15 Questions We Need Answered in Yellowjackets Season 3

Set in both 1996 and 2021, Yellowjackets follows a high school girls soccer team that becomes stranded in the Wilderness. With seemingly no hope of rescue, the girls turn on each other. 25 years later, the survivors try and fail to move past what they did.

Yellowjackets has been acclaimed for its performances (by both the adult and teen casts), killer 90s soundtrack, and blend of folk horror and paperback melodrama.

It’s also a show that often leaves viewers in the dark, burning with mysteries. The break between seasons can be rough, especially when there are mysteries we can’t wait to be solved.

Here are the 15 questions buzzing in our minds the loudest before Yellowjackets Season 3!

1. Who Are The New Actors Playing?

We’ve already gotten some great casting news for Yellowjackets Season 3.

Joel McHale (Community) is joining in a guest role, and Hilary Swank will reportedly be joining the show as a recurring cast member, with the potential to join as a regular in Season 4.

Joel McHale’s acerbic pretty boy act is a good fit for the black comedy of Yellowjackets. Swank, like series’ stars Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis, is a now middle-aged 90’s starlet. (At this rate, they’ve got to get Winona Ryder next.)

But who are their characters? Considering both actors are adults and the circumstances of the narrative, I’d bet they’ll be starring in the present-day storyline. Beyond that, I can’t even guess.

2. Did Coach Ben Really Burn The Cabin?

Yellowjackets Season 2 ended in 1996, with the teenage cast looking on as their cabin sanctuary burned to the ground. Considering the cabin’s doors were all barricaded to trap the Yellowjackets inside, it’s clear this was no mere accident.

The obvious answer is that Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) did it.

As the kids slowly embraced cannibalism to survive, he slowly separated himself from them. He is last seen in Season 2 stealing some matches from the cabin too.

But on Yellowjackets, things are rarely what they seem. Remember when Season 1 seemed to be setting up Jeff (Warren Kole) as a bad guy?

3. Is Ben Long For This World?

If Ben is guilty, then it stands to reason that his conflict with the kids is going to drive the flashback storyline of Yellowjackets Season 3.

There’d be some good tragic irony; he tried to kill them because they were too far gone, but his actions made them go feral instead.

So, if Season 3 is Ben vs the Yellowjackets, is that it? He hasn’t reappeared in the present day, and since he lost his leg in the crash, we have been marking him for eventual death. Dragging out him fighting the girls doesn’t seem sustainable over multiple seasons either.

I think Yellowjackets Season 3 will be the end for Ben in the past storyline, but that does not have to mean that he dies.

4. How Will The Show Adjust Without Natalie?

Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 9, “Storytelling,” featured the death of Natalie Scatorccio (Juliette Lewis). The younger version of the character (played by Sophie Thatcher) will continue in the past storyline, and we know she’s making it to the end there.

But in the present, the story has just had its first casualty. It’s unclear how long Natalie’s death will cast a shadow over Season 3.

Lewis has made some comments suggesting that leaving was her decision. This could have disrupted plans the show may have had for Natalie. It will be interesting to see if watching Thatcher’s Natalie will carry the same weight when we know her fate.

5. Who’s Next?

Speaking of Natalie’s demise, Lottie (Simone Kessell) stressed during Yellowjackets Season 2 that “the Wilderness” isn’t done with the survivors. No, it’s still hungry for blood.

Natalie’s death might be the first domino to fall, and now the question is whether or not the rest of the characters will get picked off one by one. It’d be an easy way to keep the dread of the series’ scariest moments going.

On the other hand, if it was primarily Lewis’ decision to leave the show, that could point against the show intending further deaths. They weren’t forging the first link in a chain but rather just making do with circumstances.

6. Is Natalie The Antler Queen?

“Storytelling” was a big episode, not only for Natalie’s present self but also for her past half.

Since Yellowjackets Season 1, everyone suspected that Lottie (Courtney Eaton) would be the one to lead the girls into savagery.

But that was not the case!

On “Storytelling,” Lottie ceded her leadership to Natalie, who she thought was the one truly best equipped to march the group to survival. But it’s unclear if Natalie will remain the leader, especially with Shauna (Sophie Nelisse) looking at her with green eyes.

7. When Does The Hunting Begin – And Who’s the Pit Girl?

The whole elevator pitch of Yellowjackets is about teenage girls having a Donner party after they’ve been stranded in the wounds. But it’s much worse than that; the eating wasn’t just desperation.

The Yellowjackets pilot had three timelines: one in the present day, one the days before they got stranded, and one during winter in the Wilderness when they’d become hunters.

Naturally, we are waiting for when the show loops back around to that third timeline.

Season 2 showed them getting there; they’ve got the sacrifice ritual down (pick a card, any card) and rationalizations: “The Wilderness chose.”

However, it still feels like they have lower to sink. In particular, we want to know who the “pit girl” murdered in the pilot’s opening scene. Based on the physical description (mostly the black hair), the common guesses are Mari (Alexa Barajas) or Gen (played by Vanessa Prasad, as of Season 3).

8. What’s With The Wilderness Tunnels Javi And Ben Found?

Javi Martinez (Luciano Leroux) turned up alive on Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 4, “Old Wounds,” thanks to an underground cave.

The cave provided Javi with shelter and (based on the rodent bones) food, so Ben set up there.

The show still has a lot of questions to answer about this cave. We don’t know anything about how many tunnels there are or how far they stretch. Javi also mentioned a nebulous “friend” — is Ben about to meet them?

Perhaps the tunnels even hold the answer to the next question.

9. How Are The Yellowjackets Rescued From The Wilderness?

We won’t get this answer yet in Season 3, but it’s one of the hottest burning questions in every Yellowjackets fan’s mind.

We know the team will be rescued after 19 months in the wilderness. By the end of Season 2, they’re about halfway there, give or take a month. But the question is how?

There are too many possibilities: encountering hikers, someone leaving and getting help, or perhaps they are closer to civilization than they think. For now, we’re too far away from a resolution to make any concrete guesses.

The question begets a further question, though. When it does come time to be rescued, will all of the Yellowjackets want to leave?

10. Are There More Yellowjacket Survivors?

Yellowjackets Season 1 initially introduced four survivors: Shauna, Taissa, Natalie, and Misty, and the show later revealed that Lottie and Van (Liv Hewson/Lauren Ambrose) were alive too.

So is that it? All the other past characters (aside from Ben) are either confirmed dead or little more than background extras. Revealing more secret survivors could blunt the impact of the past storyline, and its ability to get truly brutal.

But then again, Yellowjackets loves to throw curveballs.

11. Will Misty And Walter Stay Together?

Yellowjackets Season 2 gave Misty an equal and opposite in fellow eccentric, violent citizen detective Walter Tattersall (Elijah Wood). Eventually, Misty realized she was smitten and the two got together.

Going into Season 3, it makes sense to guess that Misty and Walter will still be together. With Nat gone, Misty is going to need a new scene partner too.

But are they too nuts to be a happy couple for long? People who get too close to Misty also tend to meet early ends (RIP Crystal and Natalie).

Walter has demonstrated a sinister side too, so what if Misty gets in his crosshairs? I don’t think it’s foregone which of them would end up on top in that contest.

12. When’s That Yellowjackets Bonus Episode Releasing?

Yellowjackets Season 2 had one episode fewer than Season 1, with its total number of episodes coming to 9 instead of 10. However, the show filmed 10 episodes during Season 2, but the remaining one was chosen to air later.

It will be premiering before Season 3 as a “bonus episode,” per Ashley Lyle, but we don’t know when exactly it will premiere yet.

Without jinxing it, this Fall could be a good bet, especially if it’s going to be an October surprise. This is a horror show, so it would fit the Halloween season.

Given how the episode was yanked from Season 2 — and that “Storytelling” was clearly an intended season finale — fans have speculated it was nonsequential with the rest of the show.

Melanie Lynskey’s husband Jason Ritter was reported to be making a guest appearance on Yellowjackets Season 2, as well, and the only place he can fit now is the bonus episode.

13. Who’s The Cabin Dude?

A preserved corpse sat in the attic of the cabin the Yellowjackets found. His identity is still a complete mystery, and there are numerous possibilities. Perhaps, he’s connected to the mysterious symbol associated with the Wilderness.

With the cabin now burned, it seems unlikely the Yellowjackets will get any further clues or answers about who “cabin daddy” was, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t.

The running theory is that the bonus episode will be a flashback explaining who this man was (hence why it could be lifted out of Season 2). As for casting? The running theory is that the Cabin man is Ritter’s part.

14. Will Detective Matt Saracusa Return?

Another addition to the cast in Yellowjackets Season 2 was Detective Matt Saracusa (John Reynolds).

Now that the investigation into Adam’s death is wrapped up, it’s unclear whether or not he’ll return. And if he does, then the next question is whether or not he’ll still be under Walter’s thumb or if he’ll be gunning for the Yellowjackets.

Keep in mind that a lot of the fans despise Saracusa. As Season 2 aired, the consensus was that the police investigation storyline was a drag that overstayed its welcome. This is one departure we would welcome.

15. How Long Can Showtime Drag Yellowjackets Out?

Yellowjackets, as a Showtime production, has always come with a shadow of risk hanging over it. To be blunt, Showtime has a bad habit of dragging out programs long after they should’ve ended: Dexter, Homeland, etc.

Those shows now have the reputation of starting out strong but then losing their way. This risk seems high for Yellowjackets as it is a mystery box show and one with a set end date for the flashback storylines.

The creators reportedly have a five-season plan, and I’d hope Showtime lets them stick to it so they can in turn stick the landing.

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Yellowjackets is streaming on Paramount+ and airs on Showtime. Season 3 is set to premiere in 2025.

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