Yellowjackets: Qui

May 6, 2023 2:51 PM - Season 2, Episode 6

In the past, Shawna is in labor. In the present, Shawna is under questioning.
posted by Etrigan (16 comments total)

I could tell that some parts of Shauna's delusion were delusionary -- when Lottie was trying to feed the baby, everything was lit like a stage play; when Shauna finally started lactating and the baby was feeding, Val's (Was it Val? Whoever was there) reaction was really off -- but I didn't call the whole thing being a fever dream. Those last few minutes... wow. Sophie Nélisse was absolutely amazing.
posted by Etrigan at 2:57 PM on May 6, 2023

It reminded me, for better or worse, of the episode of Angel where for 95% of the episode everything finally, believably works out great (!), tying up most of the major plotlines, characters reconciling, etc., and then at the very end you discover this is all a delusion as Angel is subsumed by his Evil Side. So -- not that much like Yellowjackets, because really nothing was working other than somehow Shauna's baby was okay, but then, nope, we can't even have that. It had me going! I'll need to watch it again to see if the episode cheats in any major way (like a scene outside of Shauna's POV), but I have a feeling it doesn't.

Which is devastating, but...why? What exactly was the point of this plotline, which now seems like a red herring of sorts? It could just have been casual cruelty against the audience, but I'm still leaning toward the idea that the divergent timelines will prove meaningful. We've seen glimpses of timelines where Ben didn't take the flight, where the Yellowjackets died in the crash, and now where Shauna's baby lived. Thematically, so much of this show seems to be about regret and lost possibilities -- Van's line about living in a past where none of this ever happened (or words to that effect) seems germane -- and as the show becomes increasingly a supernatural horror story (at least to the degree that the OG Twin Peaks was), I think we may see those themes made literal. In other words, I'm guessing we eventually get to see 40-something Jackie, 40-something Laura Lee, 40-something Crystal, and maybe even 20-something Shauna's Baby, even if only in scenes that may not be real.

I'm not gonna lie, though: this whole thing is unfolding a little on the slow side for a show that's on ten weeks out of the year.

I've rambled a lot, but I have to add that I was yelling at the screen when Shauna and Callie both just...took it upon themselves to address the cops at length, when for the love of God, where are their lawyers?! Misty tried.

PS: Lottie's therapist sounds fucking scary. I kept waiting for a reverse angle reveal of the Antler Queen from the plane, just chilling on the couch.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:47 PM on May 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

Yeah, the "blithely chatting to the cops" thing drove me crazy. I'm reminded of Shauna and Jeff's shoddy attempts at eliminating evidence of the affair; it was maddening but utterly believable, because these are the characters. S1 hammered on Shauna's Intelligence, Shauna's Missed Opportunities, whatever. I'm sure Shauna would've done just fine in college, but S2 is mostly "Shauna is not nearly as smart as Shauna thinks."

I'm kind of excited by how quickly Van went from "haha schizophrenic Lottie has a compound?!" to basically swooning to an 80s power ballad as soon as Lottie turned around. (Otherwise -- uh, not much happened in this episode? I mean, the baby happened, but the baby died, so as far as this hour of television is concerned it didn't matter very much.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:53 PM on May 6, 2023

It seemed like the most important developments this episode were getting all the Yellowjackets in one place, and Lottie articulating that they brought the darkness back with them from the wilderness. Seems like they’re gearing up to confront the darkness in Lottie’s mysterious-symbol-shaped compound, and no doubt Shauna’s baby will be a part of that.

I was fooled by the baby fakeout, though not the baby-eating fakeout. That felt like the writer’s room trying to have it both ways.

Writer: Well obviously when the baby dies they’re going to eat it. They’re already cannibals and they’re starving.

Shwrunner: Nope, too far.

Writer: PLEEEASE IT WILL BE SO SHOCKING AND GROOOOSSSSS

Showrunner: FINE, it can be a dream sequence!

(This may sound like I’m bagging on the show but I enjoyed the episode and thought the baby sequence was tense, creepy, and heartbreaking.)
posted by ejs at 8:39 AM on May 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I assumed something bad was going to happen with the baby, but the fake out had me going for a bit. There were certainly bits that were odd enough to hint that it was all a fever dream (like, Lottie is lactating, somehow?), but everything that happens in the 90s timeline is just ever-so-slightly-off enough that it can be hard to tell what's real, what's a dream and what is a shared delusion that may or not may be an actual supernatural thing.

I'm not normally bothered by shows that depict sad/bad stuff with babies, but this week got to me and I needed to cleanse by brain afterwards. That's not a criticism, and is perhaps even a compliment, because it felt real and disturbing rather than a cheap attempt to make the audience feel a particular way. (Of course, most media aims to make the audience feel a certain way, but this felt earned rather than lazy -- baby-eating fake-out notwithstanding.)

PS: Lottie's therapist sounds fucking scary.

Yeah, something about her just seems not quite right. And how convenient that Lottie's normal therapist is on vacation just in time for her to start having a breakdown and/or reconnection with The Wilderness. This back-up psychiatrist sounds, honestly, not great at her job. Lottie isn't normally one of her patients, but she's sitting there possibly undermining everything the regular therapist has been doing with her for years? Unprofessional, IMO, but I'm sure there will be some plot reveal around Season 4 (I kid but, damn, this season is moving at a glacial pace).
posted by asnider at 8:05 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Absolutely have my suspicions about Lottie's therapist, because boy howdy that's not a good process coming from them.

And there goes one of my favorite pet theories that the baby was going to be a blood sacrifice to get rescued. Also, this means right now in those 90's flashbacks, we're about halfway through their time in the woods - at the most.
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:34 PM on May 8, 2023

And there goes one of my favorite pet theories that the baby was going to be a blood sacrifice to get rescued. Also, this means right now in those 90's flashbacks, we're about halfway through their time in the woods - at the most.

How about the far worse new version of that theory: They offer up the body of the baby to The Wilderness, some weird shit happens that gets them enough food to survive the winter, so Lottie decides that babies are the best possible sacrifices and makes Travis and Coach Scott impregnate as many of the women as possible.
posted by Etrigan at 1:46 PM on May 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

You know, if this were a Ryan Murphy show I could totally see it!
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:10 PM on May 8, 2023

man, even a show that is not particularly great (which is where I am with this show right now), if it is well-cast, is very capable of whipping out a scene that absolutely wrecks you

that scene aside, this show for me is now best taken as a comedy with some strong 90s cred. in that way it's serviceable and doesn't infuriate me as much. the problem to me is not so much the pacing as some of the, I guess, philosophical and structural premises on which the show is still built.

to wit: this show would be infinitely better-served if it were not still playing so relentlessly coy about the supernatural question. even LOST, one of its most obvious forebears, did a much better job of laying groundwork and giving you a foundation upon which to understand character arcs within their context. by contrast, this show routinely undermines everyone in both timelines (but especially the modern-day) by playing arbitrary puzzle-box games with crucial inciting traumas and experiences. I found it annoying but tolerable for approximately one season, but growing increasingly tiresome.

(lottie -- her desires, fears, motivations, beliefs, agenda(s) -- still makes no sense to me in either timeline, which is pretty bad because she's the central fulcrum of plot shit!)
posted by Kybard at 4:54 PM on May 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

I thought it real-world implausible that Shauna delivered a live baby given their conditions, but was willing to accept that as TV-writer-reality since the baby sequences went on so long and had what were obvious and understandable nightmare sequences. (In a world where there is an infant, I like that Lottie feeding the baby was another example of a fuzzy line between "is it magic or do they just THINK a possible thing is magic" situation, since sympathetic lactation is a thing.) Even though I went back to suspecting the worst once Shauna stumbled back into the main room at the end, the actual reveal kicked me in the gut. Well done.

Misty's immediate understanding of how to commodify her stories for popularity at Lottie's compound was hilarious.

I am also waiting for the therapist reveal. It's real weird that Lottie isn't suspicious.
posted by desuetude at 8:44 PM on May 9, 2023

We've seen glimpses of timelines where Ben didn't take the flight

I wouldn't say that's a 'glimpse of a timeline' as much as 'glimpse of Ben's fantasies as he completely dissociates in the face of acknowledging that as soon as he gets even a little less mobile he becomes a viable target for cannibalistic teens'
posted by FatherDagon at 12:59 PM on May 10, 2023 [6 favorites]

Misty's immediate understanding of how to commodify her stories for popularity at Lottie's compound was hilarious.

Darkly comic modern-day Misty is pretty much the highlight of the show for me.
posted by asnider at 2:57 PM on May 10, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'm kind of hoping it's not just a fantasy, because...um...apparent fantasies are eating up a lot of real estate on this show, which any reasonable person might begin to suspect doesn't have an end goal, and boy, I hope that's not true!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:58 PM on May 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't say that's a 'glimpse of a timeline' as much as 'glimpse of Ben's fantasies as he completely dissociates in the face of acknowledging that as soon as he gets even a little less mobile he becomes a viable target for cannibalistic teens'

I don't understand this take. Aside from the ambiguous and dreamlike opening sequence, we have seen zero inclination among the kids to intentionally prey on each other motivated by cannibalism. Quite the opposite, really.
posted by desuetude at 8:08 PM on May 10, 2023

It's pretty clear from this episode that 'anybody will eat anybody willy-nilly' is an anxiety at the forefront of at least a few character's minds.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:33 PM on May 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

One thing my partner noted in this episode is that the beginning of the baby-cannabilism dream sequence is a pretty direct homage to the analogous scene in Rosemary's Baby when Mia Farrow wakes up and can't find her newborn.
posted by whir at 7:50 PM on May 13, 2023 [2 favorites]