in ,

YellowJackets S2E1: “Friends, Romans, Countryman”

Welcome,Yellowjackets hive, to Horror Obsessive’s weekly episode coverage! I am so happy to have you here. In fact, I could eat you up, I love you so.

– Saskia


Previously on Yellowjackets

The front window of a plane as it crashes
Oops

Soccer! Plane crash! Crushed leg! No food! Antler queen! Nat’s crazy, but Misty’s far crazier. And Taissa? Perhaps the craziest of all. Blackmail?! Attic skeletons! Wolf! Van gets mauled and improbably survives. Poor, sweet Laura Lee has her Icarus moment. Lottie is god, maybe, but Shauna is definitely a murderer. And her husband? Well, he supports it. Misty drugs everyone, Javi runs, Misty does more crimes, and Jackie dies. RIP to a real one. I’ll admit that I thought Ella Purnell’s acting was iffy for most of last season until the final episode when I realized what she was doing with her character. And for that, I am sorry. But not as sorry as Shauna! Oh, also, Nat tries to off herself but gets kidnapped by Lottie’s cult instead. Fun!

Wicca Bullsh*t

We open Season 2 with a typically great musical cue and a montage of how our teen heroines are holding up as they enter a harsh winter in the wilderness. While I can get on Yellowjackets for stretching believability at times (for instance, how are Van and Ben alive? I don’t know, but I’m not mad about it), I always enjoy the care given to showing the inner workings of their makeshift survivalist commune. Here, we see some buckets of melting snow, the fires going, and TeenNat and Travis stuffing whatever refuse they can find into their coats to stay warm as they venture out to hunt and search for Javi.

Before they go, TeenLottie does a little ritual with them that includes her pricking her finger and dropping blood into a cup for them to drink. We’re starting off the episode strong with our Cannibalism Watch at a solid Yellow Alert.

Electro-Shock Blues

Misty surrounded by reporters after being rescued

Following this, we cut rather unexpectedly to 1998, where the team has been rescued and is exiting a plane to a swarm of reporters. We get a brief glimpse of some of our surviving members (no one we don’t already know about though…) before cutting to TeenLottie sitting nearly catatonic in a doctor’s office with her parents as they explain that she hasn’t spoken since the rescue. We then see her getting electroconvulsive therapy, during which she sees visions of herself walking down a candle-filled hallway and looking intently at…something?

Cut to TeenLottie in what is presumably a psychiatric hospital, telling her freaked-out roommate that “they” can help her.

Cut again to the present day, where Lottie (now played as an adult by Simone Kessell) is looking—and talking—very much like your run-of-the-mill cult leader to a group of seemingly devoted followers who are dressed all in purple (Lottie is in yellow, natch). She goes on a typical culty, self-help monologue in which she tells her devotees that nothing is real.

Cut back to TeenLottie on the day of the rescue, who turns to face the reporters and screams.

Okay, so…this isn’t completely working for me yet. I’m open to having my mind changed, but I’m not loving the direction they’re taking with adult Lottie. Her cult leader style seems extremely ill-defined. It seems like they’re trying to go for a Teal Swan kind of thing, but that doesn’t really gel with what we see TeenLottie starting in the woods. Additionally, Kessell is playing adult Lottie as more motivational speaker than charismatic leader. Courtney Eaton is an exceptionally compelling performer, one of the best in an extraordinarily strong cast, so whoever was picked to be her adult counterpart was going to have big shoes to fill, and I’m not entirely convinced Kessell is up for the job. This was the thing I was most worried about going into this season and this episode didn’t do anything to assuage these fears. But I’ll withhold judgement until I see a little more.

Opening credits! God, I missed this song. I’ll get into changes in the credit sequence in my next recap.

Hawaiian 5-0 Punch

Shauna is getting interrogated about Adam by an aggressive, mysterious voice and, even though I already know it’s Misty, I’m still delighted by the reveal. Shauna gets frustrated by a particularly invasive line of questioning and gets up to leave, much to our needy angel (devil?) Misty’s chagrin. She pushily asks if Shauna’s gotten rid of all the evidence of her murder/affair and Shauna says that she has, but it’s clear that she’s lying. Apparently, Nat and Taissa were supposed to come but never showed. Nat, we know, has been kidnapped, but where is Taissa?

At the animal shelter, of course! She haphazardly picks out a dog that looks like Biscuit and asks the shelter worker (who apparently phone-banked for Taissa’s run for Senator) to finish the paperwork for her. Well, this seems like a bad idea.

A bored Misty checks her *very much not Reddit* true crime message boards to see if anyone’s picked up information on Adam’s case. One mysterious poster (who I’m pretty sure is Elijah Wood, which I’m over the moon about) is onto the fact that Adam clearly began dating someone before his untimely disappearance.

Now back at home, Shauna runs into an irate Callie, who makes it clear that she knows that Shauna knows something about what happened to Adam. In a scene that underscores how great these two are as scene partners, Callie demands that Shauna tells Jeff about Adam and, when Shauna explains that she’s actually done just that, Callie wails that she’s “so f*cking selfish” and storms off. Teens! You gotta love ‘em.

Mansion, Apartment, Shack, Haunted Cabin in the Untamed Wilderness

Shauna looks at Jackie
Having a normal one

Speaking of teens, TeenShauna and Jackie are playing a game of MASH that somewhat accurately predicts Shauna’s future. Except, of course, Jackie’s dead, which we are jarringly reminded of when the lively (and, you know, living) vision of Jackie that exists in TeenShauna’s imagination is suddenly replaced with a stiff, grey, and very disturbing corpse. I’m not sure if it’s a prop or if it’s Ella Purnell in makeup but, to whichever department is responsible for CorpseJackie: great work!

Back in the main cabin, TeenTaissa and TeenVan play a little game and are generally cute, but their sweet conversation turns slightly dark when we see sores on TeenVan’s wrist from the rope she uses to tie TeenTaissa to her at night in an effort to curb TeenTaissa’s creepy sleepwalking habit. TeenTaissa’s upset and tells TeenVan she should just lock her upstairs, but TeenVan refuses and tries to defuse the situation by joking that maybe she just wants TeenTaissa to tie her up. We love a butch bottom!

Near the fireplace, TeenMisty gets an icy reception from a bunch of Miscellaneous Soccer Team Members, some of whom we were introduced to last season, but many of whom seem to be new additions. This was another part of the episode that didn’t work as well for me. It seems like the showrunners have written themselves into a bit of a corner with how many of the main cast members they’ve already revealed to have survived into adulthood and are scrambling to develop the other characters on the team to give the proceedings some stakes. I’ll go back and check, but I’m nearly certain that there were not this many other girls last season, which seems like a bit of an oversight. None of the new ones (or old ones, I can’t really tell the difference at this point) are making much of an impression so far. There’s one named Crystal whose sole personality trait seems to be “she sings a lot.” I’m sure she’ll die soon.

Back in the meat shed, GhostJackie interrogates TeenShauna about how she and Jeff got together. Through their tense conversation (I guess that’s what we’ll call it), we learn that TeenShauna first kissed Jeff when he and Jackie were fighting. GhostJackie says they were fighting because Jeff told Jackie he didn’t know if he could stay with someone who wouldn’t have sex with him. TeenShauna says she didn’t know. But of course she did, as GhostJackie points out to her before transforming back into a corpse and falling over, losing an ear in the process.

Oh, and the girls are running low on rations.

Chicken Nugget Department

In the present day, Shauna looks through some things of Adam’s that she definitely has not thrown away, including a drawing of her. She calls Jeff at work and tells him that they need to go see what’s at Adam’s art studio.

Taissa’s pulls up at Sammi’s school to show off her living impulse-buy. Before Sammi can get in to see the dog, however, Simone shows up and screams at Taissa to get away from Sammi. She brings up Taissa’s creepy basement shrine, which Taissa of course has no recollection of, and threatens to go to the press if Taissa doesn’t step down from office. Well, this neatly sets the stage for the return of adult Van…

A Heterosexual Interlude

Two figures walk over a snowy landscape

A wintery landscape brings us back to the ’90s, where we follow TeenNat and Travis as they continue searching for Javi. I’m so sorry to their fans, but I’ve never been interested in these two. Travis thinks he sees Javi’s corpse, but it’s just a dead fox. They keep looking.

An Excruciating Interlude

In the present day, Misty tries to get information about Nat’s whereabouts from the quirky motel manager in a scene that is far too precious for my taste and far too long. I won’t devote any more words to it except to say that Misty eventually learns that Nat left unexpectedly in the night and also that Misty works best as a stand-alone screwball character in a cast of straight men and doesn’t need more “wacky characters” to play off of.

Melanie Lynskey!

At Adam’s studio, Shauna and Jeff find dozens of paintings of Shauna and this, to everyone’s surprise including theirs, turns them on! I love it. Melanie Lynskey is a goddess and these two freaks are so fun together. Anyways, they end up f*cking to Garbage’s “I Would Die for You,” which is so stupid of them, but honestly? I support it.

The Story of Love

TeenShauna stares at Jackie’s ear, which she’s kept for whatever reason (Cannibalism Watch is holding steady at a Yellow Alert) and some of the Miscellaneous Soccer Team Members are jerks to TeenMisty.

Shauna and Jeff set fire to Adam’s studio. Arson! Romantic!

Misty breaks into Nat’s motel room.

Singing Crystal wanders outside and runs into TeenMisty. Hilariously, she’s singing “The Story of Love,” which is the song that Esther’s obsessed with in the Orphan movies (top-shelf cinema.) She makes a friendly overture to an irritable TeenMisty. Yup, definitely dying. I give it two episodes max.

TeenNat presents some maps she’s drawn to Coach Ben and they discuss Javi, who both believe to be dead.

In Nat’s motel room, Misty – feeling abandoned – takes a moment to cry on the bed before she sees some damage around the door-frame and realizes someone broke into Nat’s room. Our favorite Citizen Detective is on the case!

Free Nat

Nat tied to a bed
Van’s jealous

Speaking of Nat, here she is! Tied to a bed! Seeing Juliette Lewis for the first time in this episode fills my heart with joy. What a star, what an icon. One of Lottie’s disciples comes in with some food for her and, again, it feels as though they’re rushing to get the viewers acquainted with too many new characters. I do not care about this girl, but I’m sure I will have to at some point. Nat is clearly plotting her escape already.

In what is maybe my favorite scene of the episode, Jeff reflects on his little intimate moment with Shauna in Adam’s studio while rocking out in the car. Bless. He emerges to help Shauna burn the rest of Adam’s sh*t. The two of them seem to be in a good place, which I’m all about.

Not doing so great is Taissa who self-awarely indulges in some “sad-ass divorce sh*t” in the basement before discovering the creepy shrine that The Bad One made. She’s shocked but ultimately accepting and tells the new dog, Steve, that she’s going to do better with him. I hope, for Steve’s sake, that this is true.

Back at Shauna’s house, she and Jeff flirt over dinner, which enrages Callie. Teens!

Panic Attack Boner

TeenNat and Travis have a romantic moment in front of the fire, which seems like it’ll lead to a boring scene but instead, Travis has a panic attack! TeenNat can’t calm him down, but of course, TeenLottie can. When she talks to him, he sees a vision of a tree stump bejeweled with lit candles. Also, he gets a boner.

TeenLottie tells Travis that Javi is alive. TeenNat is furious that she’s giving Travis false hope. Fair!

Important Cannibalism Watch Updates

A group of people wearing animal masks
It’s giving Wicker Man

Back at Lottie’s compound, Nat escapes by stabbing the disciple whose name I refuse to learn. At first, I thought she stabbed her in the neck, but it’s just in the hand. Alas…

As TeenVan sleeps, TeenTaissa wakes up and it is immediately apparent that she is in Bad One mode. Very spooky. Jasmin Savoy Brown is such a goddamn superstar. She bites TeenVan hard on the lip and then comes to as herself. In true teen lesbian fashion, TeenVan is all, “I’m not scared of you! You can be as f*cked up as you want and I’m cool with it!” Then she writes “I <3 you” on TeenTaissa’s arm in her own blood. Which is kind of sweet, but also, I’m concerned.

Nat tries to run away from the cult but ends up running straight into one of their late-night rituals. Guys, I’m still not on board with this. It’s a bunch of people in animal masks stripping one middle-aged dude naked and setting him into a grave. And yet somehow, it’s just not at all engaging or creepy. Nat confronts Lottie, who says she has a message from Travis. Sure. If the story here is that Lottie has actually been a sort of charlatan all along and it’s Taissa and/or Shauna who’s really in charge/in touch with the spirit of the wilderness or whatever, I could maybe get into this but otherwise, it’s really falling flat for me.

Anyways, Tori Amos’s “Cornflake Girl” plays over a montage in which Travis and TeenNat discover the tree trunk in Travis’s vision, Callie finds Adam’s mostly-burnt ID in Shauna’s barbecue, and—crucially—TeenShauna eats Jackie’s ear! Episode 1 and we’re already at Orange Alert on Cannibalism Watch! We love to see it.

Lottie screams
Give me Episode 2!

Episode Superlatives

Most likely to be eaten first: Javi

Best evil energy: TeenTaissa

Best hero energy: No one? Maybe Nat?

Best MILF energy: Shauna

Most stable couple: Surprisingly, Shauna and Jeff

Current Cannibalism Watch Level: Orange

Current favorite conspiracy theory: Lottie’s just a pretender and it’s Taissa who’s causing all the spooky mystical stuff.

Who’s not going to survive the season: At this point, I think Lottie, Nat, and Van are in danger. Also, all of the Miscellaneous Soccer Team Members are on the chopping block until further notice.

Acting MVP(s): Jasmin Savoy Brown, Warren Kole, Melanie Lynskey, and Courtney Eaton

Important symbols: Candles, fire, blood, bondage

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Written by Saskia Nislow

Saskia is a writer, ceramicist, horror freak, and queer creature. Find more of their stuff at siramuks.com or at @cronebro on Twitter and Instagram.

August watches a purple comet in the night sky in SPAGHETTI JUNCTION

Boston Underground Film Festival 2023: Family Fantasy Spaghetti Junction Is Simply Wonderous

Tabacco Force stands in the woods with their robot in Smooking Causes Coughing

Boston Underground Film Festival 2023: Smoking Causes Coughing and Lots and Lots of Laughs