After an almost entirely slow-burn season, Yellowjackets season 3 episode 7 has suddenly shifted gears and given us so many answers in 50-odd minutes. This episode shows us an outsider’s point of view into the girls’ lives, both in the present timeline and the past one. Specifically, there’s just so much to unpack about Shauna, who seems to have won us over as an adult, but how does one defend everything she did as a teenager back in the wilderness? I suppose it actually depends on what she does next, after what we’ve seen in this episode. Episode 7 rewinds a little bit and goes back to 3 days before the man in the vest sees Ben’s severed head and curses out loud. We all had our many theories, and I was honestly not expecting any answers before the end of the season; however, we got so much more than I expected in episode 7, so I’m honestly thrilled. But also, I’m just glad that my theory about the bear in Akilah’s dream being a sign of the people finding them has been vindicated. But, without further ado, let’s jump into episode 7.
Spoiler Alert
Who Finds The Yellowjackets?
Season 3, episode 7 begins 3 days before the girls are found by the 3 campers in the wilderness. Hannah and Edwin are a couple looking to research the Arctic banshee frog, a type of frog that hibernates for 7 years and then comes out for a mating ritual. But, more importantly, it’s a frog that puffs up its entire chest, no, like it makes a balloon and then lets out a high-octane shriek much like the shrieking the girls have been hearing recently. So, I think it’s only a coincidence that the girls heard the frog when they wanted to hear a sign from the Wilderness. More importantly, even if the first shrieks were real, it’s possible now they’re experiencing mass hysteria and imagining that the Wilderness is talking back to them.
Hannah and Edwin have hired a guide named Kodi to take them around the dense forest. Edwin and Kodi have some differences because, let’s face it, one’s a nerdy frog guy and the other will eat frogs for survival. Hannah seems to be intrigued by Kodi, though, and they decide to smoke some weed on a rainy night. While high, Hannah tries to make a call with the satellite phone they have, which is only for emergency purposes, but she and Kodi end up breaking the antenna by accident, which makes Edwin furious. Also, Hannah asks Kodi if he’s named after the Kodiak bear, which is what I connected with Akilah’s drug cave dream.
Now, Edwin starts to become paranoid after a bit, thinking that Kodi is taking them the wrong way and that he broke the phone on purpose. So, for some reason, when he hears the sound of people so far away from civilization, he decides to check it out rather than stay away, like Kodi suggests. Despite seeing the girls going around a fire, dancing, and even yelling like animals, Edwin thinks there’s “strength in numbers,” so he rushes to the girls, even though Kodi is dead set against doing such a thing.
What Happens To Edwin?
Then, as we know, Edwin yells after seeing Ben’s head on the table. It seems like only Nat and Van truly understand the gravity of the situation at that moment, because Van immediately talks about going home, and Nat clearly shares this sentiment. However, to everyone’s shock, Lottie attacks Edwin from behind, killing him instantly by sticking an axe-like thing in his head. She claims the Wilderness doesn’t want them there, and this makes us realize how lost Lottie truly is. Sure, the campers may have run away knowing these girls were conducting cannibalistic rituals in the forest, but they’d still be their ticket to civilization. I’m not sure what Lottie does all night with Edwin’s blood, because the next morning her face and hands are covered, almost as if she was feasting on his brains all night. But I don’t think she was?
On the other hand, Kodi has a bow and arrow, which he uses to hold the girls off, and the arrow hits Melissa. Before rushing off to follow the duo, Shauna tells Mari and Gen to help Melissa and not care about Edwin, or they’ll end up dead like him too (yikes girl). By sunrise, the girls somehow can’t remove the arrow from Melissa’s chest, and realize they have to push it through. We know that Melissa and Gen are dead in the present timeline, so it’s likely we’re nearing Melissa’s end. But remember that DAT tape? As we suspected, it was Hannah who started recording everything, but more importantly, she left a message for her child, whom she had as a teenager. So, I suppose, Hilary Swank will play Alex, the person who sent in the DAT tape. But I don’t think it’s revenge as of now. Also, adult Misty specifically says Melissa and Gen got close to Hannah back in the forest.
Additionally, the rest of the girls and Travis look for Kodi and Hannah. Hannah hides under a fallen tree trunk and makes a recording for her daughter. She first hides the system in a safe spot, and then she crawls under the trunk. But when she’s sure she can’t run from this, she reveals herself to Nat and Shauna, even telling them that she can help Melissa because she knows where they can first aid. Shauna pulls out her knife, but they take Hannah to the campsite. At the same time, Misty teams up with Travis and Akilah to keep Kodi from running away. Travis tells Misty to go in one direction by herself, while Travis and Akilah go the other way. Misty gets shot at by Kodi, but she ducks, losing her glasses in the grass. On the other hand, Akilah and Travis corner Kodi on the edge of a cliff. He accidentally trips but holds on to the edge. Travis helps him out of there using the gun as a makeshift rope.
In the morning, Lottie asks Mari and Gen if she can help, but they refuse her help because she’s “done enough.” She did kill a wholly innocent man. That’s when Shauna, Nat, Van, and Tai bring Hannah with them, and she introduces herself to the group. But, on the other hand, will Travis and Akilah be able to contain Kodi on their own? And what’ll happen to Misty? I have a feeling she’s going to be alone for a little bit before she regroups with her friends.
Where Is Shauna Planning On Going?
In the present timeline, Shauna looks for information about Hannah on the internet after listening to the full tape and learning about her teenage pregnancy. She then tells Jeff that she’s going away for a bit, but that he and Callie should stay put. Jeff just wants to help, and Shauna tells him that the best way for him to do that is by keeping an eye on Callie. Shauna knows very well that Callie’s just like her, curious and intelligent, but of course, she’s got to protect her from the things her mum did back in the day. But Callie overhears this conversation, and at the same time, she knows more about the tape than she lets on.
In the meanwhile, Misty makes her way into Van and Tai’s room by pretending to be a cop. She then confronts Tai about meeting Lottie before her death, and Tai tells her that she did, but she didn’t kill her. Van finds this hard to believe, but she pretends to buy it in front of Misty. Tai spoke to Lottie because she wanted her to help figure out what to do about the Van and Wilderness situation, but I suppose it didn’t really help. Tai then tells Misty about the tape, which leads the trio to go find the source, i.e., Shauna. Just as they arrive, Shauna’s leaving to go find Alex in Virginia, a long drive from where they are. Now it’s time for a girl’s road trip.
On the drive, Shauna updates the girls about who Alex is, and they discuss who could’ve possibly found the recording and saved the tape. They don’t think it makes sense for someone to have waited 25 years for revenge, though. When they stop for gas, Van asks Tai once again if she killed Lottie, and Tai denies it. She tells her that she just wanted to talk to her, and Van reminds her that she doesn’t want to “live like that.”
A little later, Misty gets a call from Walter, and she pretends he’s calling because he still wants her, but really it’s about the DNA test. Walter had Shauna’s hair, and it matches with the DNA found under Lottie’s nails. Misty then texts Tai and Van about how Shauna killed Lottie, but Shauna notices they’re texting each other. However, in the chaos of things, Van starts coughing up blood, so they have to rush to the hospital.
At the hospital, Van has a dream of herself in the hospital bed, but it’s in the wilderness. She imagines her younger self burning the bed she’s on. Is this a sign of self-destruction? Young Van tells older Van that they never actually cheated death, so maybe this is it for Van. A little bit later, the dream shifts to Tai with blackened lips, almost as if she’s decaying. Tai tells Van she wants to help her, but Van wonders why and for whom. In the real world, Tai told Van she needs blood and tells the doctors she’s an O+.
On the other hand, Misty and Shauna have a fight outside, and Misty tells Shauna that she knows she killed Lottie. We already know these two girls don’t trust each other, so there’s nothing they can do to convince the other. Back in the room, Jeff thinks they have bedbugs because he’s got bite marks on his arm, but Callie thinks it’s his inner turmoil manifesting in the form of boils. See, Callie has done all the research and now believes Shauna, Van, and Tai could’ve killed people. She thinks her mom could be a “bad person.” But is this true? Why did Shauna lose her mind? Because of all the trauma, she went into survival mode when she thought that there was no way they’d be going back. But then she made Nat cut up Ben’s body as punishment, which almost made her look sadistic. So, could Callie be right? And is she so certain about it because she feels the same way about herself?
At the end of Yellowjackets episode 7, Shauna tells Misty she’s going to get soda, but she drives off to find Alex alone. When she gets to the house, she pulls out a knife from her bag. This knife looks like the one she used back in the wilderness days, so does Shauna know more than she’s letting on? Or is she just willing to do anything to survive, just as she did back when she was a teenager? Also, are we thinking Hannah is pit girl now?
