I Think This Is What She Wanted

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 9, “How the Story Ends.”

Yellowjackets director Ben Semanoff offered answers following the major death that finished off season 3, episode 9 of the hit series. The episode saw a massive twist of fate for Van (Lauren Ambrose), who had just survived a bloody trip to the emergency room in the previous episode. Despite successfully cheating death for the past three seasons, Van ultimately died at the hands of Melissa (Hilary Swank), who was only recently discovered to still be alive in the Yellowjackets adult timeline.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Semanoff discusses Melissa’s role in Yellowjackets, and what led her to make that dramatic decision at the end of episode 9. He elaborates on the parallels between Melissa and Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), highlighting the impact of their wild past on their chaotic present. He believes that Melissa is tired of hiding in secret and wants the excitement back from her previous life, knowing that the other survivors are going to come after her.

I don’t know what’s going to happen with Melissa, and I think the next season might answer a bunch of these questions. But I think ultimately, the most important thing was that she didn’t need to be discovered. She was living a completely secretive life. My answer is that she was sick of it. I think a lot of what’s going on with the YJs is that they are nostalgic for a period of time in their lives that was wild and crazy and intense and exciting, and you never knew if death was around the corner. You could pull the wrong card and be chased by a gang of teenage girls through the woods to your death. It was a pretty exciting time, and now they’ve all sort of gone on their way.

Shauna is completely miserable in her life, and I think Melissa feels similarly. I think one of the things I wanted to do was really parallel Shauna and Melissa. It wasn’t necessarily there a hundred percent in the writing, but I made some choices, like the minivan that Melissa has. I really wanted the two women to be living similar lives and be similarly sick of it. Melissa had gotten away with faking her death and flying under the radar, and I think she was just like, “How am I going to regain that excitement? I’m going to let the YJs know I’m alive. They’re going to come after me, and then all hell’s going to break loose.” I think this is what she wanted.

I think she wanted to be back in the game, and now she’s essentially being chased through the woods again, had she pulled the card. That’s the reason for me. I love how that all happened, and that’s why I think she stabs her at the end. This is the game. This is what you do.

What This Means For Yellowjackets Season 3

Melissa Has Become A Key Character

Melissa has had more screen time throughout Yellowjackets season 3 in both timelines. Shauna even poked fun at teen Melissa’s sudden relevance earlier, noting that the latter does “have a personality.” Melissa only recently emerged in the adult timeline, having been hunted down by Shauna in season 3, episode 8, who discovered that she had faked her death, renamed herself as “Kelly,” and married Hannah’s daughter, one of the frog scientists who stumbled upon the group.

Semanoff explained that this is the adult Melissa seeking a thrill, similar to how modern-day Shauna has chased highs from deviant activities like infidelity and murder. Melissa’s decision to send Shauna the DAT tape earlier in season 3 set off a bloody chain of events, which ultimately ended in Melissa stabbing Van through the heart and fleeing. Being bored with her normal domestic life was enough to send Melissa down this dangerous path of harming her fellow survivors, which should prove to have major consequences.

Our Take On Melissa Killing Van

The Girls Were Taken Back To The Wilderness

By killing Van, Melissa reverts to acting just how the girls did as teenagers in the wild. She listened to the mysterious “it” that follows the Yellowjackets, giving in to its desires by “sacrificing” Van. The Yellowjackets 1990s timeline consistently shows us that the girls aren’t afraid to get bloody in the name of “the wilderness,” but their adult behavior indicates that these animalistic urges haven’t left them. Their trauma haunts them, leading the women to continue to pursue dangerous—at times, delusional—behavior to appease the mysterious essence of the Yellowjackets wilderness.

Yellowjackets

7/10

Release Date

November 14, 2021

Network

Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime

Showrunner

Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco

Directors

Benjamin Semanoff, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Deepa Mehta, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Liz Garbus, Scott Winant, Eva Sørhaug, Jamie Travis

Writers

Liz Phang, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa