What is happening on Yellowjackets? That is usually a great question that we often ask about this mysterious show full of secrets and twists with a dash of cannibalism. But this time that question is more of a “WTH” in a bad way because episode eight is baffling, to say the least. A couple of weeks ago, our own Ro Rusak predicted that the playing cards used by the wilderness crew could become a way to draw lots and determine fates for cannibalism purposes. And now we know that Ro was right. Let’s get into how Yellowjackets used playing cards for a deadly drawing that took a twist and ended with the death of Javi.
Yellowjackets Draws Lots with Playing Cards and Nearly Kills a Key Player
In this episode, Lottie is barely alive upstairs while the others are hallucinating and such. Lottie tells Misty to let the others know that they can “make use of her” if she dies but they reject that immediately. Mari says that the wilderness will not let her die and Tai reminds them that they need to find a way to stay alive. They make the choice to draw playing cards and determine which one of them will be hunted down. The unlucky card is the Queen of Hearts, which Natalie draws.
Shauna can’t bring herself to kill Natalie in cold blood and it leads to the crew chasing Natalie in a very feral manner through the wilderness. Javi tries to help Natalie by guiding her to his hideout but things go awry when the ice beneath him cracks. He falls in and Natalie tries to help him at first, but realizes that if she does the group will still kill her. They watch him drown, convincing themselves that the wilderness chose him as a sacrifice.
Well, where do I begin? Let’s start with the choice to use the cards. Yes, we know that Lottie is a spiritual leader for many of them, but desiring to kill a random person in good health over someone on the brink of death is a wild choice. It suggests that Lottie’s life has more value in this place than anyone else’s life, which simply isn’t true, especially when it comes to Natalie. Killing your best hunter who is a vital reason why you are still breathing makes no sense considering there are others who are far less useful.
The concept of using the cards makes sense in terms of fairness and how they have used them to dish out chores. However, it seems this story suggesting that other forces are at play would have made it less their choice and more of fate. Allowing the powers that be to “blow” the cards their way would indicate that the wilderness really did want them to draw lots for survival. Even still, the chances of someone in this small group pulling the chosen card from what appears to be a full deck seems very slim. Why not have the exact number of cards needed? What happens if no one pulls the card? Do you just keep going? I don’t wanna know the answers because I have no desire to play this game.
Javi’s Death on Yellowjackets and What it Means for the Group
There’s also the conundrum of Javi and how he dies in Yellowjackets. We aren’t sure what’s coming next but it is not clear why they brought him back only to truly kill him off. Coach Ben does discover his hideout thanks to Javi’s drawings, so he did have some usefulness. But they could have easily found it during their own explorations.
His death feels exceptionally cruel than Jackie’s snowy demise. While they bear partial responsibility for her death by banishing her outside, they did not witness her death in real-time. The Yellowjackets crew watched Javi die, purposely not saving him to survive. This will certainly cause a major rift between Travis and the group once again (especially Natalie), even if they collectively lie about his death. Van says that the wilderness chose Javi… but did it? Or did the ice simply crack because that’s what happens on a frozen lake?
Yellowjackets season two is nearing its end and things are getting increasingly more grim in the wilderness. Who will die next? How can Natalie (or anyone) trust anyone around them ever again? We will have to wait and see.