Yellowjackets 308 - A Normal, Boring Life

Hi! It’s me, Allie. Reunion organizer and the emotional glue of the Yellowjackets—despite what the literal survivors might say. I missed the flight because of a tragic, noble leg injury, but emotionally? I was absolutely there...in spirit. And let me tell you, this episode? An absolute ride. So grab a glass of something red (or a wine spritzer in a travel mug, no judgment) and let’s unpack it.

1997 Timeline: Slurpees and Splits

So the girls are maybe leaving—finally—and everyone’s like, “Let’s go home!” Except Lottie, who’s in her “this forest is my boyfriend” era. I get it. I once thought I had a thing with Joshua Jackson after we were booked on the same morning show—I was supposed to talk about how I wasn’t on the plane, and instead I just kept telling him he was my favorite Mighty Duck. It did not go how I imagined.

Fantasies run wild: Slurpees. Toilets. Pillow-top mattresses. I once tried ayahuasca and hallucinated a Cheesecake Factory hostess telling me I was radiant—same energy.

Van’s in her feelings. Tai's hanging out with her faceless nightmare man again. We all have demons. Mine is Cheryl from spin class. She always books bike 12. And she knows it.

In the final act, Shauna, Tai, and Lottie say they’re staying. Nat’s like, “Cool, the rest of us are still going.” But Shauna has other ideas. Classic “I love you, but I might shoot you” moment. We’ve all been there. (Not literally. Don’t Google me.)

2021 Timeline: Bite Me, Shauna

Shauna tracks down Melissa—alive, living under a fake name, married to Alex, the daughter of Hannah, the frog scientist they definitely murdered.

Melissa says the tape wasn’t blackmail—it was a therapist-recommended act of emotional closure. Shauna says, “Cool motive, but no,” and then they fight.

Hasn’t Melissa heard of writing a letter and burying it? That’s what I did when my best friend bailed on her own birthday weekend after I booked the Airbnb and she said she wasn’t "ready for that level of celebration.”

Then Shauna bites a chunk out of Melissa’s shoulder. With her mouth. And tries to make her eat it. Melissa is reluctant. I get it, I refuse to try juice cleanses because it reminds me of that week I tried to purge my emotional baggage through cucumber water. This? Trauma-core.

Meanwhile, Jeff hits his emotional wall and tells The Joels Shauna is crazy. Jeff, there are things you say in therapy, and there are things you maybe whisper while refilling your coffee in a hotel breakfast nook.

Callie is processing all of this like someone who will absolutely become an emotionally avoidant adult. Love her. Protect her. Get her a dorm room with a lock and an RA named Janelle.

Tai, meanwhile, tries to smother a dying man to save Van. I’ve done worse for love—mainly involving expired Groupon couples’ massages and a canoe.

Allie’s Key Takeaways:

Wilderness: Winter is Coming.

Melissa is alive. For now. Bite marks don’t lie.

Shauna feels seen. Maybe not in a good way.

Jeff is in his Jeff Era.

Van is fading. Tai is unraveling.

What’s Next?

Is Pit Girl about to ascend via tragic ritual murder? Fingers crossed.

Will Shauna go fully unhinged?

Will Melissa survive her shoulder appetizer?

Who actually killed Lottie?

Are any of us ever truly leaving the wilderness? Physically, maybe. Emotionally? No.

Listen to this week’s Yellowjackets Buzz with Glenn and Isa, who break down every forest standoff, trauma spiral, and human meat moment in this show that refuses to let us heal.

Available wherever you get your podcasts… or on a burned CD next to your bootleg VCD of The Blair Witch Project, tucked under your bed beside the notebook you swore you burned in 2001.

Email your theories: yellowjacketsbuzz@gmail.com

Follow:

Glenn – @GlennRubenstein

Isa – @NYCDemonD1va

Twitter/X – @YellowjacketsBz

Instagram – @yellowjacketsbuzz

Buzz buzz buzz,

Allie

(Wiskayok Class of ’96/’99, Yellowjacket, Survivor of Everything But the Actual Crash)

Yellowjackets: Season 3, Episode 7 “Croak” or "Brain Matter, Frog Science, and Shauna's Emotional Support Knife."

This episode takes us to a very special kind of field trip—one where frog scientists become endangered species, Misty’s curls are nothing short of spectacular, and Shauna is feeling stabby like she’s headed to a PTA meeting with an axe to grind. The vibe? Lord of the Flies meets Unsolved Mysteries, with a dash of Nature Sounds Vol. 6: Frog Mating Calls.

1997 Timeline: The Frogmen Cometh (and Goeth)

Welcome to the Hanna, Edwin, and Kodiak show. They record a frog orgy. They smoke the chronic. They form a love triangle?

Then, as the girls are finishing off Coach Ben, three unexpected guests show up. They smelled BBQ, ok?

Hanna bolts. Kodiak shoots a crossbow (it's bad ass). Melissa takes an arrow. And Lottie? She puts a hatchet in Edwin’s skull, then squishes his brain like she’s auditioning for a Food Network show no one wants to watch.

As they chase down Hanna and Kodiak, Van discovers the source of the infamous “wilderness screams”: frogs. Mating loudly into field recorders. She releases one, whispers “go on, little guy,” and calls out for her mom over the satellite phone. It’s brutal and beautiful—one of the most emotionally raw moment of the series.

2021 Timeline: Tapes, Truth Bombs, and Tai’s Shadow

The Yellowjackets revisit the DAT tape left earlier in the season. The tape was made by Hanna, who—surprise—had a baby as a teenager. That daughter’s name? Alex. And she’s now the top suspect for Shauna's stalker. Hanna's dead. But her daughter might have inherited more than memories.

Shauna, feeling threatened and cornered, gears up to confront whoever dropped the tape. She heads to meet the source face-to-face, first as a group, but then solo (like Ginger Spice).

Meanwhile, Van’s health is fading, and Taissa, desperate, will do whatever it takes (Degrassi TNG style). It works--sort of--for now Van meets her past self Dark Tai in a near death state.

Oh, and Callie? She tells Jeff that she thinks Shauna’s not just troubled—she’s dangerous and done way more in the past than she ever let on. This the worst moment of Jeff's life since the "no book club" conversation.

By Episode’s End:

Shauna: Holding a knife and looking for answers

Misty: Stunning. Scheming. In control.

Edwin: Rest in pieces

Hanna: Not long for this Earth, but her voice lingers

Kodiak: Unconfirmed but probably walking with Sasquatch.

Van: Surviving.

Lottie: Still into blood dirt.

...you know, it would be really nice if the show could clearly tell us who is alive in the present. Oh wait—they did and if you blinked you missed it? D’oh!

Loose Ends (And We Do Mean Loose):

Misty’s hair is incredible. Please acknowledge it with the respect it deserves.

Patrick Dempsey was marketed as the sexiest teenage boy alive in the late ’80s. This is true and somehow relevant.

Shauna pocketing a lock of hair from a murder scene? Not creepy at all. Just prepping her ritual lookbook.

What’s Next?

Is Alex old enough to be Hanna’s daughter, and is Hillary Swank the right casting? Short answer: Maybe. Long answer: Definitely Maybe.

Is Kodiak still out there with a story to tell—and where can we download his podcast?

Will Tai sacrifice more of herself to keep Van alive? Or will Other Tai take the wheel for good?

We break it all down in this episode of the pod, available wherever you get your podcasts… or on a bootleg VHS recorded over a Mr. Show marathon, a LimeWire MP3 labeled “Phish - Gin & Juice.mp3,” or a Maxell tape marked “DO NOT LISTEN – SCREAMS.”

New episodes of Yellowjackets drop Fridays at 12:01 AM ET on Showtime/Paramount+, and we’ll be here every week to guide you through the madness.

Email us your theories and questions: yellowjacketsbuzz@gmail.com

Follow us:

Glenn (@GlennRubenstein)

Isa (@NYCDemonD1va)

Twitter/X: @YellowjacketsBz

Instagram: @yellowjacketsbuzz

Buzz buzz buzz.

Yellowjackets: Happy Thanksgiving! Now Pass the… Oh God, No. Season 3, Episode 6 “Thanksgiving (Canada)” brings us the worst holiday meal since your uncle decided to deep-fry a turkey indoors. Between the mercy killing of Coach Ben, an unexpected nature recording gone horribly wrong, and the Sadecki family’s ill-fated attempt at bonding in what is definitely a C-grade motel, this episode proves once again that survival is a high-calorie nightmare.

1997 Timeline: Fine Dining, Wilderness-Style

Coach Ben’s luck goes from bad to “please, not the Achilles tendon” to “oh no, they’re feeding me through a tube.” The girls, determined to keep him alive (for now), improvise a DIY feeding tube that is somehow less appetizing than that time your mom made you eat carob instead of chocolate.

Eventually, Natalie grants him mercy—aka delivers the Thanksgiving main course. The girls dig in like it’s a Pizza Hut Buffet (RIP), except instead of stuffed crust, they’re enjoying a fresh slice of Coach Tartare. Turns out, butt meat is the highest-calorie cut, and we're all learning things we never wanted to know.

But wait! Just as things hit peak horror-movie energy, a trio of birdwatchers/nature enthusiasts (aka Dead Hikers Walking) stumble onto the feast. The episode cuts to black as they lock eyes with Coach Ben’s severed head on an altar, proving once again that birdwatching is the most dangerous hobby on Earth.

2021 Timeline: Family Bonding, Murder Investigations, and a Surprise Cameo from The Black Lodge

The Sadecki family's Thanksgiving road trip turns out to be less “Hallmark holiday,” more “abandoned Blockbuster snack run at 2 AM.” They settle into a seedy roadside motel where the vending machine is the only dinner option, and the carpet stains have seen things. Meanwhile, Callie starts putting the puzzle pieces together.

Elsewhere, Misty is out here solving Lottie’s murder like she’s the lead in a 90s detective procedural you only ever saw on Lifetime. She tracks down Lisa Lisa (sans Cult Jam) to discuss Natalie, Lottie's mysterious $50k withdrawal, and the fact that Tai saw Lottie the day she died.

Elsewhere, Van is taking calls on unplugged phones (never a great sign) while Good Tai is apparently trapped in “the other place,” screaming for help. It’s David Lynch-coded machinations, and Van is one Black Lodge away from needing a log to talk to.

Then Shauna, Tai, and Van, listen to the DAT tape containing a 25-year-old Wilderness Grudge. This discovery practically guarantees that their drama is far from over.

By Episode’s End:

Shauna & Jeff: Still the most questionable couple.

Coach Ben: RIP, my dude.

Misty: One step closer to exposing a murder… assuming she figures out what to do with that DNA.

Birdwatchers: Congratulations, you’ve made the worst discovery since LimeWire gave your family PC 37 viruses.

Van & Tai: Should probably call a couples therapist. Will probably just keep running from the supernatural like it’s a bad breakup.

We break it all down in this episode of the pod, available wherever you get your podcasts… or on an SP mode VHS recorded over an episode of Ren & Stimpy, a Napster MP3 labeled “New Green Day (Real).mp3”, or a burned mix CD where track 12 is just Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” three times in a row.

New episodes of Yellowjackets drop Fridays at 12:01 AM ET on Showtime/Paramount+, and we’ll be here every week to guide you through the madness.

Email us your theories and questions: yellowjacketsbuzz@gmail.com

Follow us:

Glenn (@GlennRubenstein)

Isa (@NYCDemonD1va)

Twitter/X: @YellowjacketsBz

Instagram: @yellowjacketsbuzz

We'd say “Happy Thanksgiving,” but after this episode? Hard pass.

Buzz buzz buzz.