The Worst Thing Every Yellowjackets Character Has Done
You would think that on a show like "Yellowjackets," wherein the entire plot is about women who engaged in cannibalism, it would be easy to pinpoint each character's worst moments. As it turns out, that's just not the case. This is partly because there are still a lot of unanswered questions at the end of Season 1, and partly because the plot of the characters are so nuanced that there's a lot of gray area where human behavior is concerned. With Season 2 on the way, we thought it would be a good time to look back at what these women (and men) have gone through, and think about how their experiences might have led to their very worst decisions.
Because we never actually got to see the origins of the cannibalistic rituals in Season 1, considering the worst actions of each character are not actually as cut and dry as one might think. Sure, there's been a little sprinkling of murder here, a hint of ritual sacrifice there, and an abundance of lies and deception all around, but we definitely haven't yet seen the worst these characters have to offer. Nonetheless, there's been a huge amount of devastation –- both physical and emotional –- over the course of one short season, and we'd be remiss to overlook the horrific revelations we've been privy to thus far. So, read on to discover the worst thing every "Yellowjackets" character has done –- so far. This is your last warning: Spoilers are ahead.
Shauna's fight with Jackie
Yes, we know, Shauna has done a large amount of morally questionable things throughout the time we've known her. She cheated on her best friend's boyfriend and then got pregnant with his child, cheated on her husband (said best friend's boyfriend) and then killed the man she was cheating on him with, and also lied to her friends about what happened and forced them to help her clean it up. All in all, Shauna's not a particularly trustworthy or morally righteous character, even if she is delicious fun to watch.
But, while stabbing her boyfriend is, you know, pretty bad, there's one moment that stands out as being especially heinous in Shauna's history of questionable actions. This moment comes at the end of Season 1, after Jackie has found out about Shauna's pregnancy (by Jeff) and also told everyone about it. When Jackie refuses to participate in their mealtime ritual, Shauna starts an all-out fight with her. Shauna tells Jackie that, basically, she now hates her because she spent her whole life trying to be like her, and she only ever joined the soccer team because Jackie played. In fact, Shauna says, she hates soccer.
While the fight itself is pretty devastating, the worst thing happens later. Jackie tells Shauna to leave, and Shauna says she's staying and that it's Jackie who should leave. Jackie does leave, and winds up spending the whole night outside the cabin. It snows, and Jackie freezes to death mere feet from the rest of the team. Though Shauna certainly didn't mean for this to happen –- and the other girls are also at fault to some extent -– it's one of most horrifying moments of the entire season.
Laura Lee flying that plane
The ever-faithful Laura Lee is a very gentle, guiltless person who doesn't seem to have a malicious bone in her body. In a flashback, we see that Laura Lee's zealous faith in God is the result of a near-death experience she had at summer camp — in which a hot lifeguard told her God saved her life. Since then, Laura Lee has had absolute faith in God and believes everything happens for a reason.
Since Laura Lee would never intentionally do anything to hurt another person, the worst thing she ever does on "Yellowjackets" has more to do with the extinguishing of hope than it does with violence or betrayal. One day, Laura Lee decides that she has studied the manual enough and that it's time to fly the old plane that they found in the woods. Coach Ben says no, but he can't stop her, and the other girls are thrilled at the prospect that Laura Lee could go find help. Miraculously, she makes it out of the woods and up into the air, but as she's flying over the lake, the plane goes up in flames and explodes right in front of their eyes.
Obviously, Laura Lee had no way of knowing this would happen and was in fact trying to save the other Yellowjackets, but her actions had the effect of tearing apart the remaining shreds of hope the other survivors had about getting out of those woods. There's only so much devastation one can take, and for many on the team, Laura Lee's death was the last straw.
Lottie almost starting a ritual of human sacrifice
Now, we're pretty sure that Lottie is behind the ritualistic cannibalism in some way, but we don't know this for a fact. The most damning evidence that Lottie was behind whatever cultish behavior happened in the woods comes at the very end of Season 1, when Natalie's former sponsor calls her on the phone and asks, "Who the f*** is Lottie Matthews?" just as Natalie is kidnapped and thrown into a van painted with the same symbol we've seen in the woods.
But, putting this all aside for now, let's look at what we actually do know about Lottie from Season 1. The closest Lottie comes to doing something really scary is in the penultimate episode of the season, when all the survivors accidentally get high on shrooms. With Lottie leading the charge, some of the girls attack Jackie and Travis. They lock Jackie in the cabin and commence what looks like the start of an orgy with Travis. They then string Travis up on an altar and Lottie almost convinces Shauna to slit his neck open, until Natalie comes to the rescue. This sequence is almost certainly a hint of what's to come, and the power Lottie seems to have over the other girls –- and what they're all capable of –- is made terrifyingly clear here.
Jeff blackmailing the remaining Yellowjackets
If we're being honest, we pretty much love Jeff. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he clearly loves Shauna, and has huge "wife guy" energy. The worst thing Jeff has ever done is admittedly not great, but it's not unforgivable either. When Shauna notices Jeff coming home late and taking clandestine meetings with a female colleague, she comes to the conclusion any suspicious person would: That Jeff is cheating on her. Partially in response to this, Shauna begins an affair with Ben, who she winds up stabbing to death.
But, as it turns out, Jeff wasn't actually cheating on Shauna –- he was just blackmailing her friends to try and save his failing furniture store. He figured that at least Taissa would have the money and that he could finally pay back the loan sharks. The problem, of course, is that Shauna thought Ben was the blackmailer, which led to her killing him.
To give credit where credit is due, Jeff actually reacted pretty well to finding out that Shauna cheated on him and also killed someone -– his "there's no book club?" line notwithstanding –- and he's proven time and time again that he supports Shauna no matter what. But, if he hadn't blackmailed the remaining Yellowjackets and lied to Shauna about it, then Shauna never would have killed Ben, so he does need to shoulder at least some of the blame here.
Taissa beheading her dog
Taissa is another "Yellowjackets" character who has probably done things in her life that are worse than what we've seen from her so far. She clearly has some sort of supernatural sleepwalking problem, and who knows what else she's done while in this state. Plus, all of the surviving Yellowjackets have probably had to commit numerous gruesome and/or horrifying acts in order to survive.
But, from what we've seen from her so far, the worst thing Taissa has done is probably the time she beheaded her own dog. Taissa's sleepwalking problem clearly started (or at least got considerably worse) while she was in the woods, and it's still a problem for her in the present day. She frequently wakes up with dirt and blood on her hands and no idea how she got there. While in the woods, she wakes up in a tree just before Van is (seemingly) attacked by wolves.
In one of the more shocking reveals in the present-day timeline, Taissa's wife Simone crawls through a vent in the basement and finds a horrifying altar that we assume was made by Taissa. On the altar is a one-eyed doll, a bloody heart, and the family dog's severed head. Though this revelation is perhaps slightly more shocking for Simone than it is for the audience (we at least knew Taissa was up to something), it's still a horrifying reminder that none of these women were really able to leave behind what happened in the woods.
Van trusting Lottie
Like Laura Lee, Van is another character who has never exhibited any malicious intent to anyone else on the series. She comes off as a sweet, funny, caring person, and she continues to stand behind her girlfriend Taissa even when she doesn't agree with her. For this reason, it's pretty difficult to think of something terrible that Van's done on the series so far.
Though Van's never hurt another person, there is one thing she does that we find somewhat suspect. Despite Taissa's protests, Van is one of the first people to trust Lottie and her visions, even if she doesn't quite understand what they mean. This support might appear harmless at first, but it's clear by the end of Season 1 that Lottie's leading them down a dark path, if the present-day cult that seems to have formed around her is any indication. Maybe Lottie is the reason any of them are still alive at all, but maybe she's also the reason they started eating each other in the first place. Either way, Van's blind faith in Lottie seems like it might lead to some dark acts being committed on her behalf.
Misty imprisoning and killing Jessica Roberts
Let's face it: Misty has done a lot of questionable things over the course of her life. But, so far, the worst thing Misty has done on "Yellowjackets" takes place in the present day. When she's finally had enough of being followed, Misty decides to kidnap and imprison Jessica Roberts — who, as the audience knows, is not the blackmailer but rather is someone Taissa hired to make sure the others wouldn't talk to the press and ruin her senate campaign.
While the Jessica/Misty dynamic is actually pretty hilarious, it's also extremely disturbing. It's likely that Jessica is not the first person Misty has held in her basement, and her chipper attitude in the face of violence makes the situation all the more upsetting. Jessica's death is also incredibly diabolical. Misty lets Jessica go because Jessica promises she will get Misty a book deal if she's released. Of course, both Misty and Jessica know this is never going to happen, so Misty sets up a plan B. She poisons Jessica's cigarettes –- which she initially throws in the garbage –- and reluctantly gives them back before Jessica drives away. The evil thing about this plan is that Jessica could have survived had she not asked for her cigarettes back, but Misty knew she would — and clearly gets a sadistic thrill from knowing she can control Jessica's actions like this and still claim the moral high ground.
Jessica Roberts investigating the Yellowjackets
In a sense, Jessica Roberts dug her own grave. Or, if we're being more accurate, Taissa actually dug Jessica's grave by hiring her to go investigate Misty and the others — knowing full well that Misty is, shall we say, extremely unhinged. Compared to what many of the other characters on the show have done, Jessica's transgressions are pretty minor. She was hired by Taissa to do a job, which she did, but it didn't end quite the way she expected.
Even though Jessica's actions -– investigating the Yellowjackets and posing as reporter -– aren't totally deplorable, we're also given a sense that she's not a particularly ethical person to begin with. She tells Misty that in her line of work, she does a lot of morally repugnant things to get the job done, and that she doesn't really feel bad about the things she's done. So, it may be that Jessica was not a very good person at all, but Misty made sure that there were consequences for her actions.
Travis blowing off Natalie
If there's one thing we can say about the characters on "Yellowjackets," it's this: They all need lots therapy. Most of them probably could have used therapy prior to the crash as well, and this definitely includes Travis, who clearly has a lot of issues he needs to work through.
Though Travis and Natalie are very much at odds initially following the crash, they eventually develop a close relationship and become romantically involved. When they're preparing to become intimate for the first time, Travis finds that he can't get it up and becomes embarrassed. Natalie says it's fine, but he lashes out at her. Travis starts fighting with Natalie for no reason apart from his own insecurity, and it clearly hurts Natalie very deeply.
Travis then encounters Jackie, who tells him that one of the guys Natalie slept with was the person who bullied Travis in middle school. This gives Travis another thing to be mad at Natalie about –- even though who she's slept with has literally nothing to do with him -– and their relationship further deteriorates. Though Natalie also lashes out as a result of Travis' anger with her, it's Travis who is at fault here, and it's devastating to see how badly his actions hurt poor Natalie.
Natalie using Kevyn
Though Natalie comes off as rude and mean-spirited, her attitude is clearly the result of all of the hurt and pain she's been through in her life. She acts the way she does not because she doesn't care, but because she does care — very deeply in fact — and doesn't want to get hurt again. The transactional ways she views relationships following the crash is evident in her dynamic with Kevyn, who used to be her best friend in high school and is now a cop.
After reuniting in a bar, Kevyn reveals that he used to be in love with Natalie. At Misty's initial prompting, Natalie begins to use Kevyn's feelings for her to get information from him about Travis' death, which she suspects was not actually a suicide. Kevyn is happy to help because he clearly still cares about Natalie, even after all these years. They begin sleeping together, and, one night, Natalie borrows his gun to go after the blackmailer. She shoots the gun, and Kevyn finds out when he sees a bullet missing. Kevyn thinks it's about drugs –- which Natalie finds deeply hurtful, and she lashes out at him.
It may be that Natalie did come to care about Kevyn at some point, but it wasn't fair of her to use his feelings for her like that. Natalie is rightfully upset about Kevyn's insinuation about why she borrowed his gun, and the dissolution of their relationship aligns with how Natalie sees relationships in general –- everyone always leaves.
Coach Ben not moving to New York to be with Paul
Coach Ben is another "Yellowjackets" character who hasn't done much wrong so far. Maybe that will change, but throughout Season 1, Ben did his best to protect the girls and act as the voice of reason. Because of this, nothing Ben did this season constitutes the worst thing he's done — rather, it's what he didn't do that was his biggest mistake.
During a conversation with Natalie, Ben reveals that he's gay and that he had a boyfriend named Paul in New York. Paul wanted Ben to move to New York to be with him, but Ben was too afraid, so they broke up. Not only was this a mistake because, as Ben tells Natalie in "Doomcoming," love is everything, it's also a mistake for a reason he couldn't have possibly predicted: If Ben had moved to New York to be with Paul, he would never have been on that plane in the first place. Ben could have saved himself all this trouble had he followed his heart, but, as we all know, it's not always that easy.
Jackie breaking up Travis and Natalie
Whatever your feelings about Jackie are, she didn't deserve to die frozen and alone. But, although Shauna said some pretty hurtful things in the fight that precipitated Jackie's death, Jackie also has some things to answer for. Jackie seems to fall into the archetype of the popular mean girl, but we don't actually see her acting like a mean girl until they've been trapped in the woods for a while.
The first questionable thing she does is tell the whole team that Shauna is pregnant. This is certainly a malicious action, but we get why Jackie did it -– she was understandably hurt by Shauna's betrayal. But Jackie takes her revenge a step too far when she meddles in Travis and Natalie's relationship. Jackie tells Travis that one of the guys Natalie slept with was the same person that bullied Travis in middle school. This enrages Travis and drives an even bigger wedge between him and Natalie.
At first, we're not sure why Jackie is doing this. Did she not think about how that would upset Travis? But then it becomes clear that she was purposefully trying to break up Natalie and Travis so she could have Travis for herself. It was some sort of roundabout revenge against Shauna for stealing her boyfriend, who she never even slept with herself. While Jackie's anger about Shauna's betrayal is justifiable, her plot for revenge only made things worse for everyone.