“Yellowjackets” – Season 3 Episode 3 review

Season 3, Episode 3 of “Yellowjackets” took viewers on a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving them questioning what is real and what is all a hallucination in the girls’ world.

This post contains spoilers for all three seasons of “Yellowjackets.”

The first half of the episode follows Mari (Alexa Barajas) and Coach Ben’s (Steven Krueger) final moments in the cave together, where they jump between being friendly and wanting to kill each other.

Ultimately, Ben chooses good and cuts the rope off Mari’s wrists, but she doesn’t get away without knocking over her one-legged coach first.

In the adults’ timeline, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) is attempting to get Callie (Sarah Desjardins) to spill the gossip about what happened during her “sleepover” with Lottie (Simone Kessell).

The gossip is unfortunately still unknown to both Shauna and the viewers, but it will be interesting to see how the writers plan to develop this plot. Lottie has always been a bit off the rails, so what she told Callie could’ve been anything–true or not.

With no information from her daughter, Shauna agrees to meet with Misty (Christina Ricci) to learn some truth about what happened. Misty says “Well, um, your daughter–apple, tree, I’m afraid–is quite the schemer,” and tells her about Callie’s game of truth or dare.

Adult Van (Lauren Ambrose) shares news about her cancer diagnosis with Taissa (Tawny Cypress) as Taissa shares news about the waiter they had during their date in episode one.

Tai claims “It’s been a long time, but it could be happening again,” which refers to the wilderness “giving back to those who sacrifice,” just like it allegedly did when they were young and stranded.

Later in the episode, they are watching VHS tapes when an ice cream commercial featuring a familiar face takes them both by surprise. Tai then convinces Van to go with her to the abandoned ice cream parlor to search for some answers.

What answer is she searching for, exactly? The world may never know when it comes to Taissa.

The weird, calculated moments keep on happening, as Shauna and Misty encounter a problem while driving home. Shauna promptly calls Misty a “verified psycho” and blames the situation on her.

When she gets back to the house, Shauna learns that Lottie has gifted Callie a very important item, which understandably leads to her screaming at Lottie to “get out of her house.”

The scenes where Shauna is crashing out are some of the best scenes in “Yellowjackets” by far.

Back in the woods, young Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) and Melissa (Jenna Burgess) are trying to talk when they are interrupted by exclaims of Mari being back.

Mari tried to lie to the girls about what happened, but they saw right through it, forcing her to share the news that Coach Ben is still alive.

Some of them then decided to go on a hunt to find Coach Ben and his cave, resulting in hallucination sequences all around.

The best part of this episode was how immersive the girls’ delirium was due to how it was portrayed, leaving the audience questioning what is real and what isn’t in the 1996 timeline more than ever before.

No hint at what “The Wilderness” actually is goes unnoticed by “Yellowjackets” fans.

Episode three brought viewers somewhat closer to an answer and resulted in detailed theories flying left and right on social media, but there is no way the writers will give it up anytime soon.

Rating: 5/5

Sarah Gavlak is a third-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, please email sng5393@psu.edu.