SPOILERS are ahead for Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 4, now streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
Ever since Yellowjackets Season 3 began, I’ve been nervous about what horrors are to come for the high school soccer team that has been stranded in the wilderness for so long they’ve resorted to cannibalism… twice. So far in the new season, the girls (and Travis) are starting to thrive now that winter is over, with Natalie as their Antler Queen, but trouble has emerged following the return of Coach Ben.
When CinemaBlend sat down for our Yellowjackets Season 3 interviews, I had to talk to two key cast members about their thoughts on the fate of Coach Ben after that emotional and shocking trial in Episode 4.
What Two Yellowjackets Stars Said About The Trial Of Coach Ben
If any two characters were the most affected by the trial of Coach Ben, it was Sophie Thatcher’s Natalie and Samantha Hanratty’s Misty.
Natalie built a close bond with Coach Ben while in the wilderness, and Coach seems to trust her more than anyone. Now that she’s Antler Queen, she had to make the difficult decision to put the coach on trial to appease all the Yellowjackets. However, I don’t think she was expecting them to find him guilty.
Here’s what Thatcher said about the events of the episode:
I think it creates a real divide now. I think you see that Shauna is really coming into power and she, because she's so manipulative, and people are very susceptible because everyone's in a very vulnerable state and just wants a leader that has power that they trust. And I think Natalie is almost lacking that power right now because there's intimidation. It's all intimidation. And I think, yeah, I think Shauna, you get to see a really ugly side of her and everyone's falling for it.
While it initially seemed like Coach Ben got the Yellowjackets on his side, Shauna helped skew the vote against him, and he was ultimately found guilty.
Hanratty shared her own thoughts on the episode after Misty was tasked with defending him in their “court.” In her words:
I think that it's a heartbreaking time for Misty because I think she really thought she was gonna save him. She's saved Ben now twice, between cutting off his leg and using the tourniquet and with him wanting to end his life, and then she thinks that she can really do it again. And when she's unsuccessful, it's heartbreaking. And, this next episode is gonna be figuring out what and how they're gonna do what they're gonna do.
Ugh, I’m so nervous for Coach Ben and how this controversy among the team will impact things. The actors’ comments on the situation have me adding another theory to the ever-growing list from fans about the series.
Sophie Thatcher's Comments Have Me Wondering If Shauna Could Become Antler Queen
No matter what, I have a feeling this episode is setting up what we’ve feared: the death of Coach Ben. Whether the Yellowjackets kill him for his high-protein butt meat, he decides to end his own life or run away and die there, I think the character is about to go bye-bye unfortunately.
With that in mind, between knowing Natalie and what Thatcher said about the episode, I have an inkling that perhaps the Yellowjackets will turn on her character and crown Shauna, or Natalie will give up her crown.
I believe this not just because Thatcher name-dropped Shauna while speaking about the trial specifically. Elsewhere in the interview, when I asked her about becoming Antler Queen, she said this:
It's interesting going into this season because Shauna really takes over. And I think, to be Antler Queen means you have to do a lot of terrible things that I think Natalie doesn't have inside of her.
Shauna, however, does have it in her. She’s lost her best friend and baby after being pregnant in the wilderness and is dealing with the guilt of two-timing with her best friend’s boyfriend. Plus, we know that in the future, she is willing to kill others and chop up their bodies. If the Yellowjackets are going to become the cult-like image we saw in the opening of the show, it’s probably not at the hands of Natalie.
Anyway, now I’m just getting chills about what might happen the rest of the season. We’ll learn more about the fallout of Coach Ben’s trial this Friday. Until then, check out what Sophie Thatcher and Christina Ricci had to say about saying goodbye to the last death, Juliette Lewis' present day Nat, at the end of Season 2.
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