S03.E03: Them's the Brakes

[paulvdb]

Quote

The return of a Yellowjacket sparks a vengeful frenzy in the team. Lottie’s rendition of Cool Aunt Without Kids leaves Callie with an open door to answers about her mother’s twisted past. Tai and Van receive a karmic payout for their dine and dash.

Premiere date: February 21, 2025 on Paramount+

[AnimeMania]

[BitterApple]

That was quite possibly one of the creepiest episodes of television that I've ever watched. What the hell just happened?

Okay, for starters, major points for Team Hallucination shippers. Mari suggesting to Ben that there's "two realities," the "Land of make believe" in the ice cream ad, the trippy dream sequences, Lottie telling Shauna the necklace never meant what she thought it did. There's so much unreliable narration, I think we're being set up for a huge mind fuck in the near future. 

Also, maybe more evidence the supernatural didn't exist? There's poisonous gas and polluted water due to mining? 

I'm terrified Adult Van and Tai are going to go on a killing spree, thinking it's the only way to keep Van's cancer at bay. 

I know a lot of people are going to hate this episode, but I liked it. I'll add more thoughts later. Right now I'm too freaked out to do a rewatch. 

Edited 22 hours ago by BitterApple

[Brn2bwild]

8 hours ago, BitterApple said:

That was quite possibly one of the creepiest episodes of television that I've ever watched. What the hell just happened?

Okay, for starters, major points for Team Hallucination shippers. Mari suggesting to Ben that there's "two realities," the "Land of make believe" in the ice cream ad, the trippy dream sequences, Lottie telling Shauna the necklace never meant what she thought it did. There's so much unreliable narration, I think we're being set up for a huge mind fuck in the near future. 

Also, maybe more evidence the supernatural didn't exist? There's poisonous gas and polluted water due to mining? 

I'm terrified Adult Van and Tai are going to go on a killing spree, thinking it's the only way to keep Van's cancer at bay. 

I know a lot of people are going to hate this episode, but I liked it. I'll add more thoughts later. Right now I'm too freaked out to do a rewatch. 

Some might be frustrated with the slow-burn nature of these episodes, but I loved it.  Everyone seems to be on drugs in both timelines.  And welcome back, Jackie!

[tennisgurl]

This episode was so deeply creepy, but I had to stop being disturbed for a second to enjoy slap bracelet nostalgia. Those were so much fun, and its very on brand for Jackie to have been a fan, even the one that isn't a hallucination. Mari talking about alternate timelines made me think right away that they were foreshadowing the unreliable narrator reveal, and the rest of the episode just kept hitting us with it. I suspect that when they bring Ben to the camp he'll see their camp as a mess instead of the summer camp that we keep seeing.  

Poor Ben, he let Mari go even though he knew it could backfire on him and saved Van (and probably Akilah/Shauna) from the deadly gasses and now he's going to be a Ben Burger. 

It seems like Other Tai came out the second Van revealed that her cancer was going into remission, she seemed to be feeling guilty about the death of the waiter but as soon as Van told her that she was getting better, her eyes went creepy and started chanting. I thought that Van would be the one to quickly jump to cult life when she found out, but she looked disturbed at Tai doing her chanting, I very much worry about where this is going. 

All those theories about poisonous gases seem to be coming true, that could be an explanation for all of the weird noises, hallucinations, and general crazy, bad air and water mixed with the traumatic situation could be behind some of this. 

This might be one of the shows eeriest episodes, but I appreciate that we still got some laughs. Ben and Mari awkwardly pepper spraying each other, Akilah hallucinating an alpaca with a Jersey accent, Misty being her cringy self.   

[Anela]

I need to start watching this before dawn. I can’t see the dark scenes, at all, except for the ones with the torches - barely.  

[Anela]

Okay, I figured that was all hallucinations from gas fumes. The flame sparked like it was being ignited by gas.  I’m not into the really trippy stuff, though.  

Lottie encouraging Callie to shoplift. I don’t like it.  Also giving her that necklace, when she knew what they used it for.  

Misty screwing with Shauna’s brakes, to get in some trauma bonding, and friendship time.  That is messed up. 

Mari didn’t want to out Coach, but here we are.  Their opening scene was funny.  I don’t want him to become their food. 

I hate tight spaces, and used to have nightmares about barely squeezing through tunnels.  That was all painful to watch.  What I could see of it.  
 

Edited 10 hours ago by Anela

[Brn2bwild]

33 minutes ago, Anela said:

Misty screwing with Shauna’s brakes, to get in some trauma bonding, 

 

I don't think that was Misty's work. Maybe Melissa (or Walter?).

[Anela]

1 minute ago, Brn2bwild said:

I don't think that was Misty's work. Maybe Melissa (or Walter?).

I hope so.  In that case: poor Misty. 

With everything else, I forgot about Tai going all creepy with the candle.  I thought Van was the true believer, but dark Tai is. 

[Affogato]

30 minutes ago, Brn2bwild said:

I don't think that was Misty's work. Maybe Melissa (or Walter?).

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Misty. Who needs to get some outside friends. Honestly.  

[BitterApple]

My first thought was Walter screwed with the breaks. I don't know what his agenda is, but he seems determined to drive a wedge between Misty and the others. 

Mari is so freaking dumb. All she had to do was say she tripped on a tree root, bashed her knee into a rock and couldn't walk for a couple days. You could tell she didn't want to rat out Coach, but she wasn't quick enough on the draw to come up with a believable lie. 

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 I suspect that when they bring Ben to the camp he'll see their camp as a mess instead of the summer camp that we keep seeing.  

I'm glad we'll get a resolution next episode, one way or the other. I know Ben is experiencing his own alternate reality but I can't imagine he'd see the camp the same way the girls do. If it's still gold-tinted and looks like an Etsy craft project, then we'll have to take it as real. I'm nervous about Ben's fate, especially after we got that bit of exposition in the beginning of the episode. Dying at the hands of the kids you used to coach, (and that job was only supposed to be a stop-gap in the first place) is going to be tough to watch. 

Does anyone think nobody started the cabin fire? When Van had her dream, a spark from the fireplace landed on the carpet, causing the room to go up in flames. What if it wasn't Ben or Bad Tai? Maybe it was truly an accident. 

[AstridM]

14 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Also, maybe more evidence the supernatural didn't exist? There's poisonous gas and polluted water due to mining?

It never has? The show’s creators have always said there were never ghosts in the woods🤷‍♀️. Shawna clearly stated last season that it was always “just them.”

14 hours ago, BitterApple said:

know a lot of people are going to hate this episode, but I liked it. I'll add more thoughts later. Right now I'm too freaked out to do a rewatch. 

I didn’t necessarily hate it, but I am strongly considering never watching again, lol. I can’t bear what’s likely about to happen to Ben. He doesn’t deserve it. I experience enough cruelty living in the US.

Edited 7 hours ago by AstridM

[Thalia]

4 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

4 hours ago, Anela said:

Misty screwing with Shauna’s brakes, to get in some trauma bonding, 

 

I don't think that was Misty's work. Maybe Melissa (or Walter?).

I immediately thought the person who seems to be following Shauna around tampered with the brakes.  

And I felt a little bad for Misty, who for once wasn't at fault.  I'm guessing that her desire to have a Girls Day with New Bestie Shauna was in reaction to Walter's pointing out how bad Misty is treated by her so-called friends.  Well, that didn't work.  

I couldn't help but notice that when she recited the list of Misty's borderline insane activities, Shauna said nothing about the destruction of the plane's radio signal.   I would think that has to mean that most or all of the survivors still know nothing about Misty's role.   That would certainly be Topic A for me regarding any discussion over Misty's wrongdoings.  

Edited 5 hours ago by Thalia

[Anela]

34 minutes ago, Thalia said:

I immediately thought the person who seems to be following Shauna around tampered with the brakes.  

And I felt a little bad for Misty, who for once wasn't at fault.  I'm guessing that her desire to have a Girls Day with New Bestie Shauna was in reaction to Walter's pointing out how bad Misty is treated by her so-called friends.  Well, that didn't work.  

I couldn't help but notice that when she recited the list of Misty's borderline insane activities, Shauna said nothing about the destruction of the plane's radio signal.   I would think that has to mean that most or all of the survivors still know nothing about Misty's role.   That would certainly be Topic A for me regarding any discussion over Misty's wrongdoings.  

I don't know why I thought Misty did it, because I was wary of Walter, last week, and it was Shauna's car. This person would have to know her history of screwing with things like that, though. So that Shauna would blame Misty. 

[threebluestars]

I also thought Walter because Shauna let Misty drive home drunk, now he messes with Shauna's brakes which puts her in similar danger.

[Anela]

I also forgot to mention that I liked Akilah standing up to Lottie.

[WaltersHair]

If they kill and eat Coach, I don't think I can hang in there. He was the only one to abstain from cannibalism and Nat would have to go along with that plan. 

I don't like the these people anymore (past or present) and personally believe you have to like at least one character to stay immersed in a show. Breaking Bad did a good job of skirting the thin line of the redeemable/irredeemable character.

Mari wins the MVP of being a true Judas.

I hope I feel differently next week.