[Editor’s note: This piece contains spoilers for Yellowjackets season two, episode two.]
I hope no one was enjoying a meal during the closing scene of the most recent Yellowjackets episode. Not that it could compare to the teens’ unexpected late-night wilderness dinner, which they thoroughly devoured. In its sophomore season, Showtime’s drama cooked up a thrilling outing that finally went ham on cannibalism. Alright, I’ll try to stop with the food references. Appropriately titled “Edible Complex,” Yellowjackets satisfies our cravings (well, that didn’t last too long) by giving us crucial answers.
Since its debut, the show has nibbled around the edges of how the stranded football team began to, you know, potentially eat human meat to survive in the Canadian winter. “Edible Complex” sheds light on the group’s foray into cannibalism, and it’s a doozy of a moment. Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) chomping on Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) frozen ear in the premiere was only an appetizer. The main course is served by the end of episode two when the Yellowjackets are drawn to Jackie’s charred corpse. Driven by raging hunger, they turn feral after smelling her accidentally grilled to perfection. Before you know it, they gather around and start tearing into Jackie’s body with their bare hands while Radiohead’s “Climbing Up The Walls” plays. It’s pretty fucking disgusting.
This footage is intercut with a vision of the girls sitting in the forest, dressed like they’re performing a play about Greek mythology. It’s a bacchanalia, alright (and what a follow-up to season one’s “Doomcoming”). In this fantasy version, the teens hungrily scarf down the food on the table, but the strawberries, chicken, and champagne turn into bloody flesh. No matter what, the girls (and Travis) are feasting. So as Yellowjackets embraces the gore, let’s dig into whether its gruesomeness holds up to all that anticipation.
The emotional devastation of eating Jackie
I can’t believe I typed the words above, despite the show hinting at this scenario from the beginning. We’ve only seen Jackie in the past timeline, so it was apparent she didn’t make it out alive. (Adult Shauna [Melanie Lynskey] and Jeff [Warren Kole] also visit Jackie’s parents in season one.) After fighting with everyone else, she freezes to death outside the cabin in the season one finale. It’s sad, but at least it’s relatively peaceful compared to what comes next.
As described by The A.V. Club’s Hattie Lindert in her recap, Shauna cannot move on and keeps her best friend’s body in the shed nearby like a “fucked-up doll.” We can’t fault her for feeling guilt and grief, but those emotions are about to be heightened because a pregnant Shauna boldly tells everyone to eat Jackie with a simple “She wants us to.” Hmm, I don’t think so, but the girls will tell themselves anything they want to hear as long as it means fresh (?) food.
Undoubtedly, the Yellowjackets will feel repercussions for gorging on their former friend and teammate. They were desperate and probably had no choice. But it was a difficult decision, especially for Shauna. She literally ate her best friend of several years—that comes with consequences. We’ve waited for several episodes to learn why and how they resorted to cannibalism. As an emotional payoff with long-term effects, the answer doesn’t disappoint. She started it all. (No wonder Adult Shauna and the rest are so messed up.)
No one is off limits on Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets makes it clear from its opening scene that no one is safe. But we still don’t know Pit Girl’s identity and how close she was to the others. However, Jackie’s gruesome end is a sign that, on Yellowjackets, absolutely anything can happen in the wilderness. The teens now have an acquired taste, and no other animals are nearby. So who else will they eat? Probably whoever dies next, right? Or will they resort to killing for sport? How will things escalate from “Oh, it was a one-time thing because Jackie was burned to a crisp” to “Let’s chase a friend so she falls into a shallow grave and we can eat her?” Things are about to get ... wilder.
Episode two is a rewarding payoff in terms of horror
There’s no competition: “Edible Complex” is Yellowjackets’ scariest episode. For horror fans, episode two delivers in every way—the soundtrack, direction, and performances. It’s not a quick moment of surprise like Shauna gulping on Jackie’s ear before the credits roll. Director Ben Semanoff builds to this moment throughout the hour, leading up to the camera’s overhead pan. We get a clear picture of Jackie turning into nourishment as her pals munch down, and the spooky background music adds to it. It’s simultaneously terrifying and alluring. And as much as you want to, you can’t look away.
This is the start of Yellowjackets’ big group secret
Yellowjackets is full of secrets and theories. Who is Pit Girl? What’s Adult Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) cult about? Will Misty (Samantha Hanratty) ever tell anyone what she did with the plane’s black box? Even in season one, a running question was when Jackie would find out Shauna slept with Jeff. All these lies are kept individually or shared between a couple of people at the most, but as a group, these girls are bonded for eternity with a dirty secret. This ties into the present-day storylines too. Shauna, Tai (Tawny Cypress), and Nat (Juliette Lewis) are always pacifying Misty (Christina Ricci) despite not trusting her. They’ve all done something so despicable together—except for Coach Ben (Steven Kreuger)—they can’t risk anyone ever finding out. Admittedly, no one is more hell-bent on keeping this group secret more than adult Misty.
How does this episode affect the show’s lore?
There’s darkness in the woods. Yellowjackets hints at it constantly, from the brilliant and spooky opening credits (who is the man?) to Taissa’s dangerous sleep-walking to the symbols on the trees. Is this invisible evil somehow taking root in the girls as they spend more time in the wilderness? Is that why it was so easy for them to eat Jackie? Well, as easy as it could’ve been under the circumstances.
In this episode, Adult Lottie tells Nat that Travis believed the darkness followed them home and wanted to know more. That’s how he ended up killing himself. “Edible Complex” also proves Taissa’s “alter ego” has worsened: She hallucinates her son and causes a car accident with Simone (Rukiya Bernard) in the passenger seat. This so-called “darkness” is crawling back into their lives. Is it a sign that cannibalism could eventually occur in the present-day timeline? I don’t think so, but that be an upside-down turn in the show’s lore.