Spoilers below for those who aren’t caught up on Yellowjackets’ latest freaky shenanigans.
The further Yellowjackets viewers get from the show’s first victim, the pilot’s colloquially monikered Pit Girl, the closer we ostensibly get to finally learning whose theories about her identity were right, and whose were pure gobbl(otti)edygook the whole time. But rather than continuing to focus on the “who,” I think now is the time to go back and refocus our attention on some of the “whys.” In particular, why things had to get so gnarly and bloody, which has now taken on an advanced context midway through Season 2. Let’s break it/her/whatever down!
Why Did Pit Girl Have To Die?
Based on several still-unconfirmed elements, the rundown of presumptions regarding the ins and outs of Pit Girl's death (and others, theoretically) is roughly depicted below:
- At some point, the teens use the deck of cards to "choose" which of them is used as prey, whether by being hunted down or by pre-constructed traps such as the pit in question. (It's also theorized that the death card will be one of the deck's currently missing Queens.)
- While there may be certain entertainment-adjacent enjoyment taken from turning others into game, it's been assumed that the core reasoning behind the ritualistic act was based on the group's foreshadowed cannibalism, which kicked off in earnest by everyone consuming the shit out of Jackie's perfectly roasted corpse earlier in Season 2.
- The act of stringing the body up and bleeding it out is common behavior for hunters, especially when dealing with larger animals, before the butchering process.
- Eating Pit Girl was necessary for the group's survival.
By and large, these were fairly easy assumptions to make pertaining to the events that played out in Season 1, when it seemed like involuntary cannibalism might be the worst thing that anyone in the group would be capable of. But the events of "Two Truths and a Lie" further pointed out how deadly and duplicitous Misty was in her youth, so who’s to say she’s the only one who reached such depths? With that in mind, let’s shift to the larger theory here that takes into account my other ideas about the dripping noise and the tree moss.
What If Pit Girl's Death Was Actually A Blood Sacrifice?
On more than one occasion, Yellowjackets has shows viewers how powerful blood can be (or at least appear to be) in the area surrounding the cabin. Lottie has made several such offerings both in her youth and as an adult, slicing across the palm of her hand as a form of sacrifice in need of help. And Shauna bleeding onto the show's mysterious symbol seemed to yield a flock of non-tainted birds for everyone's consumption. (Speaking of, check out the symbol's possible connection to an early Supernatural episode.)
So what if one of the core purposes behind Pit Girl's death, and those who met similar fates, was actually a matter of SACRIFICIAL BLOODSHED?!? While I'm not entirely sure if there are stipulations about how the bleeding would happen, Shauna's situation makes it seem like any blood that happens within the relevant area sparks some kind of event where the group finds one or more animals (Javi included), even if some of them slip away beneath the ice. So it stands to reason that:
- Someone dies in such a way that the bleed out a ton onto the sacred land (or whatever), and thus brings about an abundance of animal life that the teens and coach use for both food and fur, sparking the idea that it should continue happening.
- The events in the "Pilot" indicate it wasn't the first time such things occurred, and if the blood sacrifice theory is correct, it would help explain how all the survivors were dressed in so much fur. Because if all that fur was taken from hunted animals that were used for food, then the group wouldn't necessarily have to fall back into cannibalism. But we know that they were already desperately lacking in animals to hunt, so a sudden surplus by natural means isn't so likely.
- For this blood theory to be true, it would also almost definitely imply that Misty and the other teens did have other means of food beyond human flesh, and that they chose to revert to cannibalism when possible, whether as part of the whole Caligula indulgence element, or something beyond their inherent desires.
- As horrible as cannibalism is, Yellowjackets is playing up the survivor's group-shame as if it's sourced to something even more depraved and disturbing than just a few instances of having to eat others purely for survival. I think making it all part of sacrifices and rituals, and even possible a desire for human flesh, would explain the extra taboo-ness behind it all.
Otherwise, I really don't understand how the group went from relying heavily on their school jackets for warmth during this first winter to being decked out in full fur-sewn outfits by (assumedly) the second winter. Because I feel like every larger-scale animal we've seen the group come into contact with has been given focus, outside of squirrels and birds that didn't fall en masse, so it doesn't bode likely that the group will come across oddles and oodles of other wildlife as time goes on. So I think some more otherworldly influences will need to be introduced for all that to happen.
Yellowjackets: What To Know About The Showtime Series Before You Watch
Plus, the show has kind of tipped a hat to adult Taissa maybe having inner desires tied to eating questionable meats. I've wondered in the past if her current status as a non-meat-eater was in part to curb any humanly cravings she might still have after being rescused. But then Tai has other things happening with her backstory and the Man with No Eyes that won't get addressed until a later season, so maybe that's just her evil side harboring an affinity for cannbalism.
I definitely see how there could be holes poked into the above theorizing, don't get me wrong. Beyond Shauna's nosebleed, Lottie has mostly been seen bleeding onto and around the noteworthy snow-melting tree stump, making that seem imperative to the sacrifice's success. It's also possible the group could have set up a series of symbols in the pit, as well as under the spot where the bodies are bled out, to make sure their efforts have the most impact.
Or it's possible everywhere within a specific distance from the cabin has an effect, but not beyond, which would explain why nothing overtly helpful came after Misty chopped Coach's leg off. That could also point to further context for the shots of bloody hair in the snow as the body was being dragged.
Whether any or all of the above is correct or false, I won't be super pleased or disappointed. This is one of the most fun shows to theorize about, so just thinking of all the ways things could play out is in some ways more valuable than actually knowing. But I still need to know everything, obviously.
With half a glorious season left to go, Yellowjackets airs Sunday nights on Showtime, with episodes available to stream early with a subscription. As well, eps are available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription. But also take note that the horror drama is skipping a week, and will be back with a new installment on May 5!
