Warning: This article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets season 2, episode 3!Yellowjackets is a unique genre mix of drama, thriller, and horror, but there is speculation whether the disturbing events depicted are supernatural or not. Yellowjackets follows a girls soccer team after their plane crashes in the woods and the girls are forced to do some gruesome acts to survive. Switching perspectives from their 1996 crash to their present day lives in 2021, Yellowjackets season 2 depicts the women still suffering the consequences in their adult lives.
Yellowjackets season 1 opens with the girls chasing down another girl to later capture and eat in what appears to be a ritualistic sacrifice. The show doesn’t revisit the cannibalism aspect of the series until the end of Yellowjackets season 2, episode 2 which ends with the girls devouring Jackie after snow falls on the pyre, cooking their friend to a crisp. While this plot is believable in desperate conditions, the way the snow falls on the pyre seems to hint at supernatural occurrences – and this is by no means the only occasion that hints at something otherworldly being afoot.
8 Lottie’s Possession & Visions
While Lottie had visions before the events of the ‘96 crash, her uncanny visions seem to hint that the wilderness is supernatural. The fact that Lottie’s visions come true seems to suggest that there are supernatural forces in the Yellowjackets universe. For example, at first, Lottie is afraid to go into the cabin in the woods. It is revealed later on that the basement in the cabins had a skeleton inside. This is one of the first times that Lottie’s visions carry weight.
In addition to the red smoke and river of blood visions coming true, Lottie also appears to be possessed in Yellowjackets season 1. She speaks perfect French and is only broken out of the trance after Laura Lee threw a Bible at her. After the apparent possession, Lottie tells the group that she doesn’t know French, this further supports the argument that there are supernatural forces at play in Yellowjackets.
7 Taissa’s Sleepwalking & The Man With No Eyes
Yellowjackets season 1 revealed that in the wilderness, Taissa begins to sleepwalk. Her sleepwalking has her commit increasingly strange acts, such as eating dirt and climbing trees. It is revealed that adult Taissa also started sleepwalking, but this time her sleepwalking results in the death of their family dog and the creation of a blood soaked altar in her basement. In Yellowjackets season 2, episode 3, Taissa’s girlfriend Van follows her while she sleepwalks into the wilderness.
As Van follows her, Taissa tells her that she follows “the one with no eyes” which has been shown in Yellowjackets as a creepy pale man without eyes. In their interaction, the audience also learns that when Taissa is sleepwalking, she is separate from herself. This is reinforced when adult Taissa looks in the mirror, turns around, and her reflection stares at her back. Since Taissa isn’t looking in the mirror, she doesn’t see her reflection seemingly detach from her.
6 The Powers Of Yellowjackets’ Wilderness
In addition to all the strange occurrences, there seems to be evidence to support there are unseen powers in the wilderness. Lottie’s visions seem to go hand-in-hand with the wilderness, for example, Lottie is able to tame and kill a bear after she seemingly gives into the wilderness. Lottie’s command of the wilderness earns her the Antler Queen title and appears to be their leader during ritualistic sacrifices. Additionally, Travis hallucinates Lottie as he has sex with Nat.
Travis’ hallucination with Lottie as the two have sex seem to trigger the wilderness. Yellowjackets depicts the wind blowing the snow on Jackie’s pyre, just as the two bodies writhe together. The snow falls at just the right time for Jackie to be cooked, serving her to the group on the pyre. The smell draws the group out and the group, with the exception of Coach Ben, feel compelled to consume Jackie. While hunger can make people do awful things, Shauna had cravings for human meat, before the snow fell on Jackie’s body. Yellowjackets season 2, episode 1 ends with Shauna eating Jackie’s ear, succumbing to her cravings.
5 Unexplained Deaths In The Wilderness
Yellowjackets season 2, episode 3 brought more unexplained deaths, such as the birds who flew into the cabin to their deaths. While the group attempts to find a logical explanation, Lottie calls the dead birds a “blessing” before instructing them to pick them up. Before the birds crash into the cabin, Shauna has a nose bleed, which falls on the wilderness symbol that Lottie drew on the baby’s blanket. It would seem that the blood on the blanket was the trigger for the birds.
In Yellowjackets season 1, Laura Lee attempts to get help by flying an abandoned plane. However, without any real reason, Laura Lee’s teddy bear catches on fire, which causes the plane to explode in the sky. This unfortunate plane crash seems to suggest that the wilderness didn’t want Laura Lee to leave. These unexplained deaths mixed with Lottie’s visions seem to suggest the wilderness has supernatural powers.
4 Lottie’s Visions Might Be Coincidences
While a flashback shows that Lottie predicted a car crash and saves her parents, Lottie’s visions may not be supernatural. Lottie could have visions, which could be triggered by stress, as the team are under unbelievable level of pressure when forced to survive in the wilderness. Lottie’s visions, such as the river of blood, could be explained by a dead animal in the water, or other real aspects being exaggerated by her precarious mental state.
In Yellowjackets season 1, Lottie is afraid to go into the cabin at first, and her fear is justified since it is an abandoned cabin in the woods. The skeleton with the creepy symbol could mean anything, from a ritual sacrifice to squatters. Yellowjackets season 1 purposely doesn’t confirm anything to the audience, and whether Lottie’s visions are linked to the supernatural or not is something the show doesn’t seem interested in providing a definitive answer.
3 Taissa’s Sleepwalking Can Be Explained By Stress
On one hand, Taissa’s sleepwalking actions are horrific – but on the other hand, they can also be explained as a reaction to trauma and stress, since Taissa started sleepwalking after the crash. Notably, the same could be said for the show’s present day events. There, Taissa’s sleepwalking could be coming back because of her run for senator, which also caused her a great deal of stress.
While some may argue that sleepwalkers don’t do anything horrifically out of their character in their trances,Yellowjackets could be taking artistic liberties to depict Taissa suffering from a mental health crisis. Similarly, in the past, Taissa doesn’t remember eating Jackie, which could be her mind suppressing the trauma. Taissa could also be using her sleepwalking self as a repressed self – one who doesn’t have any qualms devouring their friends’ face.
2 The Yellowjackets Are Suffering From Shared Trauma
All of the survivors of the ‘96 plane crash are left with trauma, which is explored with or without supernatural themes. The collective trauma that the girls share is made clear when the girls accidentally take mushrooms in Yellowjackts season 1, episode 9 “Doomcoming,” where the girls start to succumb to their repressed urges. Taissa and Lottie’s hallucinations in present time can be explained from their trauma from the wilderness.
Not only do Taissa and Lottie hallucinate, Travis also hallucinates Lottie when he has sex with Nat. This hallucination could be Travis’ fractured self-dealing with survivor’s guilt and the horrific actions he witnessed the girls commit. In present time, the Yellowjackets suffer from various mental health issues, including senseless acts of violence, such as Shauna killing a bunny rabbit in Yellowjackets season 1.
1 Mercury Poisoning Is Causing Mental Health Issues In Yellowjackets
One popular theory speculates the Yellowjackets survivors may be suffering from mercury poisoning. After the crash, the group could’ve been exposed to mercury from previous mining operations in the area, which can lead to mental health issues. In addition to their strange behavior, the red river and lack of animals also support the idea that the place is heavy in mercury. This mercury poisoning theory offers a logical explanation for most of the unexplained occurrences in Yellowjackets.
To further support the argument against the supernatural,Yellowjackets co-runner Jonathan Lisco said the series wasn’t about an “external monster” wreaking havoc on the girls. Despite this explanation, there are a number of arguments to support the supernatural theories. Whether the Yellowjackets girls did encounter a supernatural force in the wilderness may never be confirmed, however, Yellowjacketsseason 2 appears to be piecing together the ‘96 crash and its aftermath in a way that could provide a clearer picture later on.
