At one point in “Yellowjackets” Season 2, the grown women who once trauma-bonded in the wilderness are enjoying a rare moment of joy. Drunk off each other’s company (and quite a bit of tequila), they can’t help feeling the camaraderie that they once had as teammates, maybe even before a plane crash derailed their lives.
“That first summer, do you guys remember —” begins Misty (Christina Ricci), but she’s cut short.
“Do you want to casually reminisce about our time in fucking oblivion?” asks an incredulous Van (Lauren Ambrose). Misty backs down, even though she does.
In Season 3, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) alludes to said oblivion as when “we survived,” and this time Van cuts in to a different tune.
“You can just say ‘ate each other,’” she says coolly. A lot has changed since the last time these women drank together, and “Yellowjackets” returns with many such leaps in character that shock the viewer into Season 3.
In its third outing — or at least, in the four episodes screened to critics — “Yellowjackets” seems a little lost (and a little “Lost” judging by new sounds in the forest) about what it is and where it’s going. Like a championship team derailed by tragedy, the series from Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, and Jonathan Lisco isn’t as confident as it was in previous outings, leaving the cast stranded in narrative wilderness and awaiting rescue that may never come.
Season 3 picks up after a break in both timelines; six weeks after Natalie’s death (Juliette Lewis) in the present, and several months after the cabin burned in 1997. In the wilderness, the girls are at peak delulu, hosting summer solstice celebrations and mock trials and raising ducks and bunnies in a cute little enclosure. The time between seasons has once again established new routines and rituals in the group, and the prolonged absence of Coach Scott (Steven Kreuger) fuels suspicions that he burned down the cabin and tried to kill them all.
Neither timeline seems to know what to do with Lottie (Courtney Eaton/Simone Kessell). As a teen, she’s still the group’s spiritual leader, but Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) is their practical leader, handling day-to-day survival needs and delegation while Lottie checks who’s free to do shrooms as an attempt to commune with the wilderness (usually Kevin Alves’ Travis). Present-day Lottie is stripped of her power and influence, troubling Shauna by showing up at her door with nowhere else to go. This leads to major tension between the two women, but one that skirts the character’s core; is Lottie a well-intentioned caregiver or a threat to herself and others? It’s a mix of course, but the depiction vacillates between extremes instead of exploring the gray areas it so skillfully did in Season 2.
The other adults are languishing, which isn’t the worst thing, but keeps them separated when they work better together. Without a murder investigation hovering over her, Shauna must focus on her family, Van and Taissa (Tawny Cypress) can’t quit each other, and a guilt- and grief-stricken Misty will never be the same without Natalie (tragic though it is, drunk Misty is a highlight of the early episodes, thanks to Ricci).
This would be fine in previous seasons, where the ’90s storyline propelled each episode with fresh hell in every episode. But even the past shows signs of treading water, with the team returning to schoolgirl squabbles while their survival isn’t in immediate danger. That’s part of the “Yellowjackets” appeal of course — teen drama ratcheted up by life-or-death stakes — but balancing those elements is critical. It’s tricky to say what’s out of character in a show where nearly everyone suffers from immense psychological trauma, but it’s harder to track patterns in Season 3. Teen Shauna is hardened by the brutal losses of winter, and adult Taissa responds differently to reminders of the wilderness with Van by her side. The show still leans too heavily on hallucinations, and the early episodes misjudge what’s appealing to the viewers (Alexa Barajas’ Mari moves to the center of the wilderness action, while there’s an entire B-story in the present about Shauna’s family karma).
The good news is that Showtime only shared four of the 10 episodes in Season 3 (compared to six out of nine ahead of Season 2), and that Episode 4 ends with events in both timelines that promise to jumpstart the action. The cast is as sharp as ever, even with their individual journeys softened, and there’s still plenty of time to fuel the season with their combined performance power. The Yellowjackets know better than anyone that they’re stronger as a team — even if they don’t always use that strength for good.
Grade: B-
New episodes of “Yellowjackets” premiere Fridays on Paramount+ and Sundays on Showtime.
