Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Yellowjackets’ Bosses on the Parallels Between Pit Girl and [SPOILER], Hitting Reset With Season 3 and That Major Time Jump
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the first two episodes of “Yellowjackets” Season 3, streaming now on Paramount+ with Showtime.
The last time viewers saw the teen Yellowjackets, their cabin had been engulfed by flames, leaving them vulnerable and without shelter in the Canadian wilderness.
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However, rather than continuing the 1990s timeline with the immediate aftermath of the cabin burning down, “Yellowjackets” Season 3 shifts to the summer, where the plane-crash survivors have established a makeshift village featuring wooden huts, a garden, and even a rabbit and duck farm.
Co-creator Ashley Lyle says that she and her fellow showrunners, Jonathan Lisco and Bart Nickerson, had an in-depth discussion about whether the latest season should continue in the wintertime or with a time jump.
“Ultimately, it boiled down to really wanting a reset, and it felt to us as though the best way to just make a clean break was to do the time jump. And we had played around with the idea of doing flashbacks during Van’s storytelling hour, but ultimately, we thought that that sort of undermined the power of the break and of the reset,” Lyle tells Variety. “Also, frankly, from a purely producorial standpoint, to recreate the winter in the summer is not an easy thing to do. We knew we wanted to have as many resources as possible for a number of things that we knew were coming up, and frankly, them in the snow — keeping things up — it just didn’t feel worth it. It felt as though it was more fun to just dive right in.”
Lisco adds: “Not flashing back to all of that makes the young women seem even more formidable, because it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, of course, they’re so resourceful and so intense that they got this done.’ And then move forward with a new narrative.”
Samantha Hanratty, who portrays young Misty, admitted she was disappointed when she initially learned that Season 3 would not depict what occurred after the cabin burned down. “At first, I’m not gonna lie, I think I was bummed, because I was like, ‘Dang, I want to see the struggle,'” she says. “But I’m really grateful that we didn’t do that. And I think it’s nice that we pick up on this positive note.”
Sophie Nélisse, who plays teen Shauna, echoed similar sentiments, noting that she was “shocked” the series wouldn’t explore how the Yellowjackets survived the winter outside. However, she ultimately felt it was more compelling to see the group thriving and experiencing a sense of normalcy, given the circumstances. “Actually, it’s even more eerie and frightening, because you’re like, surely there are cracks somewhere. It can’t be rainbows and fairy tales and sunshine,” she says. “So I think it makes it even scarier, because you know that what’s lying underneath is even more problematic.”
The third season opens with Mari (Alexa Barajas) running through the woods, as she hears the sound of howls and shrieks echoing in the distance. Later, at the end of the first episode, Coach Scott (Steven Krueger) discovers Mari, who stormed out of the village following a heated exchange with Shauna, trapped in the infamous pit. These scenes are reminiscent of the opening of Season 1, in which viewers are introduced to Pit Girl — whose identity still remains a mystery.
“It was absolutely intentional. That opening sequence, I think in the first paragraph of stage direction, it was like, ‘You may think of Pit Girl,’” Lyle says with a laugh, to which Lisco adds, “And if you don’t, why aren’t you?”
Lyle continues: “But we love the idea of the bait and switch and, again, we wanted the opening of this season to be a real reset. Last season, they were trapped, they were isolated. It was claustrophobic. And this season, we wanted to bring back some of the primal joy, and to start something that looks like a hunt, and then realize that they are actually having the time of their lives. They’re having a lot of fun in the midst of surviving and all the terrible things that are happening to them.”
This season explores new developments and dynamics for the teen Yellowjackets, especially Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), who is now the leader of the group after being crowned the Antler Queen in Season 2.
“I feel like she’s far more serious this season; I feel like she’s been forced to grow up,” Thatcher tells Variety. “I think there were maybe moments of lightness within the first season that you get to see with Travis, but there really isn’t any lightness this season for Natalie. I think, in some regards, she’s less of an outcast, because she’s really trying to bring everyone together.”
Although Season 3 has yet to introduce more adult Yellowjackets (if any), several background characters are brought to the forefront in the 1990s timeline, including Melissa (Jenna Burgess), who attempts to form a bond with Shauna, and Mari, who is taken captive by Coach Scott.
“I am just all in on the idea of the show having its own kind of life and opinions, and that we’re trying to reach into that,” says Nickerson. “I think those characters push their way forward and choose to become a bigger part of the story.”
Lisco adds: “You often look at [side characters] and you’re like, well, what’s their life about? How are they perceiving what’s going on? They never talk. What do they think? Why aren’t they stepping forward? Those people can have as rich an experience of what’s occurring as our main characters, even though they’re not talking about it all the time. I want to explore that.”
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