Shauna Shipman has grown worse in both timelines, and it is one of the best parts of season three. It was inevitable that Shauna and Melissa's relationship would come to a particularly brutal end, but Shauna's willingness to take it as far as pulling out the gun is strongly suggestive of how far gone her humanity is. Meanwhile, in the adult timeline, Shauna has no problems with forcing Melissa to eat part of her own flesh following ripping into Melissa's arm with her teeth. Each timeline has seen Shauna undergo development to such an unhinged state, and while the Wilderness timeline sees Shauna unraveling for the first time, the adult timeline sees how Jeff's original season one blackmail triggered the violent part of Shauna that has only grown more dangerous and unpredictable in season three as Shauna strongly believes that her life was being threatened.
While Lottie may have been the first to say she wants to remain in the Wilderness, it is Shauna's dangerous influence that keeps the group in place. Once again, Yellowjackets makes the stand that while Shauna represents doing whatever it takes to stay, Natalie will offer the opposite perspective, aiming to find a way to get the group back home, even though it means going against Shauna's wishes. Still, while Natalie aims for a path of least violence, joining forces with Mari to encourage Hannah to help them escape, Shauna potentially places the final nail in the coffin of her dynamic with Melissa. Pulling out a gun against Melissa after Melissa claims Shauna is crazy is not necessarily the best way to prove that Shauna is completely sane, especially when she follows it up with actually shooting a hole through Melissa's clothing, regardless of whether or not Shauna's intent was to hit her or miss.
Shauna's missed shot could arguably go either way of whether or not she planned to hit or miss Melissa, especially seeing as Shauna is mostly seen with a knife for a weapon rather than a gun. Still, Shauna holds the gun with confidence, which suggests that at some point between season two and season three, Natalie likely taught Shauna how to shoot, seeing as Shauna does not participate in the original determination of who will take the role of hunter. Shauna has taken on the leadership role with vigor, making herself clear in her goals of keeping the Yellowjackets exactly where they are and not having any hesitation regarding threatening the only people with the potential to return the group to civilization. Shauna's characterization does not only impact the group in the Wilderness, who are split between a desire to stay or go home, but it also impacts the remaining survivors in the adult timeline, as Shauna causing a mess sets up a host of new problems for Taissa, Van, and Misty. Melissa, however, is more than willing to restart the dangers of the game, going as far as to enact some acts of violence herself.
"How The Story Ends" is also one of the most emotionally brutal episodes, as it officially sees the beginning of winter as snowfall signals the return of the group's worst time in the Wilderness. Natalie is hit the hardest by the falling snow as the realization dawns on her that not only are they still stuck in the Wilderness, but she is about to have to relive the worst part of the group's survival thus far. Meanwhile, in the adult timeline, Yellowjackets reveals another impactful and devastating loss, as Melissa and Van's final confrontation results in Van's death. Van, unlike Shauna, Misty, Taissa, and Melissa, is not willing to follow the group's cycle of violence. She refuses to continue down that path, and in choosing to spare a life, the series also continues its willingness to take one.
Survivors dying as adults has been a constant theme of Yellowjackets, as the series has also found previous survivors Travis, Natalie, and Lottie all die. The constant cycle of violence, trauma, grief, and guilt follows this group in a never-ending strive. It does not matter how far they attempt to run from themselves; they can never quite escape. With only one episode left in season three, Yellowjackets will once again be introducing the devastation of winter, now through the hardened perspective of the survivors who know what surviving through winter calls for. Meanwhile, the truth behind what led to Lottie's death will need to finally be revealed.