by the fact that they were forced to consume their compatriots to survive. Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), who couldn’t stomach the cannibalism, is now in hiding, with Natalie attempting to convince everyone he’s dead so they’ll leave him alone. Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) is simmering with fury and Lottie (Courtney Eaton) keeps attempting to dose Travis with magic mushrooms so he can connect with the trees, which have been screaming (literally). The moment of calm is deceiving, particularly as the first four episodes unfurl.
After a captivating first season, Yellowjackets stumbled slightly in its follow-up. Last season, there was a lot going on in both timelines and there were a lot of characters, making it sometimes difficult to connect. Season 2 delivered the promised cannibalism, more than once, but it also was mired in mystical lore. Some of that lore, like the screaming trees, continues here, and Yellowjackets falters when it fixates on surreal dream sequences. It’s still unclear whether there’s an actual element of folk horror embedded in the story—is the wilderness actually demanding human sacrifice or are these survivors addled by trauma? With ten episodes, season three promises some answers, but also more questions. There are clever additions to the narrative, like a makeshift trial held by the survivors in the fourth episode and, of course, more death. The acting is as strong as ever, both from the elder cast and their younger counterparts, with Lynskey and Ricci again as the standouts.
Of course, if you’re onboard the Yellowjackets bandwagon it’s unlikely you’ll leave now. Enough unhinged things have happened that not much will faze viewers at this point. And that’s obviously part of the show’s allure—we want to see these girls hunt and eat each other. But Nickerson, Lyle and the writing staff understand that the series can’t survive on cannibalism alone. The storylines have to build to the wild moments, which season three does carefully (at least in the first four episodes that I’ve seen). Callie gets a larger role, a nice addition because she can act as a connector between the curious audience and the adult survivors, who are reluctant to reveal everything that’s transpired. Who’s going to get eaten next? We have no idea, but Yellowjackets certainly never lacks the desired drama.
The first two episodes of ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3 are streaming now on Showtime.
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