Yellowjackets – Croak Review

RIP Edwin, we hardly knew you. But boy, are things about to take a turn out in the wilderness. And in the present, well, things aren’t looking so hot for Van at the moment (what are the odds that Other Tai honors that DNR Van signed back in the beginning of the season – yeah, I think Van’s wishes aren’t about to be taken into account at all) and Hannah’s mysterious daughter (who has to be who Hilary Swank is playing, right?) is about to come face-to-face with a steamed Shauna. We’ve only got three more episodes left for the season and things are moving at a fast clip now – and our adult characters are, more or less, working together in the same place – so the narrative it tightening nicely.

Let’s start in the past. It was extra sad to see that Hannah (Ashley Sutton) and Edwin (Nelson Franklin) were so happy together (although Hannah was definitely scoping out Joel McHale’s Kodi), out in the wilderness, observing their mating frogs, before they ran into the Yellowjackets and all that entails. The open questions now are just how Kodi and Hannah will manage to integrate into the group considering: A) Kodi shot Melissa with a crossbow and B) Lottie is adamant that they don’t belong there. We know Hannah lasts at least a little while, becoming close with Gen and Melissa (presumably because she understands how to interact with teenage girls and because she brings the medical supplies that help Melissa). But Kodi is the biggest wildcard. He’s apparently a survival guide, but was more than happy to smoke weed and play grab-ass around the sat phone. And he’s entering a social situation not exactly great for an adult man. Sure, he’s attractive (which might get him some allegiance) and he should be able to help get them closer to civilization (maybe – although he did just get his charges lost while trying to do that), but will the girls let him be in charge? I don’t think Shauna is going to stand for it. And we know Lottie is quick and deadly with that axe.

We also know, for sure now, that everyone dies except for the adults we have met thus far. Which means Kodi dies as well. So, who got that tape? How did it get from the wilderness to the possession, presumably, of Hannah’s daughter (who was put up for adoption or raised away from her for some reason)? Did one of the survivors take it a la Lottie and the necklace? Did it get found and some mysterious person we don’t know found the daughter (Alex, it appears) and sent it to her years after the fact? I wouldn’t be shocked to find out Lottie was the one behind getting the tape to Alex, especially considering her questionable mental status throughout the last several years. Or maybe it was Walter, who found it at the compound and wanted to hurt the Yellowjackets in some way? We still don’t quite know all of his motivations, outside of wanting to stay close to Misty. But considering Alex lives all the way down in Virginia (which isn’t hugely far from New Jersey, but isn’t exactly a quick trip), I can’t see her making it all the way up there, torturing Shauna, and then heading back home after maybe killing Lottie? Are there more tapes – including, perhaps, a tape that lets us know just how Hannah dies? Does that link to Shauna or Lottie? Lots of questions here as we dive into the final stretch.

Outside of everything dealing with our new characters, most of the rest of the character development continued apace. Shauna – in both timelines – continues to seethe with rage, convinced she’s in the right and should be allowed to act out as she wishes. Abandoning her friends – and a dying Van – to head out on her own to confront Alex was especially shitty and self-centered. Other Tai is fully driving Tai’s life at the moment, maxing out credit cards, treating Van flippantly, and being pretty awful to everyone. Van is, well, dying, seeing visions of her teen self (once again, love that the series is integrating the teen and adult characters into scenes together) warning her that they never cheated death – rather, every instance of survival was an “even trade.” Which is pretty ominous – what trade can Tai make to ensure Van survives (I’m guessing the man having a psychotic break in the next curtain area might be the perfect choice)? And it looks like Callie might just have everything figured out. She certainly believes that the Yellowjackets were up to some dark things in the wilderness. And she knows that tape had something that spooked Shauna, Tai, and Van, which means it was related to what happened there. A little more sleuthing and her and Jeff might be off to Virginia before the season is through.

The paths are laid, the characters are ready, the season endgame is approaching. I’m excited to see just how these new interlopers shake up the past and the present.