Yellowjackets’ Season 3 finale, aptly titled “Full Circle,” finally gave fans what they’ve been waiting for since the very first moments of the series itself — context for the very first episode’s “pit girl” hunt in its cold open. It’s the first impression that established the cannibalistic heights the story would reach, and now we know exactly how it went down... and who ended up on the menu.
But now that we’ve reached that point, where does the story go? All the pieces are in place for an epic finale, but will that happen next, or will fans be forced to wait even longer? Unfortunately, the best path for this show may not be what the original plan was at all.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Yellowjackets Season 3 finale.
Yellowjackets has always had a dual-timeline structure, balancing both what’s happening in the wilderness and what’s happening in the present day, years after the survivors returned to normal life. In Season 3, both timelines experienced a bloodbath: in the past, Coach Ben and Mari both became sustenance for the survivors, and in the present day, Lottie and Van also met their demise. Meanwhile, Shauna loses the sympathy of her entire family while she hunts down estranged survivor Melissa.
The season ends with a switcheroo, leading to the big cliffhanger: Natalie with the newly-fixed sat phone, finally reaching help. But now that the girls have made contact with the outside world and their second winter has fully set in, where does the story go from here?
The showrunners behind this series have always made it clear the story of Yellowjackets is planned to play out in five seasons. But with rescue only months away in the timeline, it’s possible this series may not have the substance for two more seasons, at least, not in the current structure.
There’s also a major issue with the plot: while we did get an answer to what caused that strange noise coming from the wilderness (it’s frogs), there are still no answers to big questions like who burned down the cabin in the Season 2 finale, why the creek suddenly turned bright red, or who Javi’s “friend” was in the caves. Are we ever going to get answers? Or will that just be left dangling to add to the wilderness’ mystique?
It all boils down to one question: when will we see the team get rescued? Will that happen in Season 4, meaning we’ll see the fallout when they return to civilization in a possible Season 5, or will we see the few months left in the wilderness stretched out over the rest of the show? We’ve seen characters refer to “what happened when they got back,” so maybe the past timeline could continue even outside of the wilderness.
Yellowjackets hasn’t even been renewed for a fourth season yet, so we may not see this future at all. But now that we’ve reached the moment where the show began, the path ahead is completely unknown, even though we know rescue for the survivors is on the way. Hopefully, there are enough twists in store to fill up the planned two more seasons.
