By Ashley Ragone
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Spring has arrived for the Yellowjackets, as well as cryptic messages and a thirst for blood.
Since the premiere of the series “Yellowjackets” in 2021, the dedicated fanbase has contributed dozens of theories and discussion forums to the plot points of the hour-long episodes. In the third season, which concluded on April 13, viewers reunited with their favorite New Jersey girls’ soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness.
The team from the fictional town of Wiskayok, while traveling to a national championship tournament, end up stranded for 19 months in the forest when their plane crashes. The series, which switches back and forth between the past and present, covers both the events that occurred from 1996 to 1998 in the forest and their lives in the current day. The viewer slowly pieces together how the girls survived and continue to deal with trauma as the show connects the 25-year gap between the events.
Season 3 picks up with the Yellowjackets team living in huts and makeshift shelters, following the shocking loss of their cabin to a fire. Coach Ben Scott, played by Steven Krueger, has suspiciously disappeared, and teen Natalie Scatorccio, played by Sophie Thatcher, proves to be an effective new leader. In the present day, the women are still reeling from the accidental death of adult Scatorccio, played by Juliette Lewis, in the second season finale.
The third season’s main conflicts in the past revolve around Shauna Shipman, who has grown detached and angry, picking fights with various members of the team. Teen Shipman, played by Sophie Nélisse, continues to grieve her stillborn baby and her best friend, while the other girls search for their missing coach and face some unwanted strangers.
In the present, an anonymous letter and a series of strange coincidences send the Yellowjackets on a mission to determine who is out to harm them. Adult and married Shauna Sadecki, played by Melanie Lynskey, becomes increasingly paranoid and concerned by the events that the women fear are motivated by the mysterious “wilderness.” This supernatural “wilderness” system becomes the excuse used by the team to motivate several plots of murder, crime and cannibalism — both while stranded and in present-day society.
Some other notable plots include the renewed romance between Taissa Turner and Vanessa Palmer, played by Tawny Cypress and Lauren Ambrose, respectively, as well as the introduction of another key survivor, played by Hilary Swank. The season sees greater focus placed on characters that remained largely overlooked and underdeveloped in earlier episodes.
While the early “Yellowjackets” plot focused on the crisis that the girls faced in the woods and their present-day day-to-day experiences, I felt that there was a significant switch from the end of Season 2 to now. The show feels much more character-driven, taking the time to flesh out some of the smaller roles that, before, had been relatively nameless but adored by fans. These include Lottie Matthews, played by Courtney Eaton and Simone Kessell, and Mari Ibarra, played by Alexa Barajas. For example, Matthews early on had been characterized largely by her schizophrenia and strange visions, but Season 3 saw more emotional development and exploration of her connection with the woods.
“I can’t go back. If I go back, nothing will be — well, I won’t be well,” Matthews confesses to the team in episode eight. “I won’t be me, the me that was made out here. And that unwellness that I feel, I feel it so deeply in my bones.”
Ibarra also becomes a larger focus as the season emphasizes her disagreements with Shipman, reaching the peak in the final episode.
In addition to the established characters, viewers were left with many questions that Season 3 attempted to answer from earlier episodes. This includes the identities of “Pit Girl” and “Antler Queen,” two notable references whose identities had been concealed.
Overall, this season drew mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike. Some found that the characters had an interesting dynamic that upheld throughout the series, while others found they became mostly unlikable. However, the “Yellowjackets” series maintains millions of viewers and fervent fan discussion online that continues to inspire conspiracy theories and fan art that certifies it as a cult classic.
The show, which has not yet been renewed for a fourth season, is available to stream on Netflix and Paramount+.
