Since its premiere in 2022, Yellowjackets has been one of Showtime’s most successful series.
The show follows a group of high school girls on a soccer team who survive in the wilderness after their plane crashes. The episodes splice together the years in the wilderness and the years after the girls return to society.
The first two seasons of Yellowjackets became an instant hit, gaining a large and dedicated fan following. However, the reactions around the third season were less than enthusiastic.
Many fans felt like the show lost sight of its mission to explore the effects of trauma, which is what drew viewers in beyond the show’s intriguing premise.
Yellowjackets Season 3 introduced new storylines and characters that distracted from the main story.
This is why news of Showtime renewing Yellowjackets for a fourth season was so surprising.
It makes sense that this network would renew one of its most popular shows. Especially since it competes with HBO and Netflix shows that gain more traction, Showtime needs to rely on its existing success.
Yellowjackets has a dedicated fanbase that believes in the show. But after the way fans reacted to the last season, the writers have their work cut out for them.
It’s not too late for Yellowjackets to turn the show around and restore itself to its beloved status.
After all, one bad season doesn’t necessarily have to define a whole show.
Here are some of the ways this iconic show can get back on the right path.
Reconnecting the Present and Past
A common critique of Yellowjackets Season 3 is that the past and present moments often felt disconnected. One of the main reasons is the introduction of Melissa as a character.
Melissa’s storyline doesn’t contribute anything to the main story. Her character is confusing because her motivations and purpose in the plot aren’t clear.
This character seemed to exist only because Hilary Swank was willing to play her.
The show had to bend over backward to incorporate Melissa into the story somehow in both the past and present. This led to the past and present scenes feeling extremely disconnected.
Even worse, having Melissa kill Van in the present makes Van’s illness storyline seem unimportant. Yellowjackets sacrificed some of its most important plot points for the sake of this character.
Before the third season, Yellowjackets did a great job of tying together past and present scenes.
Although the storylines may not have been directly connected, they shared similar themes.
For example, the past scenes of Shauna and Jackie help inform the way Shauna acts around her family in the present.
During the most recent season, these scenes felt disjointed. Melissa’s past behavior doesn’t accurately reflect her current actions. The associations between each main character’s past and present scenes were loose connections at best.
Additionally, killing off several of the central characters, such as Van, Lottie, and Natalie, also weakens the ties between the two time periods.
It lowers the stakes because the past feels less relevant in the context of their deaths.
For Yellowjackets Season 4, the series must find a way to reestablish the connection between the past and the present.
This unique approach to storytelling is one of the reasons the show stood out in its first two seasons. The writers need to refocus on using this creative framing to tell the story in a meaningful, immersive way.
Refocusing on the Characters
While the story of Yellowjackets is fascinating, what truly makes the show compelling are the characters. Each character is so unique.
The early seasons did an excellent job of allowing the audience to sympathize with them, despite all their flaws and mistakes.
Yellowjackets Season 3 becomes too focused on the plot, neglecting other aspects. The characters are almost cast aside in favor of explaining mysteries initially left for the viewers to interpret.
An example of this is the explanation of the wilderness’ sounds.
Many viewers theorized that these sounds were the manifestation of the girls’ paranoia. During the season, the show explains that a specific species of frogs makes the sounds.
The frog plot device was also used to introduce new characters, such as Hannah and Kodak, both of whom seemed yet again irrelevant to the main characters’ development. Their presence mainly served as an explanation for how the girls managed to communicate with the outside world to get help.
Because the show tried to drive the plot forward, particularly in the past scenes, it lost sight of fleshing out its characters. Rather than having the characters define the direction of the show, Yellowjackets Season 3 attempted to convey the story directly to the viewers.
This definitely led to some confusing choices regarding characters, particularly with Shauna’s husband and daughter. Jeff and Callie’s characters have storylines throughout the season that barely contribute to understanding them as characters.
Their appearances serve only as a means to advance the story. There’s rarely an opportunity to understand where they’re coming from and how their characters evolve throughout the season.
Even though several characters have died already, Yellowjackets still has a lot of fascinating characters to work with.
Misty is one of the most interesting ones. Her struggle to fit in, both in the past and present, is a persistent issue that would be great to see resolved.
So, instead of merely moving the story along, Yellowjackets Season 4 needs to make an effort to further develop these characters. There’s always more to learn about the girls who survived the dreaded wilderness.
Now it’s your turn to share your thoughts with us. What were your thoughts on the Yellowjackets Season 3’s storylines? What do you want to see happen next season? Comment below!
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