The “c” in Yellowjackets officially stands for cannibal.
At long last, the team has finally had their first special meal, and it was equal parts “what the hell is going on?” and “I can’t believe this is finally happening.” In their defense, the Yellowjackets did try to give their deceased teammate Jackie (Ella Purnell) a proper funeral by burning her body, since the ground was too cold and Shauna was spending way too much time in the meat shed with her dead bestie. It’s not their fault snow somehow landed on the pyre and tenderly slow-roasted her instead. Right…? Right?
If there was anyone more bewildered than us in this week’s episode, it was Coach Ben (Steven Krueger). Watching his face gradually go from shock and sadness to absolutely noping out in horror was tragically hilarious; he was the perfect mirror for the audience’s reaction. While the Yellowjackets ripped through Jackie’s body like a Golden Corral buffet — which was portrayed onscreen primarily as a lush bacchanalian feast, both to lessen the gross-out factor and to connect it to the maenad imagery of “Doomcoming” — Coach Ben decided to sit this one out. He simply shut the cabin’s door behind him, choosing to go hungry and hide from the grotesque sight. This group of voracious teen girls is quite possibly the scariest thing lurking in those wild woods.
Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
Coach Ben eventually might go cannibal if human meat is on a future menu, but for now he seems reluctant to partake — and that might be a grave mistake. The Yellowjackets eating Jackie was the most critical group bonding they’ve done in the wilderness so far. It was a mutual turning point for all of them, where it became clear that no one was going to hold this taboo-breaking meal against each other because they’re all on the same wavelength. It’s trauma bonding at its absolute best, and Coach Ben refusing to take part positions him as a judgemental outsider.
You’re either part of the group or you aren’t. And when the entire team is in on it except one person, well, that person’s about to be ostracized in the worst way possible. The Yellowjackets might eventually gang up on their once-beloved coach, and if we can expect anything from their winter era, it’s that he could be next. Even having one mouthful — a finger or a toe, perhaps — could save his life, in more ways than one.
Given the Yellowjackets’ writers expertise when it comes to foreshadowing, Coach Ben’s reluctance could indicate that the team will either forcefully eat him next out of spite, or that he’ll give up on trying to survive the harsh winter and sacrifice himself as a meal. In any case, if Coach Ben keeps up the moral superiority, he has a big bite coming for him.
Yellowjackets Season 2 is streaming on Showtime, with new episodes streaming weekly on Fridays. Episodes also air every Sunday on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.
