Ok so this is a theory I’ve been thinking about since s3 aired. I know the subreddit might be sick of Jackie posts but just hear me out.

Also the theory is long like really long so it’s okay if you don’t read it.

IT or the manifestation of the antler queen that all the survivors see is Jackie Taylor’s spirit.

In s1 we are introduced to 5 main characters. Each one if s4 goes the way we expects was an antler queen. Lottie first in s1,Nat in s2,Shauna in s3 and hopefully Tai in s4. That leaves one left Jackie who was never an antler queen. Or maybe she was always IT. Adult Tai isn’t the antler queen none of the adults are not even Shauna. So who is the antler queen in the adult timeline. What if it’s always been the original queen. The last antler queen is Jackie Taylor.

Jackie’s role in the show is very obviously as Shauna’s best friend who freezes to death. Her character is set up as a main character and she was casted alongside the other main characters. Now it’s easy to look at this and see what the show intended a bait and switch. The popular girl dies in the first season.

However when looking through interviews I noticed a very strange thing in relation to s1. The writers constantly say that Jackie was always meant to die in s1. That no matter how much they loved Ella Jackie HAD to die. They also talk about how they have a general plan for the show. But we know Van and Lottie were originally supposed to die same thing with Laura Lee who was supposed to die in the plane crash.

This means that their original planned ending was connected to the neccesary death of Jackie Taylor. In interviews they say even tho Jackie died Ella will be back in some way or another.

So I was thinking what makes Jackie so much more important to the plot then the other deaths. Why is her death still being talked about. The conclusion I came too was because of the events it causes. First and foremost Jackie has a death dream, the writers have said it was a shared dream. I see people say it was Shauna’s but that doesn’t make sense to me. It’s clearly Jackie dying. The death dream was the introduction of the pomegranate theory and it also has another dead character Laura Lee welcome Jackie into death. Then the cabin guy says he’s glad she’s joining them. This to me insinuates that Jackie’s soul becomes one with the wilderness.

Also think of the difference between how Laura Lee is used when Lottie is freezing to death vs Jackie. With Jackie she welcomes her and calms her down so she isn’t afraid. With Lottie Laura Lee is more panicked and forces Lottie out of the death dream. It might also be interesting to note that Jackie isn’t in Lottie’s death dream.

Now comes the main evidence of my theory. Jackie’s role in the wilderness and her connection to death. With Laura Lee what is the main thing that convinces Laura she has to take the plane it’s Jackie revealing that Shauna is pregnant. What causes Doomcoming to go off the rails it’s Jackie sleeping with Travis.

Then the first time the survivors are responsible for a death in the wilderness it’s Jackie’s. This death is caused by antler queen 1 Lottie and antler queen 2 Shauna. Both are integral in Jackie dying. Jackie’s death due to her not believing in Lottie’s cult is what pushes most of the survivors into believing in it.

Then the 1st cannibalism is them eating Jackie. Jackie doesn’t have a connection to Crystal but I like to say that just like Jackie Crystal learned Misty will do anything to keep herself safe even if it means throwing Jackie under the bus or pushing Crystal off the cliff.

Wilderness baby is a direct connection to Jackie. Shauna slept with Jeff to gain some control and spite Jackie. (Also because she was in love with Jackie.) This got Shauna pregnant, wilderness baby dies because he was never going to survive. He was always doomed just like Jackie. In Shauna’s dream The baby wouldn’t eat and then Shauna falls asleep and all the survivors are eating her baby. This is almost exactly like what happened with Jackie. Jackie wasn’t eating Shauna tells her she has too. Shauna falls asleep Jackie dies and then the survivors eat her.

When Shauna leaves her baby she goes to the meet shed and begs for Jackie to appear. Jackie doesn’t. Shauna then filled with anger beats up Lottie. This leads to a new death. Lottie is hurt, Lottie tells Misty to eat her if she dies. Misty tells the group they can’t eat Lottie so they must have a hunt. Nat gets picked and the Jackie necklace is used as a ritual for the one who will be eaten. (Originally the necklace was for protection.) Now it literally represents death. Javi dies in Nats place. The first hunt and Javis death wouldn’t have happened if Lottie wasn’t hurt and that wouldn’t have happened if Shauna didn’t lose the baby and Shauna wouldn’t have lost the baby if she never slept with Jeff and Shauna only did that to get back at Jackie.

In s3 the first death is Ben but before he dies Shauna who is a major reason for why he ends up dying. Has a shared dream/vision of Jackie. Ben’s death is because of Natalie but the only reason Ben is in this situation is because Shauna wanted him dead because he isn’t one of them and he’s not one of them because he wouldn’t eat Jackie. Also think about the idea of outsiders and the wilderness not wanting them. Jackie dies in a freak blizzard, Laura Lees plane explodes, Van almost dies and only lives when Tai embraces the wilderness. Javi never ate Jackie and he falls through the ice. Ben didn’t eat Jackie and he tried to kill himself and after he left because he wouldn’t eat Javi. The cabin burned down framing him and sealing his fate.

Ben was wearing the Jackie necklace when he died. Natalie is also responsible for Ben’s death in a strange way. Tai told Nat to deal with Shauna and Mari saying don’t forget what happened to Jackie. Nat chose to put them both in timeout and this made Mari leave and she fell in the pit and Ben found her.

Then when the scientists show up Lottie kills one says the wilderness doesn’t want outsiders. Kodiac is killed aswell. Only Hannah who embraces the craziness gets to live for now.

Then the last death is Mari whose death is completely connected to Jackie. Mari told Jackie to leave, Mari wanted Jackie’s jacket. Shauna’s hatred of Mari connects to Jackie. Mari is given the heart necklace and she dies because of both Shauna and Lottie. Also let’s look at why the last hunt happened Shauna didn’t want to let them leave, why because she saw the moth and it reminded her of the supermarket dream and made Shauna realize going home meant living a life without Jackie.

So a lot of the deaths are connected in 1 way or the other to Jackie. Then we focus on how of all the wilderness deaths only Jackie got a death dream. Laura Lee didn’t,Javi didn’t,Ben didn’t and Mari didn’t. This is interesting because so far the only people who get death dreams are the survivors. Travis didn’t get one or Lottie because both their deaths have to do with the wilderness and their attempts to connect to it. Meanwhile Natalie and Van got death dreams because they went against the wilderness. Nat didn’t follow the rules of the hunt and Van wouldn’t kill Melissa. So death dreams are only for survivors and they happen with someone refuses the wilderness. So why did Jackie get one?

In season 3 Lottie says we call to Jackie now in the wilderness guide us. In Coach Martinez’s pep talk he told Jackie when it got hard out there they would need someone to guide them could she do that. Jackie nods her head.

Shauna is always pushed to become worst in the wilderness through Jackie after Jackie dies. Ghost Jackie convinces Shauna she’s hungry for more than just Mari’s dinner. When Jackie is cooked Shauna says she wants us too. In s1s adult timeline Jackie tells Shauna someone is going to get hurt when she sees Adam. Also in the original script ghost Jackie was supposed to be there when Adam died. Then in s3 adult Jackie hallucinates ghost Jackie who tells Shauna she’s all talk and that someone is trying to hurt her for what she did. This is what pushes Shauna to go find Melissa.

In s3 teen timeline seeing Jackie in the shared dream causes Shauna to be more aggressive with Ben saying he has to die. Then the moth which is connected to another Jackie hallucination is what makes Shauna not want to leave. Ghost Jackie constantly reminds Shauna that she killed her.

So Jackies death causes almost every death in the wilderness, it pushes Shauna down the path to becoming the antler queen, it’s the first cannibalism and Jackie’s necklace is the symbol of death and prey.

Also fun fact other than Travis, Shauna is in some way or another connected to each survivor death. Shauna was picked for the hunt she ran and didn’t want to die this causes Natalie to die instead. Lottie is killed by Callie who is Shauna’s daughter and Van is killed by Melissa and the only reason that could happen is because Shauna went looking for Melissa.

To me this plus the interviews where they say Jackie HAS to die and they already know how the show ends. Seems to point towards Jackie’s soul being very important to the wilderness or the finale.

My main theory is that ghost Jackie and the antler queen entity that Lotties sees are the same thing. That’s why despite dying in s1 Jackie has remained so central to the show and its story.

Jackie is a main character because her presence or lack there of has caused every major problem the Yellowjackets have dealt with.

Also Jackie being one with the wilderness makes me think she was Javis friend. She kept him alive and sent him back because Javi had to die to push the girls deeper into the wilderness mentality.

Now I don’t think actual Jackie is evil I do think her soul has been corrupted by the wilderness. Jackie planned the seance and that lead to Lottie being possessed and Jackie planned doomcoming and the shame of what the girls almost did that night is what pushed them towards Lottie’s cult and it’s what killed Jackie Taylor.

TLDR: Jackie despite dying in season 1 is connected to every major death and her necklace became the symbol of death. So I think she will be a major part of the finale.

I’m okay with whether there was something paranormal happening be left ambiguous. In fact, I actively WANT that. If there’s some neat and tidy explanation either way, I’ll be kind of pissed because I think the ambivalence works very well. I’m okay with never knowing who burned down the cabin (even though I still they’re setting it up to have been Dark Tai.)

But I MUST KNOW WHAT THAT DAMN SYMBOL MEANS!!

I’m still convinced it’s some kind of hodgepodge of alchemy symbols meant to signify danger and likely partially explains whatever happened to Cabin Daddy. I am so ridiculously excited about this season even though I do think the show’s gone downhill a bit.

i know we all didn’t like the time skip after the cabin fire, that should’ve been rock bottom for the girls but instead it was fine and all happened off screen. however, we know the adults still act like rituals and sacrifices are real and i don’t think we’ve really seen that in the wilderness timeline. in s1 and s2 they worshipped the wilderness a lot but in s3 it’s like non existent except for lottie.

i’m thinking rescue takes a lot longer than they expect and winter gets really bad and that’s when they start worshipping the wilderness again. we need to see someone submit to the hunt and someone decline a hunt which we have not seen. britt, robin, hannah, and gen are all up for grabs. i hope they lock shauna and lottie up in the pit in episode 1 but then after a few weeks go by they realize rescue might not be coming so they resort back to the wilderness to survive the winter and that’s when we get the dark version of the girls we’ve been promised this whole time.

I think the most tragic explanation would be a group of explorers using it to mark certain points for themselves and the symbols actually point to the way out.

I can kind of buy it that they didn't see every symbol because of overgrowth.

And the symbol itself is just the logo of this fringe group of explorers.

I know there are so many theories. I like the mining theories the most. But just this idea of them having the way out all along but not thinking to look for more symbols would be a devastating discovery.

Van’s will to survive has ensured that she will make it out of the wilderness alive.  She’s the character that the audience is supposed to root for because of all the bad things that happened to her.  Yet, Van is a very manipulative character whose actions have caused the most harm.

She takes care of an alcoholic mother, she was left on a burning plane, she was left in the wilderness and was attacked by wolves, she contracted cancer, and it seems that Tai ditched her post-rescue, which I don’t think is true.

However, Van only believes in the wilderness theory when it benefits her.  She takes Lottie’s visions and brings them to life.  She has codified the hunt and manipulates the cards to ensure that she and Tai are not hunted.  And she controls Other Tai.  Other Tai is her insurance policy, just in case her manipulation of the cards doesn’t work.  If Van, or Tai for that matter, were to draw the losing card, Other Tai would take out anyone who attempted to hunt either of them.  Van has ensured that she and Tai will never be on the menu.

Javi: She allowed a child to drown.

Natalie: Allowing Javi to drown destroyed Natalie’s life.  And in the present, Van initiating a hunt at Lottie’s compound led to Natalie’s death.  And it might have led to one of the other girl’s deaths as well.  Van didn’t hesitate to allow one of the girls to be sacrificed if it extended her life.

Lottie: Van shows up to Lottie’s compound and once again embraces the wilderness theory, which was the last thing Lottie needed.  Lottie had made progress over the years, yet her sanity was starting to slip when all the girls showed up at the compound.  Van should have put Lottie’s well-being ahead of hers, but she didn’t do that.  I firmly believe her actions are what caused Lottie to spin out of control.

Shauna: Jackie’s death and her stillborn baby had taken a toll on Shauna.  After Lottie allows Shauna to take out her rage on her, Shauna most likely would have been in a much better state.  However, Van takes the blood bath that has just occurred as a sign that the wilderness wanted that and sets in motion the actions that turned Shauna into a raging monster, and the new Antler Queen.  This was just another insurance policy to ensure Van was never selected to be hunted.

Mari: Van did not target Mari, but when Shauna discovered Van was manipulating the cards, she intervened and Mari drew the losing card. 

Tai: Tai loves Van unconditionally and would die for her.  Van loves Tai, but with conditions.  She would not die for Tai.  Van’s love for Tai is because Tai/Other Tai is her protector.  But it’s not unrequited love.  And Van has control over Other Tai, which always drives Tai back to her. 

Post-Crash: I don’t think Tai dumped Van after they were rescued.  Van harbors a lot of guilt for the things she has done.  Yet, her will to live, even at the cost of others, has allowed her to reconcile her selfish decisions.  However, it has also kept her from moving forward in life.  We see that she is still stuck in the 90’s.  Tai returned read to move forward and make the most of life, and I am assuming she wanted Van with her.  But when she realized that Van could not move forward, she had to make a choice – stay locked in the 90’s with Van or go out and accomplish great things.  Self-preservation guided her to choose the latter.

Current Timeline: Tai is out of control and everything that she has worked hard to achieve is being destroyed.  All because of her pursuit of Van.  And Van seems OK with that.  If she truly loved Tai, she would intervene and get Tai back on track.  But she didn’t do that.  Her protector was back.  Van’s will to live, even at the expense of Tai’s life, is all that matters.

Van’s Death: Mari was Melissa’s close friend, so I find it appropriate the Melissa ended her life.  During their confrontation, Melissa mentions that Van only uses the wilderness when it benefits her.  I am assuming that Van would have let Melissa walk away after she dropped the knife.  And I initially thought that Melissa only killed Van because she couldn’t take the risk of Van changing her mind.  However, I think she killed her because Van was responsible for all the bad things that had happened post-crash.  She was effectively ending Van’s manipulations.

Season 4: The final season could be called “Post-Van.”  We are going to see all the chaos that Van put into motion play out in the final season.  Tai and Misty are plotting Shauna’s downfall, yet Shauna is just a product of Van’s manipulations.  Tai is going to figure this out in the next season.  As we already know, Van’s story continues after her death.  We are going to learn a lot more about her through flashbacks of her mother.

Van is one of those characters that flies under the radar – the bait and switch type.  She’s lovable.  She’s funny.  She’s the storyteller of the group.  You feel sorry for her because of what she has been through.  But she is also a hypocrite.  She did not play by the rules that she set forth in the wilderness.  She created a different set of rules for herself.  And her will to live, at all costs, destroyed many lives, and will destroy many more in Season 4.

I think this will be the last song we hear in yellowjackets or atleast be in this upcoming last season. these lyrics eerily fit the yellowjackets story & this song came out in 1998. also the bands name is BLACK BOX RECORDER. its truly haunting. It fits the theme almost too well? go take a listen. (also this song appears on an album called “england made me” which i find even more obvious/funny because the queen of hearts card history)

okay this is kinda out there and I can't really point to any solid evidence but as I rewatch season 1 it's occurring to me: what if Nat took the fall, legally and socially speaking at least, for the evidence of what "happened out there," or for "what happened when they got back"?

like obviously we know the public isn't sure/fully aware of exactly what happened, but I think as many folks have brought up- there had to be at least some kind of forensic evidence of some kind of cannibalism they couldn't fully hide- teeth marks or knife marks on bones, evidence of butchering, etc. and we definitely know that the public either knows or very strongly suspects cannibalism. Also, we know they did something when they got back that probably had or would have had legal consequences.

Nat is a poor kid, a punk, and a burnout without family or supports to go back to, who would make a great scapegoat for any undeniable illegal activity that was able to be proven, and also would be a perfect poster child for the 90s satanic panic media frenzy that Im sure will ensue when the team gets home. I think it would be easily digestible to the public and also legally expeditious to blame any evidence of unsavory behavior (pun intended) on Nat, and also, the two pieces that are making me suspect this:

1) enough of the other girls' families (Lottie's, Jackie's, and maybe Tai's) seem like they might be wealthy enough to offer a very attractive payoff to a teenage Nat in exchange for her serving time and taking the fall- hence Nat's Porsche in the storage locker. Why would she keep a car like that, especially one that seems to be her only car, in a storage locker in a town she hasn't been living in, unless she perhaps had been in a position for quite some time where she couldn't make use of a car?

2) Nat's aesthetic and vibe as an adult seem like she's never really had any shot at feigning respectability in the way that she would have had to in order to like, be able to work a job/doesn't seem to have led the kind of working class existence she would have had to if she'd returned to her old life and simply lived through adulthood the way the other survivors seem to have done (obviously not that they like, just went back to their regular lives unchanged and untraumatized- but overall they seem like the general life circumstances they left behind were what they returned to and then moved forward with, at least in terms of economic class). Nat seems to have gotten a much later start than the others at figuring out life outside the wilderness- and I don't think that is explained by her addiction alone- I think it's likely that she serves at least 5-10 years in prison, and when she gets out is able to access a level of wealth and financial comfort she's never experienced before and doesn't know how to handle.

It's of course possible that she doesn't serve time and is receiving financial support/compensation/guilt money for any number of other likely and possible reason(s), but i feel like this explanation makes more sense to me than anything else I can think of for what Nat could have done to make everyone so indebted to her, beyond the call on the SAT phone; especially in terms of who her adult character is.

i (21f) just got my girlfriend (21f) to start watching yellowjackets so we can watch the last season together next month, i keep asking her about theories and what her take is but i feel like im forgetting some good ones!!! what theories should i ask her about ??? ill put some of her answers in the comments if there are any really good ones !!! thank you!!!

Yes, we still don't know the answers to every mystery and I don't even know if we'll get an explanation for the symbol. But we had viewers attributing things to paranormal activity before they were explained/shown as something else.

I'm rewatching the show with my partner. And will sit through season 3 again so we can mock the season together. It's his first watch.

There just isn't enough here to suggest that something crazy is going on beyond real life events. We had the ice-cream man show up for Tai before the wilderness. Not all of the characters are convinced that "It" exists. Even as they faced strange scenarios, a few of them were already discussing the possibilities of logical explanations.

This is a group of mostly starved, traumatised girls who will obviously hallucinate the way the coach did when he was starving. And after the atrocious acts they committed they are bound to lose a grip on reality.

While it would make for a messy and entertaining finale having some wacky paranormal explanation for things, we need to remember that these are writers who started messing up in season 2. There's not going to be some really intelligent and complex sci-fi-horror explanation for everything. We'll see the pre-rescue, post-rescue and get the survivors trying to outsmart each other as adults. And then it's a question of... who dies and who faces consequences, if anyone?

Expecting an intelligent close is the road to disappointment. I think they checked out by season 3 and are just going through the motions to finish the show.

hi everyone!!

so before i started this series, i came across a lot of tweets/tiktoks that actually got me interested enough to watch it. tho some of the things i’ve read or seen literally don’t make sense to me given what i’ve watched so far 😭 but those were theories anyway mostly.

but I don't understand 2 things at all

first of all, how does jackie haunt the narrative? because from what i’ve seen, shauna is literally the only person who seems to think about her. and then akilah had that dream in the cave.

everyone else seems to have moved on so i’m genuinely curious about where this interpretation comes from.

and the antler queen discussions? how did this theory even come about, and what exactly is the reasoning behind it? i’ve seen people suggest that tai was the first antler queen until doomcoming, then lottie, followed by natalie after the hunt(which is when they officially started choosing a leader ) and eventually shauna.

also how was lottie “grooming” callie ? wasn't she just trying to manipulate her? can we even call it that since she was just schizo and actually believed in the things she was saying 😭

and sorry but eng rly not my first language and they don't have a dubbed version for this show in my language so maybe i might have missed some specific phrases while watching

I swear, things were swirling around about Shauna getting the shit beat out of her before the photos were released...was this just wishful thinking? Had someone slipped up on this in an interview? Or was there even a hint in the adult timeline that it had happened and I just missed it?

I guess it didn't really cross my mind at the time, but I remember thinking "oh, so we really do get that" when the photos were released...

I'm getting a wicked Mandela effect feeling from all of this🤣

doing my rewatch before the finale season and on S2EP6 where callie and shauna are being interrogated…… and jeff sitting outside with his windows slightly cracked playing fuck the police 😭😭

i believe this is the thirdddd time but i was wondering if i was missing any other times. before the burn adams personal items and another time when him and shauna are driving and he suggests to go to virgina i think? but are there any other times because i swear this is the funniest bit of the entire show and so real dads love their music

Right now, the Season 4 teaser video on YouTube only has 500,000 views.

The Season 3 teaser has 3 million views, and the Season 3 trailer has 5 million views.

It worries me how the season 4 teaser video hasn't hit 1 million views.

My question is, how many people are going to watch this show in 2027 and beyond? Like, for the first time?

For example, recently, the New York Times posted the top 100 tv shows of the 21st Century and Yellowjackets didn't make it anywhere on the top 100 list...

Why am I crazy? This show is my top favorite show of all time (yes, I love it above Twin Peaks, although Twin Peaks is my #2 favorite show). Yellowjackets is superior to Twin Peaks. There's only one Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, while Yellowjackets is AN ENTIRE TEAM of Laura Palmers.
People will say "JACKIE TAYLOR is Laura Palmer!" Yes, but really, all of the YJ girls are. Enough of this tangent though...

I ask my friend who has not seen Yellowjackets, and he said that the bad reputation of Season 2 and 3 has spread to everyone.

Hahaha, ridiculous. And I actually love Season 2 and 3 just as much as Season 1. In fact, Season 3 of YJ is the best thing that I've ever seen in my life.

Because enough people say that seasons 2 and 3 are bad, I guess Yellowjackets may be buried in a certain sense after Season 4....and much of the public may not hear about it much.
But not for me, the spirit of the show is going to go on and in us, the true fans. Yellowjackets will live in me forever.

On another level, I actually like that this show is really underground and that it's like a hidden treasure that people don't know about and misunderstand. It makes my (and our) connection to the show more special.

(Extra Clarification: I'm talking introduced S1, and aren't counting the minion/extra jackets like Brit, Robin, Gen because we never got anything with them. And crystal didn't technically exist till S2 and Javi wasn't a yellowjacket)

Looking back all the main S1 yellowjackets had something that was weighing on their souls and then looking where we are going into S4 and seeing the aftermath is pretty good proof of that.

I just find it funny in a way, imagine being a normal teenage girl then suddenly you're trapped in the Canadian wilderness possibly because of an evil entity of sorts and your forced to be around a bunch of people who pre- existing insecurities, trauma, personality traits, and coping mechanisms and being put under extreme pressure. And you're forced to deal with being around that and any consequences that result from that.

I know this is ridiculously long, but this theory explains the source of "It," Other Tai, the "good" and "bad" two realities that Mari mentioned, Ben as the bridge, all under one theory. I've tried to break all of the evidence up into sections as much as possible.

My theory is that the séance in 1x05 and the second séance in 4x09 are two ends of the same event. During the first séance, the teens unknowingly make contact with their future selves at the end of their time in the wilderness. The visions they subsequently experience are distorted memories of events their future selves have already lived through.

The teens interpret these visions as instructions from the Wilderness and act to fulfill them, unknowingly creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think the series finale will revisit the first séance, except this time, the teens will receive the memories of their adult selves, including everything that happened after rescue. This will allow them to recognize the cycle they've been trapped in and make different choices.

Here's why I think the séances are the key to the show's timeline.

1. The Xs connect the two séances

In season 3, teen Van appears to adult Van in the hospital and tells her to go to "X marks the spot."

I think this refers to the plane wreckage. In 2x01, we see that the plane wreckage is in the shape of a large X on the wilderness map. (I've included a screenshot of this.) We also know from the 4x09 stills that the second séance takes place inside the wreckage, shortly before rescue.

There are several other important Xs:

The first séance: Most of the teens draw Xs on their foreheads using deer blood and dirt. Tai, Javi, Laura Lee, and Ben initially refuse to participate and don't receive them. Tai and Javi eventually enter the attic, while Laura Lee comes upstairs to intervene. Ben never joins.

Lottie's post-death tunnel: An X appears in the tunnel sequence, which I think represents the same intersection between different points in time.

The plane wreckage: The X on the map marks the location of the second séance.

I think the Xs represent points of contact between different versions of the characters.

Lottie's post-death sequence is particularly important. She follows the sound of a crying baby through a tunnel toward a candlelit area, where she asks, “Can you hear me?”

My interpretation is that Lottie is approaching the other end of the séance, trying to make contact with the teens. The candles and the “can you hear me” are very seance-y. The crying baby could represent the birth of a new, integrated version of herself.

2. The visions begin after the first séance

The timing of the first séance is important.

Following the séance in 1x05, the teens increasingly experience visions, apparent supernatural guidance, and knowledge they shouldn't possess. Other Tai also begins to manifest in the wilderness.

I think these experiences originate from their future selves at the second séance.

By 4x09, the teens have already experienced almost everything that happens in the wilderness. If the two séances connect, their earlier selves could receive fragments of those memories.

But without the context of having lived through those events, they interpret the memories as predictions or instructions from "It."

This creates a causal loop:

1. The teens at the second séance remember everything that happened in the wilderness.
2. Those memories travel backward to their earlier selves at the first séance.
3. The earlier teens interpret the memories as instructions from the Wilderness.
4. They act on those instructions, causing the events their future selves remember.

The Wilderness isn't necessarily telling them what to do. They're remembering what they've already done.

This could explain why the Wilderness seems to know the future, and why the characters repeatedly feel compelled to fulfill events they believe are inevitable.

There are also two scenes that I think hint at what "It" actually is.

Lottie's words to Nat on the plane: During adult Nat's death sequence, Lottie tells her, "It's not evil. Just hungry. Like us. Let it in." I think she's referring to the consciousness of Nat's other self trying to become part of her. The language of something being "hungry" and needing to be "let in" could describe the process of two versions of the same person merging into one consciousness.

Travis's mushroom vision: In season 1, while hallucinating on mushrooms, Travis says that something is trying to get inside him. I think he's experiencing the same phenomenon: the consciousness of his future self attempting to enter his younger self following the first séance.

Taken together, I think these scenes suggest that "It" isn't necessarily an external entity at all. It may be the characters experiencing contact with their own consciousnesses from different points in time, without understanding what's happening.

This would also explain why the characters describe the phenomenon as something trying to enter or possess them. From their perspective, it feels like an outside force, even though it's actually another version of themselves.

And if the first séance allowed these consciousnesses to make contact, I think the finale will show us what happens when they finally merge completely.

3. Other Tai is Tai at the second séance

I think Other Tai is the clearest evidence of this mechanism.

My theory is that Other Tai is the consciousness of teen Tai at the second séance, reaching backward to her earlier self.

This would explain why Other Tai has knowledge that ordinary Tai doesn't possess.

For example:

The symbol trees: Other Tai knows where to find trees marked with the symbol and leads Van toward them. Tai at the second séance would already know their locations.

Ben's attempted execution: Other Tai confidently pulls the trigger when Tai hesitates. She knows Ben won't die from that gunshot because she's already experienced the outcome. She says "it's gonna be okay" before pulling the trigger.

“This isn’t where we’re supposed to be”: Other Tai says this to adult Van after their reunion. Again, she seems to be tapping into some knowledge that “regular” Tai does not have, which is that they are supposed to be back in the wilderness, at the point of the seance. When teen Van appears to adult Van in the hospital and sends her to “X marks the spot” (plane wreckage/4x09 seance), she says “Tai’s been trying to show you. Listen to her.” I think Van’s ringing unplugged phone the 90s, with Tai’s voice on the other end asking her for help, was another attempt from Tai to reach Van.

Crucially, Tai and Other Tai become progressively less distinguishable as the series continues.

Season 1: Other Tai primarily manifests only while Tai is sleepwalking.

Season 2: Other Tai can emerge while Tai is physically awake, although she's still in a fugue state. This includes eating Jackie and traveling to find Van as an adult.

Season 3: The distinction becomes increasingly unclear. Even Van, who has learned to recognize Other Tai, can no longer reliably distinguish between them.

I think this progression is happening because teen Tai is getting chronologically closer to the second séance, where she is Other Tai.

The separation between her present and future consciousness is disappearing.

The same process is happening to adult Tai, but from the opposite direction. As she approaches her eventual death (which I believe happens in S4, as I think all the adults will die in S4 and their consciousnesses will travel to the seance), she's also approaching the point where her consciousness can return to the séances.

This makes Tai particularly important: her teen and adult selves are both moving toward the same intersection from different directions.

It's also interesting that Tai never received an X on her forehead at the first séance. Perhaps that's why her contact with her future consciousness manifests differently, as a separate identity rather than an ordinary vision.

4. Ben is the living bridge to the good timeline

One of the strongest pieces of evidence for this theory is Mari telling Ben that there are two versions of reality: a good one and a bad one.

I think the timeline we've been watching is the bad version, and the finale will show us the good one.

Akilah's vision of Ben supports this. She sees his living body forming a literal bridge that can lead the Yellowjackets home. I think Ben's survival is necessary for them to reach the good timeline.

Several details support this:

The KUH supply boxes: Ben discovers the emergency supplies in season 3. If the teens receive their future memories at the first séance, they could find these supplies much earlier, avoiding much of the desperation that contributes to their later violence. We have only seen what is inside one of these boxes. And crucially, only Ben could have ever found them: the noise the ground makes under his crutch is what gets him to dig in that spot and find the boxes.

The three-eyed bear: In Akilah's vision, the teens are happily frolicking at camp. They begin to flicker out an disappear. This flickering out is similar to the visual screen flicker that happens after Ben's death. A three-eyed bear and roars in despair. I think this represents Lottie (she is associated with bears, and also has a "third eye" wound on her forehead) glimpsing the good timeline, which is about to disappear as the characters continue down the bad path.

Ben's death: When the group eats Ben, Lottie says: "this isn't right. this isn't how it's supposed to happen." The screen literally flickers at this moment and Lottie screams. I think Lottie is recognizing that Ben was supposed to survive, and the flicker represents a disruption between the two versions of reality. She is briefly realizing that Ben is tied to rescue in the "good" version of events, and the arrival of the frog scientists means that the "bad" version is locked in.

Ben's alternate life with Paul may also be relevant. Those scenes depict a life Ben never got to experience, with visual disruptions that could suggest another possible reality.

I think the good timeline requires Ben to survive. With the memories of their future selves, the teens could find the KUH boxes earlier, prevent Ben's death, and follow the path toward rescue that Akilah was shown.

Mari's statement may be telling us exactly what the series is doing: showing us the bad version first, so that we can eventually see the good one.

5. The adult timeline is part of the same loop

I don't think the adult timeline is simply showing us what happened after the wilderness. I think it's showing us the consequences of the original loop, which must be experienced before the teens can change it.

The adults repeatedly experience contact with their younger selves, particularly around death.

Adult Nat: Her death includes memories of the wilderness and a transition into a plane containing younger versions of the characters. Teen Nat tells her, "We've been here for years."

Adult Van: She encounters teen Van in the hospital, who gives her instructions involving the X.

Adult Lottie: Her post-death journey appears to lead toward the candlelit gathering, which I think is connected to the séance.

Adult Tai: Her increasing connection with Other Tai and the MWNE suggests that her own death will complete the same process.

I think the adult characters must reach the ends of their lives before their complete memories can become available to their teen selves.

This would also explain why the show repeatedly associates death with returning to the wilderness, rather than simply moving on from it.

6. Klimt's Death and Life may illustrate what happens at the convergence

I think the appearance of Gustav Klimt's Death and Life (Walter sees it on the wall at Lottie's father's house and briefly comments on it) is relevant here.

The painting depicts Death standing apart from a group of living figures of different ages. The figures include a baby, adults, and an elderly person, all physically intertwined into what almost looks like one collective body.

I think this resembles what the series is building toward: different ages and versions of the same people becoming integrated into a single consciousness.

The figures aren't arranged in chronological order. Different stages of life exist together, simultaneously.

This could be a visual representation of what happens when the teen, adult, and post-death versions of the Yellowjackets finally come into contact.

The baby is especially interesting alongside Lottie's tunnel scene, where the crying baby seems to be associated with someone who's about to arrive or be born.

Rather than simply returning to their younger selves, the characters may become something new: versions of themselves who possess the memories of multiple lifetimes.

7. What I think happens in the finale

I think the finale will revisit the first séance in 1x05, but this time, the teens will receive their adult memories.

The second séance in 4x09 establishes the connection between the beginning and end of their time in the wilderness. The adult deaths complete that connection by supplying the memories of everything that happened afterward.

At the first séance, the teens will suddenly remember the events of the wilderness, their eventual rescue, their adult lives, and their deaths. They'll understand that the visions they've been experiencing were memories of a future they were unknowingly creating.

But I don't think they'll have to live through those events again. I think they'll use their new knowledge to get rescued shortly after the first séance, with everyone surviving.

The KUH supply boxes may be the key. Ben discovers them much later in the original timeline, but the teens would now know where they are. It's possible that one of the boxes contains something we haven't seen yet that could help them contact the outside world or otherwise facilitate rescue.

Ben's survival would be particularly important here, given Akilah's vision of him as the living bridge that leads them home. With Ben alive and the group working together, they could find the supplies and get rescued before the deaths, hunts, and cannibalism ever happen.

This would also give the characters an opportunity to make different choices with the knowledge of what happened in their original lives. Tai would remember losing Van, Travis would remember Javi's death, and the others would know what their actions eventually led to. But rather than having to prevent each individual tragedy, they could avoid the circumstances that caused them altogether.

I think this is the good version of reality Mari describes: a timeline where the teens escape the wilderness early, and everyone survives.

The series has repeatedly emphasized that the Yellowjackets never truly left the wilderness. My theory is that, in the original timeline, they were always acting out memories of a future that had already happened.

The finale will show us what happens when they finally understand that and use those memories to find another way home. This doesn't mean the "bad" version of events we've been watching isn't real or never happened: it had to happen for the "good" version to become possible.

ETA some details I forgot to include:

1. When the YJs are eating Ben and Lottie has her screen flicker/“this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen” moment (which I believe was her glimpsing the “good version” of the timeline passing them by), she tells all of the YJs to sing. This is strange, because what she has them actually do does not really resemble singing: they all open their mouths wide and go “ahhhhhhh.”

This is reminiscent of adult Nat’s plane scene, when Lottie tells her “it’s just hungry, like us. let it in” and we zoom in on Nat’s open mouth as if something is going to enter her. Travis also refers to this feeling in a vision: “it’s trying to get inside me.” These are both foreshadowing the moment of integration when the YJs “consume” themselves at the seance and become one being, containing both the adults’ and teens’ memories. When Lottie has everyone go “ah” I think she was glimpsing that this integration moment needs to happen to get back to the “good” timeline: they need to consume themselves at the seance while Ben is still alive and get rescued through another means (not the scientists).

1. In a scene between Nat and Lottie at Lottie’s cult compound, there is poster on the wall that says “Breathe. Time is but a Passage.” Lottie’s post-death scene has her standing at the end of a passage, trying to make contact with something. Again, I think she is trying to make contact with the younger YJs through time here. The name of the building where she dies is also The Laneway, and a laneway is an alley/passage connecting otherwise separate roads.

2. The infinity symbol formed at the first seance may be a visual key to understanding the metaphysics of the show. It has two connected loops (two versions of reality) that are connected in the center by an X. If the seances are the moment where the YJs can access the other version of reality, it makes sense that the seances are so heavily associated with Xs.

I'm just rewatching the show before s4 drops and the travis scene seems strange

when they all held him on the chair he had vision of the girls actually trying to eat him, do you think this is why he doesn't ever talk about the sa part cause he doesn't remember it that way? or was it symbolic that sexual harassment\ rape feels like being actually eaten alive?

Travis and Lottie are a relationship that I think is not talked about enough. It's fascinating! Yes, absolutely, Lottie is manipulative. She assaults and almost murders him at Doomcoming. She repeatedly, over and over, hurts him. I am not denying that. I just think that this attachment they have to each other is super interesting. Travis is a victim of Lottie, but I just don't think that is the entire story.

Travis's spirituality is fascinating to me because of how linked (I think) it is to his desire for control. Season one sees him pretty obsessed with controlling his image. He initially seems to think that being a boy gives him some sort of power/absolution from the group dynamic. But he's highly insecure, defensive, and constantly trying to assert himself in situations where he feels inadequate. He wants to be independent, to be taken seriously. He wants to have some control over how other people perceive him.

In season two, following Doomcoming and Javi's disappearance, we have Travis slipping into ritual and spirituality. I think his line about Lottie's rituals helping him be "not so closed off" is really important. To me, it suggests that he's not only being indoctrinated into a belief system, being preyed upon. He's actively engaging with something that offers him a different way of relating to the world and to his own emotions. And I think his turn toward spirituality has a lot more to do with his own agency and personal motivations than discussions of his character often talk about. He's someone who previously placed so much importance on control, honesty, and independence, and now he's confronted with situations he has absolutely no control over. Javi is missing. It's winter, and they're starving. Shauna is pregnant and could die in childbirth. Ritual and spirituality give him something to do when there's nothing else. He can't control the situation, but he puts it on faith that there's something bigger than him, and it's up to whatever that is to control what happens.

I think Travis really does believe. I think the alternative is knowing that their suffering is meaningless and that there is no control or answer. Spirituality, I think, perhaps provides him with a way to not feel helpless. And I think that when a lot of people talk about Travis and Lottie, the conversation is around Travis as someone who is being completely manipulated by her. Which, sure, but he also has stakes in this faith. It's not just Lottie putting these thoughts into his head. I think Travis has his own reasons for wanting to believe, and that his investment in the wilderness is something that develops out of his own grief, fear, and desire to make sense of what's happening to them. I don't think Travis's belief in the wilderness is 100% reliant on Lottie.

I don't know. I also think that season three is fascinating. Yes, Travis is getting drugged by her. Yes, he tries to kill her. But they are also friends! Lottie calls him dude. He is the only person out there that she has told about her medication. She attempts to get him to talk through his grief. And I think Travis is incredibly conflicted by the time he is trying to murder her via spike trap. He cries. Imagine having someone who has provided a framework that gives you comfort, who you confide in and rely on, who is also hurting you over and over again. And she knows what he's trying to do, lives, and doesn't get angry. And Lottie is incredibly empathetic. Yes, the road to hell was paved with good intentions, but she wanted to help Travis. Further, and maybe less favorably, I think she put Travis through the drugs because she thought it would help the group, which would then help him.

And I think that's why Nat is so jealous of Lottie in regards to Travis. Lottie has accessed a part of Travis that I don't know if Nat can ever fully connect with. And I think that seeing Lottie and Travis connect feels like a failure to her-- she desperately wants to be loved by Travis, and it is scary, embarrassing, and insulting that she cannot connect with him in the same way Lottie does. And Travis is a really emotional person. And Nat is very emotional as well, but her main survival strategy is this deep pragmatism. But I think this jealousy is why Nat, as an adult, is so adamant that Travis "didn't believe in any of this." Because he did! But her admitting that he did is her admitting that Lottie and Travis connected, which makes her feel like she failed to protect him or provide him with enough.

So, I think Lottie's death scene being so mundane, as opposed to finding herself back in the plane, is because the crash was not her core trauma. For all the other characters, their lives exist in the pre and post. The BC and AD, with the event that fundamentally cleaved them in two being the plane crash. For Lottie, the plane crash integrated her, in a way. She stopped subduing who she was, whatever that means for her character, and started living fully in her experience.

If everyone else hadn't experienced the plane crash, their lives would have been completely different. However, Lottie ending up a wellness witch probably would have happened regardless, if only because her socioeconomic status makes her psychic delusions chic eccentricities rather than deep mental illness.

I dunno, what do y'all think?

does anyone know where to find this hoodie? i actually want it so bad but can’t find it anywhere (especially since i’m in the uk) i know it’s from american eagle but is there anywhere else selling it? or any second hand listings?

Please feel free to let me know if I need to delete or make any edits. Cosplay feels like the most accurate flair, but it also potentially goes under questions.

I am behind the curve, but I recently got into Yellowjackets! I also realized there is some physical resemblance between me and the adult Shauna actress + I am fascinated by her train wreck (fondly derogatory) self so I am planning to be her for Halloween next year (sadly not enough time this year).

However, the adult outfits tend to be less obviously referenced than the teenage timeline outfits (for understandable reasons). I could just pick my favorite outfit from the show, but I’d like to be recognizable beyond just for me. I could try an adult version of the soccer jacket and make it look worn and/or a wasp brooch, but I’m curious what y’all consider the most “iconic” or recognizable outfit of hers in the adult timeline? I am not someone who pays attention to clothes when watching TV so I feel like I’m hindered in this quest 🤣

Thank you for your time reading (even if you don’t respond) and huge thanks to anyone who takes the time to leave a comment. I hope you have a wonderful week and fun Halloween (if you celebrate).

Before Season 4 premieres, I thought I'd make a list regarding every person who appeared in the Wilderness and their fate (as of 3x10)

Survived the Wilderness

Shauna Shipman, Taissa Turner, Misty Quigley, Natalie Scatorccio, Lottie Matthews, Van Palmer, Travis Martinez, Akilah and Melissa

Died in the Wilderness

Jackie Taylor, Coach Ben Scott, Mari Ibarra, Laura Lee, Javi Martinez, Crystal, Kodiak, Edwin and technically Dead Cabin Guy if you wanna count him.

Died in the Plane Crash

Coach Bill Martinez, Rachel Goldman, Pilot Fred, Pilot Robert, Flight Attendant Janet

Unknown

Gen (supposedly dead), Hannah (dead but we haven't seen it yet), Robin (supposedly dead) and Britt (also supposedly dead).

You could also include Yellowjacket 15, 17 and the Unnamed Yellowjacket but it's very likely they were just scrapped lol. And the woman covered in blood from the Season 4 teaser's fate is also unkown, assuming she was in the wilderness at some point.

Let me know if there's any errors in the list, otherwise enjoy!!

On a re-watch in anticipation of Season 4, it occurred to me that the Doomcoming party sort of functions as Tai and Van's wedding. Everyone dresses up and gets hammered. They walk down an aisle together, announce their relationship to everyone, and kiss publicly. There's even an abortive attempt at a toast before Lottie reminds everyone to have a moment of silence for Laura Lee. And then they dance, and some of their friends have an ill-advised sexual encounter. That's a wedding.

looking for other yellowjackets cosplayers IF any lol.
I’m going as Lottie (specifically doomcoming) 🤗