Summary
Yellowjackets Season 3 begins to cohere better in Episode 4, with a mock trial framing the flashbacks and a shock demise in the present day.
Yellowjackets Season 3 has been strange and inscrutable so far, and it isn’t like things get suddenly clear in Episode 4, but there’s something about “12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis” that feels a bit more coherent than usual. I think it’s the structural gimmick of the girls putting Coach Ben on trial in the wilderness that gives those scenes a nice shape, and the present-day stuff, including the attempted murder of Shauna and the actual murder (we guess) of Lottie, has enough shock value to feel worthwhile.
We’ll start with the trial since there’s a fair bit to go over. After bringing Ben back to camp to answer for the supposed crime of burning the cabin down, the girls decide to be civilized about the matter and put Ben on what is ostensibly a fair trial, with Misty functioning as his defense attorney and Natalie presiding over the whole thing as the Queen/Judge.
Notably, Natalie is dressed in a tamer version of the Antler Queen outfit, but it feels like a deliberate hint in the wrong direction to me, especially as she finds the antlers uncomfortable and eventually takes them off. If nothing else, this season has done a fairly decent job of explaining how the girls’ cult-like belief system around “It” has manifested and developed, but I expect a bigger deal to be made of the actual Antler Queen reveal. This is a nice nod in that direction, though.
The trial doesn’t end up being very fair, either. Misty makes some compelling arguments – the truth is that the girls genuinely have no idea who burned the cabin down and there’s no evidence to implicate Ben – and Ben himself is allowed to speak compellingly. But when the girls struggle to find a majority either way, Shauna jumps into action and, with support from Melissa, basically bullies everyone into sentencing Ben to death.
It’s hard to parse exactly what the relationship between Shauna and Melissa is. There’s definitely a sexual contour, but it feels more like Melissa has latched on to Shauna because she recognizes a cruelty in her that is scaring the others into giving her power. Melissa’s a bit like a parasite, feeding on the second-hand thrill of Shauna pushing the others around.
Steven Krueger in Yellowjackets Season 3 | Image via Showtime
With this in mind, it’s easy to see why someone would be trying to kill Shauna in the present day, which is definitely what’s happening. After her car was presumably sabotaged – the mechanic doesn’t think so, exonerating Misty, but in hindsight, it certainly seems that way – Jeff thinks they need to balance out their karmic ledger. His method of doing that is volunteer work, and his chosen venue is Misty’s workplace, totally oblivious to Shauna and Misty currently being at each other’s throats.
While there, Shauna gets locked in the freezer. Again, she blames Misty and again, Misty is exonerated, but someone locked her in, which means someone is determined to kill her. And given the final scene, she isn’t the only member of the Yellowjackets that someone is gunning for. But who?
While she’s stuck in the freezer, Shauna imagines being tormented by the ghost of Jackie to excuse another Ella Purnell cameo. Tellingly, Jackie warns her that someone is trying to hurt her not just for what she did in the wilderness but for what she did when she got back. I’ve got a feeling that Jeff is going to need to do more to balance the books than a few hours of voluntary work.
Tai and Van are asking for trouble too. Now that they’re of the belief – Tai especially – that Van’s lifespan has been extended by “It” in exchange for the “sacrifice” of the waiter who happened to have a heart attack, they decide to use the Queen of Hearts to determine their next sacrifice. They lay it on the street until someone picks it up and then follow the man who does all the way home.
Despite clearly being on the cusp of taking this step, they don’t. I don’t think Van’s heart is in it. Tai, on the other hand, seems suspiciously keen, and oddly adamant about bringing their wilderness cult into the present day. It’s something definitely worth keeping an eye on.
But of more immediate concern is Lottie. She’s dead. Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 4 ends by settling on her corpse behind some crime scene tape, but almost nothing else is revealed about her demise. The cause of death, culprit, and context, all remain mysterious for now. But things are clearly getting a lot more serious.
