This is it. The season finale of “Yellowjackets” Season 2, “Storytelling,” closes the loop on this chapter and overarching plot threads with fiery devastation. Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation) returns to direct for the first time since the premiere, bringing some of the show’s themes full circle. While “Storytelling” may not bring the intense thrills of the last episode’s wilderness hunt, the events of this finale instead wreak havoc emotionally and ensure nothing will be the same going forward.
Picking up from the last episode, Travis (Kevin Alves) is immediately relieved to see Nat (Sophie Thatcher) arrive safely back at the cabin. His relief is short-lived when he sees Nat’s tearful, guilt-stricken face before the rest of the teens carry in his baby brother’s frozen body. While the group attempts to handle this new sacrifice and glean its spiritual meaning, their present-day counterparts attempt to stall Lottie (Simone Kessell) with a ruse. They agree to another hunt to appease the wilderness and close the loop on their encroaching darkness, unaware that Jeff (Warren Cole) and Callie (Sarah Desjardins) are en route, with the cops following close behind.
(L-R): Steven Krueger as Ben Scott and Sophie Thatcher as Teen Natalie in YELLOWJACKETS, “Storytelling”. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
Season one introduced a grounded teen Nat that favored pragmatism over mysticism, contrasting with the grown version (Juliette Lewis), a struggling drug addict unable to shake the traumas of her past. Season two, in its entirety, dedicated much of Nat’s storylines to unpacking the fateful events that would shatter her irrevocably. The penultimate episode drove home the point of no return for young Nat; she refuses to absolve her guilt over letting Javi die to save herself. The person she opposed in the ‘90s, Lottie, became the person who presented a path to redemption in adulthood. How “Storytelling” connects the teen Nat we met in the premiere to the matured Nat in the season two finale is demonstrative of the intricate storytelling throughout; and how Juliette Lewis navigates it all is particularly masterful.
The other central overarching plot of “Yellowjackets” Season 2 has been the compounding complications from Shauna’s (Melanie Lynskey) dalliance-turned-murder of Adam Martin (Peter Gadiot) that snowballed into an entire family affair. That comes to a head in the finale as well, but thanks to this season’s levity in the form of Jeff and Walter (Elijah Wood), it doesn’t play out quite as expected.
Elijah Wood as Walter in YELLOWJACKETS, “Storytelling”. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
Naturally, when one door closes, others crack open; closure on some arcs results in lingering, unanticipated questions. “Yellowjackets” Season 2 ends with massive questions about Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), thanks to his continued, intentional isolation from the girls and declining mental health courtesy of malnutrition. The ordinarily passive Ben seems to have chosen war, promising a thrilling return to violence in the show’s future.
Overall, “Yellowjackets” Season 2 ebbed and flowed with horror intensity while never wavering from complex mythology building, intricate mystery plotting, and an extensive emphasis on character work. The latter means a quieter season, more interested in exploring the fractured psyches of the plane crash survivors and those pulled into their orbit. The sacrifices made make a devastating impact. While the finale feels more like a transitionary period between chapters, it drives home that the darkness- and the wilderness- are far from done with these characters.
Episode 9 of “Yellowjackets” Season 2 is available to stream now for Showtime subscribers and the episode will make its on-air debut on Sunday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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