“Yellow Jacket” Season 3, Episode 8 summary: “Eat It”

Season 3, Episode 8: “An ordinary, boring life”

This week we're working on how the problems of “normal” life look like for Yellow Jackets. Meet Melissa, an adult, also known as Kelly, played by Hilary Swank.

Adult Melissa thinks she's pretty good. How did she achieve this? First, she fakes her death and changes her name. She then married Hannah's daughter. Hannah's daughter fell in love despite initially semi-talking to make sure she was safe. Now they have kids, they go to church and live in a house with a cheap sign that says, “The kitchen is the heart of the family.” She still likes to wear a backward-facing baseball cap.

Melissa Slash Kelly believes she is nevertheless very well coordinated, and she certainly appears to be the case, compared to Shauna, who broke into her house to kill her wife. To move forward, Melissa erased the past and began to be completely fresh. And when the past comes back to bother her, she decides to drive it away again. That's why she sent the tape to Shawna after she learned about the death of adult Natalie. She was not a threat. It was a way to exempt myself and keep guilt at bay.

Shauna doesn't necessarily believe it. I don't know if I'll do that either. Melissa is almost relieved by her transformation. But sitting next to the table from each other, these ex-lovers look like polar opposites. Shauna is unstable and paranoid, and always thinks that someone is out to get her. Melissa just wants to remain calm and maintain a peaceful presence that she fought so hard to create for herself.

Their dynamics today are reflected in the fractures seen in the 90s storyline of this episode. With Hannah and Kodiak's arrival, some of the Yellow Jackets are excited to go home, dreaming of the “normal” life they have when they return to civilization. Meanwhile, another camp is not sure that health is likely an option.

All of this comes to harsh relief during the sequence set to “OK”. (You may know it best from the “Clueless” soundtrack.) As the song plays, you can see how some girls fantasize about the comfort of the creatures they lack. Mari's water bottle will turn into slurpee. Misty imagines sitting in the toilet and using real toilet paper. Van falls into a fluffy bed.

However, the two moments between romantic partners underscore the growing gap between teens. What would happen if Thailand broke the Van's dream spell and asked questions so they couldn't be with them when they returned? For Thailand, the real world comes with homophobia that didn't have to deal with in the wilderness. She also recognizes that even if they return to their families, they cannot easily reintegrate into society. Van brushes it. Being rescued outweighs all these fears. Thailand is not going to buy it. The eyeless man is just above her shoulders.

Teen Shauna and Melissa have similar spats. Melissa accuss Shauna of abandoning her after being shot by Kodiak. She sounds a little childish, but she has a point! Shauna did not comfort her. To Shauna, this all sounds like a whining. She places Melissa in a mean tone, explaining that she wants to be the person who caught the man who attacked her girlfriend. The space between them could be seen as something that happens when half of a couple are more interested in the relationship than others, but the gap here is more complicated.

Satisfied with Shauna's answer, Melissa asks what she's excited about when she returns to Shauna. Shauna's mind wanders as Melissa chats about her dreams. On Melissa's head, she sees a big mus, some sort of premonition. It seems that both Shauna and Tai are attracting spirits.

When it's time for them to finally leave the camp and chase the Kodiak out of the forest, it's Lotty who will plant her feet first. Her arguments are personal and universal. Lottie looks at her future hometown where she is taking her medicine again. She also insists, “We're safer here.” When Natalie begs her to come, Lotty wins allies in Shauna and Thailand. Natalie accepts that there is a present fact and tries to advance her mission. Shauna, horrifyingly, tells her that the group isn't going anywhere. It's a devastating blow to optimism that permeated the rest of the episode.

So why do opponents do that? Does that mean that there is a sense of security in what is now familiar? Or is there something more mysterious going on?

This argument arises again as Melissa and Shauna face off today. Shauna believes she is being threatened, but Melissa suspects this is not all predictions. Was Shawna's brakes really broken or was her car just old? Has anyone really tried to lock her in the freezer, or was it just an accident? Maybe someone happened to have the “Queen of Heart” ringtone. Perhaps Lottie's death was just the result of her years of mental health struggles.

“This is what you're doing, Shauna,” says Melissa. “You create your own problems.”

Melissa is not wrong. Shawna flourishes with drama. Still, the tone Melissa says this is all slightly creepy. This is probably a very good cover.

Melissa's rating, whether accurate or not, has managed to get under Shauna's skin. And Shauna breaks. She attacks Melissa and pins her to the ground. She takes a terrible bite from Melissa's arm. She pulls her body from her teeth and her mouth is filled with blood. She hangs it on Melissa's face: “Eat,” she demands. If Melissa doesn't swallow, Shauna tells her family who she really is.

This is normal for Shauna. She needs Melissa to stop pretending it's not her.

More to chew

Teenage Van's first question about Hanna is whether Mulder and Scully will come together. Think of all the TV they lack!

Shauna and Melissa's were so good that I wasn't too fascinated by other current plotlines this week. Thai quest to save the van has become a bit repetitive. At least Jeff's Spiral was interesting.

In other words, Jeff's humiliation for Misty was pretty good. “A strange little four-eyed mushroom.”

It's always funny to me when the personal style of characters in television and films doesn't change with age – perhaps the audience recognizes who they are. So Melissa's baseball cap.

I like to know much of the history between Melissa and Shauna in the forest yet, but I'm not sure Melissa is in love with Shauna. She was certainly very enthralled with her.

“Wonderwall” feels like a rather basic musical clue to this show, but it seems intentional. It is a “normal” song for normality dreams.