Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 3, ‘Them’s the Breaks’, starts off relatively slow, but it more than makes up for it in the final 10 minutes, with plenty of blood, the return of a major character, and… talking llamas.
Episode 2 left us with a cliffhanger of sorts. In the ‘90s, Shauna and Melissa hooked up, but this was interspersed with clips of adult Shauna uncovering the physical description of the mystery woman who’s been stalking her. Is it Melissa? Time will tell.
As for the rest of the teen gang, Mari’s still being held captive by coach Ben, having accidentally fallen into his accidental trap. And Lottie is still on her mission to tap into whatever “it” is; the spiritual presence of the wilderness.
In the present day, Lottie’s out of the mental health facility, but “it” appears to be knocking on adult Taissa’s door this time round. This continues in Season 3 Episode 3, culminating in the most unhinged ending in Yellowjackets history. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 3 ends in chaos
Showtime
In the final sequence, Akilah learns some life lessons from a talking llama (who sounds suspiciously like Danny DeVito), while Jackie makes a return, slicing Shauna’s neck to shreds with a slap bracelet.
As you might have guessed, it’s all a dream – a poison-induced nightmare, to be precise.
You see, earlier on in the episode, coach Ben decides to set Mari free from his cave home, having realized he doesn’t have much of a plan (and they both nearly blinded each other with bear spray).
She promises not to tell the rest of the Yellowjackets where he is, but within seconds of her being back, she tells them everything and leads them to him. No one likes a grass, Mari. Ben only wanted to avoid them after all the cannibalism that went down during winter.
When the girls make it to the entrance, Nat tries to talk them out of it, saying, “We don’t have to do this.” But Akilah says, “Yes, we do.”
Suddenly, the loud screeching, rumbling calls of the wilderness surround them. It’s the same sound we heard in Episode 1, but it’s still unclear whether it’s a warning or a blessing.
Showtime
They head in and come across a block in the network. Nat gets them to split up, with Shauna, Akilah, and Van taking the open path. The trio get to an opening, and this is where things take a weird turn.
Van’s lantern starts to flicker. “Shauna, we should…” she says, but when she turns to her left, Shauna’s gone. “Akilah, did you…” she continues, but when she turns right, Akilah’s vanished as well. And then her lantern goes out. Gulp.
As Van walks through the pitch black, she comes to a door. She opens it to find a comfy looking living room. Van takes a seat in front of the fireplace, staring at the flickering flames.
Akilah, meanwhile, finds herself in the outdoors. She stumbles upon a blackberry bush and starts gorging on the fruit before finding a pen with sheep, chickens, and goats. “Careful, they bite,” says a voice behind her.
Showtime
It might sound like DeVito, but when Akilah turns around, she finds a llama talking to her. “Sheep don’t bite,” she says, but the llama replies, “Everything with teeth bites. Everything will defend itself.”
“They’re calling you,” he tells her, at which point the screeching starts again. The scene then cuts to Shauna, who’s in the middle of a lake. She hears someone saying, “Mommy, mommy” in the background.
When she looks up, there’s a boy – presumably her son – shouting out to her. But as she tries to swim to him, she doesn’t move (a bit like those nightmares where you’re trying to run but everything’s in slow motion).
Jackie makes a terrifying return
Showtime
We cut back to Van, whose peace is disrupted when a cinder jumps out from the fire. Suddenly, her rocking chair turns into an airplane seat, and as she struggles to escape, a series of zombie-esque arms pull her back in.
Akilah, meanwhile, starts sinking into the earth, but not before the llama warns, “It can be easy, or it can be hard. But either way, it’s gonna get what it wants.” Finally, Shauna gets dragged into the water.
Oh, you thought we were done? No, the girls next wake up in a classroom. Lottie is the teacher in this scenario, and she’s written, “Of all the ways to lose a person, death is the kindest,” on the board.
Suddenly, the janitor walks past, and it’s the Man with No Eyes – the mysterious figure who’s only appeared in Taissa’s visions up until this point. If that weren’t enough, none other than Jackie is sitting at the front of the class, playing with a snap bracelet.
Showtime
“You wanna try?” she asks and hands it to Akilah, who snaps it around her wrist with no dramas. But, when Van has a go, it cuts her arm and she throws it across the classroom.
Jackie picks it up, saying, “It’s just a cut. You don’t have to be such a baby.” After a pause, she snaps it around Shauna’s neck, causing blood to flow out as it strangles her. Akilah tries to pull it off but she can’t.
Just as the life starts to drain from her eyes, Shauna wakes up in the cave, as does Akilah. Ben comes over wearing a makeshift mask and he’s got Van.
“It’s poison,” he says. “There’s some kind of gas.” Ben’s dragged all of them to a safe area in the cave system.
But before they can gather their thoughts, Nat comes over and points the gun at Ben. “Don’t move,” she says. “Sorry coach, you’re coming with us.”
While this is by far the most bonkers Yellowjackets scene we’ve had yet, and it’s where Season 3 Episode 3 ends, it’s not the only thing that happens.
Van isn’t going to die but someone else might
Showtime
In the present day, Van gets some news: her terminal cancer may not be terminal anymore. Taissa believes it’s the wilderness rewarding them for their sacrifice.
If you remember, in Season 3 Episode 1, the pair were chased down by a waiter after they dined and dashed, only to find out that the poor guy had a heart attack and died.
After Van says she might be in remission, Taissa tells her about the waiter. “You’re thinking it too. I know you are. First Natalie, then this guy. It’s been a long time but it could be happening again,” she says.
“The waiter was the sacrifice and your new prognosis… well, that’s the gift. Please Van, just give in to the possibility.” Taissa lights a candle and starts the ritual, repeating, “We hear the wilderness and it hears us.”
Later on, the happy couple are watching some nostalgic TV when an ad for Ozzie’s ice cream parlor comes up. And guess who’s the face of it? The Man With No Eyes. This time, it’s not just Taissa who’s seeing it – Van sees him too.
Showtime
Tai makes them go to the ice cream place, only to find it’s shut down. Van tries to get her to leave, asking, “What are you even looking for?” Even though Tai’s not sure herself, they both head in.
When they’re inside, they see a fox with a dead rabbit in its mouth. “What do you want?” Tai asks it, but Van says, “We know what it wants. It wants more.” Oh boy, Episode 4 is going to be an interesting one. It sounds like they’re one step away from another sacrifice.
Jackie’s heart necklace resurfaces
Showtime
As for the rest of the gang, Misty’s doing her best to prove to herself that her friends are actual friends.
She invites Shauna to a cafe, saying she’s got some valuable intel. The intel being that Callie was trying to get her and Lottie to share their wilderness secrets during their sleepover.
Shauna asks, “Why did we have to come here for you to tell me this?” To which Misty replies, “I thought it would be nice if we could just hang out.”
Shauna tries to brush her off but Misty insists on joining her for the day. While driving, the brakes on Shauna’s car stop working and they roll down a hill, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic.
They make it safely to a green, and though the brakes issue might be something to do with the wilderness, Shauna accuses Misty of messing with her car and chucks her out.
When Shauna gets home, she finds Lottie and Callie once again acting like best buds. They’re cooking dinner for her and Jeff, but this happy family situation turns sour when Shauna sees Callie wearing Jackie’s heart necklace.
Showtime
If you remember back to the infamous pit girl scene from the pilot episode of Yellowjackets, whoever was being sacrificed was wearing the necklace. We later find out that Jackie gifted it to Shauna as a good luck charm.
However, when the girls performed their first Queen of Hearts ritual, Nat was chosen and Shauna gave her the necklace for luck. It seems that whoever wears it is the sacrifice, and so seeing her daughter with it on is triggering.
Lottie insists, “It never meant what you thought it meant.” But Shauna’s having none of it; she rips it off Callie’s neck before screaming at Lottie, “Get the f**k out of my house.”
Find out when the next episode drops with our guide to the Yellowjackets Season 3 release schedule. You can also read about how long the Yellowjackets were in the wild and check out the Season 3 soundtrack.
