Spoilers below for the third episode of Yellowjackets Season 3 for anyone who hasn’t yet streamed the episode with a Paramount+ subscription.
One of the biggest overarching mysteries keeping Yellowjackets fans guessing is Taissa’s unexplained tormenter known only at this point as No-Eyes Man. After offering no answers in Season 2, the showrunners are seemingly honing in on the origins of this creepy AF character, which apparently ties back to a New Jersey ice cream parlor whose flavors seem to reference popular bands of the 1990s and 2000s.
After hallucinating No-Eyes Man outside the restaurant in Episode 2 (with what appeared to be a giant candle on his head), Taissa was finally able to bring someone else into her horror during “Them’s the Brakes.” One of Van’s random VHS tapes contained a commercial for Ozzie’s Homemade Ice Cream, with a more naturally human iteration of the character literally losing his ocular orbs due to Ozzie’s eye-popping flavors. It’s weirdly on the nose (Or above it, as it were.)
But the biggest reveal during that bizarro ad was a phone number to Ozzie’s that I immediately paused the episode to call, and was overjoyed upon learning that the number not only worked, but it also provided around two minutes’ worth of creepy lore-building, similar to the phone number for Lottie’s Wellness Community in Season 2.
What Happened When I Called Ozzie’s Phone Number
Thankfully, my wariness about nobody answering the call was quickly vanquished by a recorded message. The (first) person speaking had an almost criminally squeaky-clean voice, akin to just about any character 30 Rock vet Jack McBrayer has portrayed. But he’s not the only voice we hear.
You see, it appears a breach in time may have affected the outgoing message, with frequent glitching that admittedly makes things harder to understand. The happy-go-lucky worker’s dated message is soon interrupted by the far less chipper (but more current) voice of someone sounding primed for doom and disaster.
Hello. Yeah. This is Ozzie’s, the homemade ice cream place out on Route 9. As of now, our scoops are broken, our pie plates cracked, and our doors have closed for the last time. . . . 34 years. . . .
As the episode itself goes on to reveal, Ozzie’s did indeed close down at some point, leaving only a Five NIghts at Freddy‘s-esque shell of an empty building in its wake. But that wasn’t all the information laid out in the call. Here are some of the ice cream flavors listed by both speakers on the call, with several references to musical acts in the mix. (Some of these may be wrong, also, so please forgive me.)
- Smashed Pumpkins (Smashing Pumpkins)
- Cranberry Dream (The Cranberries’ 1993 track “Dreams”)
- Friends of Peach (??)
- Hot Dog Water (Possibly reference to Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog-Flavored Water)
- Regret (Possibly referencing New Order’s ’93 single “Regret” or the punk band No Regret)
- Shrimp (??)
- Cigarette Ash (??)
- My [??] Valentine (My Bloody Valentine)
- Mighty Mighty Boston Cream Pie (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
Clearly Ozzie’s never showcased flavors like Hot Dog Water and Cigarette Ash, but is that just the employee’s idea of a joke, or are they going a little nutso? My money is on the latter, as that person veers off into oddball territory, saying:
Time’s weird. The way a moment feels so permanent, even while it’s melting away, like it never existed at all. All we went through to get here. The endless swirling and cream and sugar, churning, frozen in the dark.
Also not 100% sure if that’s what was said, but even if everyting isn’t exact, it’s not as if one or two word changes would make that sentiment sound completely normal and sane.
Perhaps the biggest question to come away from this phone call with is “Who is the voice of the more disturbed person?” Is it meant to be No-Eyes Man, whose voice we haven’t knowingly heard yet? Or someone else who may have been permanently affected by whatever horrible shit went on at Ozzie’s during its heyday?
Worth noting: my initial call to Ozzie’s ended with the voice asking callers to leave a message, which I did at the time. But when I called for the second time, that part of the message was seemingly cut off, though it’s possible that only happens for repeat callers.
Is The No-Eyes Man Real Or A Manifestation Of Tai’s Trauma?
Despite giving viewers more to gnaw on where No-Eyes Man is concerned, neither the ’90s-set commercial nor the phone message offered up any direct connective lines between the ghoulish entity and Tawny Cypress’ disgraced Senator. Not that Tai has much more information than fans do, as she’s still deep in the throes of confusion as well.
As it’s been established, Tai relates the eyeless weirdo to her grandmother’s house, where she saw him in a mirror one at least one occasion. And she does so again when trying to explain herself to Van, saying:
Holy shit, I must have seen that ad when I was little, and the man…no eyes…and my grandmother died, and I…
So now the question now becomes: is No-Eyes Man a literal being (supernatural or otherwise) who is wittingly tormenting the former athlete, or if the vision is actually just how Tai is able to process some unknown trauma or tragedy that occurred prior to her grandmother’s death. For example, if she suffered physical or emotional abuse as that ad aired on TV, or if she faced a similar level of abuse while inside one of Ozzie’s locations.
Or perhaps Tai was attacked at some point by the person who played the man who lost his eyes in the Ozzie’s commercial, and her memory of him as become more twisted and monstrous over time. Which could explain why he looks entirely human in the ad, and appears to be wearing either a mask or prosthetic makeup in Tai’s hallucinations.
Whatever the explanations behind everything, I’m 100% hooked on learning who in the harrowing hell No-Eyes Man actually is, and why Taissa can’t seem to stop thinking about him. So I’ll be watching new episodes hitting Paramount+ every Friday, and airing on Showtime on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET.