‘Of all the ways to lose a person, death is the kindest…‘
While season two of Yellowjackets had its moments, it too often felt like a show that was treading water. The narrative became too unfocussed, too bitty and often a bit of a slog. Season three had a lot riding on it, then, for joint showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson and they have certainly come out swinging this time…
We being in springtime with the Yellowjackets living pretty comfortably off the land under the stewardship of Natalie. This idyllic utopia doesn’t last long, however, because Shauna and Lottie are becoming more and more unhinged. The former is slowly turning into a psychotic killer while the latter is fully succumbing to the idea of the wilderness as a living, breathing thing that needs to be appeased. Things aren’t going too well for Shauna in the present either with her family falling apart and someone sending mysterious packages through the post. As the season progresses, we learn the fate of Coach Ben, we meet three new characters in the wilderness (including a guest starring role for Joel McHale), we also meet Melissa, a love interest for Shauna in the wilderness who returns in the present played by Hilary Swank. The season ends with several characters dead and Natalie on the verge of securing rescue for the Yellowjackets.
Now, this is television. While it’s becoming increasingly distracting how much the girls in the wilderness don’t look like they’ve been in said wilderness for more than about six hours (I’ve seen girls more disheveled on the first day of Leeds Fest than these lot are), there is no denying that Yellowjackets has retained its visceral power in this third season and then some. As the two narrative threads begin to dovetail more and more and the mystery of what happened in the wilderness is slowly revealed, the show only becomes tighter and more compelling. While a fourth season is yet to be confirmed, the popularity of the show surely ensures that it will be eventually, and it’ll be fascinating to see how this visceral, singular show is wraps up.
Yellowjackets has a lot to say about feminine rage and the pitfalls of adolescence, but it is the fact that it allows its characters to be so flawed, so human, that secures its status as a modern day classic. The cast are routinely sensational, with Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci particularly effective here, and it is this combination of heartfelt writing and stellar acting that has made the show such an unqualified success – bring on season four.
