Yellowjackets: The Complete Story So Far

This piece contains spoilers for Yellowjackets Season 1 and Season 2. If you want to just catch up on Season 2, use the jumplinks at the top or left of your screen.

In the wilds of November 2021, an unassuming show about the feral nature of teenage girls became a word of mouth smash hit for Showtime. Yellowjackets exploded onto the scene, inspiring thousands of fan theories and a devoted viewership who couldn't get enough of the dueling timelines, gruesome wilderness action, and cast of '90s icons and fresh new faces.

In 2023 the series returned with its shocking sophomore season that left us with more questions than answers. So, with a story that spans decades, a massive lineup of characters, surprising deaths, and lots of culty-goodness to keep up with, you might need a refresher before the season returns. Just like the wilderness provides for some of our young survivors, we're here to get you up to speed with the atmospheric, bloodsoaked events before Yellowjackets Season 3.

Yellowjackets Season 1 Story So Far

A Bloody Beginning

It all begins as a young girl runs barefoot through a snowy forest chased by unknown assailants. Her ragged-breathed quest for survival takes her deeper and deeper into the woods until she falls into a waiting trap. Soon, her killers feast on her flesh. Season 1’s primary mystery revolves around this death and the apparent cannibals who descend upon the corpse.

Time to meet the potential cannibals and victims! Part of Yellowjackets' charm is its dual timelines and cast. In 1996 a girl's high school soccer team is preparing for the National Championships. The team's Captain and obvious Queen Bee, Jackie (Ella Purnell), her best friend and sidekick Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), the enigmatic and furious Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), punk outsider Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), stoic goalkeeper Van (Liv Hewson), the overtly faithful good girl Laura Lee (Jane Widdop) and the wealthy shy girl Lottie (Courtney Eaton). The core team is rounded out by Mari (Alexa Barajas) and Akilah (Keeya King).

Their journey to the competition is cut short when their plane falls from the sky crashing in the wilderness. The team are the only survivors along with the sons of their now dead coach, Travis (Kevin Alves) and Javi (Luciano Leroux), as well as hunky assistant coach Ben (Steven Krueger) and the Yellowjackets' over enthusiastic equipment manager Misty (Sammi Hanratty).

Which Yellowjackets Survived the Crash?

In the modern day, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) is an unsatisfied housewife married to Jackie's teenage sweetheart Jeff (Warren Kole). Taissa (Tawny Brown) is a successful rising politician, Natalie is a recovering addict and Misty (Christina Ricci) is a caregiver for elderly folks. Their fragile "normal" lives are turned upside down when they begin to receive strange blackmail notes alluding to their time in the woods at the same time a journalist begins sniffing around.

These developments are the most worrying to Misty, who we quickly learn was definitely one of the alleged cannibals in a brief glimpse of her bloodstained face back in 1996. She also condemned her fellow survivors to 19 months in the wilds when she destroyed the black box and GPS from their plane within the first few days of arriving. Despite the secrets she has to hide, Nat suspects Misty of sending the creepy notes which feature a symbol from their survivor era, but the pair quickly realize that's not the case and embark on an odd couple mystery to discover the truth.

What Happened to Travis in Yellowjackets Season 1?

Speaking of unexpected pairings, after rear-ending a young hunk named Adam (Peter Gadiot), Shauna begins an affair that quickly ramps up and sets her on a dangerous path, especially as Adam is pretty shady and reminded many viewers of the youngest survivor of the crew, Javi. His brother Travis is Misty and Nat's first stop but they find him dead and, while it appears to be suicide, the pair realize a strange ritual was committed under his body. The tragic discovery of her ex-boyfriend sends the addict Nat into a spiral and pushes Misty to extreme lengths.

The mystery of what happened in the woods is a national curiosity that all the women have tried to leave behind, but that's becoming harder than ever for Taissa. She's accused of being a cannibal by the politician she's running against — revealing there are at least rumors about what we saw on screen — and her son Sammy is suffering strange and terrifying visions of a creature he calls "the lady in the tree."

Home Sweet Home

In 1996 we start to get a picture of how the survivors lasted through the winter as they discover a cabin, replete with a dead body that inspires worries of hauntings and a fateful seance that tips Lottie over the edge into believing she's possessed. It's not the first time that Lottie has been close to the supernatural though as we learn the young schizophrenic woman has a history of visions, including one that saved her family's life.

While teenage Jackie slides down the forest's new social ladder in favor of creepy survivalist Misty, Shauna becomes closer to Javi; Nat and Travis start a classic enemies to lovers romance when the group run out of food and the two take on the role of hunters thanks to Nat's knowledge of guns; and Van and Taissa continue to explore their pre-crash love story.

The Truth About Shauna and Misty's Misdeeds

In spite of the disastrous situation, nature takes its course and all the girls' period's sync up, but one of them is distinctly left out: Shauna. Turns out that she's pregnant and the father is her BFF Jackie's boyfriend. Uh oh, that's going to end badly for everyone. While the girls are distracted by cramps, Misty is poisoning assistant coach Ben in a haunting attempt to keep the pair close. But, he quickly realizes the truth and tries to play her in order to survive. She doesn't take it well when he reveals that he's gay and has no love for the young woman and her manipulative ways. And it turns out Misty's sociopath behavior isn't confined only to the past.

See, adult Misty's response to the blackmail threat is to kidnap, poison, and trap the enquiring journalist Jessica (Rekha Sharma) in her basement. But there's a problem, she's not who she says she is, as she's a private investigator hired by Taissa to check that no one was going to spill about the woods while she was running for office. Misty has no interest in letting Jessica go though, and this clearly isn't the first non-consensual guest she's kept in her home.

The Lady in the Tree

Misty isn't the only one losing her grip though. It's revealed that Taissa has been sleep-climbing the tree outside her son's room and eating dirt — something she also did in the wilderness — revealing she is the Lady in the Tree. It's a huge hint that all is not well with the most outwardly together of the group. Her trauma is understandable when we learn that on her quest to escape the woods all those years ago she unintentionally led her lover Van into the jaws of a wolf, literally. Though it seemed the brutal attack left Van dead, she survived, cementing the beliefs of the supernatural sect of the group — who believed Lottie had foreseen the attack in a vision — and decidedly freaking out Taissa and her friends.

Van's survival — and Jackie's choice to reveal to the group that Shauna is pregnant — inspires Laura Lee to enact a scheme she'd been stewing over: fixing up an old plane and trying to fly out of the woods. While it seems like it might just work, the plane explodes above the lake. To most of the girls it's a tragedy to Lottie it's a sign: the woods won't let them leave.

Who was the Blackmailer in Yellowjackets Season 1?

In the modern day, the group try to catch their blackmailer to no avail, but their plan does ultimately lead to Shauna making a shocking revelation: her husband Jeff was behind it all. He needed money to help his business and came up with the plan after finding Shauna's journals. Unfortunately, she realizes this a little too late, literally moments after murdering her lover Adam who she began to suspect knew too much about their time in the forest. Ever the planner, Shauna decides to lie to her friends and say she killed Adam because he was the blackmailer. Protecting Jeff — who she tells about the murder as the pair argue about his blackmail scheme — and roping her friends in to get rid of the body in one fell swoop.

If this seems like a bit of a criminal turn for the crew — except murderous Misty — you only need to look back to the nightmarish homecoming party the girls threw for themselves in the woods to learn this isn't their first brush with violence. The team accidentally drug themselves — minus Jackie — with Misty's mushroom poison. They then hunt, trap, abuse, and almost kill Travis, and commune with nature in a terrifyingly feral way. This is a monumental moment as it cements Nat and Travis' relationship — she saves him from Shauna slitting his throat— and sets up Jackie's ultimate demise as the group turn on her and tell her to sleep outside. It's also the last time anyone saw poor little Javi, a mystery that'll definitely continue in Season 2.

After getting rid of Adam's body in the present — thanks Misty! — the foursome head to their school reunion. It's here during the finale that we learn Jackie didn't survive her night outside the cabin, instead freezing to death. It wreaks havoc on the group and splits them into two clear groups: Lottie's wilderness worshiping cult starring Van and Misty and Taissa's more logical survivors.

Where We Left the Yellowjackets at the End of Season 1

Things honestly aren't looking much better in the present as the wider world catches on to Adam's disappearance (including Shauna's daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) . Who had seen her mother and Adam together. Misty murders the journalist, Jessica, with a poisoned cigarette, and Natalie gets kidnapped by people wearing cozy sweaters as she receives a call that Lottie wiped Travis' bank account. In a shocking final twist, Taissa wins the election in an upset and it looks like she might have had some supernatural help. As Taissa grins in victory, her wife finds a shrine with the head and bloody remains of their missing dog under their home.

Back in the forest, we get a tease that Lottie may well be the cannibal leader as she takes her believers into the woods, presents a bear heart — from the creature she killed earlier for the girls to eat — and uses its heart in an offering to the wilderness. As they conduct their ritual, Lottie says the final line of the season, the very cult-y phrase "Now let the darkness set us free."

And take a deep breath, you're going to need it when Yellowjackets Season 2 hits on March 24.

Yellowjackets Season 2 Story So Far

Friendship is Magic

Yellowjacket's sophomore season was deeply invested in the twisted dark side of trusting someone with your life and where it can lead, exploring friendships new and old. As the 90's timeline commenced, it was revealed that Shauna had developed a dangerous and worrying relationship with Jackie's corpse, doing its makeup and hair and eventually eating her decomposing ear thanks to the starvation that the winter wilderness thrust upon them. After being found out by Tai, the group decided it was time to get rid of Jackie, burning her body on a pyre in order to rid themselves of the corpse and the guilt of letting her die in the first freeze of winter.

Misty has two massive moments this season when it comes to the dangers of making new friends, with the danger in this case of course being Misty herself. In the past, we see young Misty bond with a previously unseen musical-loving Yellowjacket named Crystal AKA Kristen (Nuha Jes Izman) who inspired many fan-theories — the most popular being that she didn't actually exist — and kept viewers guessing until her untimely death at the hands of Misty. It was a heartbreaking moment as Misty revealed to her new bestie that she was the one who broke the plane's transmitter leaving the girls at the whims of the wilderness. Unsurprisingly to everyone except Misty, Crystal was horrified at the revelation and a brief but brutal argument ended with her at the bottom of the cavern as Misty's first victim.

While the other Yellowjackets barely noticed Crystal was missing, Misty has had to live with the guilt, which made a big resurgence in the present when she met another musical loving new friend in the guise of Walter (Elijah Wood). Beginning as an adversary on the murder mystery message boards, the pair soon bonded as Misty looked for her reluctant modern-day bestie Natalie who was kidnapped at the end of last season. After the pair went on a road trip and confirmed that Lottie was holding Natalie at her surreal wellness retreat, their friendship seemed to be over, with Misty abandoning her new pal. But Walter and his mysterious intentions were ultimately far from out of the picture.

They weren't the only terrible twosome, though. Callie was seduced by an undercover cop named Matt Saracusa (John Reynolds) who teamed up with Natalie's old boyfriend and local detective Kevyn Tan to solve the murder of Adam Martin. It was a callous and illegal tactic that led to an unsuccessful sting and the death of one of the two policemen.

The Dinner We'd All Been Waiting For

Ever since the unforgettable pilot episode of Yellowjackets aired, fans knew that cannibalism was likely on the show's proverbial plate. A scene centered on the so-called Antler Queen, who we eventually learn was actually Natalie (at least one version). Thanks to Yellowjackets Season 2 and the reveal that Lottie gave up her burgeoning leadership to her more logical teammate after a hunting battle that saw Lottie lose herself in the woods, Nat almost managed to score the girls a large moose that ended up sinking under the icy surface of the lake where it was trapped. Before the girls ever truly got dressed up to hunt, they ate their first human meal. While this was meant to quell any more corpse desecration, after snow fell on to the pyre — or was pushed by some kind of supernatural force depending on what you believe — Jackie was deliciously roasted, luring the girls from their cabin where they began to feast on their old friend.

Like the best moments of Yellowjackets, the mythical merged with reality as the girls and Travis appeared to experience a group delusion that they were at a bacchanal feast rather than in the freezing forest, eating one of their own. It was a charge led by Shauna, who encouraged her fellow survivors to sate their appetites, in part at least to help her baby survive the winter. The only one who didn't indulge was Coach Ben, who hid in the cabin, horrified at the feral feeding frenzy outside. It was the start of a conflict that would change the status quo of the show, and set up a new antagonist for the girls though they wouldn't realize that until much, much later.

An Overdue Reunion

With Tai and Van ever more in love, the pair tried their best to keep Tai's sleepwalking at bay. But a horrified Tai revealed she had no memory of eating Jackie, blaming her fugue state or as she became known as "Other Tai." Whether tying her down or following her into the woods, Van showed just how much she adored her partner, noting down the strange symbols at the locations that Tai wandered too. Though we still don't know what they mean, they appear to mark the entrances to the underground tunnels that the girls would eventually discover that Javi survived in, and will surely play a large part in Season 3. While Van and Tai were thick as thieves in the '90s, in the present that couldn't be further from the truth. That is until a distraught Tai follows her fugue state personality to Van's new life. What sparked the change? After her hallucinations lead to a brutal car wreck that puts her wife in hospital, she decides to return to the person who had helped her so many years ago. Reunited the pair quickly rekindle their romance, despite Tai's marriage, and Van reveals that she's dying of cancer, causing Tai to question just what she wants with her life.

Before long the pair are called to Lottie's wellness retreat, joining the rest of the Yellowjackets as well as Jeff, Callie, and Walter. Lottie is quickly losing her mind, and wants the women to sacrifice one of their own in order to please the spirit of the wilderness that she believes they brought back with them from their time in the forest as teens.

Enter the Queen of Hearts

The Antler Queen plotline was left behind for most of Season 2, but the series presented a new royal conundrum with the queen of hearts card appearing throughout the season. I was clear that the card had a deeper meaning connected to the crew's dark pasts as it began to appear not just in the opening credits, but also flashback sequences and threatening messages in the present. The importance of the card became clear when it was revealed that as the factions lead by Lottie and Nat became more fractured, the girls eventually decided that in order to survive they needed to hunt each other. They decided that the only way the hunt was fair was by selecting a card from the deck that had been keeping them entertained.

Natalie was the first to pull the fated card. The recently returned Javi — who was discovered by Tai and Van on a sleepwalking mission — tried to help Nat as she fled, but ultimately fell into the frozen lake as the pair attempted to escape their ravenous classmates. While Nat originally tried to save Javi, she was convinced by the other girls that "the wilderness had chosen" him, meaning that if she let Javi die then they'd allow her to live. Soon, the girls were serving up some delicious medium-rare Javi, much to the horror of Coach Ben and the dismay of Javi's brother Travis, who ultimately takes the first bite of his little brother accepting the "wilderness'" choice. It's clear that this act has haunted Natalie throughout her entire life, destroying her self esteem, self worth, and sobriety. The choice is a fateful one that plays into the heartbreaking final scenes of the season.

Shauna Gets Away With Murder

Throughout Season 2, the truth about Adam's death is a swinging blade hanging above Shauna and her family's heads. Jeff and Shauna swapped evenings on the couch for committing arson and getting rid of Adam’s mutilated dead body. But the situation only got messier when Shauna revealed the truth to an ever more suspicious Callie bringing her often equally chaotic daughter on side — and making her an accomplice.

As the season comes to a head at Lottie's Camp Green Pine cultground, Callie joins her parents at the lodge and saves her mother's life after Shauna pulls the Queen of Hearts, marking herself for death. She survives, but not before Shauna and her family are saved from suspicion by Walter covering up Adam’s murder and setting up Kevyn Tan instead, (reasons currently unknown, but we’re sure we’ll find out in Season 3).

The Death of a Yellowjacket (Present Edition)

Speaking of the extremely misguided sacrifice ritual that nearly took Shauna’s life, it was Natalie who died in the end. This season had followed Nat as she came to terms with what happened in the woods. Her kidnapping led to an unexpected friendship with Lisa who had been one of Natalie's original captors. It was a fateful friendship that would sadly lead to Nat's death after she stepped in front of Misty's syringe to save Lisa, taking a fatal dose of Fentanyl, killed by the woman who had spent all season trying to save her. Natalie wasn't the only casualty of the season, as Walter poisons Kevyn after successfully framing him for Adam’s murder.

There were also two innocents who didn't survive Season 2 of Yellowjackets, this time casualties in the past. As mentioned, Javi, who was killed and eaten during the Queen of Hearts hunting party, and Shauna's newborn baby also didn’t survive the ordeal. In one of the season's most distressing episodes, the girls tried their hardest to deliver the child safely. But, while a feverish Shauna dreamed of bonding with the baby, she woke to the devastating truth that her child hadn't made it. "It's so interesting to see the process of her getting to really fall in love with this child that I don't think she wanted," Nélisse told IGN in an interview about the shocking death. "She carries so much guilt around, and so much remorse. So I think just her falling in love with this baby and then having it ripped out of her is just, I think, the most traumatizing experience she'll ever undergo."

Where We Left the Yellowjackets at the End of Season 2

Natalie's death devastates the group, with Misty barely able to deal with what she's done and Lottie heading to an institution after her season-long breakdown. But before Lottie leaves, she offers Van and Tai a terrifying reassurance: The wilderness is happy that Natalie died, meaning that soon they'll be rewarded. What that means is yet to be seen, but if Lottie's prediction does come true we'd definitely be back in supernatural territory rather than the grounded trauma-processing that Season 2 seemed to argue was to blame for the girls' memories of the wilderness.

Meanwhile, Shauna and her extremely messed up family finally have a chance at a normal life without the void of chaos that she regularly circles sucking them all in. Still, it seems unlikely that the troubles of the past have truly disappeared, even with Adam and his death now apparently "solved." After all, Callie is currently embroiled in the Yellowjackets' violent lifestyle and seems to be enjoying it.

In the past timeline, the Yellowjackets are left out in the cold after Ben burns down the cabin that they had been living in as a result of his growing horror at their brutality and cannibalism. As the girls fear for their future, Shauna mourns the loss of her baby, signifying a growing split between the group, its leader, and the ever-more traumatized teen mother. After his attempted mass-murder, Ben heads into the forest hoping he'll outlive his cannibal charges.

Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.