Considering all of Yellowjackets’ clear and present unanswered questions that have earned oodles and oodles of fan speculation, it’s almost unfair to have to consider all the non-blatant details that have been introduced over the past 16 episodes. But since rampant theorizing is actually one of the biggest joys of watching the Showtime horror drama, it’s hard to complain. Creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson obviously aren’t going to spill the (human) beans on every single clue and reference that have been on display so far, but there is one seemingly minor moment from the pilot episode that was used to set up a distant payoff that’ll apparently play out in the one of the remaining Season 2 installments.
Intriguingly enough, the series premiere moment that Ashley Lyle brought up when talking to Collider is part of the pre-flight timeline, which would presumably be a point before any of the soccer teammates would be under the potentially supernatural influence of the whatever dark entity is tethered to the area around the crash site. (Assuming the femmes weren’t already possessed by certain forces long before the team’s run for the championship.) Lyle brought up a moment from Nat’s acid trip, saying:
I will not give the context yet because it is spoilery, but there is a moment at the keg party in the pilot where Natalie is tripping and she sees Misty, and that is something that we planted very early on that will pay off later.
First, as someone who half-believes Yellowjackets’ mysteries are fueled by sentient tree moss, I think it’s worth spending way too much time digging into the fact that Lyle said “planted” there. But we can move past that.
Second, there are almost too many ways to direct one’s guesses after hearing that tasty tidbit of a clue. During the scene in question, Natalie was quite obviously under the influence of LSD, as indicated by both of her friends’ faces morphing in disturbing ways. Immediately after, she noticed Misty in the distance looking concerned, only for her to disappear a second later. It seemed to be a hallucination, since Misty wasn’t seen elsewhere at the party, although her appearance wasn’t altered in any spooky ways.
For the most part, nothing looks too amiss as far as Misty’s outfit goes. Though the characters are known for rewearing clothes while in survival mode, such as Misty’s signature kitty sweater, I can’t immediately recall seeing that jacket at any other point, and while her shirt looks like it’d be a natural choice for Adult Nurse Misty, I also don’t remember it coming up anywhere. So if it’s not about those visual specifics, maybe it’s about what comes right after.
That scene memorably transitions into the latter-day survivor cannibal cult, as led by the Antler Queen, who is seen giving unspoken permission for everyone to start feasting on what is presumably the roasted meat of the still unidentified Pit Girl. So was that meant to indicate that Misty or Nat is the Antler Queen? (And that’s if there’s only one person under the veil, which goes against the Antler Queen theories that co-star Courtney Eaton has.)
Or — and this is a far more left-field idea — is it meant to imply that all of the cannibal cult moments in the episode featured characters who were under the influence of hallucinogens? Actually, maybe that isn’t such a crazy idea, seeing as how wearing antlers, the group’s cult mentality, and a potential human sacrifice all happened as the result of everyone’s ‘shroom trip during the Doomcoming episode. Maybe there’s a wildly super-powerful kind of psilocybin or other mind-altering chemical that’s inherent to their surroundings, which has been entering everyone’s bodies gradually over time through everything they’ve been eating, drinking and breathing.
Having not fully gone down that avenue of speculation until just now, I kind of need to spend a while wondering how realistic that could possibly be, and whether or not it would make sense for Yellowjackets’ creators to play into that reveal before Season 2 wraps. That obviously wouldn’t explain everything that’s happening in and around the cabin, but it would certainly make big strides.
Yellowjackets airs every Sunday night on Showtime, and those who wish to watch early can stream new episodes on Fridays with a Paramount+ subscription and network add-on. At the moment, work has stopped for development on Season 3 due to the WGA writers strike, but hopefully that will resolve itself sooner rather than later, so that fans won’t have to deal with huge delays before more answers are revealed.
