Yellowjackets' Special Effects Maestro Describes The Gruesome Details That Went Into That Episode 2 Feast Scene
Contains spoilers for "Yellowjackets" Season 2, Episode 2 — "Edible Complex"
"Yellowjackets" finally crossed that highly anticipated line in a nail-biting scene featured in Season 2, Episode 2, fittingly titled "Edible Complex."
In the Season 2 premiere episode, teenage Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) baffled audiences by popping Jackie's (Ella Purnell) severed ear right into her mouth. This serves as a tasty hors d'oeuvre that foreshadows the grisly feast on Jackie's cooked-to-perfection corpse that follows. As the deadly and harsh winter rages on, the Yellowjackets are close to starving, which tees up this horrifying moment. The sequence looks incredibly real as the girls chow down on juicy bits of flesh that quiet their rumbling stomachs. More importantly, it provides essential nutrients for Shauna's unborn baby, which she even says out loud that Jackie would've wanted.
The visual effects team on "Yellowjackets" revealed how the sequence seamlessly parallels a luau and the humorous name they gave to the Jackie corpse prop. Makeup supervisor Todd Masters broke it down with IndieWire saying, "We called her Luau Jackie because we wanted that texture of a fresh-out-of-the-fire-spit pig."
This further complicates the intricate depiction that intentionally mirrors a celebratory meal many viewers can relate to. It also highlights the heightened stakes for our characters, which makes for an even more intense 2nd season than we anticipated.
The special effects team put a lot of thought into the dinner presentation
The seemingly supernatural beings surrounding the intriguing, haunting elements of "Yellowjackets" aided in the suspicious events that caused Jackie's body to be cooked rather than cremated. This woke the girls up to the delicious scent of freshly smoked meat that overrides any ethical boundaries. As they satisfy their raging hunger, fans are left stunned by the harrowing results.
While speaking with IndieWire, Todd Masters noted that the special effects team swapped the burnable dummy out with an edible prop for the maximum, authentic effect. He continued by pointing out the essential difference they strived for to make Jackie's body actually appear appetizing, "We didn't want [the corpse] to look like the aftermath of a burn victim, to look overly human, because that's gross. We wanted this to look succulent, juicy, and appealing. The conversations as we were developing the look of it came to luaus and suckling pigs. One of our lead artists is from Hawaii, so it was perfect because she knew the look."
That intentional strive for differentiation resulted in a mouth-watering depiction that accurately captures the moment with empathy, gruesome as it is. Given it's only the second episode, it's safe to say we have plenty of uncomfortable meals to look forward to on "Yellowjackets" Season 2.