Part of the mystery of Yellowjackets is not only what terrors transpired but when. We know the younguns and their coach spend 19 months in the wilderness, but how much of that have we seen in the show? With season two’s premiere, we have a pretty decent idea of Yellowjackets timeline given a few factors, the likes of which I will divulge in subsequent utterances.
Yellowjackets Season One Timeline
The Past Timeline
In 1996, the soccer team, coaches, and two sons of one of the coaches get on the plane to nationals. They, as you know, crash land in the woods. This is around May. The school year is still going on, and it’s approaching prom season. While the first few episodes seem to take place over just a few days, lots more time transpires as the season goes on. First of all, there’s the fact that it goes from relatively warm weather to bitter cold and snowy by season’s end. Second, Shauna learns of her pregnancy and begins to show, helping us to cement Yellowjackets timeline. We can assume it’s probably around six months from when they crash to Jackie’s death. May to November, probably.
2021 Timeline
In “the present” timeline on Yellowjackets, hardly any time at all has passed from when Travis died to where season one ends up. We see Halloween, and Taissa’s political campaign is nearing election day; the investigation into Travis’ death barely gets going. It’s only a very brief time from when the Yellowjackets begin receiving blackmail demands, Shauna has her affair with Adam, then kills him, and the ladies cover it up. All told, it’s unlikely more than a month passes in Yellowjacket‘s present-day timeline.
How Much Time Between Yellowjackets Seasons One and Two?
Much like within the first season, a lot of time passes in the past while hardly any passes in the present. Two months have passed in the past timeline when we pick up in Yellowjackets season two. We know this, A) because they tell us outright, but 2) because we see the meat from the bear Lottie killed has dwindled to almost nothing. Travis and Natalie have nearly mapped the entire surrounding wilderness looking for both more food and Javi.
That also means Shauna has been going into the shed and talking to dead Jackie for two months, which is…not a little disconcerting. I mean, her ear does fall off, after all.
Meanwhile, in 2021, only a few days have passed since the season one finale. Adam is missing, and according to the post Misty reads on the Citizen Detectives forum, Adam paid for the mini-golf date with Shauna a week ago. Plus, Natalie’s only been gone a short time and has only just made it to the Lottie retreat. That sounds like she went of her own accord; they kidnapped her in the middle of the night and took her against her will. The present timeline continues to be compact.
The 1998 Yellowjackets Timeline
We glimpse an entirely new timeline in Yellowjackets season two’s first episode. The show flashes forward a little to 1998 to show us the survivors being rescued from the wilderness. This tracks with what we know about the rest of the timeline. Because 19 months from late spring of 1996 takes us to approximately 1998. We don’t yet know if we’ll spend any time in the 1998 timeline on Yellowjackets, but it officially exists.
How Much Time Will Yellowjackets Season Two Take?
How would we know?! In 2021, it’s anyone’s guess. In the ’90s, we know it’s roughly January 1997, which means they have just under a year before the Yellowjackets’ rescue. And we know they have to do a LOT of bad stuff before then.
Yellowjackets season two drops on Paramount+ with Showtime every Friday and airs on Showtime, the cable network every Sunday.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
