I am thoroughly disappointed in myself for how long it took me to tune into the second season of the dark and twisted Yellowjackets, but at least I got it in before all of the awards shows kick off!
At the end of the first season we are treated to the adult Lottie, and boy is she something. A cult leader is what comes to mind, but with a history of schizophrenia, it’s not much of a stretch to see her as the head of a retreat meant to heal mental illness without the aid of medication. She’s also got Natalie in her clutches after stopping her from killing herself in the nick of time. Meanwhile, Taissa is suffering from worsening fugue states, totally destroying her personal life in the process. Misty and Shauna are in similar boats, having both killed someone in the first season. Though they approached it differently, both were in response to the blackmailer. The blackmailer who turned out to be Shauna’s husband.
Those two are quite the duo this season. They are both still frustrated with each other, but now that they have Adam’s death hanging over them, they’ve really come together a bit stronger. Even their daughter, Callie became less annoying by the end of the season. She’s in on it too, though it still remains to be seen if that will be a good decision or not. Although Shauna covered most of her bases, covering up Adam’s murder didn’t go perfectly, which is something all of the adult Yellowjackets will have to contend with. And they do it all at Lottie’s compound with the help of a few new faces. One surprise this season was seeing an adult Van. She’s bleak, and dying, but it’s clear she still shares a special connection with Taissa, and might be the only one who truly ever understands her.
My favorite addition to the season is Elijah Wood’s quirky Walter. He is every bit like Misty, only male, and they are truly a perfect match. I sure hope his character sticks around in the long run. As much damage as Misty has caused with her twisted view on things over the years, it was fun to see her a bit flustered and blushing in Walter’s presence. He truly wants to help and seems to genuinely like Misty, and all of their encounters brought some much needed comedic relief this season. Walter also happened to be a main player in the final play of the season, so those Yellowjackets better be appreciative! I think he even made a weird friend in Jeff. Either way, Walter’s actions helped get the police off their tail, for now.
In fact, I don’t know how much authorities will be involved next season. All throughout the season, the flashbacks to the time of being stranded after the crash paralleled slowly in the present day, but the outcome was the same. They were ultimately all becoming a bit like savages. Lottie was the clear leader in this madness, but it appears that all of them might have believed it in the end. This season wasn’t without any deaths, but I’ll leave those for you to discover on your own, but I will tell you that in the past, the season ended with their cabin burning to the ground in the middle of a harsh winter. Oh yeah, there was also a fair degree of cannibalism this season! As a diehard fan of Hannibal, this was nothing that made me woozy at all, but it probably won’t sit well with all audiences.
I believe some scripts had been started before the writers strike, so hopefully it’s full steam ahead on the third season! I hope we aren’t left waiting too long in between. Though the academy has given this show some love, I feel like it’s deserving of more, so maybe more luck in the future.