A new season of Yellowjackets is almost here (finally!). The best part is, Paramount+ with Showtime is giving us a double-episode premiere! But before diving into the new episodes, it might be a good idea to get a quick recap on what went down in season 2.
Considering it has been almost two years since the sophomore season aired, you'd be forgiven for forgetting some of the finer details of season 2. Luckily, we have everything you need to know gathered below!
The first real hunt
The cannibalism is fully out in the open now. At the end of season 2, a flashback to the wilderness shows the survivors participating in the first real hunt to kill and eat one of their number. How does the hunt come about?
A few episodes prior to the finale, Shauna tragically gives birth to a stillborn son. Unable to cope with yet another tragedy, she struggles and lashes out at the others, leading Lottie to step in and request Shauna vent all of her anger out on her. Shauna does just that, beating Lottie to a bloody pulp on the brink of death.
The other girls can't imagine their continued survival without Lottie and her "connection" to the wilderness, so they decide they need to kill and eat someone else to give her some sustenance so she can recover.
When the hunt begins, everyone draws cards. Whoever picks the disheveled Queen of Hearts card with the scratched-out eyes becomes the victim. Natalie draws it. Shauna prepares to kill her, but Travis intervenes, allowing Natalie an opportunity to escape. Everyone chases after her to complete the hunt.
Only Javi tries to help Natalie, offering to take her to the place he'd been hiding before. But on their way there, Javi falls through the ice over the lake. The other girls arrive in time to witness it, with Misty preventing Natalie from saving Javi. "The wilderness chose." Instead of Natalie dying, the girls accept Javi as the sacrifice and he becomes their latest meal.
Teen Nat is the new leader
After eating Javi and recovering her health, Lottie decides that Natalie should become the new leader, or Antler Queen. Everyone seems to accept this, as there is a scene where each survivor goes to Natalie to pay tribute to her in some way and show their loyalty.
With the hunt complete and Javi dead, Lottie believes that she is no longer the only one connected to the wilderness, hence why she passes the torch.
Cabin fire
At the end of the finale, someone sets the cabin on fire. Everyone gets out alive, but the show heavily implies that Ben might have been the one to do it. He previously found the cave Javi had been hiding in and, at one point in the episode, he returns to the cabin for matches, so we know he had the means to do it.
Plus, we know Ben has become pretty disgusted with the others because of their descent into cannibalism and other disturbing practices. He knows what they did to Javi and that might have been the final straw for the coach. He likely set the fire to try and put an end to all of them before things could get even worse.
Natalie's death
In the present-day storyline, Natalie is tragically killed by Misty's own hand. The plot culminates in Lottie believing that "it" or "the wilderness" demands another sacrifice and convincing the others they need to do another hunt.
There's a lot of theories regarding how this hunt plays out, as Shauna, Natalie, and Misty, at least, had intended to only play along with Lottie until they could get a team out there to recommit her to an institution. But we later learn that Taissa and Van called off the help. So, was the hunt playing out for real? Shauna drew the card and it sure looked like everyone was ready to kill her.
Things get complicated though when Callie and Lisa show up, both holding guns. Callie shoots Lottie in the shoulder to keep her from hurting her mom, while Lisa, believing Natalie hurt Lottie, points her shotgun at Natalie. Misty tries to intervene with her backup plan: a syringe full of poison, but seeing Misty on her way to kill Lisa, Natalie steps in front of her and takes the injection instead.
It's also her way of making up for the time she let Javi die in her place. In the end, Natalie really does die and the last we see of her she's on an empty plane with the ghosts of Javi, her teen self, and teen Lottie all helping her accept her death.
Walter to the rescue
Misty's new boyfriend Walter, played by Elijah Wood, shows up in the finale to tie up the whole Adam Martin murder investigation plot. He actually murders Kevyn Tan and then informs Detective Saracusa that he's set it up so that Kevyn will be framed for Adam's murder. He gives the other cop a choice, either go along with it, or be framed for Adam's death alongside his partner.
It seems like this is the best way to resolve that particular storyline. I know I'm ready to move on from it and Saracusa was a super irritating character so I won't be sad if we don't see him again. It also allows for Jeff, Shauna, and Callie to stay together as a family, which should be interesting since all of their secrets are out there now. Callie is expected to have a more significant role to play in season 3.
Taissa's wife in a coma
Early in season 2, Taissa continues her sleepwalking and sees the fallout with her family. Simone found her creepy altar with Biscuit's head and the Sammy lookalike doll at the end of season 1. She confronts Taissa at the beginning of the second season to demand she get help, or else she'll take Sammy away forever and go to the press.
This leads Taissa, or her "dark self," to deliberately crash her car with Simone in the passenger seat. Simone falls into a coma and we don't hear any updates about Taissa's family (or her senator career?) for the rest of the season. I imagine there's going to be some follow-up to this next season.
Adult Van & Adult Lottie
Not so much a big twist as adult Van (Lauren Ambrose) and adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) play big roles in season 2, but they will be back for season 3. Van isn't re-introduced in the story until midway through season 2, but Taissa tracks her down to her little video store for help managing her sleepwalking since Van was the one who helped her back in the wilderness.
As for Lottie, we find out at the beginning that she and the members of her commune kidnapped Natalie at the end of season 2 to prevent her from killing herself. Natalie spends the whole season with Lottie at her compound. At the end of the season, it seems like Lottie will be taken away, perhaps to another mental health institution, but we know she's back in season 3 based on some of the early promotional photos.
Yellowjackets season 3 premieres on Friday, Feb. 14 on Paramount+ with Showtime.