Taking cues from Stravinsky (or Picciotto, if that's your vibe), the Yellowjackets' rites of spring finally come to an end. Misty gets a perfect pick-me up. Shauna worries about a newly sticky Melissa problem. Van confronts herself on a classic adventure, and Natalie finds hidden treasure uncovered in the dark. The power of The New Flesh is strong with this one.
Melissa is a killer just like the rest of the Yellowjackets. That continued after they left the wilderness. That's a disappointing reveal. Great storytelling potential came from the dichotomy between the normal life Melissa made and the rest of the adult survivors. She claimed that she wasn't like the rest of them. That's why she faked her death. She escaped to a better life. And yet, it was always informed by what happened all those years ago. She married Hannah's daughter. Her family doesn't know who she is. Shauna views that as proof of her psychopathy. Meanwhile, everyone else sees a pattern with Shauna. She jumps to wild accusations, kills and then expects her friends to help her clean up the mess. Misty doesn't want to be around that energy again. She stumbles upon new information. Of course, the audience doesn't receive the clarity of knowing who Lottie's killer is. It propels Misty into action after she verifies Shauna's story. All of this suggests that Melissa is the exact same type of character as the rest of the adults. That's thrilling because of the shocking developments that occur. It's also an easy exploration of this world and what survival forced all of the Yellowjackets to do. They each responded the same way. That clarity held true for the rest of their lives. There is no hope in expecting more than that. This season offered the possibility of more. It's been taken away yet again.
Melissa was rational with her arguments too. She had a decent chance of convincing the rest of the Yellowjackets that Shauna was the crazy one. Shauna always seeks to exert her dominance over others. She is always right. As such, everyone else has to get in line. That's the way she behaved in the wilderness. When given that authority, she flexed it immensely. As an adult, she strives to do so in every situation. It's been exhausting to Jeff and Callie. In fact, they have a much more relaxed and normal time after she leaves them. That's the narrative split. Of course, it doesn't resonate as much because they didn't endure the same experiences. They have a connection to it. They've lied to protect Shauna. But now, they get to exert their own agency. The stakes don't reach the same heights. That's the point. It's a little repetitive of the revelations they accepted in the hotel previously. Nothing new occurs. The same is true at Melissa's house where she is catching everyone up on all that she has discussed with Shauna already. The narrative is going around in circles. It hopes that a tragic death will propel new mysteries to unfold. That's what happened when Lottie was killed. That offered a new sense of direction. But the narrative can only pull the same trick so many times.
Van saved Taissa. She saw her true self come out once more. It was no longer the Other One in control. Taissa was tempted to kill in order to save Van's life. She never ultimately followed through on that plan. That too makes her motivation rather hollow. She's willing to make these pronouncements. The show offers the suggestion of more. It remains painfully unresolved. None of the Yellowjackets know if anything in the wilderness was real. They collectively lost their minds. They can't dismiss it out of hand. Van isn't a killer. She always handled the cards that decided the fates of her teammates. She positioned it so she and Taissa were never targeted. They schemed to preserve one another. That bond remains strong. But the story isn't about them as a couple tackling these choices. Instead, it's Van deciding whether she wants to be a killer. She decides against it. That's not who she is. She arrives at that certainty only for Melissa to kill her. The show returns to the imagery of the adult character on the plane seated next to her younger self. It provided narrative symmetry for Natalie when she was killed. Van receives the same peace. And yet, it's suggested this isn't the end. Young Van still has more to reveal. The show derived its stakes from killing. It sets in motion expectations of what's to occur next. The scares are thrilling. If those acts lose meaning, then it's unclear what the show is trying to portray. It loves ambiguity. But this may be too much. It ventures into confirmation of the supernatural without any payoff.
In the past, Kodi was killed as Hannah needed to prove her own survival instincts. Kodi previously discounted her. He didn't think she could survive in this environment. She's in awe of what the Yellowjackets have achieved together. Shauna doubts her sincerity. She believes this outsider is waiting for someone to let their guard down long enough so she can escape. Kodi is the guide who can lead everyone out of here. On her own, Hannah isn't a threat. Melissa feels betrayed by Shauna because she refuses to let anyone leave. The outside world can never know what the teenage girls did to survive. They killed to make it through winter. No one wants to face that agony again. They feel better prepared. Danger still lurks on the horizon. The timeline is catching up to the pit girl at the start of the series. Travis has constructed the trap within the pit. He lures Lottie into it. He cannot allow her to twist reality to keep everyone stranded. She remains on solid ground. She doesn't fall. Again, her character is safe. She survives the wilderness. Her death occurs much later in life. Travis was still compelled to act. Everyone is desperate. They don't want to accept another year in this place. That's the fate that awaits them. Even then, the narrative offers the appearance of hope. The audience knows better. The viewer understands the timeline. But now, Natalie believes escape is possible given Misty has been hiding the plane's transponder. She doesn't even know that it's broken or that Hannah's satellite phone exists. That's the direction all of this is pointing at. It will inevitably fail. The show has lost the element of surprise in the past. And in the present, the consistency of character work prevents anything from evolving beyond a basic foundation.
