Dear ‘Yellowjackets,’ Please Don’t Let Anything Happen to This Couple

Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 7.For three seasons now, Yellowjackets has shown a willingness to take risks and even kill off major characters, with Van (Lauren Ambrose) being the latest possible victim as she lay dying from cancer. To make matters worse, this happens just as her relationship with Taissa (Tawny Cypress) has taken a much darker turn, leaving their future more in doubt than ever. This is not the first time the couple has stared death in the face, and it’s unlikely to be the last, but the show has not yet crossed this line. Not only would killing off one or both of them deprive the show of its only truly happy couple in the present day, but it would reinforce a problematic message for the characters and the audience.

Tai and Van Have Been to Hell and Back in ‘Yellowjackets’

During their eighteen months in the wilderness, the girls on Yellowjackets have all endured numerous struggles and trauma, often due to the many difficult decisions they have been forced to make at such a young age. Most of their hardships began in the winter, but there were already signs even in the early days that things would not go well. One of the most notable was seeing the younger Van (Liv Hewson) being attacked by wolves, leaving her with the facial scars she wears to this day. The attack nearly cost Van her life, but the writers chose to keep her alive, and it was a decision that proved fortunate for both characters. Had she actually died as originally planned, Van would probably have been remembered much like Laurie Lee (Jane Widdop), a minor but memorable character who becomes an initial casualty of the wilderness. Now, by the nature of the story, her younger self remains safe, but the same cannot be said for her adult counterpart.

On the other hand, Tai has generally been in less danger than her girlfriend, but she still has some secrets to hide. Her sleepwalking became a problem at the end of the first season, one which forced her to abandon her previous marriage, and her storyline quickly fell into limbo after that. Story issues aside, Taissa still remains possibly the most unhinged of the team (which is really saying something), and the reunion with Van gave her a real chance at healing from the past. Only now has it become more evident that things might not be as wholesome as they initially appeared.

Even after all they’ve been through, the writers just can’t seem to stop testing Van’s morality. During their affair in the second season, she confirms that she has terminal cancer, and it seems like their love is running on borrowed time. Season 3 took another left turn, as Van goes into remission, and we get to see them both actually enjoying their lives together. Despite the show telling us that no one is safe, for a brief moment, it felt like things would be alright after all. However, fans probably should have known better.

Season 3 Episode “Croak” Confirms Our Worst Fears About Tai and Van

One of the most prevalent themes in Yellowjackets is that of inevitability, and this has been especially true in terms of the wilderness. From the very first episode, viewers are waiting for the girls to experience the plane crash that will come to define their lives, and the first season openly tells us Jackie (Ella Purnell) will not last too long as the leader. Season 2 continues this with the tragic death of Natalie (Juliette Lewis) in the present after she was meant to die in the past, much like how the writers had planned her demise from the very start. Just to drive the point home, the latest season makes this point all the more explicit to viewers through the visions in the cave, where the girls receive yet another warning that “It always gets what it wants.” We still don’t know what “it” is, but we know many bad things will be coming for them. Not only are they looking for a killer, but they’re also fighting fate, and it’s a battle that has begun to feel unwinnable for everyone involved.

In the span of a few minutes, Season 3, Episode 7, “Croak,” reminds us of exactly what these women are dealing with and the punishments they’ve been dealt, both physically and mentally. First, Van’s cancer returns in an ugly and horrific fashion, leaving her on the brink of death. She even sees a vision of her younger self, telling her, “You know, we never really cheated death. It was always a fair trade.” Keeping in custom with the ambiguity of the show, it’s not clear whether this was a spiritual vision or a dying hallucination, and the fate of Van herself is never actually disclosed.

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Then, just when it looks like things can’t get any worse, the show confirms what fans had long suspected: The version of Taissa we’ve been seeing is actually “Other Tai” from her sleepwalking state. How and why she is here now remains a mystery, although it’s probably not a coincidence that the pair both tried to summon the darker side of younger Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) just a couple of episodes earlier. We already know the wilderness is not something to be trifled with so casually, and it almost seems like the ritual was successful, even if it took twenty-five years. With the other women still in the dark, it’s easy to see how things could get out of control very quickly, and Other Tai has now become a looming threat they will have to face if they want to have anything resembling normal adult lives.

‘Yellowjackets’ Needs at Least One Happy Ending

It feels likely Van will survive her current ordeal, but whether she or Taissa make it out of the season is far from certain. This feels worrying, since these two are one of the few truly heartfelt elements of the adult storyline. Yes, their bond was certainly born from trauma, but now it’s firm evidence that the team is not completely broken, and that they can recover. Not to mention, they’re the main queer relationship in a show that has always been LGBTQ-friendly, and suddenly resorting to “burying the gays” would feel like an exceptional betrayal.

If the show wants to avoid consigning traumatized women to more death and despair, we need solid proof that the forces of the wilderness can in fact be overcome without sacrifice. Showing that kind of tragedy once was warranted, like with Natalie’s death, but even that didn’t sit well with fans, and they won’t be inclined to forgive it a second time. It’s understandable that the show would want to create drama, especially since the adult timeline has recently fallen behind the plane crash storyline. But there are other, better ways to achieve this that don’t involve destroying the best relationship in the show. We still have plenty of mysteries, both past and present, to be uncovered throughout the show, and that should be its main focus. If more deaths do indeed come, they should be deserved, and not delivered to those like Tai and Van while they try to earn their happy ending. For their sake, as well as that of the viewers and the show, let’s just hope Yellowjackets gives them one.

New episodes of Yellowjackets Season 3 premiere Fridays on Showtime in the U.S.

Yellowjackets

Release Date

November 14, 2021

Network

Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime

Showrunner

Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco

Directors

Benjamin Semanoff, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Deepa Mehta, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Liz Garbus, Scott Winant, Eva Sørhaug, Jamie Travis

Writers

Liz Phang, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa