Yellowjackets Season 2 review: finger-lickin’ good

Following near-universal critical acclaim and a glowing reception from a devoted fanbase, Showtime’s female-led supernatural thriller Yellowjackets returns for its sophomore season, promising plenty more murder, cannibalism, and cult activity along the way. Free from the burden of exposition and bolstered by a cast that includes two new surviving players, Yellowjackets season two continues to prove itself as one of the most gripping, well-written shows on television: a masterclass in tension-building bolstered by an ensemble chock full of awards-worthy performances.

Starring Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Tawny Cypress, Yellowjackets continues to follow the dual-timeline story of a group of close-knit high school girls whose lives are forever changed when their plane crashes on the way to nationals and they’re stranded Canadian wilderness. Season two sees winter taking its toll on the dwindling survivors—with food at an all-time low and tensions at an all-time high, Jackie’s shocking death in the season 1 finale jumpstarts Shauna, Misty, Natalie, and Tai’s further descent into darkness.

Like the first season, Yellowjackets season 2 tells its story in two distinct storylines: the wake of the 1996 crash, and the present-day, where the remaining survivors struggle to cope with the horrific trauma. In the 1996 storyline, winter has fallen over the woods, cutting off the Yellowjackets’ food supply and creating an even more stressful environment as group hunter Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) and Travis (Kevin Alves) struggle to find food. The answer, it seems, lies with Lottie (Courtney Eaton) the reluctant prophet whose strange rituals provide the group with a game where old-fashioned hunting fails.

But while everyone at the cabin may seem content to indulge Lottie’s eccentricities as long as they remain (relatively) harmless and yield food, it’s clear that tensions continue to simmer over the unsettling near-cannibalism she spearheaded during their ill-fated “Doomcoming”. Lottie herself truly comes into her own this season—while Eaton was a mesmerizing, scene-stealing presence in season one, she’s given even more material to work with in season two, as she struggles with her waning mental health and assumes a role as the group’s religious leader.

In the present, Lottie is also a newly significant presence: last season’s cliffhanger finale revealed that she survived the woods, but the season two premiere is the first time we come face-to-face with adult Lottie (Simone Kessell). It’s startling just how effectively Kessell is able to capture the gentle stillness and wary conviction that Eaton brought to the role of Lottie, but Kessell is more than capable of such a complex, multi-faceted role, and both Lotties stand out as scene-stealers in their respective timelines.

The other new addition to the cast is Lauren Ambrose as Van, Taissa’s (Jasmin Savoy Brown) girlfriend and one of the true believers in Lottie’s woodsy cult. Unfortunately, Van (who didn’t have a particularly significant arc last season, save for her relationship with Tai) isn’t all that much of a standout, though through no fault of Ambrose’s. With a cast, this large, anyone whose storyline is anything less than jaw-dropping simply falls to the wayside, and Van is simply a victim of not having all that much to work off of in comparison to characters like Misty or Shauna.

Speaking of Shauna, she’s in a bad way in both the past and the present—’96 Shauna is now heavily pregnant, and stricken by the death of her best friend Jackie (Ella Purnell). Shauna spends the entire season premiere having hallucinatory conversations with Jackie’s corpse, and (at long last!) is the first Yellowjacket to actually engage in an act of cannibalism—eating Jackie’s ear in the climax of the season premiere. This season, Shauna might not have as much of an active narrative role in the ‘96 storyline as players like Natalie or Lottie, but Sophie Nélisse continues to prove herself as one of the strongest performers in a near-flawless ensemble.

Playing the same character as Melanie Lynskey is a daunting task for any actress, but I dare say that Nélisse’s performance—at least in the first six episodes—eclipses Lynskeys, and is without question the most compelling turn of the season. Episode six in particular gives Nélisse ample material to truly dig into Shauna’s emotional turmoil and deep-seated pain: resulting in a heartbreaking performance that will stay with the audience long after the credits roll.

As for the adult cast, Melanie Lynskey continues to turn out a performance that’s equal parts heartbreaking and comedic genius—especially when playing off of Warren Kole as her bumbling but loyal husband Jeff. Admittedly, Shauna’s storyline in the present (as well as Misty’s) feels somewhat arbitrary in comparison to characters like Lottie, Tai, and Natalie, but Shauna as a character has always been predicated around how mundane and ‘boring’ her life is, as opposed to the chaos that haunts her fellow survivors.

Speaking of Lottie and Natalie, it’s gratifying to see the writers explore their dynamic in both the past and the present—not only do we finally get some answers about what Lottie’s been up to in the present, but we also get some insights into how leaving the forest has changed her—and how she seemingly hopes to change Natalie’s life for the better. Though we don’t quite know if Lottie’s intentions are as pure as she says, it’s undeniable that the Lottie/Natalie dynamic is a season-long strong point.

Juliette Lewis as adult Natalie is another standout performance in a sea of talent—there’s an immense charm to her chaotic, rough-around-the-edges personality, and though it may be heartbreaking to watch her struggle, she’s such a fascinatingly written and beautifully acted character you can’t help but hope she finds peace.

Admittedly, with such a massive cast, not everyone can shine, and even the most dynamic characters on the page can fall to the wayside—both Misty (Ricci) and Tai (Cypress) continue their present-day storylines from season one, but they end up feeling arbitrary as opposed to gripping. Make no mistake—both women still knock their roles out of the park, but the show’s complicated writing structure and the sheer volume of characters end up with them feeling forgotten or underutilized.

But when a show’s biggest flaw is that we can’t get enough of its characters, that’s hardly a flaw at all—there’s no doubt about it that Yellowjackets’ second season is a more than worthy successor to a standout television debut. From Marie Schley’s wilderness-chic costumes to Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker’s eerie score, everything about Yellowjackets’ production design only further elevates this already outstanding series: this is a creative and production team firing on all cylinders to turn out some truly staggering tv. Though we don’t yet know where Yellowjackets will lead us, it’s impossible not to want to follow wherever it leads: even if that road ends in cannibalism.