After nearly two years, Showtime’s hit series “Yellowjackets” is finally back for its third season. Though Season 1 was critically acclaimed, the second suffered from an unraveling narrative that oftentimes felt too chaotic for the grounded show this once was. (A classic example of a bloated sophomore season that didn’t understand that the languid pace and unanswered questions in its first were what made it so successful.) However, with Season 3, the show has allowed these questions to take hold again, slowing the series down and morphing it back into the show that captured viewers’ attention in 2021.
Since escaping the fire that was set to their cabin at the end of Season 2, the Yellowjackets finally seem at peace in the wilderness. They’ve moved further into the woods, building shelters out of sticks and hunting animals instead of eating each other. In abandoning their cannibalistic tendencies, most of the group seem to have also shed their belief in the unanswered magic of the wilderness. Instead of worshiping each other or the unexplained noises in the trees, they dine together and tease one another like they did before the plane crash that landed them here. But the teasing soon goes too far, and lines are crossed that the girls may never be able to come back from, even in adulthood where their older versions become more unhinged than they were before.
In the present day, the remaining women are left despondent on the morning of Natalie’s funeral. While Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and her daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) can only bond through their shared fracturedness, Misty (Christina Ricci) grows more and more crazed in the wake of her best friend’s death. The women again fail to communicate with each other, hiding their true feelings and wounds that they may be able to heal from if they simply embraced their bond.
“Maybe out here, it’s all life or death,” a young Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) tells a young Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) early on in the season. While squabbles in the outside world may have eventually fizzled out, in the wilderness these aches, pains and jealousies fester and breed a dark resentment. This resentment is felt tenfold as the women age, and though they attempt to bury it, it begins to leak out like an oil spill. At the heart of this spill is a fantastic performance from Tawny Cypress, who continues to play Adult Taissa with a reverence that triumphs over the slighter screen time the writers continue to give her.
As her relationship with Van (Lauren Ambrose) grows deeper, Taissa becomes obsessed with their new life together, and she will make sure their bliss continues, no matter the cost. As the girls in the past timeline and the women in the present begin to lose trust in each other, the stakes in “Yellowjackets” increase to a degree that hasn’t been felt since the season one finale. They’re quick to pick at each other, putting the blame on their fellow teammates lest they themselves are blamed. This doesn’t stop them from feeling guilt, but as it festers beneath their skin, it almost makes them more apt to lie or justify their wrongdoings.
This inner turmoil increases with each episode, exploding in a tense series best with Episode 4. A trial takes place in the wilderness, in which the group proceeds as if they’re actually in court, defence proceedings and all. There’s a heightened sense of emotion here from each actor, and while watching it, it becomes clear that the writers have finally gotten their groove back. The intensity of this season has an immense impact on its characters, and although they unfortunately suffer, it makes for some of the best television of the year.
When Season 2 ended, it felt like the writers were grasping at straws, trying to elongate a series that couldn’t possibly continue for many years to come. The editing was incredibly jarring, and the death of Natalie (Juliette Lewis) narratively didn’t make much sense. Her absence is felt throughout season three, and the loss of Lewis leaves a gaping hole that I’m not sure the show can ever truly repair. Despite her absence, her peers are turning out strong performances that are finally supported by intriguing writing. As season three unfolds, it feels like this may be shaping up to be this series’ best.
“Yellowjackets” started as a show that questioned whether the bad things we do are inherent to our nature, or shaped by the predicaments we find ourselves in. Though it felt like this central theme was abandoned for overly complicated narratives last season, here it finally becomes the series’ core once again. In the four episodes provided to critics, the series becomes meaner and more fantastical than it has ever been, proving that television can indeed come back from its failures, as long as viewers are willing to give them the time to return to their roots.
Four episodes were screened for review. Season three of “Yellowjackets” premieres on February 14th.
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