The new thriller tv show that got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for good reason
“Yellowjackets” is the perfect psychological thriller, drama TV show and it’s available on Showtime right now, perfect for the spooky season. The series, created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, currently has 10 episodes out in Season 1 and while Season 2 is currently in the making, the wait is very much anticipated!
This series chronicles a very successful high school girls’ soccer team making it to nationals, but never actually getting there. When their plane crashes into the deep northern woods of Ontario, they find themselves stranded for quite some time. While tensions flare and food becomes scarce, the team finds themselves struggling to survive, going from a soccer uniform to some beast-hides and antler regalia in a cult-like atmosphere.
They went from high school female star athletes to ritualistic, cutthroat cannibals. Even at its most gruesome, I was hooked through and through (and a fair warning, it was a very queasy watch). I felt myself wanting to look away at many different times throughout the show, but you can’t stop yourself. However, do not watch it in your bed alone like I did because, I promise, you will not sleep (either because you’re scared or hooked).
One of my favorite parts of this show is that it follows two timelines, one taking place in the past and one in the present. First, there’s a successful high school soccer team in the 1990s that is stranded in the wilderness, and second, we see the remaining survivors dealing with the undeniable trauma it caused two decades later in 2021.
The four survivors are deathly afraid of the truth coming out about their time in the woods, parts that are still a mystery to the audience. I applaud the directors for showing such strong and meaningful character arcs and addressing the lingering effects of trauma head-on, and how everyone responds differently to it.
So what did happen out there? For 25 years, the survivors have stuck to a story: They “starved, scavenged and prayed” until they were finally rescued. We see later that this story is not exactly adding up. Hidden diaries are uncovered, relationships are being put to the test, reporters keep on poking and careers are on the line. What really happened is hinted at in the show in disturbing flashes: with lots of blood, cult-like ceremonies, weapons and a whole lot of mystery.
I am not the type of person to watch gory shows, but with the mystery, a little bit of romance, tripping on shrooms, raging hormones and humor, it helps subside the feelings from seeing all the blood and death. The coming-of-age of many of the players and relationships with the three surviving men on the plane keep it somewhat relatable.
It’s grim and gripping in all the right (and wrong) ways. The 90s nostalgia brings you back in time, and I’m here for all of it.