Few shows have ever been as deeply disturbing as Yellowjackets. Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, the Showtime series follows a group of teenage girls who become stranded in the wilderness.
They must do terrible things to survive, and the pain from their past never truly leaves them. Their struggles continue into adulthood, where their lives remain fractured.
For two seasons, the series has kept viewers questioning everything. It constantly switches between the younger and older versions of the main characters. Are they victims of a supernatural force, or is everything they have endured just the result of terrible luck?
With only days left before Season 3 premieres, fans might need a reminder of the shocking events from Season 2. Many unanswered questions remain, and the upcoming season is expected to bring even more terrifying moments for these survivors.
The Past Still Haunts Them
The story begins in the past, where the crash survivors struggle through their time in the Canadian wilderness. Season 2 continues to show how these experiences shape them into the broken adults they later become. The present timeline focuses on a smaller group, but the flashbacks reveal that many others fought to stay alive.
Mari (Alexa Barajas) and Akilah (Nia Sondaya) are two teammates whose suffering becomes more obvious. Both of them fully accept Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) beliefs about the wilderness, even as their mental states begin to fall apart. Mari becomes more angry, and her hallucinations worsen.
Akilah, who is usually kind and hopeful, comforts herself by taking care of a small mouse. Sadly, she later realizes that the mouse was never alive—it was only a dried-out rat’s body. The extreme conditions make them lose their grip on reality.
Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) is one of the few who refuses to give in to madness. He watches in horror as the girls kill and eat Javi (Luciano Leroux), the youngest member of the group. This pushes him to escape into a small underground cave, hoping to stay hidden so they do not turn on him next.
The other girls change as well. The harsh winter forces even Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) to believe in Lottie’s “teachings.” With her girlfriend Van (Liv Hewson), she shows her “other self,” the strange personality she shifts into while sleepwalking. This version of Taissa seems to understand the forest’s layout and the mysterious symbols they keep discovering.
Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) suffers deeply after losing her best friend Jackie (Ella Purnell) in Season 1. She and the others eventually eat Jackie’s frozen body. Later, she loses her baby during childbirth, which hardens her once-soft personality. She takes on the brutal role of the group’s butcher, cutting apart bodies so they can eat.
This makes it even more painful when Lottie chooses Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) as the group’s new leader, instead of her. Shauna is furious, but before she can do much about it, a shocking event takes place.
The group’s cabin burns down, forcing them to run into the freezing night with only a few supplies. No one knows who set the fire, but some may have noticed Coach Ben grabbing a handful of matches.
Also Read: Yellowjackets Season 2 Ending Explained: Did The Wilderness Choose Nat To Die?
The Present Brings Even Darker Dangers
The past is terrifying, but the present-day storylines are just as intense. Even though the teenage versions of the characters went through horrifying events, their adult selves make shocking choices that lead to more destruction.
Taissa (Tawny Cypress) struggles to control her darker side. After spending Season 1 running for a Senate seat and raising her young son, she finally loses control. Her other self causes a car accident that leaves her wife in a coma. Instead of staying to care for her family, she decides to leave everything behind and go find Van (Lauren Ambrose).
Van and Taissa rekindle their past romance, but Van reveals a heartbreaking truth—she has terminal cancer. Meanwhile, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) faces a different kind of disaster. She and her husband Jeff (Warren Kole) try to cover up the murder of her former lover. However, Detective Saracusa (John Reynolds) starts investigating aggressively.
Saracusa even pretends to be someone else online to trick Shauna’s daughter, Callie (Sarah Desjardins), into revealing information. Instead, Shauna and Callie grow closer as Shauna finally shares some of her past.
However, their moment of connection is interrupted when Saracusa prepares to arrest Shauna. Luckily, Misty’s (Christina Ricci) new boyfriend has a way of dealing with persistent cops.
Natalie (Juliette Lewis) is also in serious trouble. The last time viewers saw her in Season 1, she was kidnapped by people dressed in purple. Season 2 reveals that Lottie (Simone Kessell) is alive and leading her own “self-improvement” group, though it clearly functions like a cult. She took Natalie to keep her from harming herself.
As Natalie tries to process her past, Misty meets Walter Tattersall (Elijah Wood), a wealthy man and fellow amateur detective. They grow close, and Misty confesses parts of Shauna’s crime to him.
Walter quickly acts to protect Misty by murdering another detective and then blackmailing Saracusa. He tells the detective that unless he drops the case, he will be blamed for the murder.
Season 2 Ends in Chaos and Loss
Lottie’s peaceful life slowly falls apart. She begins seeing terrifying visions from her time in the wilderness, which lead her to believe that the group needs to sacrifice someone to the mysterious force that tormented them years ago.
She convinces the other survivors—Taissa, Van, Shauna, Misty, and Natalie—to participate in a hunt. They must offer up one of their own lives for safety. The moment is filled with tension and horror as they chase each other through the woods.
The chaos ends in tragedy. Misty accidentally injects Natalie with a poison syringe meant for one of Lottie’s followers. Natalie dies, and Lottie is taken away to a mental institution. Before she leaves, she reassures the others that their sacrifice has pleased the wilderness. Van, who was once Lottie’s strongest believer, seems deeply affected by this idea.
Season 3 Will Be Even More Unpredictable
Season 2 is filled with shocking twists and emotional turmoil. It proves that the dangers these girls faced in the wilderness never truly left them. Both their past and present are shaped by escalating violence and impossible choices.
The trauma of their younger years follows them into adulthood. Every decision they make seems to lead to even more destruction. The season ends with a high body count, and the stakes have never been higher.
Natalie’s death is heartbreaking, but it serves an important purpose. She finally manages to save someone in her adult life in a way she could never do as a child. However, the darkness is far from over. These survivors endured their first brutal winter, but their struggles are far from finished.
Their secrets refuse to stay buried. As the past continues to creep into the present, Season 3 promises to be the most shocking installment yet. No one is safe, and the mysteries surrounding their past will only deepen.
Yellowjackets is available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime in the U.S. Season 3 premieres February 14.
Also Read: Yellowjackets Season 3: Everything We Know So Far
