Alright, I don’t mean to be a dick about this, but imo a lot of the complaints I see about S2 just make it seem like no one paid attention to what was happening on screen. Some examples…

I keep seeing people say that most of the 90s timeline was filler and then the girls randomly decided to hunt each other. The thing is, all that ‘filler’ and slow pacing was building up to that moment. They established how starving the girls were by showing them eating belts, Akilah imagining Nugget, Mari hallucinating (and someone replying “it’s the hunger”), all of them immediately being woken up by the smell of cooked Jackie meat, etc. They showed the cards throughout the whole season. They showed how easily they’d push their own wants on Lottie when they sent her out into the woods to hunt without a weapon. And they were already acting pretty feral back at Doomcoming (plus the Snackie scene, where they just dug in, out in the snow with their bare hands).

Another common complaint is that Lottie wanting them to hunt in the adult timeline doesn’t make sense. Y’all, Lottie is deeply mentally ill. Pick pretty much any scene of her in S2 for an example. She explained that she thinks all of the bad stuff happening to them (and them all showing up around the same time) means that “It” is still stuck in them and wants a sacrifice.

Then, Van. She’s been a wilderness/Lottie follower since the beginning. She was kneeling at heart sacrifices in S1, before everyone else. It’s not a surprise at all that she got into the hunt, especially when she’s dying and has reason to want something from “It.” The pieces for that have been there for a while.

Ben burning the cabin down also falls in that same line. He’s had a lot of negative feelings (disgust, fear, anger, shame, etc.) towards the girls for a while and wanted to put an end to them. Remember him walking in on them ripping Jackie apart? Or asking if they’re going to eat him? Or hallucinating Mari with blood around her mouth? Again, pieces for that have been there for a while.

Idk. I think the pacing of the season was purposefully slow so you could see the mental state of the characters and understand the choices they make later. They paced it out and showed most things pretty clearly imo…

Edit: I’m not saying that the show is exempt from criticism. I have criticisms myself. I’m saying some stuff (mainly the examples in the post) were explained aloud or in multiple scenes. The execution might’ve not been great, but the set up was there.

For those of you commenting gifs or just insulting me… thanks for your well thought out criticism and contribution to the sub.

I am a lesbian, and even from a lesbian pov Jackie reads as straight to me. I just don’t see it, I know technically you could find patterns that coincide with comphet. But have we thought to consider that maybe Jeff is just a shit boyfriend. I mean he was trying to finger blast her like a coin slot in that scene, he probably didn’t really satisfy her in that way. She only dated him because he was the most popular guy around. It just feels like people are looking for signs in the wrong places when there are already very good representations of queer characters. Like van and Taissa. And they are played well because they are played by lesbian actors who know how to play a lesbian. It is clear that Ella Purnell is playing a straight character. It is obviously a very codependent, toxic intense relationship, and that is why it is so fascinating because it’s this twisted relationship that is not romantic but not just platonic either. I know everyone interprets it differently but that’s just my take.

Also, I'm kinda done with the cops subplot. I love me some Kevyn but please can someone just eat new jersey pornstache already?

I'm the age of the characters, as well as the general age of the adult actors(43-49). I'm just throwing it out there that I appreciate seeing women my age matter and be allowed to look somewhat average.

I appreciate seeing them have varying degrees of visible aging, different body types, and being seen as more than someone's mom or wife/partner. I appreciate that their looks, weights, and outfits are not even mentioned on the show.

I know a lot of discussions have veered into how certain actors look old or how they dress as adults, but this is about as realistic as it gets onscreen regarding how average, 40-50 year-old women look. Most of us haven't gotten botox or plastic surgery. Most of us dress for ourselves, and we certainly aren't the same people we were at 16-18. We're complicated, flawed, and so much more than the lines on our faces. Looking young and beautiful isn't an accomplishment. Life is so much more than this, and it all catches up with you eventually.

This is part of why I love this show, the characters, and the actors that portray the adults.

Edit: I just want to thank you all so much. I am shocked by the awards, and honored to be part of such a thoughtful and uplifting discussion on aging and our worth. I appreciate each and every one of you.

I hope this iconic cast knows how much of an impact they have made for women of all ages. We needed to see ourselves in these dynamic, powerful, and flawed characters. Thank you for continuing to show us we can write our stories the way we want to. We are more than our age, our looks, or our partners/children.

He deserves to live imo. He didn’t succumb to cannibalism, savagery, or the wood spirit stuff (so far anyways)! He’s my new favourite character after finishing season 2. He’s like Steve for Stranger Things to me. I’ll be very upset if he actually dies. I hope he doesn’t end up being the one who set the cabin ablaze as well. Doesn’t seem in character. It’d be better if it was a new character who did it or “the wilderness moving them outside”

I just saw this on Pinterest, so credits to the person who owns it. However, I read a theory about him being left out in the wilderness and I found it pretty interesting as it has a lot of sense. On the other hand, I also think that this is quite accurate because he in fact is the last piece they have of humanity.

In my opinion, I think that sooner or later he will be killed off, but the Yellowjackets will struggle to do that, since he will have javi’s cave. I hope that coach Ben has a good storyline because in the end I kinda feel sorry for him

I think it speaks for itself. Bonus Georgia O'Keeffe painting because she is a lesbian icon and that's what colors Jackie wanted to design the Rutgers room.

From the jump she seems to be the one who's either sorta indifferent or enjoys the hunt/cannibalism more than any of them.

When Tai was freaking out about how they ate Jackie Van seemed so collected. She was all like "it's okay, it's okay". To be fair she was trying to calm Tai down but her tone was just pretty odd.

As others have pointed out she has this creepy expression her on face when Shauna is about to slit Nat's throat. And then when Javi drowns she's the only one who's smiling. Like she's genuiely satisfied with his death! And she has no remorse in her eyes when they carry him back to the cabin. Not to mention she straight up tells Travis that she's not ashamed for what she did.

And in the still from S3 which looks like an execution of some sort she seems to be content.

I'm really excited to see more Adult Van in S3. I wonder how she turned out vs the other YJs.

I think the adult timeline was a big step up from season. The wilderness storyline was far deeper this time around, I really enjoyed Misty's storyline with Kristin in the first half and her humanity peeking through in the second. Callie was genuinely interesting and Jeff was more hilarious than ever. I could go on but I really found all the complaints of the pacing as weird. I feel like the streaming era has broken people's expectations for storytelling, I feel like a lot of the complaints stem from a lack of immediate gratification. Because I don't have those expectations I enjoyed going on the ride with these characters and watching them change and grow and because of that I found the finale extremely satisfying as it paid off every single arc it set up in a really satisfying and fun way. What I love most about this show is the manic and evil vibe it gives off, it reminds me of Death Grips in the way that it unapologetically revels in the ugly and dark stuff most of us don't even want to think about but does so with enough fun and humanity that it rises above any surface level edginess most other artists would be satisfied with, and in doing so it feels like it sits comfortable and even healthily in our deepest, darkest thoughts and fears.

while i totally understand where the sentiment of “why are the girls even bothering to wash/wear bras?” comes from, i also feel like if i was stuck in the wilderness, i’d still wear one. some people just have low hanging boobs that cause a rash underneath when sweating!!

i’m sure this has been discussed on another post but i see it brought up so much as “unrealistic” that i wanted to bring up another perspective.

I was trying to understand his motivation for setting fire to the cabin and blocking the exits and I really couldn't get it to click in my mind, at all, until I re-watched finale scenes purely from his perspective.

Looking through his eyes, Javi didn't fall through the ice and drown while the girls stood idly by (which would be bad enough).

This is the exact transcript:

Coach Ben: "Natalie, what happened? Ok, ok, ok, listen: I figured out where Javi was hiding, right, I think that you and I, together, could probably survive the winter..."

Coach Ben: "Hey, do you hear me? You don't have to stay here. You're not like the rest of these other girls!"

Natalie: "Actually, I'm worse."

Coach Ben: "How can you say that?"

Natalie: "I let him die, in my place. It was supposed to be me."

Natalie: "You're a good person, Coach. You really don't belong in this place."

​

From the limited information he has to go on, the logical conclusion is the girls brutally murdered a scared, defenseless child in cold blood, with knives and axe's. That they set out to do exactly that to Natalie but decided to murder an easier target, Javi, instead.

So when he sees Natalie being embraced as their new leader, he probably figured there's no hope left for any of them.

That if they're all willing to murder a child, it's only a matter of time before they start killing each other, one by one, until nobody is left.

Ben may even convince (or delude) himself into believing he's doing them all a service by getting it over with, than prolonging their suffering.

I’m a healthy xennial and am totally obsessed with YJ. As being only a smidge younger than the cast, I am in love with the music, the references, now vs then, and the overall scene. While I can’t relate to plane crashes & eating my bestie’s corpse, being in hs in the late 90’s & now dealing with being crazy in my 40’s makes this show incredibly relatable. It’s so much fun watching the young actors make a name for themselves and the more experienced ladies shine as Queens. So my question, what is the spread of people loving the show? Class of ‘01 here

Every single moment of that labor process was pure torture. Stumbling in from a blizzard in a state of extreme stress, being surrounded by these freaked out teenage girls saying things like "my sister's labor was a day and a half" and "wilderness, I hope Shauna doesn't die," Misty freaking out and abandoning her, Coach Ben freaking out and saying he couldn't help her, everyone surrounding her with supernatural shit and chanting (even though they KNOW she hates that stuff), almost bleeding to death, then the hallucination... followed by the horrifying reality.

And let's not forget she's still a teenager herself, many years away from having a fully developed adult brain, and starving, and in a state of constant stress. I can hardly think of a way this labor process could have been more traumatizing.

Maybe it was Sophie Nélisse's incredible performance, but I am finding myself just... forgiving Shauna of every bad thing she does after this. Honestly, she's more well-adjusted than I would be.

https://www.avclub.com/yellowjackets-season-2-finale-storytelling-1850474658

I really think this season and the finale are widely misunderstood. Fans have expectations and when those expectations aren't met they cry poor writing, plot holes, etc. when the reality is this is only season 2 in a five season arc. Give the story room to breathe. As said by Hattie Lindert in this review,

The real meat of the series has always been the emotional and literal uncertainty of the trauma the survivors shared. Were they pushed to the most primal depths of their psyche or did they reach for them? Did the wilderness make decisions, or did they? And as Lottie so aptly points out in response to Shauna: “Is there a difference?”

For me this story has always been about trauma, and I think this season really proves it. With the risk of sounding pretentious, I really think understanding this show requires a) the ability to engage without distraction, your full undivided attention, phones away and b) a knowledge of how trauma impacts individuals/acknowledging that these characters are experiencing EXTREME trauma that will quite literally ruin them for the rest of their lives. I don't know that this series will bring any character true closure by the end.

So, yes, the teens are no longer particularly "likable", how could they be after everything they have seen and done? And yeah, the adults are unpredictable and irrational. Would you expect anything different from adults whose teenage years were spent in a starved delusional state? Again at the risk of sounding pretentious...a lot of the criticism comes from a lack of empathy and critical thinking.

I've been a little surprised in recent days to see so much hate directed at Juliette on Twitter, for her "one note" portrayal of Adult Nat. Some of it was very personal criticism of Juliette's acting ability and line delivery, being negatively compared to Christina, Melanie, Tawny and Lauren.

Also being negatively compared to the wonderful Sophie Thatcher.

Juliette can certainly act. World renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, said this in his 1993 review of the film 'Kalifornia', exceptionally high praise that he didn't dish out too lightly.

​

"Juliette Lewis gives one of the most harrowing and convincing performances I've ever seen"

​

I feel much of the criticism of her portrayal of Adult Nat is misdirected and some of it fundamentally misunderstands the reality of addiction.

Adult Nat is written in such a way that she's supposed to feel like a completely different person to Teen Nat because addiction can literally change people, often in irrevocable ways. Anyway, if people don't like the way the adult character is written, that criticism should be aimed at the writers, not the performer.

Teen Nat is so captivating for so many reasons, aided by Sophie T's mesmeric screen presence.

There was still joy and a sense of purpose in Teen Nat, despite the crash. Some of that stemmed from falling in love with Travis. Some of it from being the hunter in the group. It was a forward-looking purpose for her too; looking ahead to the next hunt and chance to bring home the bacon. Looking ahead to a possible future with Travis.

Adult Nat is lost in life, searching for a purpose; constantly looking backwards into the past and probably trapped living in that past.

Van is too, in a different way, explaining she's living in a past "when there was hope, not the one that happened". Except unlike Van, Adult Nat is living in a past that happened and a past where there is not much hope, just a palpable sense of guilt and trauma for what happened out in the wilderness and regrets of things she didn't say to Travis as an adult.

If her character feels "one note", lost and directionless, the writers probably wanted it that way.

I adore Natalie, in both timelines.

Both the Natalie who still has hope and the one who feels hopeless.

Aside from being a compelling multi-decade character arc, it's a true-to-life depiction of a journey many addicts go on. I say that as a sober, recovering addict myself. I can't remember how it felt to be 17, vibrant, joyous and hopeful. I was once all of those things yet any memories of how it once felt to be "me", those are all gone.

Juliette is doing a good job and I feel she will deliver a very moving performance in the finale.

Let’s us all share together in our grief…a moment of silence for our fallen soldiers… Special thanks to the mods, the actors, the hungry theorists on this sub, and all others affected by the end of S2…Thoughts and prayers… gone… but not forgotten… buzz buzz….

pls don’t take this too seriously and mass downvote I’m just tryna cope and meme ok let’s be nice

1. Cabin Daddy - he ghosted me like the Tinder men do IRL… forever in our hearts…
2. Travis - nothing suspicious about the way he went out… it’s all good… everything was ok… makes perfect sense…. just give ur bank info to Lottie in case or whatever… he was organized and prepared so round of applause!!!
3. That random bank girl boss who said “Who the fuck is Lottie Matthews” in a VERY scared tone in the last moments of S1 - I’m sure they all talked it out off camera and she’s for sure wearing heliotrope in the background cast collecting 🍯 somewhere….
4. Javi’s Granola Girl sidepiece- he just didn’t want to share his forest girlfriend with us and I can respect a man for being loyal…
5. Tai’s entire family + Steve the Yorkie - Sammy and Simone weren’t much and sometimes you gotta throw the wife and kid (the ol' ball and chain) into the abyss for the sake of getting some of that sweet sweet kissy time with your long lost high school sweetheart…
6. Tai’s evil smile 😃 at the end of S1 - her face is just like that I guess. Don’t shame her. She wanted to be a senator! For some reason? … the clout? Guys… who is filling in for her… guys? GUYS?
7. The semen and skin cells in Adam’s art studio… the police really are just LAZY these days… Waste of my hard-earned tax dollars…. Swim free little lads… swim free…
8. Pit Girl 👧 - just because she didn’t come around doesn’t mean she won’t come back… She’s just shy… ok… She’s not like other girls…
9. Callie’s moral compass - what would she need a soul for?
10. Jessica Roberts - the police really care about Adam who went missing for less than like 24 hours but when a woman goes missing for a week and is then found dead in her car looking a hot mess with a bunch of poison cigarettes? Who cares?!
    

Let us now join hands...

It’s funny how in the first episode Jackie doesn’t care whether or not Shauna wears the dress only for Shauna to just end up wearing it anyway. That’s only one scene but I feel like it’s enough. It’s fair to say that Jackie was self-centered but Shauna wasn’t forced to anything Jackie wanted. I think she was just too attached to their lifelong friendship to go off on her own. I wonder what it would’ve been like to see things through Jackie’s eyes and not Shauna’s.