Yellowjackets Proves That Hell Is a Teenage Girl, and We’re Eating It Up
What about Yellowjackets makes viewers so ravenous?
by Dayna Bhatti Roberts ★ March 3rd, 2025
design by: Laura Lopes
Are viewers tired of “Lord of the Flies” narratives that saturate modern media with plane crash stories? Well, it seems not. “Yellowjackets” took the world by storm again this Valentine’s Day for its third season, leaving viewers hungry for more.
“Yellowjackets” premiered in 2021. The story follows a high school girl’s soccer team left to survive in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months after their plane to Nationals crashes. The story arc feels similar, so what kept the show from falling flat?
To put it simply, much of the appeal of “Yellowjackets” lies in the way they play with the story’s timeline and character building. Unlike older stories with similar themes, we are not left to wonder who survives. We watch them cling to life while committing grotesque acts during their 19 months in the wild. Then we see them as adults having to live with what they did (and it is safe to say that those who made it are not handling their trauma well.)
Rather than creating this place of no return where we are unsure if the girls will escape, these girls do return. But they still feel trapped. The show parallels the teens fighting to survive and slowly devolving into hysteria in the woods, with their life as adults back in society. This illustrates to the audience that there is no escaping their past.
What is so inescapable about their past? Well, these girls are feral. With such an engaging plot, it would be easy for the writers to half-bake their characters and let the story do the heavy lifting. Somehow, though, the girls themselves prove to be even more terrifying and interesting than the actual nature of their situation.
Whether it be devolving into a cult-like state in which they believe the wilderness itself is speaking to them, or cannibalizing one of their best friends, the kids are not okay.
The unique and lush depth of the characters is like nothing we’ve seen before. The writers are clearly not afraid to be horrifying. And much of the fear you feel is towards the girls, not for the girls, which is mildly concerning and greatly entertaining.
“Yellowjackets”manages to soar to new heights. There is nothing we seem to love more in pop culture these days than proving “hell is a teenage girl”, and “Yellowjackets”does just that. So, grab a water bottle and get ready to binge the show. Trust us, you don’t want to eat while watching.