Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 8, “A Normal, Boring Life.”
Yellowjacketsseason 3, episode 8, “A Normal, Boring Life” ends with Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) confronting her stalker in brutal fashion. Episode 7 made it seem likeShauna’s stalkerwas the daughter of Hannah (Ashley Sutton), with the daughter threatening the Yellowjackets because of the role they played in her mother’s death. Shauna sneaks inside the house of Hannah’s daughter, but it turns out not to be her, but her wife, who Shauna confronts.
Hannah’s daughter is married to Melissa (Hilary Swank), who is seen for the first time inYellowjackets' present-day timeline.Melissa explains that she sent the tape to Shaunaafter learning about the deaths of Natalie (Juliette Lewis) and Keyn (Alex Wyndham) that occurred duringYellowjacketsseason 2’s ending. Melissa denies leaving the phone in the bathroom, cutting her brakes, trapping her in the freezer, or killing Lottie (Simone Kessell). Shauna is not convinced and believes that Melissa is lying, which leads her to take drastic action.
Why Shauna Forces Melissa To Eat A Piece Of Her Own Arm
It’s About Power
Shauna pins Melissa to the floor and bites a chunk of skin out of her arm. She then dangles the skin over Melissa’s face and gives her an ultimatum – she can either eat it, or Shauna will tell Melissa’s wife and daughter who she really is. Shauna does this so she can feel powerful, and so she can stop repressing the parts of her that were forged in the wilderness. She does not like feeling as though Melissa has the upper hand, which is made worse by her comments about the mess that is Shauna’s life.
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Find out every song that plays as the stories of Shauna, Misty, and Taissa continue in Yellowjackets season 3’s past and present timelines.
Cannibalizing Melissa’s arm and thenblackmailing Melissa into cannibalizing herself shifts the power dynamicand gives Shauna the control she has been seeking. She gives into her carnal desires and feral self that she has had to repress. Shauna may also resent Melissa for having a family who does not know about her dark side and who love her without any moral qualms, which is a luxury that Shauna has never had, and will never have.
Why Melissa Faked Her Own Death In The First Place
Melissa faked her death by leaving a suicide note, and even though there was no corpse to find, the note was enough to convince the police that she was dead. There was even a funeral, with Shauna mentioning that she attended it. As for why she faked her death,Melissa says"After we made it back, I was no longer one of you"and that Shauna terrified her. She felt as though she had no choice, and that faking her death was the only way to save herself from Shauna and the other survivors.
Jenna Burgess
Hilary Swank
Why she felt as though she no longer belonged has yet to be revealed, although there are already hints in episode 8. The adult Melissa explains that she was never in love with Shauna, and that the relationship was always about survival and self-preservation. In the wilderness scenes, teenage Melissa (Jenna Burgess) is focused on getting home and leaving the wilderness behind, while teenage Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), Lottie (Courtney Eaton), and the"Other" Taissa(Jasmin Savoy Brown) insist on staying.
Hannah’s eventual death will likely cause Melissa to feel even further divided from the rest of the group.
Shauna, Lottie, and Tai are three of the other characters who will go on to survive, but while they embrace the wilderness, Melissa never has, and that makes her an outsider. Adult Tai (Tawny Cypress) mentioning that Melissa got close with Hannah is another reason why she may feel as though she no longer belonged. While Shauna and other characters view Hannah as a threat or simply a means to an end, it sounds like Melissa will genuinely bond with her. Hannah’s eventual death will likely cause Melissa to feel even further divided from the rest of the group.
Why Lottie, Shauna, & Tai Insist On Staying In The Wilderness
Each Individual Has Different Reasons
Even though Hannah and Kodiak (Joel McHale) offer a means of rescue, Lottie, Shauna, and Tai reject this opportunity, and insist that the group must stay in the wilderness. Each character has their own reasons for wanting to stay, but together, they become a united front, and their influence threatens to sabotage the group’s best shot yet at being rescued.Lottie killed Edwin(Nelson Franklin) because she does not want to go back home, where she is subjected to electroshock therapy and told she is mentally ill.
Why Lottie Makes Everyone Start Screaming In Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6
Lottie Matthews (Courtney Eaton) has considerable influence over the teenage survivors, which manifests in a unique way during season 3, episode 6.
In the wilderness,Lottie is considered wise and powerful, and she is not willing to give that up. Shauna does not want to go home because she will lose the power she has gained. BeforeYellowjackets' plane crash, Shauna felt powerless and lived in the shadow of Jackie (Ella Purnell). She does not want to feel that way again, nor does she want to confront the role she played in Jackie’s death. As for Tai, it is not her who makes the choice to stay, but her “Other” self who is connected to the wilderness.
Shauna’s Latest Jackie Vision Explained
Jackie’s Presence Continues To Endure Beyond Her Death
Episode 8 features Shauna’s third vision of Jackie this season. The first is inYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 3’s ending, where teenage Shauna sees Jackie as part of the vision she experiences while in the caves. The second is in episode 4, with adult Shauna seeing Jackie while trapped in the freezer. The third instance, which takes place in episode 8, involves adult Shauna having a dream that involves her teenage self and Jackie interacting at a grocery store, where a swarm of giant yellowjackets are stuck in a light.
The yellowjackets symbolize Shauna and the self-destructive choices that she makes.
Jackie makes a comment about how the yellowjackets are drawn to the light, even though they should know better. The yellowjackets symbolize Shauna and the self-destructive choices that she makes as a teenager and as an adult. The yellowjackets should know better than to fly toward the light, but they do it anyway. In the same vein,Shauna makes the poor decision of insisting on staying in the wilderness and attacking Melissa even though she should know better.
Does Jeff Really Think Shauna Is “A F-ing Crazy Person?”
He Seemingly Throws Shauna Under The Bus
When Jeff (Warren Kole) tries to convince Joel (Jesse Moss) and Nathan (Jag Bal) to give him another chance at a furniture partnership, he emphasizes that it was his wife, Shauna, who ruined their previous dinner, and not him. Jeff says that Shauna has not been"clinically diagnosed as being a f-ing crazy person,“but that may as well be. He goes on to make a dig at Joel and Nathan about them having only ever been with boring women.
Wait, Shouldn’t Jeff Know About Shauna’s New Yellowjackets Season 3 Secret Based On A Major Season 1 Reveal?
Jeff is beginning to grapple with the possibility of Shauna’s latest secret, but a season 1 reveal means he should already know the truth.
Calling Shauna"f-ing crazy"is part of Jeff’s desperate attempt to convince Joel and Nathan to change their minds and partner with him, but there is a part of Jeff that believes Shauna is disturbed. He has read her journals and arguably knows more than anyone about what Shauna and the others did to survive in the wilderness. He genuinely loves Shauna and has done his best to support her, especially after she discovered he was the blackmailer in season 1. Nevertheless, evenJeff can no longer deny the reality of Shauna’s unstable and dangerous nature.
When Tai goes into the hospital room where Van (Lauren Ambrose) is being kept, another version of her is trapped on the other side of the door and cannot get in. This is done to confirm that the “Other” Tai is in control and has been in control for a while now. “Other” Tai is convinced that she is the only one who can save Van now and that only she is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to the wilderness.
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Tai is not literally on two opposite sides of the door, but this is how her mind perceives it,with “Other” Tai reducing her to little more than a powerless spectatoras she controls her body and takes over her life. Given the severity of Van’s health, it is unclear how much longer she will be able to stay alive. If Van does die beforeYellowjacketsseason 3 ends, hopefully she will be able to reunite with the real Tai one last time.
