Major spoilers below for the Season 2 finale of Yellowjackets, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!
If I could only speak in buzzes, they would be the loudest buzzes in the known universe after watching Yellowjackets’ wild, weird and wonky Season 2 finale, which delivered more twists and turns than you could shake a stick at. (Make sure it’s a stick, too, and not Akilah’s stiff mouse buddy.) The episode delivered two huge deaths, an attempt at mass murder, a bunch of baffling character choices, and what may or may not be the end of the Adam Martin arc.
It was a shocking hour of TV that will likely have to tide fans over for longer than expected, since production on Season 3 has been on hiatus since the start of the WGA writers strike. But let’s not dwell on that unfortunate news when we’re still celebrating everything we saw and heard in “Storytelling.” So let’s dig in!
Natalie’s (Maybe) The Antler Queen And Also Dead (Probably)
The cabin-set storyline managed to take a bizarre turn after everyone ate Javi as their latest mega-meal, with a healing-too-rapidly-to-be-real Lottie declaring that she wasn’t meant to be the leader of the group after having taught others how to listen for “it.” There were so many uses of the word “it” in the ep that I halfway expected the reveal to be that the plane somehow went down inside the city limits of Derry, Maine, but I guess that’s being covered by the now-filming Welcome to Derry prequel series.
Because Natalie got the first queen from the deck, but was spared from death by the Wilderness choosing to take Javi instead, Lottie decided that was the entity’s way of saying that Nat should be the leader. Which then led to a very uncomfortable sequence where each of the cabin mates approached her with reverence and congratulatory praise, all while she started to tear up in appreciation. It felt a bit sickening, since you know everybody’s brains are so mushy and largely incapable of dictating coherent behavior. But even though we didn’t see her actually put on the veiled antler mask to confirm her place as the Antler Queen, it looks like she’ll at least be the first one to take the mantle. (Star Courtney Eaton previously hinted that the AQ role might not just be tied to a single character, which I totally buy into.) In any case, this definitely explains why star Sophie Thatcher told CinemaBlend she'd be approaching her role in a different way for Season 3.
In the present day timeline, the group’s slapdash attempts to spin Lottie away from going back into Wilderness mode were unsuccessful in the most tragic way, and through a bonkers chain of events. As the masked members were chasing a reluctant, Queen-drawing Shauna, her freaked-out daughter Callie burst from the dark with a gun, which then sparked Lisa to similarly burst from the dark with a bigger gun. The standoff went south after Misty, who seemingly never goes anywhere without a syringe of deadly chemicals, tried to use said syringe to kill Lisa, only to plunge it into Nat, who’d jumped in front of Lisa in the nick of time. What?
It’s not entirely clear why the scene went sideways in such a way, even though Nat and Lisa got along well enough. My main guess is that Natalie, as she’s done before, was able to upend the Wilderness’ plans, only this time putting herself at death’s door instead of it opening for someone else. But why did she have that weird flashback to her acid trip in the pilot, when she seemingly hallucinated Misty? That moment was specifically teased by the co-creators as a moment that would get paid off in the finale, but I’m honestly not clear on what it means. Plus, Nat’s dead and that sucks so hard. So I’m hoping it’s not real, even if it would also be aggravating to have it be retconned in some way.
Coach Tried To Kill The People-Eating Teens (Probably)
Just when you thought ol’ Coach Ben was having a total mental break and losing his grip on what’s real and what’s his imagined fate with his ex-boyfriend, he made arguably the most malicious decision that anyone has put into motion so far in the 1990s timeline. After Nat rejected his invitation to go to the underground hovel that apparently housed Javi during his missing period, Coach realized he wasn’t very good at surviving on his own in there, especially without a dependable firestarter. But when he went back to the cabin to clandestinely nab some matches, rope, and an ax, he witnessed the aforementioned display of disturbing adoration as Natalie ascended to leader-dom.
That, combined with his knowledge that the group had just had their second cannibal meal, sparked Coach to get all murder-murder by burning the cabin down with everyone trapped inside. It wasn’t explicitly shown that he was the one who set the fire(s) and barricaded the door, but given his past judgment of people-eating, it’s easy to believe that he was trying to stop that monstrousness from ever happening again, only through his own devious choices.
Now the girls and Travis are without a proper home, and without knowing exactly where Coach is hiding out, since he didn’t go into details when talking to Natalie. But I’d place all bets on him being the next meal, regardless of what the Wilderness has to say about it.
Jeff And Shauna's Troubles Have Been Fixed By Walter
Whenever Yellowjackets set Elijah Wood's wide-eyed optimist Walter up as a possible threat for Shauna's safety and freedom, I didn't fully buy it, since his main goal does seem to be making Misty happy in ways where he can utilize his detective-oriented brain. As such, he purposefully tipped off Kevin and Det. Dipshit, with a deeper plan for how to take them out of the equation altogether.
After the cops followed Jeff and Callie to the cult camp, the Walter Ex Machina was put into action. He drugged Kevin, who passed out right after Jeff falsely confessed to murdering Adam in a crime of passion, which is probably why he was the one Walter stuffed into a trunk and eventually shot to death, as opposed to the younger and shittier Saracusa. Because the latter's service weapon was used to kill Kevin, among other details that Walter put into place, Saracusa will seemingly be unable to continue going after Shauna's family for Adam's murder, unless he's just that willing to go to jail for someone else's crimes. Justice for all, amirite?
Yellowjackets Season 2 is now under wraps, but can be re-streamed in full with a Paramount+ subscription and Showtime add-on. Although that’ll be changing soon, with the premium cable network being officially added to the streaming service’s lineup.
