Hive Mind: Speculation

[JasonCC]

This is pure speculation but--while a critically weel-received show with a devoted online fanbase--the show isn't a ratings smash. Can they quantify how many people added on the Showtime option to Paramount Plus just for this season like I did?

The picking up of the pace happened so much these last couple episodes for good or for bad. I think perhaps (with the writers' strike also contributing) maybe instead of the mentioned five seasons we get one more for a total of 3. Ideally one that's 13 or 14 episodes long instead of 9 or 10, but Showtime only guaranteed three the writers just said they could do five.

Somewhat related to that "picking up of the pace" to full on Antler Queen and Pit Girl society I think one of the big questions to unfold isn't as much "how do they get so witchy and cannibalistic?" anymore but "how the hell are Travis and Coach Ben going to fit into this new norm?"  Remember they still have another whole winter to go. Right? 19 months would be May-ish 1996 to Feb 1998? That's a lot of time still. Or do they take a hiatus from the ritual, killings, and Lord of the Flies stuff over the summer and revive it in a much more streamlined fashion the next winter? Also, things could get dark sexually with a broken Travis being passed around (Lottie?) and that plays into the modern version with those three (Travis. Lottie, Natalie). 

Edited May 25, 2023 by JasonCC

[peachmangosteen]

3 minutes ago, JasonCC said:

I think perhaps (with the writers' strike also contributing) maybe instead of the mentioned five seasons we get one more for a total of 3. 

I hope you're right. I think 5 is far too many.

[BitterApple]

Out of curiosity, do ratings include streaming numbers? I have the feeling way more people are watching Thursday/Friday on the app versus the network airing on Sunday. 

I definitely think ending on an extended third season is the best way to go. The show runners were a little too ambitious with hoping for five. There just isn't enough material.

[peachmangosteen]

I don’t know anything about the ratings but this show seems like a huge hit in the ways networks care about now so I am afraid Showtime will try to get even more than 5 seasons out of it. 

[Anela]

35 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Out of curiosity, do ratings include streaming numbers? I have the feeling way more people are watching Thursday/Friday on the app versus the network airing on Sunday. 

I definitely think ending on an extended third season is the best way to go. The show runners were a little too ambitious with hoping for five. There just isn't enough material.

I saw that this is the second most-streamed show ever, on Showtime. I don't know how much that really means, when there are people who are watching it over and over. 

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/yellowjackets-second-most-streamed-showtime-history-1235157192/

That's from January 2022, but I think it was on the app this morning. I only really have Showtime for this show, and need to cancel it before it takes another payment, next month. 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Anela

[Emily Thrace]

On 5/24/2023 at 6:48 PM, snarts said:

I suggested that they'd return to the woods and pit girl would be Callie. Everyone poo pooed it as preposterous so here it is again....

I was thinking something would happen and they won't end up drinking the shots. Then Lisa would come in and take the loaded shot unaware (she has been built up too much to just be Natalie's guide to cult life). Callie would fit with that too but I don't know if the show would want go that bleak.

[BitterApple]

3 minutes ago, Emily Thrace said:

I was thinking something would happen and they won't end up drinking the shots. Then Lisa would come in and take the loaded shot unaware (she has been built up too much to just be Natalie's guide to cult life). Callie would fit with that too but I don't know if the show would want go that bleak.

We have seen Callie drinking a lot, but I can't see them killing her off either. In the preview when Walter asks Jeff to help move "the body," Jeff looks horrified but not the level of horrified you'd expect from a parent who lost a child. I expect it will be Lisa as well. 

[Anela]

I'm really curious, but I'm going to watch the finale later. I need to try to sleep a bit. 

[SeanC]

A brief tally of the noteworthy narrative drivers/plot points in play for Season 3 and beyond.

1997

• The search for new shelter for the group;
• Conflict with Coach Ben;
• The identity of Javi's "friend";
• Per the S2 finale, at some point one of the characters will refuse to participate in the draw;
• Shauna's resentment of not being the leader.

2021/?

• Dark Tai and everything relating to her actions, including Tai's chaotic family situation;
• Van's having cancer;
• Walter isn't per se a plotline, but as a man of considerable means and dubious morals, he seems like somebody who could cause problems for the group going ahead;
• Theoretically there could be more to the whole coverup of all the previous murders, but I personally think that's unlikely.

[BitterApple]

Great list and I agree about Walter. I think Misty involving him in the cover-up is going to bite the group in the ass. Walter is smart, rich and kills at the drop of a hat. He won't be as easy to dispatch as Adam or Jessica Roberts. I wonder if Walter is after the true story of what happened in those woods. 

[peachmangosteen]

I’m assuming the bonus ep will be cabin daddy’s backstory. I thought he would be behind the symbol but I don’t really see them revealing the origin of the symbol in a bonus ep.

[Thalia]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:10 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I’m assuming the bonus ep will be cabin daddy’s backstory. I thought he would be behind the symbol but I don’t really see them revealing the origin of the symbol in a bonus ep.

I think this will be a standalone episode featuring Jason Ritter as Cabin Guy with some of the rumored "deleted scenes" edited in.  From the cast interviews it certainly sounds like the adult actresses scattered following the filming of the scenes at Lottie's compound and didn't stay to film another episode.  I don't know about the teen actors.  

[peachmangosteen]

Wrong thread lol.

[Affogato]

On 6/5/2023 at 10:03 PM, Thalia said:

I think this will be a standalone episode featuring Jason Ritter as Cabin Guy with some of the rumored "deleted scenes" edited in.  From the cast interviews it certainly sounds like the adult actresses scattered following the filming of the scenes at Lottie's compound and didn't stay to film another episode.  I don't know about the teen actors.  

Maybe 'cabin guy' will have visions of the teens when they are at the cabin. The deleted scenes should work for that.

[Anela]

Wondering if Hilary Swank plays a survivor, a relative, or someone like an FBI agent.  

[peachmangosteen]

19 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

One of the people who loved season 2.  It had a couple of issues but I don’t think it was even remotely bad.  As a matter of fact I think the quality was even better than season 1.  It just separated pairings that people (including me ) enjoyed watching.

The stuff with Shauna/Jeff/Callie/the cops etc. was all so bad imo. It was actually the most enjoyable part of season 2 to me lol but like what a mess. The stuff with Walter too, although that mainly tied into the Shauna/Jeff stuff.

I feel like it's clear they don't necessarily have enough actual meat to sustain 5 seasons so there's gonna be a lot of dumb shit to fill the gaps. Lost also did this and many people hated it. I loved Lost all the way through though simply because I loved the characters. In the end, Lost was about that more than plot and I think that's gonna be true for Yellowjackets as well. It remains to be seen whether I am invested enough in the characters for all the nonsense to work for me or not.

I also do feel pretty sure the plan wasn't to kill Natalie is season 2 so it'll be interesting to see how they navigate that going forward.

Edited December 28, 2024 by peachmangosteen

[Anela]

I can’t sleep. I’m reading some of this, and realize that I barely remember season two. Except for the last two episodes, that I’ll probably never watch again.  

I was just reading posts from Ethan Embry, on bluesky, and was thinking he’s another 90s actor I’d like to see show up on yellowjackets.  I don’t know which kind of role, I just like him. 

Edited February 4 by Anela

[AstridM]

4 hours ago, Anela said:

I can’t sleep. I’m reading some of this, and realize that I barely remember season two. Except for the last two episodes, that I’ll probably never watch again.  

I was just reading posts from Ethan Embry, on bluesky, and was thinking he’s another 90s actor I’d like to see show up on yellowjackets.  I don’t know which kind of role, I just like him. 

There’s probably a season 2 review type thing on YouTube. I’m certainly not going to rewatch season 2. 

[snarts]

^This. 

I wish I was excited to watch the new season but I was so disappointed with S2. At this point, I want to know how they wrap up the story but not sure I actually want to watch it unfold over multiple seasons. Will likely follow along in the forum & binge S3 if the comments are good.

[Anela]

Since this is for speculation, I’ll ask it here:

People are speculating that they are hallucinating it being Spring, but how would that explain Ben also being the Spring? 

Someone on another site, said they thought the screams were of them all really starving, and that creeped me out more then any wilderness theory. It just left me feeling really sad, too. 

[Thalia]

On 2/20/2025 at 3:57 PM, Anela said:

People are speculating that they are hallucinating it being Spring, but how would that explain Ben also being the Spring? 

 

I tend to think it really is Spring but, I keep changing my mind as to whether they are as well off as we are seeing.   I was just listening to a podcast (RHAP We Know YellowJackets) and the hosts spent quite a while discussing this issue.    

In particular, they pointed out they seem to be using a yellow filter when showing the girls in the camp, even when Ben shows up.   I just went back to rewatch parts of episode 3.1.   It is subtle and could be blamed on the foilage, but they don't seem to be showing Ben in the sunlight.  

As for Ben's "testimony" -- one of the hosts speculated that he was playing the girls -- You're strong, you've survived, you've done a remarkable job creating this camp, etc.  Which would make sense if we are still seeing this from the POV of the girls.  Now I'm even wondering if we will see Ben or Travis' POV and find out that Travis was visibly drunk during the "trial."  

The animal thing also seems suspect.   Couldn't bunnies jump out of an uncovered enclosure?   And we've already seen that Akila's first "pet" was a dead and desiccated mouse.  

OTOH, present day Tai and Van clearly think that if they follow the rules that the wilderness will provide.  

Now I'm wishing I had waited a few weeks to start the season so I could binge it and find out the answers.  

[Black Knight]

I absolutely felt Ben was playing the girls with that part of his speech. He knew the biggest reason he was being singled out was because he was judgmental and didn't participate in their cannibalism; they felt he didn't like them and that made them not like him, which made them likelier to vote guilty. He's smart in that way; remember his speech to Misty in S1 about how they had to wait for her to be legal?

The theory that the camp is actually not what it seems is interesting, but I really do think the show is mainly going for a Midsommar effect. The camp may be slightly glammed up from the girls' POV to reflect their relief at having regular food and having built decent shelters, but I don't think the actual reality is as extreme as dead animals and pathetic shelters.

I'll throw in a bit of mild speculation of my own: The show reminded us, through Mari, that Ben was talking to someone - which was given and taken as evidence of his derangement. Later, Misty brought up Crystal, whose body has never been found and who hasn't been mentioned for quite a while. I've previously theorized that Ben might actually have been talking to Crystal.

[Anela]

I think the people who think they’ll set Ben on fire, are right. :(

[Black Knight]

Oh, I hope not.

I really can't see Adult Nat and Adult Misty having positive attitudes towards the ringleaders of burning Ben alive, though.

[Anela]

46 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

Oh, I hope not.

I really can't see Adult Nat and Adult Misty having positive attitudes towards the ringleaders of burning Ben alive, though.

It's just something that Shauna said in the trailer. I hope they don't.

[Brn2bwild]

What if Pit Girl turns out to not be any of the current group, but rather a stray hiker who unluckily got separated and stumbled upon the group?  They might view her link to civilization as threatening the Wilderness and have her go through a ritual sacrifice based on that.

[Affogato]

8 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

What if Pit Girl turns out to not be any of the current group, but rather a stray hiker who unluckily got separated and stumbled upon the group?  They might view her link to civilization as threatening the Wilderness and have her go through a ritual sacrifice based on that.

That sounds like fun!