Yellowjackets is an American psychological drama TV series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson for Showtime with Paramount+. The show features two primary story lines. The first timeline follows a group of teenagers full of determination to survive the eerie wilderness after their plane crashes in 1996. The other timeline is set 25 years after the incident and focuses on the survivors’ attempts to leave the crazy in the past and find their purposes. It stars a large cast led by Sophie Nélisse, Jasim Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, and Samantha Hanratty as the core teenage survivors. As for their adult counterparts, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci do an amazing job embodying their younger selves in the show.
Spoiler warning: The rest of this article will contain extremely important spoilers and plot twists, so please continue reading with caution. If you plan to watch this show in the future, I suggest watching the show and then coming back to read this!
After the crash, which results in many casualties, including the flight crew, the head coach, and one not well-known team member, teen Misty uses her first-aid knowledge from taking the Red Cross babysitting course twice. She has to amputate assistant coach Ben’s leg to save his life. Misty enjoys her new heroine status so much that she smashed the plane’s emergency location transmitter in an attempt to keep the group stranded.
The Yellowjackets find shelter in an abandoned cabin and discover a propeller plane. That’s where the good news ends, though. In an attempt to find help, a pack of wolves attacks the girls, leaving Van severely wounded. Laura Lee gets tired of waiting around and reads the plane manual. She takes flight to go get help for the team, but this moment is short-lived when the plane explodes moments after takeoff. Shuanas’ secret pregnancy finally comes to light, and Jackie feels betrayed after finding out that she went behind her back. Filled with frustration, Jackie decides to sleep outside, and she freezes to death.
Season 2 picks up about two months later, and Shuanas baby is finally born. Due to the harsh winter, there is no food for the yellowjackets to eat. The starving soccer team resorted, somewhat unintentionally, to cannibalism in the dead of winter. They were intending to cremate Jackie’s body because the ground was hard, but when the snow fell on the flames, it turned into a barbecue. Coach Ben was shocked by the team’s behavior and did not partake in their “feast”.
After a while had passed, the hunger was starting to make the yellowjackets lose their minds, and they decided to kill one person in the group so the others could eat them. Natalie was the unlucky one in the group to draw the Queen of Hearts card. Before Shauna could do the deed, Travis urged her to run. In the chaotic chase, Travis’s younger brother Javi fell through the ice on a frozen river and died. Misty stopped Natalie from saving him, explaining that if he died, then she could live. Lottie decided that since the wilderness had spared Natalie’s life, she deserved to become the new leader, which Natalie happily accepted. Ben returned to the cabin to grab firewood from the porch, and then the next scene we saw was the cabin in flames. The Yellowjackets barely got out alive, in shambles, waking their shelter to be destroyed.
In season 3, Shauna’s family decides to leave her, and we find out that her daughter is the one who killed Lottie. The few remaining yellowjackets have to bury Van’s body after Mellisa kills her. Now Tai is estranged from her family, failed senator attempt, and doesn’t have Van. The season also follows Shauna journaling and remembering the power that she had out in the wilderness, hungry for this power again, the other survivors fear what Shauna may end up doing. The season’s big cliffhanger ends with Natalie discovering the plane’s transponder and successfully contacting the outside world. On the other line, you can hear someone respond with, “Yes, I can hear you.”
On May 20, about a month after the season 3 finale, the show announced its renewal for season 4. The big question for the next season is, will we finally get to see the remaining team get rescued? Something to watch out for is what Shauna is capable of doing. We learned at the end of season 3 that Shauna is the Antler Queen, and she definitely had to get dragged out of the wilderness, especially since she was so powerful. Some confirmed casting for the next season of the show is Molly Ringwald and June Squibb. Ringwald will likely be acting in the role of Van’s mom. There have been no details shared about what Squibb’s role will be.
After a recent teaser was released for the new season, we can assume that the season may start off post-rescue and explore 3 different timelines at once. One being the adult timeline, another being post-rescue, and the final being pre-rescue. The final season of the show can be expected to premiere in late 2026, likely in late fall or winter.
I would highly recommend watching the show! It exemplifies the different aspects of thriller and drama; it will keep you on your toes and have you intrigued by what will happen next.
Sources:
https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a64437500/yellowjackets-season-4-news/
https://www.tvinsider.com/1085870/yellowjackets-season-1-recap/
https://www.thewrap.com/yellowjackets-season-2-recap/
