Showtime’s popular drama series YellowJackets follows a girls soccer team whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness on their way to National Championships in 1996. In the present day, the audience sees some of the characters as adults, but not all of them, leaving it unknown who survives in the wilderness. The survivors have to confront their past as conflicts arise as consequence of their actions during their time in the wilderness. The show has a very talented cast and writing that keeps the audience engaged in two separate timelines. With Season 3 wrapping up, let’s look at the best and worst parts of it.
Positives
This season of the show has many positives. It had amazing performances from the cast, both the teens and adults. I think one of the show’s biggest strengths is in its casting, as the adults and their teen counterparts not only look alike, but act alike and separate to make it believable that they are the same people at different ages. The show also has an amazing soundtrack that captures the emotional impact of every scene.
The stakes are also very high as the season comes to a close, with the girls in the teen timeline preparing for another winter to come, which was disastrous for them before. At the same time, the adults have to face their pasts as they try to figure out the truth behind the death of their teammate. I think the best episode of the season was the season finale, titled “full circle”. The episode answers many questions that were first raised by the pilot such as who is the girl who falls in the pit? And who is the eerie leader with antlers? It also ends on a major cliffhanger, and sets up the girls’ eventual rescue.
Negatives
While I did really like this season, it was not without its flaws. There are plot points that feel like they weren’t fully planned out or felt rushed. The addition of the adult researcher characters who stumble upon the girls in the woods felt very rushed, and compared to the beginning of the show, it was not something that was planned since season one. I appreciate that the series isn’t afraid to kill off major characters, but I feel that they often get rid of characters whose stories are not yet complete. This results in these major character deaths feeling cheap and purely for shock value. I also did not like the reveal of the character Melissa being revealed as having survived the wilderness, as she only became a major character, and there are more interesting characters such as Akilah, Mari, or Gen who could’ve had more potential in the adult storyline, but were either killed off or sidelined.
Overall, Season 3 of Showtime’s YellowJackets is entertaining, captivating, and a good watch for anyone interested in thrillers, mysteries, and shows with a strong female cast. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two, it was still an entertaining watch.
