[Editor’s note: The following interview contains spoilers for “Yellowjackets” Season 3, Episode 10.]
“Yellowjackets” came full circle with a killer Season 3 finale on Friday, April 11 — closing the loop on questions viewers have had since the pilot aired four years ago. That same night, at Vidiots in Los Angeles, Showtime‘s beloved cannibalism dramedy held an FYC event that had a line stretching down the block. Cast members Sophie Nélisse, Sophie Thatcher, Courtney Eaton, Liv Hewson, and Samantha Hanratty were in attendance, and the screening turned away more than a hundred people.
“This was a really big emotional one for all of us, I think,” said Hewson in the IndieWire panel moderated by this writer, Alison Foreman. “The episode is called ‘Full Circle’ for a reason. It’s incredibly charged. We were all excited about it and looking forward to it, and I remember when the script landed in everybody’s inboxes, we were all just hunched over reading it.”
They continued, “It’s been wonderful, getting to release it to all of you guys. And even just standing in the back watching Sophie Thatcher stand on the mountaintop in a theater of people, that’s amazing.”
Entering as fans chanted “BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!” from packed seats, the “Yellowjackets” cast made the Q&A feel like a sports stadium. That’s fitting for an episode that had the starring soccer players, ravaged by the months they’ve spent at war in the wilderness, finally acting like a team. Speaking to a room full of blue-and-gold costumes, Sophie Thatcher reflected on her character’s role as the teen Yellowjackets’ ultimate hero — and why she never thought Natalie was the Antler Queen.
“She has too much humanity,” said Thatcher. “She has a moral compass where I think everyone else in the show is lacking it. Sorry! But it just wasn’t an option for her. She believes in fairness and equality, and you saw that from the pilot in little ways. She’s dark, but not that dark.”
Of course, the reason for the season, Shauna Shipman is that dark — and the complex character has left actress Sophie Nélisse with a lot to answer for after the finale. Not only does “Full Circle” reveal Shauna as the team’s terrifying ruler, but it also makes mean work of finally identifying the show’s notorious “Pit Girl.” Still waiting on news of its return date, “Yellowjackets” spends its last moments of Season 3 spelling out the role Shauna played in making Mari (Alexa Barajas) the girls’ most memorable victim.
“The creators of the show have done such an amazing job at carving a path for her that makes so much sense that she is where she’s at,” said Nélisse. “I still have a lot of empathy for her, and I still want to root for her because to me, she’s just someone that needs to be loved.”
Conversely, Samantha Hanratty got to see the infamous Misty Quigley switch sides and actually help fix the mess she made (by disabling a crashed airplane tracker) two seasons ago. Having mostly completed the heel-turn from frustrating antagonist to misunderstood survivor, Hanratty praised the “messy” side of Misty, expressed admiration for her character’s adult counterpart, played by Christina Ricci, and said she was “scared to see what’s next” for the Yellowjackets.
“I feel so honored to be on the show with these incredible women who have paved the way to making it a safer, better environment for us to be on set,” said Hanratty. The actress also praised her co-stars Steven Krueger, and Nuha Jes Izman, and shared her dream that the show’s myriad time-jumps and fondness for the supernatural might result in some unexpected reunions.
“Always, always hoping for that,” she said. “Unfortunately, Misty is, I think, one of the only ones who hasn’t seen [her past self] or seen visions or ghosts. I haven’t been visited by anybody really.”
“She’s crazy enough,” joked Courtney Eaton.
Co-starring as the more spiritually inclined Lottie, Eaton has become something of a de facto defender for the show’s teen cast — and heart. She and Hewson reflected on seeing the older versions of their characters (played by Simone Kessell and Lauren Ambrose) die in Season 3, a sore subject that got a pained sound from the room.
“It means you cared about them if you’re this upset that they have left, and our writers have done an amazing job,” said Eaton. “But no, it’s always sad. I think I’m still in denial, so in my head, Simone is going to haunt me and we’re going to be doing scenes together in Season 4 just us two.”
If you compare actors to pro-athletes, then a showrunner is like a TV show’s coach. “Yellowjackets” is helmed by Jonathan Lisco, Bart Nickerson, and Ashley Lyle. Mixed in with the audience at Vidiots, Lyle attended the screening with cast members Ashley Sutton (who spoke with IndieWire in an interview about the finale episode) and Meiyee Apple Tam (aka deep-cut Désirée the Divorceé); “Yellowjackets” writer Rich Monahan; “Yellowjackets” editor Jeff Israel; and “Yellowjackets” composers Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker. Lyle helped IndieWire round out the panel by surprising her cast with a question.
“Oh my God, I’m so nervous,” Lyle joked, taking the mic from her seat. “I know on this show, there’s this question of the supernatural versus the rational, and does it exist, and we don’t know. But if it did exist — and you had to sacrifice someone to the wilderness to get home tonight — who would it be?”
“Like we have to kill ’em?” asked Nélisse. “Like eat ’em and everything?”
The crowd erupted with laughter, but Nélisse and her castmates couldn’t settle on an answer for Lyle. Instead, they debated if any one of them would sacrifice themselves for the good of the group.
“Oh, you would!” Hewson scoffed jokingly when Eaton first suggested it.
In the end, the actors came up split. So, IndieWire also asked them for their rapid-fire advice on getting through a hard time. For example, several months without your favorite TV show? Their answers ranged from employing a “really good therapist” to listening to songs by Fiona Apple and Elliott Smith. But only Hanratty evoked the true spirit of her “Yellowjackets” character when she suggested adopting an emotional support animal. Think Misty Quigley and her beloved African grey parrot, Caligula.
“They won’t leave you!” Hanratty squealed. “They can’t.“
Watch the full video from the “Yellowjackets” Season 3 finale screening above. Q&A moderated by Alison Foreman for IndieWire on April 11 at Vidiots in Los Angeles. With additional reporting by Veronica Flores.
