Yellowjackets‘ unusual opening is part of what turned the series into the phenomenon it is. In the first episode of the first season, we watch a tribe of teenagers covered in fur participate in a bloody ritual in which they hunt, kill, and eat another human being. Over its first two seasons, the series slowly explored how a bunch of suburban high schoolers can become cannibalistic cultists, but we are yet to see the team fully embrace their gruesome rites. However, that will soon change, as the first images of Season 3 show the castaways participating in a mysterious (and creepy!) new ritual.
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The new image shows the survivors standing in a circle around Teen Lottie (Courtney Eaton). They all wear hoods adorned with leaves and branches, echoing the primal nature of the supposedly supernatural forces hunting the woods. Lottie’s positioning is telling, as since the first season, she claims to be able to commune with the forest spirits, teaching the others how to survive the harsh winter. However, at Season 2’s finale, Lottie crowns Teen Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) as the Antler Queen, the true leader of the bunch. While we can’t know what’s happening in this new ritual, it looks like Lottie will retain her position as the spiritual guide of the survivors, even though Natalie is supposedly calling the shots.
The image is also revealing because of the makeshift lanterns hanging above the group. After their cabin burns down at the end of Season 2, the team is forced to improve their crafting skills to survive. Since they can sew whole ritualistic costumes, seeing what else they built among the trees will be interesting. Finally, the image underlines how Season 3 of Yellowjackets will deal with a significant time jump. Last we saw the team, they struggled with snow, low temperatures, and a lack of wildlife to sustain them. The image, however, is set in a different season, most likely Spring or Summer, judging by the lush green vegetation around them.
[Related: Yellowjackets: What Happened to the “Bonus” Season 2 Episode?]
What We Know About Yellowjackets Season 3?
Almost two years after the Season 2 March 2023 premiere, the third season of Yellowjackets promises to answer some of the fans’ burning questions. In the past-day timeline, the teenagers slowly descend into cannibalistic madness as the girl creates rituals to commune with nature. In the present, the survivors will have to fight for their lives as they are hunted by a mysterious figure who’s dangerously aware of what happened in the woods.
Season 3 of Yellowjackets has added Oscar-winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) and Community and Stargirl’s Joel McHale in mysterious roles. Sara Desjardins, who plays Shauna’s daughter, Callie, has also scored a regular role for the new season. That means Season 3 should keep digging into Shauna’s broken psyche as she relives the horrors of the woods. That’s fitting, considering Shauna will be hunted by Jackie (Ella Purnell) in the upcoming season.
Yellowjackets Season 3 premieres with two episodes on February 14, 2025, on Paramount+ with Showtime.
