Things turn frigid as bloody new alliances get built and spilled. Lottie's hit the floor, Misty finally gets some answers, Tai wants to leave nothing to chance, Natalie tries living on the edge, and Shauna confronts the loneliness of real sacrifice. It's our time, right now, down here in the new Queen's court. Eat up, drink deep, and descend.
The third season finale answers who killed Lottie and who fell into the pit back in the series premiere. The effectiveness of the narrative hinges on those answers. This season indicated how important they were. They promised to reveal new details about these characters. Instead, it's largely a bunch of plot complications that don't necessarily inform anything greater about the overall mystery. The previous episode suggested death wasn't the end. At first, the finale appears to be picking up on that thread. Adult Lottie interacts with her younger self just like Natalie and Van did before they died. It's presented as a conversation. One where Lottie doesn't want to miss out on a crucial reveal. She apparently receives that clarity right before her death. She proclaims that Callie embodies the Wilderness more than anyone who was actually out there. That's a terrifying amount of power. Lottie is in awe of it. She wants to nurture it. Callie can't accept it. And so, she pushes Lottie down the stairs. She believes it was an accident. She got away with murder too. The police aren't actively searching for her. She confesses to Misty and Jeff. It offers a release upon her soul. It ensures secrets don't stay buried for another 25 years. That's the overarching purpose of this entire series. The Yellowjackets decided to carry their secrets. They never spoke of them to anyone. Instead, their unprocessed trauma led to them inflicting damage on themselves and the next generation of their loved ones.
Callie doesn't want to believe she is exactly like her mother. That's the pronouncement Lottie makes. She operates as if she has more answers. She doesn't. She truly is just ascribing meaning to things that can't be explained. The narrative still delights in the possibility of something more actually happening. The divide comes from those willing to actually address reality. It carries a certain amount of stakes in the past. It's difficult for the narrative to match that intensity in the present-day. Again, it's the suggestion of something more. It doesn't have the willingness to actually follow through on such beliefs. The Yellowjackets kill one another because it may help save their lives. That's how they survived the plane crash and two years in the wilderness. And now, it offers the potential for prosperity once more. Van couldn't kill Melissa. That was never who she was. Melissa was willing to do it. That ultimately serves as a shocking action with no great motivation. It's left ambiguous why adult Melissa did anything this season. That's incredibly frustrating. Callie sought out information because she saw this connection to her mother's past. She needed to know if her mother loved her. It's impossible for Shauna to love anyone. But now, Callie's head is being filled with ideas that can't possibly be true. It's better for her and Jeff to escape. They don't have to endure this trauma any longer.
Shauna thrived in the wilderness. She felt more alive out there than any other aspect of her life. She delights in the suffering of others. That has always been apparent. However, the worst things that happened out there were prompted by Shauna. Sure, others force a hunt into occurring for their own reasons. Everyone holds some responsibility for Mari's death. The audience is aware of the totality of the environment. Everyone else faces their personal fault in the tragedy. Van tempted fate by deciding who would receive the queen. Shauna spotted the deception. She stepped forward to alter the outcome. She was fine sentencing Mari to death. They always clashed previously. Moreover, Mari failed to learn from her past mistakes. She fell into the pit again despite being warned by Lottie. She removed her clothes believing that could distract her teammates. She tried to survive long enough for someone else to die during the hunt. Others tried to do so. Shauna was isolated so Melissa could attack. She couldn't follow through on her desire to kill her. Shauna dismisses her for being boring. That doesn't match the energy in the present-day. But again, that remains a vague detail overall. None of the pieces are coming together in a satisfying way. Instead, the characters try to control fate and struggle with the repercussions.
Shauna never thought it was a possibility that she could lose her family. She thought Jeff and Callie would be perfectly content living in the hotel. Moreover, she believes she was right to consider Melissa a threat. In reality, Taissa and Misty now see Shauna as the biggest danger to their livelihoods. They are united against her now. They can't allow her to be the last one standing. She put them at the greatest risk. That was true in the wilderness. It was still true after they were rescued. Shauna brought so much evidence back with her. She invited others into this dysfunction. She wasn't the only one trying to live a "normal" life. That fate wasn't destined for any of them. They have to be content with that. They are damaged people. Taissa insists she can no longer shut off the parts of her life she wants to avoid. That's potentially an explanation for how the Other One functions. Taissa would rather hide from her life instead of engage with every brutal aspect of it. She lost the love of her life as a result. She couldn't save Van. Instead, she buried her in the middle of the woods. Shauna is the only resource she can rely on. Even then, she can't trust her. Shauna doesn't learn anything from this endeavor either. Instead, she believes she has forgotten how to be the warrior queen she was in the wilderness. That's crazy considering all that she has done to make her family and friends miserable. She will simply do so with full awareness. That's great but it's also the character being way behind the audience in terms of knowledge of what's going on. That's incredibly frustrating.
Shauna's command is really just an illusion as well. The story makes a point in recreating the events leading up to Mari's death. The opening sequence of the entire show offered a glimpse at how the wilderness changed these characters. It was full of false information. The time in the past has caught up to those events. It occurs during the first heavy snowfall of the season. The outfits keeping them alive are not nearly as elaborate. Moreover, Shauna is in charge. She is the Antler Queen. She never relinquished that title to Misty. That was expected. Instead, the narrative suggests it was all an elaborate metaphor for who is actually in charge. Sure, Shauna has the significant visual of the Antler Queen in all its glory. Misty only has broken glasses. She gave the team the opportunity to be rescued. Parts from the broken transponder can be used to fix Hannah's broken satellite phone. It simply requires Natalie to get to higher ground. She embarks on that journey while everyone else is distracted with the hunt. Hannah wants to survive just as much as the Yellowjackets do. That's her basic instinct. That's why she killed Kodi. Natalie appears to be successful in getting a message out. That's the conclusion of the season. That's the epic final set piece. It's a rallying cry for those who don't want to be sentenced to life in the wilderness. Yet the darkness never leaves them. For the rest of their lives, they believe they carry this heinous nature within them. They changed. They tried to hide those impulses. That was impossible. It's all a matter of deflection and refusal to self-reflect. It's not any more complicated than that. The show presents more. It's not. That significantly lessons the impact of the mystery because it truly feels like whatever feels right in the moment even if it doesn't quite line up with prior actions.
