Questions We Still Have After The Yellowjackets Season 1 Finale
Showtime's "Yellowjackets" has become a major topic of discussion — we would go so far as to call it a watercooler show if we were all actually going into the office and, you know, using communal drink dispensers. And though it's not the most lighthearted fare, it is a welcome distraction from the pandemic, and a solid reminder to be thankful for our comforts. It is also an awesome series, with complex plots, compelling mysteries, dynamite performances, and a big ick factor.
While "Yellowjackets" has officially been renewed for Season 2, show insiders have said that the creators have a five-season plan for the series (via /Film). This is likely why the show has been slow to dole out answers to viewers' burning questions — which has, in turn, created much internet chatter and conjecturing. In addition to discussion in places like Reddit, multiple publications put out pieces on "Yellowjackets" theories in the weeks leading up the finale, including Mashable, Bustle, and Vanity Fair. Heck, a think piece has even been published by high-end literary magazine The Atlantic, which illustrates the level of interest the series has created.
Since the Season 1 finale of "Yellowjackets" — which aired on January 16 — left us with many lingering questions, we wanted to take a look at some of the unfinished plot points and gaping holes in viewer knowledge. We also wanted to explore the theories around some of these subjects. Here are the biggest questions we still have after the first "Yellowjackets" season finale.
How did the survivors get out of the woods?
As of right now, we know at least five people survived the full 19 months out in the wilderness. Travis (Kevin Alves) has since died, but the four women at the center of the show — Misty (Christina Ricci), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), and Taissa (Tawny Cypress) — are very much alive. The season finale points to the idea that Lottie is also alive in the present day — something that was all but confirmed by the show's creative team. "We will be seeing adult Lottie in Season 2. Buckle up!" co-creator Ashley Lyle told Entertainment Weekly.
Whether or not there are more survivors, one lingering question remains as to how these individuals made it to safety. Did they end up hiking back to civilization, as Taissa wanted to do earlier in the season? Or did the more likely scenario of help coming to find them occur? And if it did, why did it take so long? Nineteen months is a very long time if the search had been ongoing for that whole period.
Are there any other survivors?
A related question — and one of the ones we most want answered — concerns who else survived aside from the five we know. As previously mentioned, it seems like Lottie (played as a teen by Courtney Eaton) did, but what about the rest of the crew? Forgetting the background "Yellowjackets" who seem to come and go whenever, many of the core girls are, as of right now, living. This includes Mari (Alexa Barajas), Van (Liv Hewson), and Akilah (Keeya King).
The only "Yellowjackets" we have seen die since the crash are Laura Lee (Jane Widdop), who perished in a plane that exploded, and Jackie (Ella Purnell), who froze to death in the Season 1 finale. If the others don't make it out of the woods, we still need to find out how and why each of them dies. In addition to the "Yellowjackets," we do not know the fate of coach Ben or Javi. Per Parade, many fans speculated that Shauna's boyfriend Adam (Peter Gadiot) may have been a grown-up Javi, but the storyline does not seem to be pointing there.
Who is the antler queen?
One of the plot points that has received the most attention is the possible cannibalism, which was alluded to in the pilot episode and mentioned in many of the episodes since. A significant scene showed us what looked to be some sort of cult-like ritual, with all of the members in masks hiding their faces. In the center was one person — presumably a woman — with antlers on her head. She has since been dubbed the "antler queen," and many fans have been speculating about her identity.
We know that Misty (Sammi Hanratty) is not the antler queen, as she was seen under a different mask. All signs point to Lottie, who has displayed eerie powers and some sort of connection to the supernatural. But "Yellowjackets" loves to throw a curveball, and so many have come up with alternate theories. One idea was that Jackie was under the antler mask — something we now know cannot be true. Another theory is that it is Shauna who leads the charge, but our money is definitely on Lottie at this point.
Who captured Natalie?
At the end of the Season 1 finale, Natalie was preparing to kill herself when a group of dangerous strangers busted into her hotel room and captured her. We know nothing about these characters except that they were wearing the mysterious symbol we have seen so many times before, and that they may or may not have a connection to Lottie. These people may be part of a cult, but we have no confirmation of that as of now.
We also have no idea what they want with Natalie, or what they will do with her now that they have her. If they took her because she was digging too hard into Travis' death, then they are likely going to want to go after others as well. One thing is for certain, however, and that is that Misty will be on the case with her warped mind and citizen detective skills.
What happened to Travis?
Just as Natalie accepted the idea that Travis may have committed suicide, "Yellowjackets" put in a twist and had Natalie taken captive. We also learned in the finale –- from a voicemail left by Suzie (Colleen Wheeler), a bank employee who Natalie blackmailed to get information for her –- that Lottie is the one that emptied Travis' bank accounts after his death. But does that necessarily mean that Lottie killed him? We would never assume anything.
There is still a chance that Travis did, in fact, commit suicide, though the presence of the symbol at the crime scene points to something more sinister. It is also possible that someone other than Lottie is masterminding things, and it is even a possibility that Misty is involved somehow. After all, Misty is seen alongside Lottie (and Van) in the finale when she sacrifices the bear's heart and welcomes evil. Even Jessica (Rehka Sharma), the fixer that Misty killed in the finale, is a suspect.
Who is victimized at the beginning of the show?
Since the premiere, we have wanted to know which "Yellowjacket" was seen being chased and killed after falling into a trap set by the others. The show also wants us to believe that this person was eaten by the others, though Vanity Fair has floated the theory that the cannibalism is a misdirect (our take: they did it). There are a number of possible victims, though the field has been narrowed after the deaths of Laura Lee and Jackie, the latter of whom many had assumed was the victim.
The victim has been dubbed "pit girl" over on Reddit, and some have suggested it may be Lottie. Given that the finale revealed her current-day escapades, this theory now no longer makes sense. "The intent was not necessarily to throw you off, the intent was to have it be open to interpretation who was the girl running in the woods. "We were not trying to suggest that it was Lottie," co-creator Bart Nickerson told Entertainment Weekly. It now seems likely the girl is Mari, based upon her hair color and a process of elimination. It does not look like Van or Akilah, and while it could be one of the extra girls there that we sporadically see (why is it that they come and go, anyway?), our gut is pointing to Mari.
Does Shauna give birth?
We know that Shauna is pregnant with Jeff's baby and, based upon the timeline, she is at least three or four months along at this point. The show creators told Entertainment Weekly that the girls have been stranded "for several months," and Shauna has even begun to show. But with no sign of an older child in the present day, we cannot help but wonder what happened with Shauna's pregnancy.
The storyline could go a number of ways. Shauna may miscarry at some point, which would be an easy answer to the mystery. If she has the baby, that is where things get more interesting. Theoretically, it is possible (but unlikely) that Shauna and Jeff have an older child that we just have not seen or heard about. It is also possible that they gave the child up for adoption, or that the baby died after birth. It is even an option that the group kills the baby, perhaps as some sort of sacrifice. Given that some fans have speculated that the "Yellowjackets" end up eating the child, nothing is out of the realm of possibility. And maybe that would explain Shauna's sick dream where she gave birth to, and then ate, a rotisserie chicken.
Where is Javi?
We were hoping that young teen Javi (Luciano Leroux) made it out of the woods, and at one point, we were even thinking he could have been the one to empty his brother Travis' bank account after he died. But our hopes have all but dissipated after the Season 1 finale, given that Javi went missing. This is obviously a sign that something terrible has happened to the boy, but does it mean he is dead? Again, we want answers!
Things got bananas after the entire group was drugged with magic mushrooms, and the last time we saw Javi, he was lying down by himself. In the finale, Travis goes searching for his baby brother, only to come up empty-handed. Was he attacked by an animal? Did he fall down and hurt himself? Is he simply lost? The most likely scenario is that he froze to death, like Jackie, but the show must answer the Javi question when it returns for Season 2.
Is Taissa possessed?
We do not know what to make of adult Taissa, who just became a state senator in the final episode of Season 1. Earlier in the season, we learned that she was a sleepwalker and that she ate dirt. We also know that she is the woman who her son has been seeing in the tree, and that a version of Taissa is who her son calls "the bad one." We got a few more answers in the season finale, but lingering questions persist related to Taissa's issues. We are also not sure if these are truly sleepwalking incidents, or if Taissa is somehow possessed. The show has pointed us toward the supernatural with Lottie, so this would not be outside the realm of possibility.
We were very sure that the dog did not just get "let out," but it was still a shocker to see its head and heart on a shrine in Taissa's basement. And since we did not see the rest of the canine, we cannot help but wonder if Taissa ate it. Another big question mark around Taissa is her level of awareness of her actions. "I think she's been suppressing if not repressing her alter ego, let's call it, for her whole journey from the wilderness till now," showrunner Jonathan Lisco said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "When we're holding on her, in that scene, when it's announced that she wins the state senate race, I think it's hard to deny that the seeds of recognition are entering her psyche at that point."
Is there a supernatural spirit in the woods?
So, we have established that Taissa may be possessed, but what is the deal with the woods in general? Clearly, something weird is happening out there, as evidenced by a deer that was walking around with maggots inside of it and a brown-red river (and we are not as sure as Taissa that the color is from minerals). And then there is the question of the man with no eyes that Taissa keeps seeing. He is in the opening credits, so we are sure this question will get addressed at some point, but who is this mysterious long-haired man and what is his connection to the wilderness?
At the heart of the supernatural question is Lottie, who we were led to believe has mental illness but may actually possess mystical powers that allow her to sense the future. She was seemingly possessed during the séance, and she accurately stated that they would eat soon before the bear came to camp. She knew about the river of blood, and she predicted that something bad would happen to Van, which is why she gave her the uncharred antler bone. Lottie also keeps referring to some sort of larger presence, like when she said "they didn't want him to leave" in reference to the man who died in the cabin. She has also referred to some sort of "it," and in the finale, submits herself to evil, so it is pretty clear something otherworldly is going on.
Do the others ever find out Misty destroyed the black box?
In the premiere episode of "Yellowjackets," after the crash, Misty found herself in a unique position wherein she had the most knowledge and was the most useful person in the woods. For a social outcast like Misty, the feeling of being needed likely felt a lot like being wanted, and that seems to be Misty's ultimate goal (even adult Misty). So, yes, we were enthralled when she ruined the team's biggest hope for rescue, but we were not entirely surprised. This was just our first hint that Misty is a little off her rocker.
Misty discovered the plane's flight recorder while going to the bathroom in the woods, and just after hearing two girls talk about how important she had been to their survival thus far. She then proceeded to break the black box, which aligns with what we now know about the woman who poisoned her crush's tea, routinely manipulates her elderly patients, and set up a secret recording device to spy on someone she considers a friend. That said, our question is not why Misty did what she did, but whether the others will ever know about it.
What does the symbol mean?
The mysterious symbol is an integral part of "Yellowjackets" and one of the biggest mysteries. What exactly does it mean, and who exactly created it? We first saw the symbol in relation to the cult-like ritual in the premiere episode, but it soon became clear that it did not originate with any of the main characters. The symbol was carved on a tree in the woods, as well as in the cabin — presumably by the man who perished there, but perhaps by someone or something else.
We again saw this symbol when Natalie, Taissa, and Misty were mailed postcards with it on the back, alongside the words "wish you were here." Misty also pieced together the symbol in the crime photos from Travis' hanging, left with smudges of wax, after Natalie was able to convince Misty to utilize her citizen investigator connections to steal the police file. And then, in the finale, one of Natalie's four captors had the symbol on their necklace. We cannot wait to find out what it means, if it means anything at all, and where it originated.
Who is the dead guy in the cabin?
The team was incredibly lucky to find an abandoned cabin in the woods, and, realistically, they would not even be alive at this point had they stayed at the plane. The cabin not only offered them shelter, but also a means for hunting food, cookware, and all sorts of other supplies. But the cabin — which was discovered in Episode 3 –- was not all good news. When they first found it, Lottie refused to go inside because she had a bad feeling about the place. And then, later in the episode, Taissa finds Lottie up in the attic, staring at a rotted corpse.
We do not know much about the man in the attic, but we can make a few assumptions. He is presumably the owner of the plane that Laura Lee attempted to fly to safety. The fact that the mysterious symbol was found etched in the attic might also lead us to assume some sort of malevolent end for the guy. The internet has picked up on the fact that the man may have been a French Canadian (see: this Reddit thread), which many have suggested is because Lottie began speaking French during the séance. And though we don't know for sure if it was Shauna or Jackie dreaming toward the end of the finale (the creators have said it was meant to be ambiguous, per Elle), we assume that the man in the dream was the man from the cabin. But who is the "we" in "we've been waiting for you?" That we do not know.
Will we see what life was like in the years after the survivors returned to civilization?
We have not seen this discussed a lot online, but something we have been hoping for is flashbacks to other time periods aside from 1996/1997 and 2021. As of right now, the action has really been centered on these two timelines — the survival one in the woods and the present day. We have had minor flashback outside of this, such as when we got to see events from Taissa and Lottie's childhoods, but these have been rare. We also had some flashbacks to life leading up to the flight, but this would also have taken place in 1996.
Given that the show's creators have a multi-season plan, there is space to expand the timeline, and luckily, the showrunners want to explore more of the time in between. "We intend to, eventually, in the show, cover some of the ground of the space between these two timelines. We see the [Yellowjackets] in '96, and we see them in the present day, but obviously there's 25 years in the interim," co-creator Ashley Lyle told Elle. We have a number of questions we want answered here. For instance, what sort of interventions did the girls need upon their return? What was the media frenzy like? And why is it that some (like Taissa) were able to stay on their projected path and others (like Shauna) never made it where they had intended to go? Most interestingly, why have they have kept their ongoing friendships/communication secret over the years?