Love And Loss In The Wilderness

Carina Dieringer

It was the day after Valentine’s. While everyone else was fawning over their lovers, I, a single sapphic, grabbed as many CDs as I feasibly could, threw them in a bag, and trudged through the snow to my friend’s house. It was study day. Which, of course, meant we were going to sit on her bedroom floor and watch the two newest episodes of “Yellowjackets.” 

Following season two, “Yellowjackets” left fans hungry (no pun intended) for more. Season three opens with few answers yet many crucial depictions of the effects that trauma can have on people. With their cabin gone and three lives lost, the girls find themselves increasingly relying on each other to build a functioning community. Yet emotions obstruct these attempts. Grief has inevitably made its way through the camp, destroying relationships and opening up vulnerabilities. Shauna lashes out at the other Yellowjackets for their reaction to the death of her baby. Travis becomes more reserved after the loss of his brother. In the present, grief over Natalie’s death affects all of the surviving Yellowjackets. 

As expected for episodes dropped on Valentine’s, love also takes a mainstage in the newest season. Present Taissa and Van continue their fling—and have some beautifully shot and intimate moments in the process. Their time together manifests as attempts to replicate a teenagehood they never got to experience. 

At the intersection of love and loss is where the second episode leaves us, a twist that left me and my friend in shock. The scene was replayed (multiple times). Friends were called. Theories were made. Needless to say, these two episodes were the perfect Valentine’s treat—me and my missing homework seem to agree in that respect.