Yellowjackets episode 4 recap: Why is Shauna so upset by Travis’s death?

Another episode of Yellowjackets is upon us, and while this episode is a little slower than previous installments, it’s still an excellent episode for development, particularly for Natalie’s character, who takes center stage in Yellowjackets episode 4, “Bear Down.”

This week’s survivor storyline revolves around the group realizing they’re out of food and therefore need to start hunting and foraging. Luckily for them, they’ve got Coach Ben who has experience hunting, plus the cabin they found is full of weapons and supplies since the guy who lived there previously was apparently preparing for the apocalypse.

Nat and Travis come out on top when the group is tasked with various exercises to see who the best is at shooting. Since Ben is down one leg and just barely starting to feel better, he has to entrust the pair with hunting for food.

We know that Natalie and Travis eventually mean a lot to teach other, but it’s hard to believe that since they are constantly at loggerheads and Travis never passed on a chance to be an asshole. But the beginnings of what will become a strong foundation start forming in this episode.

Alone in the woods, they’re pretty much forced to depend on each other, and Natalie earns favor with Travis when she helps him dig up Coach Martinez’s body so Travis can retrieve his great-grandfather’s ring as an heirloom for Javi to hang onto.

After that, they are a lot nicer to each other. They even bring home a big deer for the group. Interestingly, Shauna gets a chance to show her killer instincts as she is the first person to slit the deer’s throat to bleed it out and then prepare the meat for the group. It would make sense if she becomes the primary person to dress the game they hunt since we know she’s certainly capable of that in 2021 with the several rabbits she’s killed.

Yellowjackets episode 4 recap: Did Natalie kill her dad?

The episode’s opening shows Natalie having a bad dream where she sees herself back on the plane crash with her father next to her, half of his head blown off. Through flashbacks, we find out that Natalie’s dad was horrifically abusive. One afternoon he caught her hanging out with Kevyn Tan in her bedroom. Instantly assuming the two were romantically involved, he flies off the handle, hitting Natalie and her mother, scaring Nat so much that she grabs her gun and threatens to kill him.

Her dad takes the gun from her, mocking her because she left the safety on and doesn’t know how to use it, but then he foolishly trips while holding the weapon, causing it to go off and killing him instantly as Natalie watches.

Yellowjackets episode 4 recap: Is Natalie using Kevyn?

In 2021, Natalie continues trying to figure out what happened to Travis. It’s bothering her that she doesn’t know whether or not he was loaded when he died. Natalie finally returns Kevyn’s calls, clearing up the weird catfishing snafu caused by Misty. They have a nice meal together before Natalie reveals her concerns over Travis and the fact she blames herself for not checking in on him and seeing if he was okay since they often looked out for each other to ensure they were still sober.

As the police chief, Kevyn offers to make some calls and find Travis’s toxicology report to see if he had anything in his system when he died. Given that Natalie is trying to solve what she believes is a murder, it seems like Natalie might have intentionally gone on the date to get the report all along. However, she does kiss Kevyn before departing.

Yellowjackets episode 4 recap: Taissa refuses to tell anyone what happened in the woods

Trying to drum up funding for her campaign, Taissa attends a gala with Simone so she can gussy up to Diane Rafelson (Lauren K. Robek), a critical financier who could funnel a lot of money into Taissa’s campaign and improve her odds.

Taissa, who we learn is a vegetarian now (no surprise there if she actually did resort to cannibalism), gets drunk on too much champagne on an empty stomach and starts hallucinating at the party, seeing everything from a full deer head complete with antlers on a platter to a white wolf roaming one of the rooms. She excuses herself to smoke a cigarette alone and runs into Diane, who also comes to the same spot to seek refuge and bum a smoke.

But Taissa’s meeting with Diane doesn’t go the way she hoped. Sure, Diane is willing to give Taissa the money to fund her campaign, but only in return for Taissa telling her what really happened out there in the woods. That’s all anyone at the party wants to know. They don’t believe the official story. Taissa ends up telling her to go f*ck herself, and who can blame her? Plus, given the lengths Taissa has gone to ensure no one else is telling the truth, she’s not about to start blabbing.

Yellowjackets episode 4 recap: Why is Shauna so upset about Travis’s death?

Shauna’s story this week revolves around a date night with Adam, who I’m starting to think might be a grown-up Javi. He doesn’t know Shauna was part of the crash. Either that or he is pretending not to know.

When she returns home from her sexy night out with Adam (yes, this episode confirms they are sleeping together) or her “book club” as she tells Jeff, Shauna gets a call from Misty, who tells her that Travis is dead. Shauna seems deeply disturbed by this reveal, which makes me wonder why she’d be so upset. Natalie makes sense. But did something happen between Shauna and Travis, too?

Odds & Ends from Yellowjackets episode 4

• Jessica Roberts is seen at the bar where Kevyn and Natalie are on a date. Misty, who is also stalking Natalie to “watch her back,” notices Jessica there and warns her that while she might not look like someone to be scared of, Jessica should be careful.
• The girls find an airplane in the woods not far from the cabin, potentially belonging to the former owner. Laura Lee turns it on, and the propellers come dangerously close to injuring Van before Jackie intervenes and pushes her out of the way. Later, Jackie asks Van if they’re even now, but Van doesn’t reply.
• Misty is going full Annie Wilkes with Coach Ben. At one point, she trips him so that she can rush to his side to help him. Now that the other survivors are starting to figure out how to survive, they don’t need Misty as much as they did in the beginning, which I’m sure is making her afraid of falling back to the bottom of the food chain, so she’s just tormenting poor Ben instead.
• For the first time, we find out that Shauna occasionally still sees visions of teenage Jackie. Seeing Jackie as a teen feels like confirmation that Jackie is dead and perhaps Shauna had something to do with her death.

New episodes of Yellowjackets air Sunday nights at 10/9c on Showtime. Episodes also stream early via the app and website.