Who Killed Her & What Her Death Really Means
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 10, “Full Circle.”
The Yellowjackets season 3 finale reveals who killed Lottie Matthews (Simone Kessell) and explores the true consequences of her murder. Lottie’s death was confirmed during Yellowjackets season 3, episode 4’s ending, with Walter Tattersall (Elijah Wood) being the first to share the news with Misty Quigley (Christina Ricci). While the death is ruled an accident, Misty is not convinced, and believes her former teammate was murdered, and has investigated the matter for herself. Her history as a citizen detective makes her uniquely suited to figuring out what really happened to Lottie.
For Misty, all signs point to Shauna Sadecki (Melanie Lynskey) being the one who killed Lottie, especially after Walter shares that Shauna’s DNA was found underneath Lottie’s fingernails. However, Misty sees something shocking on Walter’s phone in the season’s penultimate episode that convinces her otherwise. The Yellowjackets season 3 finale reveals that it was a picture of Shauna’s daughter, Callie Sadecki (Sarah Desjardins), wearing the gold heart necklace that belonged to Jackie Taylor (Ella Purnell), and a flashback shows how and why Callie killed Lottie.
Callie Accidentally Killed Lottie In Yellowjackets Season 3
It Was Not Callie’s Intention To Kill Lottie
A flashback shows that Callie went to the building where Lottie’s dad lives in order to retrieve the recording that was sent to Shauna. At this point, Callie had not shared the tape with Shauna yet, and she did not know what was on it, but she realized that Lottie had stolen it while staying at the Sadecki house. Lottie does not believe that Callie has really come for the tape, though. She talks about how Callie is a child of the wilderness who has “It” inside of her and confirms that the Yellowjackets ate and hunted each other.
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Instead of assuring Callie that Shauna does love her, Lottie says that Shauna is jealous, because her daughter is more powerful and closer to the wilderness than she will ever be. She also scares Lottie by referring to the child Shauna lost in the wilderness as “our baby.” Lottie’s explanation is that the wilderness took the first baby away and gave the survivors Callie instead. Being told this understandably scares and hurts Callie on numerous levels.
As Misty explains, mothers and daughters share mitochondrial DNA, which is why Walter thought it was Shauna’s DNA underneath Lottie’s fingernails, but it was actually Callie’s DNA.
Overtaken by fear and anger, Callie pushes Lottie away from her, and down the basement stairs, and Lottie dies immediately when her body collides with the floor. Callie is shocked and horrified by what she has done, but her self-preservation kicks in as she snatches the tape, leaves Lottie’s body where it is, and does not talk about what she has done until Misty confronts her in the finale. Callie did not intend to kill Lottie, but she was scared and hurt, and these emotions caused her to react in a way that proved to be irrevocable.
Did The Wilderness Make Callie Kill Lottie?
It Would Align With Lottie’s Beliefs
Image via Paramount+
If the power of the wilderness is real, it is possible that “It” is what made Callie kill Lottie. During Yellowjackets‘ 1990s timeline, teen Lottie (Courtney Eaton) sees Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) as being closely connected to the wilderness, with her rage being a manifestation of “It.” Like her mother, Callie has rage inside of her, and if she truly is a child of the wilderness, “It” may have used those feelings to kill Lottie. For decades, Lottie has served the wilderness faithfully, but it may be time for her to be replaced by Callie.
|
Yellowjackets Season 3’s Deaths |
|
|---|---|
|
Character |
Death Episode # |
|
Van & Taissa’s waiter |
1 |
|
Lottie |
4 |
|
Coach Ben |
6 |
|
Edwin |
7 |
|
Kodi |
9 |
|
Van |
9 |
|
Mari |
10 |
If the wilderness is unhappy with the other adult survivors as well, Callie could become an instrument to kill the remaining survivors, which currently includes her mother, Misty, Taissa Turner (Tawny Cypress), and Melissa (Hilary Swank). Of course, it is also possible that the wilderness does not have any real power, and Callie is simply a person who makes an accidental and harmful choice while feeling incredibly scared and angry. Yellowjackets season 4’s story has an opportunity to provide more clarity on the matter.
What Callie Killing Lottie Means For The Wilderness’ Plans
The Wilderness Was Done Protecting Lottie
Yellowjackets‘ debate about the wilderness is seemingly settled in season 3, episode 9, when Lottie is able to walk over the pit without dying. Mari Ibarra (Alexa Barajas) dies when she runs over the pit, and even a branch gets swallowed up when Travis Martinez (Kevin Alves) tests it out. If the wilderness was protecting Lottie back then, that means it allows her to die in the present-day timeline. The wilderness may have been unhappy with Lottie and decided that she was no longer suitable to carry out the will of “It” and that Callie would be a better replacement.
Having both Shauna and Callie spilling more blood could be exactly what the wilderness wants.
Now that Callie has killed someone, she is more like Shauna than ever before. Their rage, the lengths they will go to protect themselves, and their tenacity make them exactly the kind of person that the wilderness needs to cause bloodshed. Once Shauna finds out where her husband, Jeff Sadecki (Warren Kole), has taken Callie, the mother-daughter duo could become closer now that they have both taken another life. Having both Shauna and Callie spilling more blood could be exactly what the wilderness wants.
What Lottie’s Visions Of The Antler Queen Before Her Death Really Mean
It Foreshadowed Her Killer
While teenage Shauna becomes the Antler Queen in the 1990s timeline, the Yellowjackets season 3 finale trailer also teased the return of a more mystical Antler Queen. This was a glimpse of the vision that Lottie has in the season 3 finale where the Antler Queen appears in front of her and is bathed in a fiery light. Seeing the Antler Queen is a way of foreshadowing who will kill Lottie. Her killer is the daughter of the real-life Antler Queen, Shauna, and according to Lottie, Callie is also a child of the wilderness.
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This is not the first time that Yellowjackets foreshadowed details about Lottie’s death. One of Lottie’s season 1 visions saw her on the same basement stairs, surrounded by candles, where she would end up dying years later. That vision teased where and how Lottie would die long before it happened. The Antler Queen vision adds the final piece to the puzzle, which is who will kill Lottie by pushing her down the candlelit stairs. Yellowjackets‘ story of the adult Lottie has now come to an end, but there is still more to explore with the teenage version of the character.
7/10
- Release Date
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November 14, 2021
- Network
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Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime
- Showrunner
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Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco
- Directors
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Benjamin Semanoff, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Deepa Mehta, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Liz Garbus, Scott Winant, Eva Sørhaug, Jamie Travis
- Writers
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Liz Phang, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa
