Yellowjackets is a popular psychological thriller drama series about a gang of adolescent girls who survive a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness and resort to cannibalism in order to survive. The show also follows them 25 years later as they deal with the tragedy and secrets of their past.
Taissa, played by Ella Purnell and Courtney Eaton as the adult and adolescent versions, is one of the show’s most intriguing and mysterious characters. Taissa is a modest and quiet young woman who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), which leads her to have numerous personas. Lottie, her alter ego, is more confident, forceful, and charismatic than Taissa.
Taissa struggles with her mental health and her connection with her brother Van, who also survived the disaster, in Yellowjackets season 2. She also begins to have weird experiences, such as sleepwalking, visions, and voices. Taissa is seen sleepwalking with Lottie in the bush in episode 8, titled “It Chooses,” while holding hands and singing a song. They come upon a mystery guy dressed in a yellow jacket who appears to be escorting them somewhere.
What is the significance of this scene? Why is Taissa dozing off with Lottie? Who is the person in the yellow jacket? And what does it have to do with cannibalism and the cult founded by some of the survivors in the woods?
In this blog article, we will attempt to answer these questions as well as offer some thoughts and reasons for this strange and eerie image. Let’s get started!
Meaning of Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is a disorder in which people conduct sophisticated acts while sleeping or in a low consciousness state. It frequently happens in the first third of the night, when people are deep asleep. When sleepwalkers wake up, they are unaware of their acts and have no recall of them.
Stress, trauma, medication, alcohol, sleep deprivation, or a genetic tendency can all provoke sleepwalking. Psychological elements such as emotions, anxieties, fantasies, or subconscious wants might also have an impact.
Taissa’s sleepwalking could be a manifestation of her DID and unresolved trauma from the plane crash and subsequent occurrences. She could be acting out her alter ego’s personality and wishes in order to escape her reality and cope with her guilt and humiliation. She may also be seeking comfort and connection with Lottie, the only person who knows and supports her situation.
The Role of Lottie
Taissa’s major alter ego, Lottie, appeared after the plane disaster to protect Taissa from the harsh environment and perils that they encountered. Lottie is more confident, daring, and captivating than Taissa. She also possesses psychic powers that enable her to detect things that others cannot.
Some of the other survivors, particularly Misty and Natalie, regard Lottie as a visionary and a leader. She claims to be able to contact a higher power who guides and instructs them. She also believes they are involved in a prophecy involving cannibalism and sacrifice.
Lottie does not constantly have control over Taissa’s body, but she can switch with her when she feels threatened or needs to do something. She can also sway Taissa’s ideas and actions through internal dialogue or visions.
Lottie becomes more powerful and aggressive in season 2 than she was previously. She attempts to get Taissa to join her cult and devour human flesh. She also attempts to undermine Taissa’s connection with Van, whom she regards as a rival and a threat.
Lottie appears to have a plan for Taissa and herself that entails searching for something or someone in the outdoors. She uses her telepathic abilities to entice Taissa to sleepwalk with her at night.
The Identity of the Yellow Jacket Person
The enigmatic figure known as the yellow jacket appears multiple times during the series. They are dressed in yellow jackets similar to those worn by the soccer squad prior to the tragedy. They also have long hair and a mask on their face.
The yellow jacket appears to be linked to Lottie and her cult. They appear in Lottie’s visions and nightmares, as well as in the hallucinations of some of the other survivors. They also appear to have knowledge of the survivors’ past and future.
The yellow jacket person could be one of several things:
- A real person who survived the crash or lives in the wilderness. They could be an ally or an enemy of Lottie and her cult.
- Lottie’s psychic abilities or subconscious mind manifested. They could represent Lottie’s anxieties or desires.
- A supernatural being or energy that has an impact on Lottie and her cult. They may be a god, a demon, an alien, or something completely different.
- A symbol or metaphor for something relating to the condition or fate of the survivors.
The identity of the yellow jacket has not yet been disclosed, although it could be one of the following characters:
- Jackie: The soccer team captain who died in the plane tragedy. Mako’s best friend, however, was having an affair with Jeff. Mako’s boyfriend, Jeff, survived the crash but was killed by Misty after attempting to rape Shauna.
- Travis: A hunter who assisted some of the survivors before being killed by Misty after attempting to flee with Shauna.
- Adam: A journalist who investigated the survivors’ story but was murdered by Misty after revealing her secrets.
- Ben: The soccer team’s coach, who survived the crash but was maimed and crippled. He was Misty’s love interest, but she turned him down.
- Karl: A wilderness survivalist who taught some of the survivors how to hunt and fight. Natalie’s love interest, but he broke her confidence.
- Laura Lee: A pious teen who survived the crash but was murdered by Misty after attempting to reveal her misdeeds.
- Jessica: A defiant teen who survived the crash but was slain by Misty after attempting to flee with Travis.
- Akiko: A Japanese exchange student who survived the collision but was murdered by Misty after attempting to assist Laura Lee.
- Simone: A French exchange student who survived the collision but was murdered by Misty after attempting to assist Akiko.
The Relationship to Cannibalism
Cannibalism is a major motif in Yellowjackets. It refers to the practice of humans eating human flesh or organs. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including survival, ritual, religion, culture, or insanity.
Cannibalism is depicted in Yellowjackets as both a necessity and a choice for some of the survivors. For some of them, it is also a source of power and transformation.
We get flashbacks in season 2 episode 8 “It Chooses” of how some of the survivors began eating human flesh after they ran out of food during their first winter in the wilderness.
We show how Lottie persuaded Natalie and Misty to join her in devouring Jeff’s body after he died from Misty’s wounds. We also show how, after Jackie died of cold, Shauna grudgingly agreed to eat her body.
We can see how cannibalism affected them differently in terms of their physical and emotional states:
- Lottie appeared to like eating human flesh and claimed that it enhanced her psychic abilities and insights.
- Natalie appeared to feel bad but justified consuming human flesh as a means of survival and honouring their deceased companions.
- Misty appeared to be proud, but she was also fascinated with consuming human flesh to manipulate others and prove herself.
- Shauna appeared to be appalled but also intrigued by the idea of eating human flesh to cope with her trauma and explore new emotions.
We may also see how cannibalism divided some of the survivors:
- Some of them refused to eat human flesh at all (like Van) or ate it only once (like Tai) out of respect for their friends or moral values.
- Some of them ate human flesh on a daily basis (like Lottie) or infrequently (like Natalie) out of necessity or curiosity.
- Some of them ate human flesh either covertly (Misty) or openly (Karl) out of greed or malice.
We also see how cannibalism caused some of them to clash:
- Out of compassion or justice, some of them attempted to prevent others from eating human flesh (such as Laura Lee) or to expose their crimes (such as Akiko).
- Some of them sought to persuade or coerce others to consume human flesh (such as Lottie) or influence them into doing so (such as Misty).
- Out of fear or affection, some of them attempted to avoid eating human flesh (such as Travis) or assisted others in doing so (such as Shauna).