Review: Don’t Bring a Gun to a Knife Fight!

After Season 2, ‘Yellowjackets’ has nowhere to go but forward

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Spoilers ahead! Trigger warning: murder, death, cannibalism, gore, and general violence. 

Written by Meg & Ali

Now that we’ve all had a chance to digest last week’s season 2 finale of Yellowjackets, we thought it’d be a good time to convene a critics¹ roundtable². This week, we’ll each be sharing our thoughts on the show’s polarizing second season, including what worked, what flopped, and why—despite some narrative missteps—neither of us will be quitting the show any time soon.

Showtime

Favorite part of the finale?

Ali: I have to start by saying that my real and true favorite part of this and any Yellowjackets episode are the performances. This is such a stunningly talented cast—sometimes I feel like the show may be coasting on performance, but I’ll get to that later.

If I had to pick a specific favorite moment from the finale, I’d say Natalie being “crowned” the Antler Queen in the wilderness timeline. I feel like a good portion of what happened this season was at least somewhat expected—we knew the girls would resort to cannibalism, we knew Shauna’s baby would die, we even knew that at some point they would actively hunt one another—but Natalie taking on this kind of leadership role, and moreover, taking it on happily, managed to genuinely shock me. It’s not so much that I didn’t see Natalie as a leader—she has been, even if her contributions go mostly ignored. She’s been the hunter. Over the course of the season we’ve seen her role as hunter weigh on her. She is meant to provide for them, and she can’t. This is a heavy burden to bear, and also a thankless one. I think this is, at least in part, why she was initially willing to give herself over to the girls during the “lottery”. She felt like their lack of food was somehow a direct consequence of her failures—she couldn’t feed them, so now she would literally have to feed them. This kind of warped nobility is in keeping with Natalie’s character. She’s often been called the moral center of the group. However, when she lets Javi die in her place in the penultimate episode, she has to confront the fact that she really is just like all the others: willing to do whatever it takes to survive. So when she is named leader, she feels venerated. Not only was this horrible choice necessary, it was inevitable—out of her control. The way Sophie Thatcher plays this moment is both moving and intriguing. This is the happiest we’ve seen Natalie in a long time. In giving herself over to the group, will she lose the groundedness that has set her apart? What kind of leader will she be? It’s an exciting (and terrifying) prospect! I also loved getting glimpses of the other girls wondering if maybe they will be chosen—the hope and jealousy of it all. It serves as a subtle reminder that at the end of the day they are still just teenagers. 

Another reason I liked this choice was that, while shocking in the moment, it makes total sense once you look back at both seasons. Natalie’s guilt has always been massive in the adult timeline. While it would make sense for this guilt to be the product of their time in the wilderness in general, it becomes even more powerful once you look at it from the perspective of someone who not only did horrible things, but led others to do horrible things. Of course, as viewers we know that their actions out there were not the result of any one person's leadership, but Natalie may feel acutely responsible. It also brings to mind the first time we saw Adult Natalie in the show. In rehab she laments not what they did out there, but her lack of purpose. Once seen in the context of a former leader, it reveals another dimension to her character, one I wish we could continue to explore in the present-day timeline (see: least favorite part of the finale…). Taken together, this indicates that this specific choice may have been part of the showrunners’ larger plan—a welcome notion during a season that felt largely like they were flying by the seat of their pants. 

Meg: I have to agree that the performances by the actors that play these women are what make Yellowjackets incredible. This season, I was consistently awed by Sophie Nélisse (Teen Shauna), Samantha Hanratty (Teen Misty), Liv Hewson (Teen Van), Lauren Ambrose (Van), and Melanie Lynskey (Shauna). The adult version of each character so perfectly mirrors who the teen version would have grown into. And as each episode (and particularly the finale) unfolds, the adult personality that we know and are rooting for makes more and more sense. 

I agree with Ali that Natalie’s ascent to the role of Antler Queen was an amazing twist that I didn’t see coming, and one that I feel is supported by her arc. To be chosen, she had to accept that she is willing to do what she fears the most—survive, at any cost. 

A big moment of the finale that I enjoyed watching was Adult Shauna’s undoing, as I think it mirrored the mourning and crisis of strength that her teenage self experienced in the wilderness after the death of her baby. Adult Shauna, for as long as we’ve known her, has always been a power player. She’s been tough and brazened, unafraid to get messy (or violent). She’s resisted the descent into fear that many of her former teammates have not been able to, as signs that the darkness is returning grow stronger and harder to ignore. But this season, and the finale in particular, brought cracks in the facade. She was shaky and scared, she made mistakes with the police and risked the safety of her teammates who helped her take care of “the Adam problem”. And we see Teenage Shauna incriminating herself via jealousy as she writes, why not me?!, in the diaries that will go on to be so problematic in adulthood. I liked seeing her vulnerable! I sense that Season 3 Shauna’s grit will continue to deteriorate. I appreciate the choice to mix up a central character. We finally see how scared she is for Callie (more on this later).  

For a character that had a mild start, I also loved the demented twist Elijah Wood’s character, Walter took in the finale. He plays it fast and loose, leaving a trail of phenobarbital in his wake, stealing guns out of pockets, and coming up with elaborate revenge plots while grinning maniacally. How fun! 

Lastly, I felt the finale was well paced in that all roads believably led to the cult-astrophe. I didn’t feel annoyed that any of these characters “wound up” there, and I appreciated getting to see them all land in the aftermath of the finale before the season ended.

Showtime

Least favorite part of the finale?

Ali: Natalie’s death in the present-day timeline. Hands down. No question. And I feel like I have to clarify, because the truth is I don’t hate the idea of an adult survivor dying. And Natalie dying did, in certain ways, work thematically (if you buy into the belief that she was living on borrowed time). If the death had been handled well, it would’ve worked similarly to how Jackie’s death worked in the Season 1 finale—increasing the sense of threat and urgency in the current-day timeline. The problem? It wasn’t handled well. 

At best, Natalie’s death was rushed. At worst, it was downright sloppy. Before I get into my narrative complaints, I must take a moment to touch on the editing of Natalie’s death, because…what was that? Why was it cut to filth? What were those weird lighting choices? It’s giving chaos! If Natalie had to die, why not let us just sit with her in that moment? Juliette Lewis is more than capable of pulling off that kind of vulnerability without all the extra fuss. Yellowjackets is at it’s best when it makes us stew in our discomfort and allows it’s actors to shine. Think of the rawness and twisted intimacy in the scene in which Teen Shauna is preparing to butcher Javi—the way the camera lingers on his skin, forcing us to confront what is happening on screen. Natalie’s death had none of that subtlety. Instead, we were fed melodrama. The entire “hunt” that preceded her death felt oddly slapstick, and the fact that not one, but two people showed up out of nowhere brandishing firearms was just silly! 

Narratively, the death doesn’t hold up much better. Adult Natalie’s arc this season came off as meandering. She unexpectedly moved towards healing by letting Lottie in, only to quickly turn on Lottie in the finale (don’t even get me started on why she trusted Lottie in the first place after Travis’ sketchy death!). I don’t feel like I had a clear enough idea of where her head was at by the end of the season. There is the obvious juxtaposition of Natalie letting Javi die in the wilderness while sacrificing herself for Lisa in the present, but her friendship with Lisa felt too undeveloped to really make an impact. In the end, I think the real sacrifice being made was Natalie’s character for Misty’s development. Misty killed Natalie and she is the one who will be left to deal with the fallout. While this is fine and offers plenty of fodder for Christina Ricci in Season 3, it also feels like a huge loss for a potentially limited payoff. Natalie’s death may change Misty, but how, exactly, will it move the story forward outside of that?

The showrunners have said that they want the viewers to understand that no one is safe in this world, but this is Yellowjackets! Of course we understand that. Death is already a huge part of this show, in both timelines. Out of the known survivors, Travis is dead, and now so is Natalie. Van has terminal cancer (that may or may not be cured by the wilderness)...at what point will viewers start to wonder, “why get invested in characters that most likely won’t survive into next season?” It’s a delicate–and risky–balancing act. 

Meg: Natalie has always been one of my favorite characters and so my least favorite thing was saying goodbye to her, especially in a death sequence that felt messy and unjustified. I won't harp on this, since Ali covers it so well! 

But I totally agree with Ali in that adult Natalie was lost this season. She succumbs to Lottie’s “intentional community” after putting up an amazing fight, but then is never given enough screen time to demonstrate her transition from the Natalie we know to a happy, placid lavender sheeple. But when the rest of the teammates finally make it to the wellness center, she’s fully ensconced! I even thought she suddenly looked well-rested for the first time…ever. A switch flips while the group sits together in the Share Shack trying to decide how to placate the wilderness and that familiar bite/sneer combo comes back into Nat out of nowhere! Her choice to fall in with Lottie’s teachings makes even less sense to me after learning that she was crowned Antler Queen. Why isn’t she calling the shots? Wouldn’t they all be thinking that as they are trying to decide what to do? Maybe something else happens in Season 3 that addresses this? But I definitely have questions. 

I was also slightly annoyed that phenobarbital became a main character. Why did it have to be the answer to everything. It was a little too lame of a plot device for me when the preferred death method in Yellowjackets has so often been freezing to death/stabbing/drowning/being pushed off a cliff. Boring! During the hunt, they were literally all carrying weapons! 

I felt it was a lost opportunity that the Other Taissa didn’t come out to play at all during the Hunt. Since it seems like aligning with the wilderness soothes the Other Tai, I would’ve expected her to jump in and ensure the Hunt would actually happen. I would have loved a push/pull between the Tais—our Tai, fighting feeling drawn to Van and the other Tai, smiling darkly while calling off the 5250 on the phone.

I had a little bit of a hard time with Misty telling Walter that she killed Natalie like 15-feet from the ambulance and police car! Come on, girl!

Showtime

Overall thoughts on Season 2?

Ali: I want to begin this section by acknowledging that the Yellowjackets showrunners and writers had a uniquely difficult task going into Season 2. When you have a theory-happy fanbase, it’s going to be hard to meet expectations no matter what you do. Fans tend to get attached to their theories, and so the actual story can feel like a letdown—not because it’s bad, but because it isn’t what people spent an entire hiatus envisioning. I absolutely think that this is happening with Yellowjackets, but not every misstep can be so easily explained away. 

There was a claustrophobic feel to Season 2. In the wilderness, the Yellowjackets spent so much of their time snowbound in their cabin, and in the present-day the events of the season took place over the course of just one week. This limited focus worked for the teens, but not so much for the adults. In fact, a lot of what worked in Season 2 was thanks to the wilderness timeline. In the ‘90s, not only are we consistently treated to excellent performances, but the story has forward momentum. We are moving towards an inevitable outcome, and the fun (is it fun?) is in watching how these kids get there. Unfortunately, while similarly rich in incredible performances, the adult timeline doesn’t have this same narrative roadmap and because of that, their half of the show has stalled. Instead of moving forward, the present-day timeline was stuck trying to tie-up loose ends from Season 1, and anything that might have offered new information (like looking further into Tai’s sleepwalking) was pretty much put on pause. Maybe the groundwork laid in these episodes will become clearer once all the seasons of the show are out, but as a standalone, Season 2 felt like a means to an end rather than a wholly satisfying piece of media in and of itself. 

All that said, Yellowjackets has awoken the fan in me in a way few shows have been able to do as of late. There is a lore here that remains intriguing and Season 2’s fumbles weren’t so bad as to negate that. 

Meg: This season just wasn’t as gripping as the first. I still loved it and am so invested in their stories and the outcome. The most agonizing part of a thriller or mystery is that desire to know, and that gnawing, wondering feeling is what will always keep me dialed into Yellowjackets. But, I felt at times that they could’ve shared more with us. What is unique about the ‘90s timeline is that for a life that is so—as Ali put it—claustrophobic, each survivor still manages to live a somewhat siloed internal life. Javi disappears (the long-discussed tunnels theory!), Shauna mourns, Tai sleepwalks, and Akilah befriends a dead rat. Each person still gets moments to themself. Because of the privacy that the wilderness is able to afford them, it wouldn’t have (in my opinion) messed things up if they had shown us a bit more of all these magical, mysterious forces. For example, I thought it was weird that Javi’s return is such a big deal, but then even when Coach Ben discovers the tunnel, we don’t learn anything more about how he actually survived or where he got food from. Javi—whose disappearance was such an influence on Nat’s development and standing in their small society—is relegated to the background of this season after returning. It feels like something could be lost in the pacing of future seasons when there is so much left to still unpack. 

I loved the drama and creative choice to introduce the hunt via the card game. To me, that was perfectly on-brand for Yellowjackets. They trusted their audience to understand and didn’t belabor with explanation; I felt an anxious knot watching them begin the ritual for the first time. I thought the game was clever, believable, and subtle. The scenes in the opening of Season 1 are so haunting; a girl running through the woods, cold and barefoot and terrified for her life. I wondered how we were going to escalate to that point. This choice holds so much drama and tension. The rhythm and ritual of it were so spooky! 

Some character performances in particular continued to astound me as they grew into themselves in Season 2. Adult Van’s dark-sidedness lies in how she embodies a f*ck it attitude and can be extremely logical and down to earth. But she’s also pulled so deeply into the energetic tide of Lottie. I loved watching Lauren Ambrose pivot away from distant, detached dyke and effortlessly bring that pulsating, driven look into her eyes. (And familiar—because it matches Liv Hewson’s look perfectly). It’s absolutely chilling, and brilliant.

I enjoyed the moments when the show felt more playful—I adore John Reynolds (Detective Matt Saracusa), who brings a funny I told you so energy anywhere he goes. I also loved the silly dream sequence with Misty and John Cameron Mitchell as her parrot, Caliluga. 

Best needle-drop of the season? 

Ali: I think people would expect me to say The Cranberries’ “Zombie” or Sharon Van Etten’s “Seventeen” (both of which were fabulous!), but for a needle-drop, I think unexpectedness is particularly satisfying, which is why I am going to say “Song 2” by Blur which was used very surprisingly and to great effect in Shauna’s birth scene. 

Meg: I have to take this back to “Cornflake Girl” by Tori Amos in Episode 1. I know, I know, Episode 1! But “Cornflake Girl” is a special choice. As Tori Amos has explained, this song’s core meaning deals with betrayals between women, and also the harming of their bodies. In the very last scene of Episode 1, as “Cornflake Girl” plays, Shauna looks at Jackie’s ear with…hunger. Shauna takes a bite and is in heaven, right before the credits roll. 

Hopes for Season 3?

Ali: More than anything, my hope is that Season 3 will figure out the adult timeline. Yellowjackets needs to find a way to keep the survivors in each other’s orbit, and not just sporadically—the chemistry between these actors is too good to waste. Season 1 did a great job of giving the survivors a shared sense of threat: they were being blackmailed, and they simply could not allow their secrets to get out. In Season 2, this unifying factor disappeared. The end of Season 1 hinted at Lottie’s reappearance serving as a malevolent force that would bring them back together, but somewhere along the way they pivoted. Instead of being the kind of powerful villain originally alluded to, Lottie ended up being just as traumatized and lost as the rest of them. Now, with Lottie locked away and Natalie dead, the remaining adults don’t have a clear leader to gravitate towards. So what—or who—will force them to have anything to do with each other? I could see Tai’s storyline taking center stage next season. After all, there is still plenty of mystery wrapped up in her sleepwalking, which may or may not be connected to something more sinister. Also, Tawny Cypress was criminally underused in Season 2. 

Selfishly, I would love to see more from Adult Van in Season 3. Not only have I developed a pretty debilitating crush on Lauren Ambrose, but, as is, Van is the only survivor who feels like an extension of another survivor’s story (Tai), rather than a character in her own right. There is so much to be done with her! In the wilderness, she was constantly being pulled between death and faith. Now as an adult, she finds herself in the same situation. And yes, there is the fact that I would like to see what Ambrose can do with meatier material.  

No matter what happens, I think the writers may have to be willing to—pardon the pun—show their cards a bit more. I know part of what makes Yellowjackets so popular is the fact that it’s a puzzle box mystery, but three seasons in, we need the adults to be able to talk about their experience in the wilderness beyond vague mentions of “what we did out there.” Having to talk around so much in their timeline stifles the ability of the writers to tell their stories and the actors to portray these women fully. 

Before we can get to any of that though, the studios need to pay their writers! Once they get a fair contract, I’ll be seated for Season 3. 

Meg: I am aligned with Ali in that there is a marked stiltedness to the adult timeline in Season 2 and a little too much hang-up with the police. I definitely want to see more: more Van, more candidness between the survivors, and more clarity about what the wilderness’ end goal is. 

In the finale, I really felt that there was foreshadowing for Callie to take center stage. As soon as I knew Callie was out and about on the grounds when everyone was supposed to be in bed during the hunt, I wondered if she would be the one sacrificed instead. (Especially since caring for the baby goat Bruce destabilized Shauna and made her ponder her own motherhood). When Shauna got the Queen of Hearts, I thought it was a done deal! I almost texted Ali my prediction then got too embarrassed. But—I’m wondering if Callie possibly goes over to the dark side. (Or, better put, the darkness goes into her). Maybe the wilderness’ next best choice for continuing its reign of terror isn’t for power to transfer to one of the original survivors… but someone related, someone strong. Maybe someone that Lottie identified as…full of strength? Callie going dark could be such a good twist. If so, I hope Sarah Desjardins can give a less one-sided and tortured teen performance and surprise us with something truly sinister. I’d love for her to get scary! 

I hope Walter and Misty continue to develop into the psychotic, murderous power couple that I know they can be.

I’m hopeful that the writers will stick with the ending of Season 2 and keep most, if not all, of the police stuff cleared up so that they can focus on writing more detail about the adult timeline and more reveals into the ‘90s timeline. I’d love for them to focus more on the conscious threat of the wilderness; some of my favorite beats from this season were the hazy slips from reality where we saw a hooded Antler Queen and wondered what the f*ck was happening. 

Did any of our *official* theories pan out?

• Javi is being kept alive by some other force/humans/beings that are present in the wilderness. Because seriously, there is no other way for that boy to have survived.

  • The wilderness didn’t kill Javi…the Yellowjackets did. As for the mysterious cave that kept him alive for two months and is now being occupied by Ben, only time will tell…

• The Yellowjackets may get desperate and have to eat the rest of Jackie’s frozen, conveniently preserved body. 

  • This one was pretty obvious!

• The girl who we see die in the Pilot is Mari (I am basing this completely on hair color?) 

  • TBD, but I maintain that it’s Mari. 

• Adult Van and Tai will kiss!!!! 

  • Oh yes! 

• Shauna’s baby dies during childbirth. Sometimes the most horrific thing is the most realistic.

  • Unfortunately, yes. Shout out to Sophie Nélisse for that extremely haunting portrayal of grief. 

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Next week on The Yearning, Meg will return the vague metropolitan landscape of Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love with a silver wine glass in hand and a finale review!

1. We’re not real critics

2. There are just two of us, roundtable is generous