The Yellowjackets Season 2 Finale Gives Insight Into The Rituals Of The Hunt

This post contains spoilers for the season 2 finale of "Yellowjackets."

When the starving, superstitious plane crash survivors who make up the core cast of "Yellowjackets" went tearing after Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) in last week's episode, determined to hunt her down after she drew the queen card that sealed her fate, I was still convinced this could have been a one-time thing. Sure, the very first scene of the "Yellowjackets" pilot shows teammates hunting a girl who falls into a pit, then gathering around to feast on her flesh. But in the world of "Yellowjackets," little is as it seems and the most surreal moments often turn out to be hallucinatory. Would the girls really turn this human hunt into a way of life?

Judging by this week's finale, the answer is yes. When the adult Yellowjackets gather at Lottie's (Simone Kessell) compound for a night that escalates to a bloodthirsty, ritualistic chase for old times' sake, they all but confirm that their time in the wilderness included more than one human hunt. Plus, in classic season finale fashion, the show drops in a few lines that will keep viewers guessing for months to come — in this case about the details of the hunting process, which the women seem to have refined over time.

The first clue that there's more to the Yellowjackets hunting ritual than we've seen before comes when Lottie asks the women to draw cards to choose the night's prey. Taissa (Tawny Cypress), whose motivations have been murky since she canceled the crisis team that was meant to come help Lottie, questions the cult leader's intentions. "Is this what you wanted to happen?" Tai asks Lottie, initially not stepping forward to grab a card. Lottie takes it as a refusal to participate, a choice that apparently has consequences of its own. "Taissa, are you refusing the draw?" she asks, "Because you know what happens if you do."

Yikes! So it sounds like not only will we see the team play the card-drawing game again in the future, but we'll also get to see at least one character refuse to participate in the ritualistic, chance-based method of feeding the group. Who will it be, and what will happen to them when they do? Before the finale, my money would've been on Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), who seems to be the most morally opposed to the girls' neo-pagan spirituality and willingness to eat human flesh. Yet the episode ended with Ben (presumably) back down below in the cave, with a new set of matches to start his fire, so it'll have to be someone else. 

Whoever opts out, I don't blame them; this is a particularly brutal way to survive, and it's not easy to embrace. Yet the consequences for not drawing seem just as dire as drawing the dreaded queen card. Lottie doesn't say what they are, but it's not a stretch to imagine that those who don't draw a card might be shunned from the group, or even chosen as prey themselves.

The rule about refusing to draw isn't the only one we learn about. Later on, when Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) ends up with the queen card, Lottie shares another reminder. "Shauna, it's up to you, the way we used to. You can submit, or you can run," she tells her. Does this mean there have been Yellowjackets who actually gave in to death and sacrificed themselves to feed the others?

So far, we've seen two hunts play out in the wilderness survival storyline: Natalie's, and the hunting of the dark-haired girl (aka "Pit Girl") from the pilot episode's flashbacks. Another key part of the ritual is Jackie's heart necklace, which Pit Girl was wearing during her hunt, and which Shauna placed around Natalie's neck before she was hunted. Hearts are a recurring symbol in the show: the Queen of Hearts card, the heart necklace, the bear heart that Lottie offered up as thanks to the wilderness, and, in the season 2 finale, Travis taking a raw bite from Javi's heart. Notably, Shauna killed Adam by stabbing him through the heart.

It's clear now that the Yellowjackets will become full-blown hunters of humans as their story wears on, abiding by an intricate system of choice that gives the savage act an illusion of civility. We don't know who they'll kill, but we do know which survivors we haven't seen yet in the modern day: Coach Ben, Akilah, Mari, Gen, and Melissa. The team also never found Kristen's body after she fell to her death earlier this season. With many months ahead of them and no food in sight, there's a chance Yellowjackets season 3 could turn into an all-out bloodbath — albeit one that plays by a few key rules.

"Yellowjackets" season 1 and 2 are now available on the Showtime streaming service.