Summary
Yellowjackets connects past and present more explicitly in another episode that offers little in the way of answers but delights in raising the questions.
This recap of Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 4, “Old Wounds”, contains spoilers.
Yellowjackets is one of the better shows on TV, not that it ever gets due credit, and one of the reasons why is how it consistently walks such a fine line between revealing something of substance and revealing nothing at all.
All we know, concretely, is that weird stuff is happening. We know it manifests in different ways for different people, and that it connects the long stay of the Yellowjackets in the wilderness with their present-day lives.
But beyond that, what do we know, really? It was during “Old Wounds” that I realized the answer is almost nothing.
Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 4 Recap
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the characters themselves don’t know much either. Misty and Walter are still searching for Natalie and have no idea she’s with Lottie, or at the very least with Lisa, a member of Lottie’s cult. They don’t really know anything about each other, either, and when their similarities are expressed through a lovely little split screen of their night-time routines when they spend the night in a motel, they don’t even get to see themselves in each other.
Why does Natalie bond with Lisa?
Speaking of Nat and Lisa, they have a little excursion together this week, ostensibly to sell honey, but it turns into a family affair.
Nat obviously sees herself in Lisa. She has been depressed and suicidal and misunderstood too. You can see it in how she snipes at Lisa’s critical mother. You can definitely see it in how she smuggles Lisa’s beloved goldfish out of the house in her mouth.
Lottie’s purple-people cult obviously has a fondness for people who’re broken, but it still remains to be seen whether that’s to heal or exploit them. The exact nature of Lottie’s “powers” are brought into question even more here in “Old Wounds”, but more on that in a bit.
How does Callie react to Shauna’s confession?
In Episode 3, something seemed amiss with Shauna. She threatened to kill a man for stealing her minivan and almost quivered with pleasure at the prospect.
Her run of questionable decision-making continues here when she confesses to Callie that, yes, she did indeed kill Adam, and even shares that it was under false pretenses since it was Jeff who was blackmailing the Yellowjackets.
You’d think this would be a bit of a shock for Callie, but it actually inspires her to make a confession of her own – about going out drinking – and leads to her bonding with her parents over preparing dinner.
Is this a fake-out leading to a later betrayal, or does Jeff now potentially have to contend with two women whose emotions and behaviors he can’t understand or manage?
Is Javi alive?
It isn’t much of a surprise at this point given how heavily it has been teased throughout, but yes, Javi is still alive in Yellowjackets Season 2.
It’s Tai’s instincts when her evil half takes over that leads her and Van to him. They’re not looking for him initially – Van has persuaded Tai to try and find another of the trees marked with the symbol, its rough location decipherable through a map she has put together based on their previous discoveries – but they whisk him right back to the cabin when they do.
Unfortunately, though, Javi is so delirious that he doesn’t even recognize Travis.
Van thinks the discovery of Javi is proof of Tai’s unknowable connection to the forest and whatever resides within it. Likewise, Mari has utterly surrendered herself to Lottie and her way of thinking. Both girls are off the deep end, really, but maybe they’re the smartest of the bunch since everything we’ve seen thus far reinforces the idea that they’re right.
Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 4 Ending Explained
Episode 4 ends by connecting past and present more explicitly through Lottie and Taissa.
We see, in the past, Lottie’s first attempt at bargaining with something unknown using her own blood as payment. It doesn’t prompt a bountiful reward, but instead a vision, a deception that she identifies as such.
We know Lottie still has these visions; she saw Laura Lee while Travis was supposedly being hung to death. And then there are the bees.
In the present, though, Lottie knows to ignore them, or at least try to stave them off with medication. But her latest psychiatric advice not to push these visions away compels her to once again offer “him” blood – but in exchange for what?
Likewise, Taissa confronts her past more directly after hitchhiking her way to Van. But how can Van help with her current predicament? All this – and presumably more – remains to be seen.
You can stream Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 4, “Old Wounds” exclusively on Showtime.
