Review: 'Yellowjackets' has its sting back in Season 3

The buzz is back, baby.

Showtime's savage horror drama "Yellowjackets" premiered in 2021 to acclaim and awe, a bold and brutal story of a group of teenage girls stranded in the wilderness and their adult selves 20 years after their trauma. It was daring and addictive, Emmy-nominated and full of searing performances from beloved actresses, including Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress and Christina Ricci.

The show's second season, which aired in spring 2023, was a bit of a letdown, a meandering sophomore slump that finished on a disappointing finale. So now, 20 months later, fans are hungry − starving, even − not just for more episodes, but for the feeling "Yellowjackets" gave us in its evocative, exhilarating first season.

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I am delighted to tell you that the first few episodes of Season 3 (streaming Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime, Sundays at 8 EST/PST on Showtime, ★★★½ out of four) have that killer instinct back. The new episodes have happily dispensed with problematic Season 2 storylines and focused on what makes the show work: its cast, its mythology and its ability to disturb us. We want it weird and full of scenery-chewing (or, ahem, meat-chewing) monologues, not tortuous and torturous.

"Yellowjackets" Season 3 picks up in the present only a few weeks after the messy confrontation at Lottie's (Simone Kessell) cult compound left Natalie (Juliette Lewis) dead after Misty (Ricci's) accidentally stabbed her with a syringe full of fentanyl (it was complicated). Misty is not doing well with the grief and guilt, but Shauna (Lynskey), Tai (Cypress) and Van (Lauren Ambrose) have managed to compartmentalize and move on.

Things could get back to "normal" if Van wasn't dying of cancer, Tai hadn't blown up her marriage and life, and Shauna's daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) hadn't witnessed Natalie's death. (Lottie is back to normal, though, in a mental institution.) And there's someone new stalking Shauna, who may know about what happened in the wilderness.

In the 1990s timeline, we've jumped ahead to spring after the dire winter of Season 2 nearly killed everyone. The girls managed to survive after a mysterious fire burned down their cabin, with the help of all the meat they got to eat from poor dead Javi (Luciano Leroux). But in spring, all thoughts of cannibalism are a distant dream (sure, definitely). They've got new shelters, domesticated animals and enough to eat that they can even hold feasts.

Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) is still the group's reluctant leader; she tries to manage tension between Shauna (Sophie Nelisse) and Mari (Alexa Barajas) and keep the secret that Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) is still alive. Things may have been all fun and games (literally) for a few months, but Yellowjackets' camp is a powder keg of teen hormones, power hunger and religious drama ready to explode.

Like in the first two seasons, the story in the past is the most compelling part of "Yellowjackets," for the simple reason that the mysteries are so tantalizing to chew over. The new episodes better link the questions of the past to the present, making the whole narrative seem more cohesive than in Season 2.

It also helps that there is so much more happening this year. Season 2 stagnated in part because the story involved a whole lot of doing nothing, as the girls in the past wasted away in the barren winter and the women in the present twiddled their thumbs without confronting each other. In Season 3, the action is tighter and the stakes feel higher. The writers are better at balancing reveals, twists and new questions as the plot unfolds.

Plus, the stuff that's always worked for "Yellowjackets" is still there. Lynskey is a magnetic presence, and Ricci is delightfully unhinged. The actresses playing teens have a maturity to their performances that is beyond their years. And, of course, there's plenty of gruesome gore to go around.

The episodes could still use a pick-me-up in some slow spots, especially in the exposition-heavy season premiere. Adult Tai's storyline is still somewhat lost and needs more connection to what the character was up to in Season 1 (remember the dog?). Still, it's nice just to get the feeling that "Yellowjackets" is dangerous and intoxicating again. This isn't comfort TV; this is an adrenaline-seeking thrill.

Waiting around for something to happen will never get our blood buzzing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Yellowjackets' Season 3 review: The sting is back