I think I speak for just about everyone when I say that, from the jump, Yellowjackets had its stingers buried deep in our minds. I learned about it a little late; the first four episodes were already out when I saw the pilot. When I say I couldn't stop watching, I mean it. I am far from a night owl but I couldn't turn it off until I finished all of the available episodes at 2 am. 

I was so excited for season 2, the anticipation was killing me. When the season finished, I held off on hearing any commentary about it. I loved the ending- it was wild, unexpected, and campy. It didn't answer any questions, really, but with a show like Yellowjackets, I know the show runners always leave room for the audience to speculate. 

Looking at some commentary about the season and the finale, I heard a lot of backlash, surprisingly. 

Was Season 2 perfect, neat and compact like Season 1? No. Is that a bad thing? Also, no. 

Each season should have its own identity. Season 1 was, arguably, easier to write as well. Inspired more directly by the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 , where a soccer team crashed landed in mountains and were forced to even resort to eating each other to survive the harsh winter temperatures, Season 1 was easier to create. They had a basic framework. This doesn't take anything away from the season, it was a fantastic series, exploring elements of tribalism, the lengths people will go to survive, and secrets between the team. 

Season 2 keeps all of these same thematic overtones; it just approaches them in a different way. I thought it especially amped up the tribalism and the supernatural speculation. This season felt a lot more like William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" In this novel, a group of teen boys are stranded on an island. The boys try to stick together as much as they can, but soon they find themselves split into two separate groups, all trying to survive in the best ways they see fit. The tribalism turns to violence. This is echoed in the Lottie & the others believing the supernatural identity of The Wilderness versus Tai and Shauna believing there are no supernatural features at play. People switch sides often, blurring the line between reality and fiction.

Now to begin discussing the most hot-button issues I've heard brought up from this season: 
*SPOILERS BELOW* Proceed with caution.

In Defense of Season 2

Let's first discuss Shauna in the present day timeline. She is unhinged. The wilderness seems to be making a return to her subconscious. Some people are tired of seeing her present-day life, but I think it really helps contextual what we see of past Shauna in the 90s timeline. Shauna is the butcher; some may say she has the hardest role in the group, being the one tasked to slit the throats of the victims. 

Callie also takes a much more major role this season; she is in a lot of ways her mother's daughter. Seeing so much of Shauna helps us understand Callie's mirroring of her mother's behavior and why she is so similar. The scene in the police station where Callie lies to Kevyn began the transformation into her mother, by the end of the season it has solidified. 

Another issue that came up frequently was how quickly the girls turned feral against each other. Firstly, there were some deleted scenes that were cut for time, which likely would've helped it not feel jarring to some. (To me, it didn't.) The girls are starving; as we saw with Akeelah and her pet rodent, the girls are hallucinating. Mari is seeing blood dripping down walls. Coach Scott (who did not partake in the Jackie ceremony, so he's even more starved) is fully hallucinating, seeing an amalgamation of this cabin and his dream life with his partner if he had stayed and not went. Ben is still our everyman character and he is concerned about the girls' animalistic behavior. His horror towards the cannibalism reminds us of the brutality and cruelty of the situation. Them eating Jackie was the point of no return, a shift in what is considered moral. Much like the boys in Lord of the Flies, there is speculation that there are supernatural forces at play. This book and this season are a cautionary tale of how anyone, even civilized people, can succumb to their most animalistic instincts for the sake of survival. 

Slow dialogue was a common complaint I heard about this season. To me, it was everything but that. Dialogue revealed so much character and even in goofy moments elevated the characters. This season was less about the action of survival and more about the girls' reactions to survival and their individual coping mechanisms; those who took the spiritual route followed Lottie, those who took logic followed Tai and Shauna. 

The last piece I'll bring up is Van. Everyone felt (at the ceremony in the finale by the fire) that Van was too quick to go with the sacrifice of Shauna. She is the one to convince Tai to not call the mental health authorities. Even in the wilderness back in the 90s, Van was a staunch believer in The Wilderness as an entity, in Lottie's connection to It. A big reason for this is her miraculous survival after the wolf attack, and she believes Lottie's gift had something to do with her miracle. At the end of the finale, Lottie looks right at Van and tells her, "The Wilderness is pleased with us." Though Lottie could have been speaking to all of them, I believe she meant that more towards Van. She has months to live, but I don't think they would've included Van in this season if it were just to have her around for a short period of time. I'm predicting that her cancer will be in remission when we see Season 3. This will only reinforce Van's belief in the spirit of the wilderness and I am excited to see where this takes her storyline, especially in relationship to Tai.

Things I Adored This Season 

Shauna! She was such a star this season. The entire young cast really brought it. I feel seeing their adult counterparts really helped their acting chops. Shauna was the standout. The birth scene was absolutely heartbreaking. Her performance was breathtaking. 

Nat! Both adult and young Nat were phenomenal. Their performances were great. Juliette Lewis (older Natalie) is absolutely phenomenal. Her personal transformation from suicidal to the end of this season was awe-inspiring. 

The whole dynamic with Shauna's family this season was so fun. We really got to see Jeff shine. He really took off on his own right as a character. Seeing him and Callie have meaningful conversations, especially the one about Shauna's lost son in the wilderness, was tender and heartfelt. Callie standing up for her mother in front of the other Yellowjackets was incredible. I felt we were seeing young Shauna reborn. I cannot wait to see what Callie is up to next season and if her metamorphosis into her mom will continue.

Lastly, Coach Ben! I loved him this season. While others weren't a big fan of his hallucinations, I felt they added depth to his character, showing he chooses to dissociate rather than participate. However, the ending he got this season was amazing. I loved that he set fire to the cabin, he truly thought that this would put an end to the savagery. However, as we know they are still there for another winter, that clearly didn't work. I have a theory that Ben manages to survive, that he's somewhere out there. They'll introduce him as a survivor we didn't know was living, as they did with Van this season. I'd love to see an older Coach Ben living a quiet life. 

Season 3 will be great and I am so excited to watch it (hopefully sooner rather than later).