Juliette Lewis’ Natalie Is Even More Confusing After Yellowjackets Season 3’s Twist Ending
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episodes 1-10.
Yellowjackets season 3 introduces developments during its teen timeline that make the adult story more confusing — and Juliette Lewis’ Natalie feels especially perplexing after the show’s latest outing. For the first two seasons of Yellowjackets, the teen and adult narratives connect pretty seamlessly. However, the more we learn about the Wilderness timeline in Yellowjackets season 3, the less the adult characters and their relationships make sense. This is especially true for Natalie, whose bond with the other survivors becomes strained in season 3’s teen timeline.
Although Natalie becomes the group’s leader after the Wilderness spares her in Yellowjackets season 2’s ending, it doesn’t take long for the in-fighting in the girls’ idyllic new camp to begin. By the time the season 3 finale arrives, two factions of the teen survivors are actively at odds with one another; one half of the group wants to go home, while the other wishes to remain in the Wilderness. Natalie sides with the former group and seeks out rescue at the end of Yellowjackets season 3. It makes her a hero, but it also raises questions about her adult counterpart.
Why Would Natalie Ever Reconnect With Shauna After What Happened In The Wilderness?
She Should Be As Angry With Shauna As She Is With Misty
Natalie and Shauna become the de facto leaders of the two separate factions in Yellowjackets season 3, and this pits them against one another for most of the outing. Natalie represents the group’s humanity, as she’s one of the teen characters still in touch with her own. Shauna, however, symbolizes their base impulses, along with the violence and rage the Wilderness feeds on. Needless to say, Shauna isn’t happy with Natalie as a leader, and Natalie disagrees with most of Shauna’s actions when she takes over.
Related
Yellowjackets Has A Big Shauna Problem & It’s Making Season 3 Difficult To Watch
Shauna is one of the most prominent characters in both of Yellowjackets’ timelines, and her season 3 problem is making the series hard to watch.
Natalie directly goes against Shauna’s wishes in Yellowjackets season 3, episode 10, taking advantage of the latest hunt in order to seek rescue. Shauna flies into a rage when she discovers that Natalie and Hannah switched places. And if her past treatment of Natalie is anything to judge by, Shauna will likely retaliate before rescue can arrive. Even if she doesn’t lash out at Natalie, the tensions between the two are enough to suggest they’d never be friends in the adult timeline.
Adult Natalie should treat Shauna exactly the same as Misty — but for some reason, she doesn’t.
This makes them reconnecting without issue in Yellowjackets season 1 that much more confusing. Natalie has harsh words for Misty in the adult story, as she’s still mad that Misty broke the plane’s black box and kept them out in the Wilderness longer. By that logic, adult Natalie should treat Shauna exactly the same as Misty — but for some reason, she doesn’t.
Tai & Natalie Getting So Close After Yellowjackets’ Past Timeline Makes No Sense
Tai Doesn’t Want To Go Home In Season 3 Either
Although Tai isn’t as ruthless as Shauna in the teen timeline, she’s one of the Yellowjackets who wants to stay behind in season 3. This puts her at odds with Natalie as well, though you wouldn’t know it from their adult relationship. Tai pays for Natalie’s rehabilitation in the adult storyline, and she credits her with their rescue. However, her season 3 actions suggest that she should be angry with Natalie, not grateful.
Related
Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9 calls back to a devastating Shauna and Tai moment, reversing the ‘90s scene in the show’s adult timeline.
Of course, it’s possible that Other Tai is the one who wants to stay in the Wilderness, while regular Tai is the one who’s thankful they’re home. This could explain Tai’s affection for Natalie in Yellowjackets’ adult storyline. But it still doesn’t tell us why Natalie would want anything to do with her. Natalie isn’t one to mince words or play nice with people she doesn’t respect or care about. For that reason, it’s surprising she’s so willing to rekindle her friendships with Shauna and Tai.
Natalie & Travis’ Adult Romance Is More Difficult To Understand After Yellowjackets Season 3
They Barely Interact After Breakng Up In The Teen Timeline
Yellowjackets doesn’t show much of Natalie and Travis’ relationship after they’re rescued, but we get insight into it through Natalie. She’s devastated by his death, and she reveals that the two of them made a promise to one another: that they wouldn’t take their own lives because of what happened in the Wilderness. It’s clear that spending 19 months out there traumatized both of them, and this keeps their bond going once they get home. However, the two barely interact in Yellowjackets season 3, so their continued closeness is perplexing.
Yellowjackets season 4 has not been confirmed as of this writing.
Perhaps they’ll interact more in Yellowjackets season 4, but for now, it’s shocking that Natalie and Travis still care about each other all those years later. Although they’re romantically involved early in the show, Javi’s death puts a great deal of distance between them. Yellowjackets doesn’t show them dealing with that, so it’s difficult to buy their adult relationship.
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
