When season 1 of “Yellowjackets” debuted again in 2021, few predicted what a phenomenon the sequence would grow to be, together with the present’s creators, Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nickerson. For the uninitiated, “Yellowjackets” tracks characters throughout two timelines: the primary, in 1996 after the nationals-bound Wiskayok Yellowjackets ladies’s soccer crew’s airplane crash lands them within the Canadian wilderness and thrusts them into barbaric survival together with cannibalism, and in our present day 25 years later the place the now-adult survivors are nonetheless suffering from no matter it was that occurred to them (or what they did) all these years in the past.
Whereas the characters all have their very own particular person plotlines throughout each timelines, the present is at its finest when it is working as an ensemble solid. Luckily, after the heartbreaking finish to season 2, our women are leaning on one another greater than ever, however the scars of psychological trauma and enduring official survival horror aren’t fading anytime quickly. If something, they’re reopening these wounds and taking part in round in them.
Press and critics had been solely granted entry to the primary 4 episodes of season 3, which implies there are nonetheless loads of questions posed from the trailer that should be answered, however “Yellowjackets” is proving to be as hypnotic as ever. Dangerously deranged, disgustingly engrossing, and deliciously addictive, get able to spend your spring season as soon as once more glued to the TV beneath the spell of the wilderness, decided to determine what’s actual, what’s a traumatic hallucination, and what is going on to occur subsequent.
The Juliette Lewis-shaped void
After the surprising demise of grownup Natalie Scatorccio (Juliette Lewis) on the finish of season 2, followers (myself included) had been anxious that the present would undergo shifting ahead with out one of many sequence’ most necessary characters. Whereas the dearth of grownup Nat offers us extra time with grownup Van (Lauren Ambrose) and shifts the friendship dynamic to characteristic some fairly incredible scenes with grownup Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Misty (Christina Ricci), the blunt, no-nonsense perspective and emotional vulnerability of Nat are sorely missed. Luckily, not like “And Simply Like That” which selected to largely ignore the dearth of Kim Cattrall/Samantha Jones, Natalie’s absence influences all the pieces within the grownup timeline. There’s undoubtedly a Juliette Lewis-shaped void, however Natalie’s passing serves as an earthquake to the surviving Yellowjackets, and the aftershocks are not diminishing anytime quickly. Shauna can not seem to hold herself out of hassle and her daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) has been dramatically impacted by what she witnessed in season 2, and grownup Lottie (Simone Kessell) definitely has rather a lot to reply for after what went down on her compound. So whereas grownup Nat could also be gone, her time within the wilderness nonetheless hovers above all of them.
Lewis’ absence additionally permits Sophie Thatcher to actually lean into her function as one among horror’s new queens as teen Nat as a result of she now not has a comparability throughout the identical episode. She had beforehand spoken with Vainness Honest concerning the strain she felt to match Lewis’ voice and mannerisms, however now there is a bit extra flexibility with that expectation as a result of followers are evaluating her to what we bear in mind of Grownup Nat, relatively than what we would see a scene later. As heartbreaking as it’s to lose Lewis, it is solely going to learn Thatcher in the long term. Even within the first few episodes, Thatcher is absolutely coming into her personal and delivering what looks like could be her finest efficiency but. Will she be the primary of the teenagers to nab an Emmy Award nomination? Antler Queen, lengthy might she reign.
Yellowjackets season 3 is loaded with mysteries new and previous
Because the malevolent gods of Paramount+ with Showtime solely granted critics entry to the primary 4 episodes of “Yellowjackets” season 3, there are nonetheless loads of mysteries new and previous which have but to be solved. The truth that I’ve to attend over a month for the remainder of the world to catch as much as me and assist speculate is delectable agony, which is strictly what makes “Yellowjackets” top-of-the-line reveals on tv. In a panorama the place the binge mannequin continually threatens to grow to be the norm, “Yellowjackets” is the treatment. It is a present, sure, however it’s additionally an expertise — one which sends audiences down Reddit rabbit holes and monitoring every episode body by body simply to see if there is a clue they in some way missed.
I really feel like I have been saying this for years (as a result of I’ve), however the world is a terrifying, oppressive, hateful place proper now, and the truth that a present about cannibalistic teenage women preventing for his or her survival within the wilderness who bond so deeply that they develop as much as assist one among their very own dismember and conceal the physique of her affair companion after they mistakenly assume he is blackmailing them has grow to be the constant consolation watch of hundreds of thousands is … actually insane if you say it out loud. However that is exactly what “Yellowjackets” is — the cathartic escape right into a world in some way extra maddening than our personal, acted out by among the most gifted performers within the enterprise and fueled with explosions of rage we are able to solely fantasize about having the ability to (justifiably) launch in our personal lives. “Yellowjackets” season 3 is proof constructive that this present nonetheless has a lot to say about female rage and the haunting powers of grief and guilt. Welcome again, crew Yellowjackets. We have missed you.
/Movie Score: 7.5 out of 10
“Yellowjackets” premieres on February 14, 2025, on Paramount+ with Showtime with new episodes on Sundays.