How It Sets Up The Finale

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9, “How the Story Ends.”

The penultimate episode of Yellowjackets season 3 sets up the finale with some of the show’s most shocking plot twists yet. The latest episode begins after Yellowjackets season 3, episode 8’s tense ending, which saw Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) forcing Melissa (Hilary Swank) to eat a piece of her own arm. Matters are arguably just as tense in Yellowjackets‘ 1990s timeline, where the teenage survivors are divided on whether they want to leave the wilderness or stay.

Melissa manages to escape from Shauna in the present day, only to cross paths with Misty (Christina Ricci), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), and Van (Lauren Ambrose). With the teens divided on how to move forward, they remain in their camp, with Hannah (Ashley Sutton) and Kodiak (Joel McHale) as their prisoners. By the end of the episode, the adult Van is killed by Melissa, and Hannah kills Kodiak, with both deaths having major implications for the season 3 finale and for Yellowjackets season 4.

Why Melissa Kills Van In Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 9’s Ending

“Isn’t This What It Wants?”

When Van is unable to kill Melissa, Van asks why she cannot let herself go through with it. Melissa says it is because Van does not want to be that kind of person. However, Melissa also says she does want to be that kind of person and asks, “Isn’t this what It wants?” after fatally stabbing Van. Melissa kills Van because she is tired of living a lie, and regardless of whether she believes in the power of the wilderness, she craves the life she led there.

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Based on her interactions with Shauna, it previously seemed like Melissa had found a sense of normalcy in her life, and compared to the survivors, she had arguably done the best to move forward despite her trauma. Murdering Van proves that this was a facade, and that Melissa is still just as traumatized and self-destructive as the other adult survivors. The fact that she still claims to believe in killing for the wilderness all these years later potentially makes her the most dangerous of the living survivors as well.

What Teen & Adult Van’s Plane Vision Conversation Really Means

Yellowjackets’ Story Transcends Death

In Van’s final moments, she has a vision and talks with her teenage self (Liv Hewson) on a plane, which is reminiscent of the vision that was shown when Natalie (Juliette Lewis) died in the season 2 finale. The younger Van explains that her older self dying this way, “wasn’t my call. This is just how our story goes.” She also teases that “Surviving this was never the reward.” The conversation is a manifestation of Van coming to terms with her fate before she dies, but it also hints at the show’s endgame.

What teen Van says makes it sound like the fates of all the Yellowjackets are predetermined and that there is a reward beyond survival. That reward may have to do with what happens to the Yellowjackets after they die, with all of them potentially reuniting in an afterlife as a complete team again. Only this time, they will have learned from their mistakes, and will be better versions of themselves. Natalie and Van both died as heroes, and perhaps the series will end with all the Yellowjackets together in the afterlife.

How The Real Taissa Finally Comes Back

The Power Of Love Prevails

Taissa is knocked unconscious when Melissa closes the chimney flue. While trapped in this state of unconsciousness, Taissa has a moment of lucidity as Van works to resuscitate her. While feeling inspired by Van’s love for her, and given the temporary loss of control of the “Other” Taissa, the real Taissa takes advantage of the opportunity. In her mind, the real Taissa is seen physically overpowering the “Other” version of herself, and it is the real Taissa who emerges when she regains consciousness.

While Van initially feels like she died in vain, her teenage self emphasizes that this is not true, and that she did get to be the hero. Van saved Taissa’s life, ensured that the real Taissa came back, and got to genuinely reunite with the love of her life. It seems unlikely that the “Other” Taissa will be gone forever, but it will hopefully be more difficult for her to return now, and her being gone brings even further weight to one of Van’s final acts.

What Misty Having The Black Box Transponder Means For Yellowjackets Season 3’s Ending

One Of Yellowjackets’ Oldest Questions Is Addressed

In the past timeline, one of Yellowjackets‘ oldest questions begins to get answered, which is if anyone would ever discover that teenage Misty (Samantha Hanratty) destroyed the plane’s black box. While Misty tries to use the black box transponder to fix the phone that Kodiak broke, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) sees what is happening. Regardless of what Misty says, Natalie is smart, and it will not be difficult for her to figure out that Misty destroyed the black box.

Since it is confirmed that the Yellowjackets will endure another winter before being rescued, Misty’s plan is not going to work, at least not right now. While Natalie will be furious with Misty, Natalie is also pragmatic, and desperate to escape the wilderness. She may keep Misty’s secret, and the two of them can begin working on fixing the phone. Keeping this secret and thereby protecting Misty can add new meaning to the adult Misty considering Natalie her best friend. This can set up contact with the outside world being made in season 4.

Why Hannah Kills Kodiak

She Sees It As The Only Viable Choice

After Hannah and Kodiak free themselves with a knife, they are held at gunpoint by Shauna (Sophie Nélisse). Hannah claims that it was Kodiak, and not her, who got the knife before proceeding to thrust the weapon into his eye. While this may seem like an extreme decision to make, Hannah kills Kodiak to save herself, and so she can see her daughter, Alex, again. She is willing to do whatever it takes to survive and be reunited with her child, even if that means committing murder.

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The decision is also motivated by the fact that Hannah does not fully trust Kodiak, which is indicated when she asks why the name Erik Cheong is sewn into his backpack. She is not willing to put her life into the hands of a near-stranger she does not trust. As harash it is, she realizes that turning on him and joining the Yellowjackets is her best shot at having a future.

What Did Misty See On Walter’s Phone?

Misty Figures Out Who Killed Lottie

Walter Tattersall (Elijah Wood) has Misty mostly convinced that Shauna killed Lottie (Simone Kissell). As an insightful citizen detective, something still feels off to Misty, though, and she asks to see Walter’s phone, on which he cloned all the information from Lottie’s phone. While looking through his device, Misty sees something that elicits a shocked reaction from her, and she leaves with his phone.

Misty likely saw something that incriminated Walter as Lottie’s killer, and she will use this as evidence to prove his guilt in the season 3 finale. The Yellowjackets have been so busy trying to blame each other for Lottie’s death that they overlooked Walter. He probably killed Lottie simply as a way to reconnect with Misty, as their relationship was strained earlier in the season, which also explains why he was the first character to be aware of Lottie’s body being found. Yellowjackets season 3 is now poised to end with the adult survivors making Walter pay for his crime.

Yellowjackets

7/10

Release Date

November 14, 2021

Network

Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime

Showrunner

Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco