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Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Team Building Barbecue

Showtime's Yellowjackets explored the cruel beauty in the drive for survival with "Edible Complex", an episode that truly packed a punch.

Showtime's Yellowjackets has truly captured the chaos and depth of hunger, grief, and the blur between reality and psychosis in the second episode, "Edible Complex" of season two. This episode saw some of our favorite characters dive off the cliff they held themselves back on, and they leaped into a murky water of morals and ethics. A lot happened in this episode, so major spoilers will be plentiful…you've been warned… buzz-buzz.

Yellowjackets Makeup Party with Shauna & Jackie

Teen Shauna's (Melanie Lynskey) mental state isn't exactly blossoming, but we can't say she isn't in a grieving process. The process takes place in the wilderness and at the pace of a dying turtle. My heart broke for Shauna in this episode when it came to being called out for hanging out with Jackie's corpse in the meat shed. There's an obvious amount of inner guilt plaguing her from consuming her friend's ear, so much so that her hallucination of Jackie offers up some forearm meat. We get a better idea of how far along Shauna is in conversations, and she's about 7 months into her pregnancy. 

I laughed in pure shock as Shauna put makeup on dead Jackie as if she was grabbing whatever she found in a Limited Too (if you know, you know) and slathered it on rigor mortis skin that wished it could deny blue eyeshadow. Jackie's corpse makeup…because she's worth it. The braids didn't help, and the discovery for Teen Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) became a scene out of Psycho. 

Taissa, Fertilizer of the Wilderness

Taissa isn't one to judge, though, as she is likely the poop bandit of the cabin based on the realization that she escapes the restraints on her and teen Van (Liv Hewson). You went number two in the pee bucket Tai and not to mention almost yeeted yourself off a cliff…so let's slow down on jumping to the cremation of Jackie's corpse. It was fun to see "eyeless man" make an appearance. He's deeply upsetting visually but good for his weird ass getting screen time. Before moving past the moment with the cliff, what was interesting was seeing the iconic symbol from the wilderness carved into a nearby tree. There's more at work in these woods than we realized before, and I am loving it. The opener for this episode truly rocketed us into the issues and themes we'd be presented with. 

Yellowjackets has been developing a unique perspective on teen Lottie's (Courtney Eaton) connection to those around her as the chaos ensues. Lottie can be seen caring for Shauna and seeing through the secrets hidden inside her regarding Jackie's corpse. Eaton is an acting queen in these scenes. Like what was said in the episode, everyone is showing their role in the wilderness in many ways. The display of empathy and emptiness she sees in Shauna made that moment beyond powerful. While I understood the need to give a burial (more like fire in this weather), I couldn't help but feel for Shauna in these heartbreaking moments. 

The theme of secrets and lies continues in Yellowjackets as teen Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) wishes to help teen Travis move past searching for Javi (Luciano Leroux) but makes a big mistake in the process. Natalie and Travis getting it on isn't helped by the third-wheeling hallucination of Lottie that Travis sees. "Trippy sex scene" is putting it lightly. This is going to bite Natalie in the ass, but there are bigger problems currently in the camp. For one, Jackie's corpse gets carried out like the Sammi doll from Jersey Shore Family Vacation season one. Teen Mari (Alexa Barajas) needs to shut the fuck up for the love of all that is unholy. What you don't want is knife-friendly Shauna coming after you in the night. The situation wasn't made better by the discussion of taking Jackie's belongings. What is kept from Jackie is the heart necklace that we've iconically seen in the famous scene from the pilot with Pit Girl (whoever she is…please be Mari (don't judge me!)). 

Someone Take Away Callie's Fake I.D. Please

Don't worry, we'll get back to discussing the end of this episode of Yellowjackets. Let's move on to present-day shenanigans and PTSD. Callie (Sarah Desjardins) is a character that goes back and forth for me on whether I appreciate how she's written. Even if I'd love it if her asshole level went down a notch, Callie's character is a great representation of the fragility of Shauna's (Melanie Lynskey) and Jeff's (Warren Kole) innocence. Not talking to her and being more open about things has caused Kevyn's (Alex Wyndham) invasive investigation tendencies to get worse. I'm glad Kevyn spoke with his detective after the incident with Callie in the bar. There's a level of reality brought to the situation. What Callie said may be something they want to work from, but the investigation never allowed undercover situations and so the cops are fucked in a way. Luckily, Shauna is scary smart in these situations, and the way Lynskey portrays this character continues to greatly impress me. 

Secrets Between Lottie and Travis

In the present-day wilderness, Yellowjackets continues to reveal parts of adult Lottie's (Simone Kessell) personality and the way she may lead or rather stand above her community. There's a darkness in the way Lottie behaves around adult Natalie (Juliette Lewis). She's cautious in how she reacts to mistakes made by her members, and these moments are perfectly written. They make you pause and question Lottie's expressions and handling of situations. While a good chunk of what Lottie witnessed in visions during her retelling of adult Travis' death felt truthful, you can't help but still question it all. I love Lottie, but that doesn't mean her character has zero flaws or has truly grown after her time in the wilderness. She simply has built a better stage to prove her mental well-being to society after being tortured by her parents' decisions. Some truly terrifying visuals were shown as Lottie discussed Travis' death, including Laura Lee becoming a decrepit demon lady. No matter what else, these final moments shown to us were heartbreaking, and there's no denying it broke a part of Lottie that day. 

While Lottie may be not as truthful as we'd hope, there's no competing with the rough day-to-day adult Taissa (Tawny Cypress) has in this episode. Her body may be becoming half espresso, her son's hallucinations getting creepy, and her driving habits getting demonic and vindictive. But otherwise, senator Taissa still manages to keep Steve alive (at least, I hope we don't have another dog altar about to happen). On the other end of things, adult Misty (Christina Ricci) witnesses Walter (Elijah Wood) in the nursing home she works. In order to get more information on Natalie's whereabouts, she may need to become buddies with this Walter/ true crime enthusiast. She does have a bit of luck at this moment to help steer away suspicion on Shauna. However, this man seems like he has a lot more up his sleeve than Misty may think right now.  

Is That Pork I Smell? Nope, It's Just Jackie

Now, let's get to the meat of this Yellowjackets episode. Back in the wilderness and aligned with the moment Taissa crashes in the present day, the girls smell something delicious. While they were sleeping, the wilderness came through and decided slow-roasting the corpse of Jackie was better. As if summoned slowly by the music of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, they all step into the bitter cold to discover it's not delivery, it's Jackie. Like the smoke monster from Lost, the wilderness has some Final Destination-style powers. 

The careful examination of the first step off the porch of the cabin was brilliant. Because what happens next, there's no going back. Surrounding the corpse, as it is roasted like a human-sized Costco roast chicken, Shauna looks around and says some on-brand words, "She wants us to do it." The flash between the current display of endocannibalism and an Olympian banquet (here depicted as a coping mechanism) becomes more nightmarish as time quickly presses forward. Like Ben (Steven Krueger), we are forced to bear witness to this grisly spectacle. 

I'm excited to delve further into the psychology and mythology of that final scene for this episode of Yellowjackets in the near future. The visuals in the scene are truly reminiscent of Hellenistic mythos and are worth exploring. I'm excited to hear further theories on this episode from you, feel free to comment on them down below. 

Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 2 "Edible Complex"

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Review by Brittney Bender

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10/10

Showtime's Yellowjackets S02E02 "Edible Complex" was a wild journey through the decay of sanity in the wilderness that resulted in one of the series' most powerful scenes yet. The episode was a bewitching exploration of the cruel beauty found in the drive for survival, both mentally and physically.

Credits

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Network

Showtime

Director

Ben Semanoff

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