On May 25, Showtime aired the devastating finale of Season two of Showtime’s hit series Yellowjackets. The show follows a soccer team that survived a plane crash in 1996. While being stranded, the survivors fall into cannibalism and violence in order to survive. The series switches between 1996 and the present day. So where does that bring the seasons end today?
The Hollywood Reporter breaks down what happened in the final moments of season 2 and what it means for the remainder of the show’s run. Juliette Lewis (Redeeming Love, The Switch), who plays core character Natalie, is accidentally killed by her best friend Misty, portrayed by Christina Ricci (Wednesday, The Addams Family). The accidental death occurred in an unfortunate series of events.
According to Time, Natalie was trying to calm Lisa’s (Nicole Maines, Supergirl, Bit) nerves after Lottie (Simone Kessell, Wellmania, Outlaws) was shot in the arm during frantic hunt through the woods. Misty tries to take matters into her own hands, charging toward Lisa with a syringe of a barbiturate called phenobarbital. Natalie shoves Lisa out of the way just as Misty is about to stab her with the syringe and Misty stabs her best friend Natalie instead. This causes Natalie to overdose and die at the hands of Misty.
In a featurette on Instagram titled “Behind the Buzz” Ricci mentions that “Misty’s obsessed with Natalie. It’s the closest she’s come to having a friend, she’s not about to let that go – even if she ends up holding her so tight she crushes her.” This character flaw is made entirely evident with the way the season came to a close.
Both lovers of Yellowjackets and the cast were devastated when the death of Natalie was revealed. Sophie Thatcher (Prospect, The Tomorrow Man) plays young Natalie in the series and she was particularly devastated by the death of her adult character. Showtime has renewed Yellowjackets for a third season and Thatcher explains how she’s unsure where this will take her character in upcoming seasons. “…I think it’s really tragic for our character. Everyone has been through a lot, but Nat is the one who has been taking it all in most intensely, and letting it live inside of her and bubbling up, so there’s something really sad about that. I haven’t really thought about it yet, because we don’t know when we’re doing season three, but not having that mentorship.. I know she’ll always be a contact, but not having that immediate [mentor], everyone else has that and now I’m removed of that. She’s given me so much confidence as a performer and an artist, and I’ll take that with me my entire life.”
It’s very clear Natalie has been an extremely influential character both on and off camera and has made a true impact on the young Sophie Thatcher.
The season doesn’t just end with the death of Natalie’s character, it only gets worse. A fire occurs in the very last moments of the season finale, burning the young survivors’ cabin to the ground. Lottie then mysteriously announces in the final words of the season how they simply gave the wilderness what it desired while looking into the camera and ended with the quote, “you’ll see.”
With this menacing quote as the final words, fans are excited to see where creators Ashley Lyle (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico) and Bart Nickerson (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico) will take the season three of Yellowjackets.