PLOT: The Yellowjackets barely made it through summer, but now as winter begins to bite, we’ll see if hunger and desperation turn into full-on psychosis. Meanwhile, 25 years later, each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them.
REVIEW: Yellowjackets was one of the bigger surprises on television last year. A blend of Mean Girls and Lord of the Flies, the Showtime survival/thriller series had a solid cast and built buzz over its bloody first season, securing a second season renewal after airing just five episodes. With a third season already greenlit, the five-year plan for the New Jersey soccer team forced to band together in the Canadian wilderness is closer to reality. Like any successful series, the sophomore run can be the most challenging, with some stories succumbing to going too big far too quickly. Luckily, Yellowjackets returns for a second season that is just as engaging as the first. With bigger stakes in the 1990s storyline as the season shifts into winter, the series still finds challenges in making the contemporary narrative as compelling as the past. Still, Yellowjackets has the goods where it counts.
The 1996-set flashbacks ended last season with the team discovering an abandoned cabin where they huddled together as winter approached. Surviving outdoors gave the teenagers space from each other, but now they are forced to cohabitate in close quarters. With rations dwindling and the cold setting in, tensions are at an all-time high. The season also contends with the loss of one of the teens, Jackie (Ella Purnell), in a very disturbing and intriguing way. Without divulging any spoilers, let’s say things start to head in the direction you may have expected them to. But, Yellowjackets works because it keeps the story true to the survival elements of the historical Donner Party and the similar team in the survival film Alive. Still, the dynamics and relationships between the characters make the story as compelling as anything on television. We also have characters with much more screen time this season, including show tune-loving Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman), who gets closer to Misty (Sammi Hanratty). We also have the growing relationship between Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Van (Liv Hewson), along with the tension between Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) as Travis (Kevin Alwes) continues to search for his brother Javi (Luciano Leroux).
The past continues to be the most engaging part of this story, whereas the contemporary stories are still the weak link overall. Picking up immediately where things left off last season, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) is still cleaning up the mess left by the death of Adam Martin. While her daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) becomes increasingly suspicious, Shauna and Jeff (Warren Kole) find closeness in the trauma. We also see Taissa (Tawny Cypress) seek out Van (Lauren Ambrose) to try and come to grips with what she has been doing recently. Ambrose, coming off a great turn on Servant, is pitch-perfect casting as the adult Van, echoing Liv Hewson’s performance. The biggest addition to the cast is Simone Kessell as Lottie, who is now in charge of a cult-like following responsible for kidnapping Nat (Juliette Lewis) at the end of season one. With an intense follower played by Nicole Maines, Kessell is an imposing presence as Lottie, who claims she is trying to help people empower themselves despite Nat’s reservations in seeing the cult’s use of the mysterious symbol that has been cropping up since the start of the series.
The other significant addition to the cast is Elijah Wood as citizen detective Walter. Reuniting with his The Ice Storm co-star Christina Ricci, Wood’s portrayal of Walter perfectly pairs with Misty, who continues to be a bright spot in this dark story. Ricci and Wood have an easy chemistry that makes their characters easy to root for, but it also made me wary about where they could be headed this season. The disconnect in the two time periods has long been a challenge for Yellowjackets, but with Wood, Kessell, and Ambrose added this year, the adults are now gaining momentum alongside their teenage selves. This will always be a steep hurdle to overcome, especially with the life-or-death stakes in the wilderness reaching a level of horror this season that will surely shock some viewers. This season also gives us glimpses of the team after being rescued in 1998, which adds a third timeline to the mix and sheds new light on how the high schoolers became broken adults.
Series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson have struck a chord with Yellowjackets. Few series can begin with the level of buzz this series garnered and continue to build on. Even more challenging is delivering a second season that doesn’t underwhelm. By continuing to tease the bigger mysteries at the core of this series, Lyle and Nickerson have not shown their hand just yet. Having seen the first six episodes of the second season, I am confident that Yellowjackets has the potential to build a similar audience that turned Lost into a massive success. Starting with the revised opening credits, which are chock full of teases for what is to come this season, Yellowjackets brings back the majority of the writing team from the first season as well as directors who keep the look and feel of the series consistent while making the scale feel both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time.
Yellowjackets is a balanced mix of horror, thriller, and cross-generational drama with a keen insight into relationships. It also is brutally funny when it needs to be. Everyone in this cast is excellent, especially the always-great Melanie Lynskey, who gets to dive even deeper into the psychological darkness of Shauna. The new additions slide right into the ensemble as if they had been a part of the story from the pilot, and that is a kudos to the writers for making this series feel familiar and yet dangerously unpredictable. Yellowjackets has set a high bar with the twists delivered in the first season, but if the episodes I have seen are any indication, the bar is about to get raised again. Check out the first episode of this season; you will no doubt be disturbed by how much you are laughing and shocked simultaneously.
The second season of Yellowjackets premieres on March 24th on streaming and March 26th on Showtime.