After nearly two years of waiting, “Yellowjackets” fans finally got a third season of the gripping and emotional story of the stranded, cultish teenagers so many had become attached to. Unfortunately, after two months of impatiently waiting for weekly episode releases, the season left the audience asking more questions than it answered.
Season three picks up months after the devastating season two finale. The gut-wrenching scene where the young Yellowjackets watched their shelter burn — presumably dooming them to death by the winter elements — was never explored further. Instead, the season opens with a cheery game of “capture the bone” in a lush and sunny wilderness — a stark shift from the despairing snowy setting of season two.
Maybe it’s OK that the question of how they survived the winter was never answered. The audience had already seen the girls — plus Travis and Coach Scott — survive harsh winters, so the writers’ choice to skip ahead makes some sense. Perhaps revisiting it would have been repetitive.
However, this gaping plot hole set the precedent for season three. The storylines set up in the first two seasons were largely left at a dead end — ignored, even. Where did the cabin come from? What does the symbol mean? Who were Javi’s wilderness friends? Who is the man with no eyes? What is Walter up to? Where did Crystal’s body go? How did Akilah die? Did she die?
These are just a few details that were treated as important but ultimately neglected. While it makes sense to leave some questions for future seasons, it’s frustrating for fans and careless of the writers to abandon so many plotlines developed as early as season one.
Instead, the writers focused on answering questions set up in the pilot, which the fandom had been hyperfixated on for years. Now the audience knows who the “pit girl” is, and the Antler Queen’s identity has been revealed. But is that enough to keep viewers coming back for more?
Maybe not, as the show has yet to be renewed for a fourth season.
As the reality sets in that “Yellowjackets” could come to an end, fans are left grappling with the idea that what’s known now might be all that ever gets revealed. A full halt would still be incredibly disappointing despite season three’s shortcomings.
For all its frustrations and rushed moments, there were several highlights that earned the season finale over three million views, setting a record for the most-streamed episode in “Yellowjackets“ history.
The season’s teen timeline earned its viewership with moments like Coach Scott’s trial and death, the frog scientists finding the girls and, of course, the final scene when Natalie seemingly made contact with the outside world. If anything, the season was ripe with shock value and by no means boring.
Coach Scott took up much of the season, but it was time well spent. His death was one of the only deaths in season three that felt earned and was treated with respect. He was given multiple emotional monologues reflecting on his time with the girls, and the way his character devolved into a broken, deeply troubled man begging for death was heartbreaking, albeit logically consistent with his arc. It only made sense that Natalie, who saw him as a father figure, would be the one to end his misery.
Ben Scott, however, did not die with dignity, but he didn’t die in vain. His death was the catalyst for the girls’ killing and imprisoning the unlucky frog scientists, pushing some of them to believe they could never assimilate back into society.
The moment when Lottie killed Edwin was as haunting as it was devastating. It was the first sign that the strangers might not be on their way home. Van’s reaction was particularly gut-wrenching, especially when her first instinct after seeing the broken phone was to call her mom. In the following episodes, she was willing to leave what she later described as the “love of her life” to find safety back in society.
This was the most character depth Van has received across all three seasons, right before she was killed by Melissa, a character who remained a stranger to the audience. Young Melissa existed mainly to develop young Shauna’s arc, and adult Melissa only appeared for an episode before killing Van. It made no sense.
Setting aside the lazy and overdone “faked death” trope, there was no real setup for Melissa to become significant enough to be responsible for Van’s death. Yes, it was a juicy and unexpected plot twist, but it was still disappointing to see Van die before her character could be explored further. Before her demise, Van was wrestling with the idea that her lover had been overtaken by an evil entity that wanted to kill in Van’s favor, a deep moral dilemma that could have defined her. Instead, it went nowhere.
Melissa, a side character, killed her. Maybe if the audience knew anything substantial about adult Melissa, it would feel earned. But in the end, it came across as sloppy and rushed. Van died for shock value.
Van’s death received less care than Lottie’s, but somehow, Lottie also suffered the fate of dying for shock value. Her death was investigated over several episodes by Misty and Walter — giving fans of “Over the Garden Wall” a few moments of nostalgia — but the actual conclusion was barely hinted at and ultimately felt out of place.
Lottie’s death at Callie’s hands could have been poetic if the tension between young Shauna and young Lottie had been more fully developed, but with both characters undergoing so much growth this season, there was little time to properly foreshadow it.
While the scene where Callie killed Lottie was emotionally charged and captured Lottie’s mental state well, it wasn’t enough to justify so much time spent on the investigation of her death. Callie’s character development ultimately came at the cost of Lottie’s life.
In the end, the finale was a strange mix of sharp, unforgettable moments and disappointing missteps. The writers answered questions from the fandom, but it’s possible they did so at the expense of quality and sensical writing.
The pilot hinted at a mysterious and morally depraved cannibalistic cult. The finale delivered a group of unhinged girls who lazily hunted and ate each other just because Shauna, the undeserving leader, wanted them to. Even over the course of three seasons, the jump from the pilot scene to the season three finale scene felt abrupt and undeveloped. The finale was so unlike the pilot, including in its production value. It was almost like a bait and switch for the viewer.
All that said, the closing scene to season three was so good it almost made up for the lackluster writing.
After everything — every disappointment, dropped storyline and rushed moment — Natalie’s success in reaching the outside world was euphoric. She did it using broken parts from the locator Misty destroyed all the way back in season one, finally bringing the story full circle. It was the perfect ending to a season that otherwise felt messy and directionless. For the first time in a long time, it felt like “Yellowjackets” remembered what made it special. It made the show worth watching.
Reach Chloe Waskey at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
