marikamlp

[marikamlp]

📢 ISRAEL HAS KIDNAPPED ALL 12 CREW ON BOARD THE MADLEEN HUMANITARIAN AID SHIP 🚨

Earlier this evening, the IOF boarded The Madleen humanitarian aid ship, headed to break the siege on Gaza.

As a result, 12 foreign nationals have been kidnapped by the IOF and their fate is currently unknown.

You can help.

You can contact the relevant ministries of foreign affairs for the crew on board The Madleen and also the UK foreign ministry as this was a UK flagged ship.

This is a violation of international law and an attack on the UK's sovereignty.

The crew on board The Madleen also reported white "paint" being poured on them and it's unknown what this substance was.

Please write to your local representatives and the relevant ministries of foreign affairs to demand the safe release of all 12 crew members who were on board The Madleen.

This is a crisis.

[marikamlp]

Jokes on you, Shauna. You already eat gay people

happy gay, girlgang

[marikamlp]

This says a lot about how Mari never saw Shauna as the leader because Mari has always followed the leader until when Shauna took over. She’s the only one to question Shauna’s willingness to use a gun calling her chickenshit and she diminishes Shauna until the very end. So what does Shauna do when Mari is finally dead? Makes an example of her. Treats her as less then human, hangs her naked on a hook like a pig (which has never been done to human sacrifices up until this point) and what’s worst of everything, she tells them to cut her hair that she wears like a trophy. A final reminder to everyone that she is the leader, that she won her beef with Mari and what happens when you don't respect her.

One thing about Shauna and her beef with Mari is that she wants to be respected and worshipped and if she can't have that she want people to fear her. And Mari never did either. Mari never worshipped her nor felt like she had to walk around eggshells around Shauna like everyone else did. She didn't pity her. And she wasn't scared of her. Which is kind of stupid at times, but also really telling. The others saw Shauna as if she was the Terminator, but Mari always saw her as a pathetic teenage girl with a lot of insecurities. Which is how Shauna feels deep down and it drove her mad, having someone whose very presence reminded her of those insecurities. And she becomes leader and and Mari still wasn't afraid of her! She becomes Nat's biggest supporter instead! Nope, she never showed her fear toward Shauna. Not even when she was hunted. She was afraid of dying. Not of Shauna. Mari didn't even give Shauna the pleasure of looking her in the eye when she put the necklace on her. Shauna never had the treat of seeing fear in Mari's eyes. Instead Mari tried to take her out with a knife and then told Shauna off one last time, telling her she deserves everything (bad) that's gonna happen to her.

No respect. No fear. Ever. The only time Shauna could have any control over Mari was after Mari was dead. Which says a lot about Mari as a person.

[marikamlp]

heavy is the head

[marikamlp]

There's part 2 by the way

Pit Girl Feast Analysis (season 3)

Possible spoilers I suppose

Before this season is over and we all know for sure who is who during the feast, I want to make my contribution to the analysis of who is who here. (This is a long post but bear with me, please)

My analysis will not include Misty because, obviously, we all know she is playing the so-called "Overseer" in the original script, who prepares food off-screen.

So let's start off with...

Tai

Tai is a pretty easy one because we were pretty much told who she is during the promo for the panel in Brazil

There are two characters that are wearing pretty similar outfits. The one on the left and the one in the middle on the right photo. However, only one of them is wearing the green gloves. So the one on the left would be Tai.

Melissa

I do think Melissa survives at least up until Pit Girl feast. And I think Melissa is the bunny costume, as both the bunny and Melissa's character in the winter BTS photos from season 3 are the only ones wearing the Yellowjackets uniform

But I also find it very interesting that Melissa is wearing a mask that is visibly resembling a rabbit given Shauna's history with rabbits in the adult timeline and their connection to Jackie.

Gen

In the BTS photo, Gen seems to be wearing the same kind of raccoon fur and green bandana as the middle character in the second photo. It's definitely an interesting choice to make Gen a survivor for that long given how unimportant she has been up until this point but I think it also makes sense since she seems to be on Shauna's and Melissa's side. And it makes sense because I think that...

Shauna is the Antler Queen

Since season 1, Shauna has been struggling with envy and greed for power. And I love her, but she is a queen of blaming others for her falling to the background. We know she's been angry at Jackie and blaming her for putting Shauna in the shadow. And she seems to be doing the same with her envy over Natalie's position. However, Natalie is clearly not doing well as a leader, girls are not really listening to her and she seems to be unable to actually grasp how to execute the power that is connected to her position. And we know that these scenes will take place in the near future:

Which for me seems like Shauna will question Natalie's leadership, and she might actually rise to the power and take up the position as the new leader.

I've also got a photo proof for that:

I don't think that any of the other characters' outfits seem to fit this closely to the Antler Queen's attire.

Van

She's a hard one. I'm somewhat sure and unsure of my choice at the same time. The BTS photo of Liv is not really showing much however I feel like the little part of the shirt is looking a bit similar to the shirt of the "Hunter" (Now I know this name does not fit Van and I agree but let's remember this is the name that has been used to describe this character in the scrip of the Pilot episode, I don't think it was ever set in stone and as we have seen with Javi, all of the girls take on the "hunter" role during the hunt)

But what's more, look at the hunter's shirt. It seems to be looking like the one Van is wearing both in season 3 and season 1 and might also be in season 2 but I don't remember it from season 2 so don't hold me up on that:

We can also see Travis wear that shirt in season 2

but I think it's mostly associated with Van's character or at least she's the one wearing it the most.

My last proof is the face mask sweater pattern. Because in one of the teasers for season 3 I believe, we can see Van wearing a sweater with the same pattern as the one on the face mask:

Misty has also worn a sweater with a pattern like that, might be the same one to be honest

But again, we know who Misty is already, as it was revealed in the pilot episode and Van is the only one who has been seen wearing both the face mask and the shirt of the "Hunter" throughout the series. And also in season 3, and I wouldn't take that for granted.

Travis and Lottie

Both of them are a question mark for me. There are only two places by the fire left and I do not think Nat is present for the feast and I will discuss that in a while. So solely based on the similarity of the hair, I would put Lottie as the pink hoodie character

Which would leave as with this seating:

Where is Nat?

We do know that Nat is one of the survivors in adult timeline so she has not been eaten and sacrificed to the Wilderness. But I think she might not be a part of the cult. Shauna has a history with throwing people out and even though Nat doesn't die the way Jackie did, I think she will be exiled to survive on her own as Shauna's punishment for Nat. Which would explain why her outfit in the BTS photos from what little angle we get seems to be looking more civilised and less culty than other girls

Now, does that mean there are 9 survivors or does it mean Pit Girl is in fact not the last sacrifice? I don't know honestly, and I think we might not find out during this season. We can only wait, watch and speculate.

If you've gotten this far, congratulations and thank you for indulging me

[marikamlp]

Okay, so we all thank Sophie Nelisse for this photo

It actually allowed me to adjust my previous prediction a bit. Given that we see the denim jacket girl from the front, I am like 90% sure now that it is Britt. And due to the hair, the girl in he middle is either Mari or Robin. We can't see some of the people, but I think this also confirms that we do not see Travis or Lottie in the pit girl feast. So final placements

And now I rest my case and put my analysis in the hands of the Wilderness

S03E10 Promo analysis (teen timeline and pit girl feast analysis part 2)

Massive Spoilers

Given some new information that came since I made my analysis and some of the discussion in the comments, I feel the need to point out some of the things (this post is linked to my previous post on the pit girl; if you're interested, check it out)

This is what I've settled on last but I am no longer sure about where I placed Lottie and Travis so let's rewind.

The pink jacket girl

We can see that in the promo, Natalie is the one who seems to be wearing the pink jacket, standing right there behind Van. It would also make sense how she is the one who takes on the new butchering role given she is the only one other than Shauna who has butchered people and who in the adult timeline offered Shauna help

However, I have not forgotten about this

And look closely at the make-up. It looks like the make-up we can see here under the mask of the girl in pink jacket

And the woman whose mask is being pulled up seems to be wearing Hannah's purple hoodie that Nat is wearing in the bts photo. So I think it is possible we're gonna see Hannah pull a queen card and Natalie exchanging clothes to trick the other girls (which possibly leads to them later on stripping people to only light clothing so the trick couldn't be performed again?). Either way, I don't think the pink jacket girl is Lottie.

So now we're onto the character I put down as Travis

But that can't be Travis. Because that person isn't dressed anything like Travis in the promo (he's in the background next to Akilah and Misty on the right)

However, the woman who is standing back to the camera and is hooded seems to be wearing the same kind of purple sleeves.

I'm not honestly sure who that is because they're turned back to the camera but possibly it could be Hannah or Lottie. Both seem to be shown wearing an alike hood in the promo.

But also, please look at the heart sleeves under this outfit, it looks like this

So this would mean that the braided heart-sleeve girl is Hannah. And this seems to be Lottie's hood in the background as it's lighter and has claws on

So it seems to me like, neither Hannah or Lottie are the person with purple sleeves. So who is it? I'd love to guess but there's too many dark haired girls to try.

My best guess for everyone here, Gen is based on the similarity of the outfit I assigned her beforehand from the pit girl feast. So we're down to Britt, Robin and Mari. If all of the Mari truthers are lucky, purple sleeve girl will be Mari and Pit girl will be Hannah!

I know a lot of people think Hannah will be pit girl, and you know, it's possible. I think it's either her or Mari or Robin, but I will not guess which one at this point. This, however, still leaves us with a question where is Travis during the pit girl feast? Are we even seeing it in the next episode? I don't have answers. All I think is that calling an episode full circle and then letting us see a pit girl feast, which we saw in the Pilot episode, would be an amazing use of that title. However, I can't imagine how this many people would die in a single episode so we might not know just yet or they will just pull of a trick that we didn't see everyone and rest of the characters was on the other side of camera (which I hope they won't cause it's kinda lame). It might also be an unpopular opinion, but killing Hannah next episode would be a waste. We were just intrigued by her character, and she has a relationship with Melissa to explore. There is also a question of how the whole black box reveal plays into this and when does the rescue come because I don't think we have more than 2-3 months left of their time in the wilderness.

[marikamlp]

Yellowjackets (2021-). Bear Down & A Normal, Boring Life.

[marikamlp]

S03E10 Promo analysis (teen timeline and pit girl feast analysis part 2)

Massive Spoilers

Given some new information that came since I made my analysis and some of the discussion in the comments, I feel the need to point out some of the things (this post is linked to my previous post on the pit girl; if you're interested, check it out)

This is what I've settled on last but I am no longer sure about where I placed Lottie and Travis so let's rewind.

The pink jacket girl

We can see that in the promo, Natalie is the one who seems to be wearing the pink jacket, standing right there behind Van. It would also make sense how she is the one who takes on the new butchering role given she is the only one other than Shauna who has butchered people and who in the adult timeline offered Shauna help

However, I have not forgotten about this

And look closely at the make-up. It looks like the make-up we can see here under the mask of the girl in pink jacket

And the woman whose mask is being pulled up seems to be wearing Hannah's purple hoodie that Nat is wearing in the bts photo. So I think it is possible we're gonna see Hannah pull a queen card and Natalie exchanging clothes to trick the other girls (which possibly leads to them later on stripping people to only light clothing so the trick couldn't be performed again?). Either way, I don't think the pink jacket girl is Lottie.

So now we're onto the character I put down as Travis

But that can't be Travis. Because that person isn't dressed anything like Travis in the promo (he's in the background next to Akilah and Misty on the right)

However, the woman who is standing back to the camera and is hooded seems to be wearing the same kind of purple sleeves.

I'm not honestly sure who that is because they're turned back to the camera but possibly it could be Hannah or Lottie. Both seem to be shown wearing an alike hood in the promo.

But also, please look at the heart sleeves under this outfit, it looks like this

So this would mean that the braided heart-sleeve girl is Hannah. And this seems to be Lottie's hood in the background as it's lighter and has claws on

So it seems to me like, neither Hannah or Lottie are the person with purple sleeves. So who is it? I'd love to guess but there's too many dark haired girls to try.

My best guess for everyone here, Gen is based on the similarity of the outfit I assigned her beforehand from the pit girl feast. So we're down to Britt, Robin and Mari. If all of the Mari truthers are lucky, purple sleeve girl will be Mari and Pit girl will be Hannah!

I know a lot of people think Hannah will be pit girl, and you know, it's possible. I think it's either her or Mari or Robin, but I will not guess which one at this point. This, however, still leaves us with a question where is Travis during the pit girl feast? Are we even seeing it in the next episode? I don't have answers. All I think is that calling an episode full circle and then letting us see a pit girl feast, which we saw in the Pilot episode, would be an amazing use of that title. However, I can't imagine how this many people would die in a single episode so we might not know just yet or they will just pull of a trick that we didn't see everyone and rest of the characters was on the other side of camera (which I hope they won't cause it's kinda lame). It might also be an unpopular opinion, but killing Hannah next episode would be a waste. We were just intrigued by her character, and she has a relationship with Melissa to explore. There is also a question of how the whole black box reveal plays into this and when does the rescue come because I don't think we have more than 2-3 months left of their time in the wilderness.

[marikamlp]

The memory of Jackie Taylor

S3 Yellowjackets spoilers!!

We all know Jackie takes haunting the narrative very seriously and keeps making her way to the screen and characters' minds even though she has been dead for two seasons. So, let's talk about how Jackie's memory is carried differently by various people.

Wiskayok and Jackie's parents

Jackie's parents don't seem to have ever moved on from the fact their daughter died, and they still seem to think of her as their 'perfect little princess'. It is somewhat to be expected since they lost their only child however, it makes them still diminish Shauna and lose track of reality. I do believe Jackie's parents were the ones who planted the idea of having to be perfect in her, and her lack of knowledge of how to be perfect in the Wilderness led to her death. Them holding onto that memory is just one of the views of Jackie, the one they wanted, and not Jackie herself. Wiskayok, as a society, has obviously moved on from her death; however, during the reunion at school, it is clear the popular, perfect girl, captain of the soccer team and prom queen is also the image the town is still keeping of Jackie in its mind. The pre crash Jackie who maintained that idea of perfection and tried very hard to never break it.

The Yellowjackets

I think it is important to say that to Yellowjackets, especially Lottie, Jackie has been a necessary sacrifice and became a symbol of that instead of their dead teammate. The first sacrifice, the act of her consumption always being repeated by putting the necklace on the next victim before the hunt. Lottie acknowledges her sacrifice that let them survive and asks for her guidance through the voices of the Wilderness. Most of the girls don't seem affected much by their grief over Jackie. There might still be some regret and shame over what happened from Tai who has been the only girl trying to tell Jackie to stay inside, the only one next to Nat who have shown to be uncomfortable with the act of consumption of Jackie and the one who in her conversation with Natalie brought Jackie up insinuating how tragic and easily prevented her death could have been since it was caused by 'dumb girl shit'. However, let's just note, we're talking about Tai, not Other Tai. Other Tai doesn't care as she's the one ready to do what's necessary and what Tai wouldn't be able to do, as we are shown time and time again in the adult timeline in season 3.

Nat is another yellowjacket that holds regret over what happened to Jackie and the one who seems to be showing her respect still after death

Despite any beef Jackie and Nat had before Jackie's death, despite the fact Jackie had sex with Nat's boyfriend, Nat respects Jackie's tragic death. Nat was also the one who freed Jackie from the closet. Jackie and Nat were the only ones acting sane the night of the doomcoming, and both ran to save Travis. Nat is the one who pays her respects to Jackie's bones after they eat her, and she is the one who says the last goodbye to her. She still declares Jackie their real captain, even a year after her death, even though she has been mocking Jackie's way of leadership. Anything she and Jackie were arguing about, Jackie's mean comments, all of that didn't matter as much as what they had done to Jackie and what they let happen to her. To some extent Nat keeps Jackie's memory alive and she does so with respect for Jackie.

Shauna

Of course, I'm saving Shauna as the last one here because she's the one who still grieves Jackie after 25 years. The one whose guilt is so deep that she not only consumes Jackie but in the act of that tries to become her. She marries Jeff and lives the life of Jackie's shadow in the future. But even in the Wilderness, she becomes exactly the person she claimed Jackie was towards her. She becomes possessive, controlling, doesn't take a no for an answer, and always tells others what to do and gets what she wants 'like it's nothing'

Before Jackie died, Jackie was Shauna's scapegoat. A person on whom Shauna could blame all of her problems. I, personally, don't think Jackie ever tried to be controlling of Shauna, but that was a great excuse for why Shauna kept on failing making of her life what she wanted. But she didn't do that after Jackie's death, and she does realize that in her journal. But what kind of memory does Shauna keep of Jackie?

To say that the memory of Jackie in Shauna's head is complex and complicated would be an understatement. Jackie in Shauna's head is a sign of guilt, an object of love and affection, her best friend and the person she believes she killed, a scapegoat, a mean girl to justify her actions and, most importantly, her consciousness. The beloved Ghost Jackie doesn't say what Jackie would say, not most of the time; she says what Shauna thinks. When Ghost Jackie calls Shauna out, when she bites with words, it's the way Shauna expresses her own conflicts in her mind. She holds onto the image of Jackie because no, she can't afford to lose it, but Ghost Jakcie's words cut deep when she voices Shauna's concerns and fears, when she tells her she is all words and no action, when she makes her realize how messed up was what she did with Jeff, when she says Shauna is wasting her potential, when she predicts Shauna her most feared future. But that Ghost is also Shauna's source of comfort when she talks to her, braids her hair, laughs with her, and that's what she's looking for after losing her baby. She's never getting rid of Jackie; she'll see her till the day she dies, and she will see her the day she does die, I believe.

But there are a few times when Shauna's consciousness shows that Shauna knows how real Jackie would be. Three times to be exact, I think:

The scene on the bridge is very much something Jackie would have been concerned about. And it's a great foreshadowing to Shauna hurting Jackie in the process of her actions. She never meant to kill Jackie, to hurt her; she loved her. She doesn't plan on hurting Adam, but ghost Jackie voices the same concern real Jackie would have had: ultimately somebody will get hurt - Jeff, Shauna or Adam. Not only because Shauna is about to do something reckless with Adam, like jumping off the bridge, but because Shauna is cheating on her husband. And in the end, Shauna ends up killing Adam due to her paranoia and blame, just like she did with Jackie.

When in Jakcie's childhood bedroom, Shauna's thoughts are battling. She knows Jackie would have forgiven her, would have wanted her to move on and live a life for herself, one she would enjoy. She says it to Shauna, and when Shauna acknowledges it, the image is quickly shifted and overtaken by Shauna's guilt, telling her it is her fault.

In the last picture, I believe it is again something Shauna knew Jackie would do. She would be hurt that Shauna wasn't talking to her and that she did something that hurt Shauna because she wouldn't do that on purpose. She asks why Shauna never said anything, and it's less about the nickname and more about the entire problem of miscommunication. Shauna's short realization that she could have talked to Jackie, that maybe Jackie wasn't really a source of her problems like she made herself believe her to be. After all, even in the original script, whenever Jackie did something kind, Shauna felt guilty over the way she was treating Jackie. Jackie for sure was doing something that made Shauna feel out of control, but Jackie couldn't have known if Shuana didn't talk to her. But even then, Shauna's guilt slips in as the realisation hits her, she asks if this is what her life will be as she sees this older version of Jackie that never got a chance to exist and the ghost bites back snarking that she can't know, cause she's dead and it's all Shauna's fault.

Tragiacally, the memory of Jackie will always be tangled up in different ways people saw her, and it will never be purely Jackie. It will be intertwined with false images and guilt.

[marikamlp]

looking back at scenes with jackie and shauna i can't help but love what screenwriters did with shauna and melissa's relationship

keep in mind that shauna even in the beginning of the series is extremely repressed and angry at jackie for making her feel trapped even tho she did it unknowingly

anyway moving on to the scenes that scream to me

jackies gave shauna something that she wore in every other scene before the crash it was a part of herself and it was all sweet but i'm afraid that every gentle gesture that jackie does goes bitter when it comes to shauna especially the necklace

i think some part of shauna thought of it as another tie to jackie just like soccer or jackie's planning of their future or even a collar in this case

now the sheath is entirely shauna it's something practical it has her initial on it and it's all she is in the wilderness and no one else can claim it

another thing that stuck out to me is how different jackie and melissa's response to what shauna does especially these scenes

jackie of course doesn't like butchering animals (same honestly) but it's more than that shauna is an important part of their group and when she showed it to jackie she was disgusted (again same honestly)

and she showed it to melissa too but she also asked if they were alike and melissa cut ben without disgust

to shauna it was acceptance it was finally sharing her hunger with someone

[marikamlp]

Were girls always doomed to become what they did?

Spoilers to s03e08!!!

I find it interesting that the three characters who didn't want to come back from the wilderness are the three characters who came home to live exactly the life they feared. It's tragic, yet they're the ones who ultimately make it happen as if there was no real choice, like they were always doomed to live it.

Tai

Taissa tells Van in the Wilderness that she fears they won't be able to be together because the society hasn't changed and progressed that much since they left. But this is exactly what she does once they get back! She ditches Van for "respect" and her "law degree". And as Van says, the tragic irony is that she ends up gay anyway. Not only openly married to a woman, but she's a public figure married to a woman. Yet, Tai is clearly unhappy as she gave up a big part of herself, Van, who is always somehow connected to this free side of Tai, and as I've said in my other post, that's Other Tai. We can see the man with no eyes looking over Tai's shoulder when she tells Van she wants to stay, which could let us assume it's Other Tai's decision. It's a decision based on desires, but that has to be abandoned once they are back in the real society, and Tai needs to bury Other Tai and her desires to follow a rational side of herself. She fears losing Van, and she fears it so much that it ultimately leads to them falling apart and her breaking up with Van.

Shauna

I've seen several explanations as to why Shauna doesn't want to come back, and I want to give my own view on this. I think she doesn't want to come back because she fears becoming "boring" again and getting back to living in the shadow. Shauna keeps on telling everyone how 'boring' they are - Jackie, Melissa, Jeff. But it's truly just that she's insecure about being nobody, and it's something ghost Jackie calls her out on again and again. "So much potential and so little to show for it". When Shauna gets back, not only does she spiral back to living in the shadow of Jackie as she tries to live the life she thinks Jackie would have lived, she also becomes exactly what she destined herself to become when playing sleepover games with ghost Jackie in the meat shed: a housewife married to Jeff. When Melissa talks about all those normal boring things she can't wait to do, when girls dream about such boring, everyday life stuff like toilet and bed and a slushie, Shauna is dissociating at the thought. She's terrified of that possibility of a "normal, boring life" as her mind wanders to the exact image she's dreaming of as an adult in the beginning of the episode: a cashier with nothing to show for herself. She and Melissa live the same life in the adult timeline - a marriage out of shame and guilt, mothers. But Melissa likes it, and Shauna hates it and is constantly looking for a thrill that will let her feel the way she felt in the Wilderness. She doesn't want to give up that freedom but her actions in the Wilderness are exactly what makes her fall back into a boring life with Jeff, holding onto the Wilderness is exactly what keeps her from going for what she dreamt of before the plane crash and what leaves her to be what she feared most - a normal, boring housewife.

Lottie

I find it so tragic that Lottie didn't want to go back because she was convinced that she wouldn't be well back in society. Because she knew she had no life to go back to, that she would just be put in a facility to be dealt with, put on meds that make her probably feel not like herself and that she once again will be lost and made to hide her true self as one with different kinds of conditions often is to adapt to the society that wasn't made for them to live in. And it is exactly what happens. She is put in a facility where she goes through such awful and traumatic experiences like shock therapy. And all that after losing something so close to her heart that maybe was the first place she ever felt at home. The Wilderness. When she says that the scientist "will ruin everything", she means it. She knows that the appearance of outside people means everyone will want to go home, and she can't take it because for her it means she's going to lose home. Nobody will believe her again, nobody will listen to her, and nobody will care for her like people did in the Wilderness. She fears it, and she is doomed to live through it. And not only once, but twice. 25 years later, she again loses her cult, the home she built for herself, only to be sent away to be "dealt with" in a facility.

While Tai and Shauna make choices that make them fall right into their destined end, Lottie doesn't get a say in it, which I think makes her story even more tragic and sympathetic (and I am aware she axed a person and ate their brains out). In the end, the girls are living a Greek tragedy. No matter what they do or don't do, they will do exactly what will land them in those positions. It's fate decided by fatum that they can't escape.

[marikamlp]

Melissa is alive

I know the latest episode said she was dead, but she definitely faked her death. Hilary's character is going to be in ep 8 and in the trailer for that episode, she obviously has blue eyes (Hilary has brown eyes). They wouldn't make her wear blue contacts unless it's essential for her character.

It's confirmed that Hilary isn't playing Alex. If Hilary isn't playing her, I don't see who else she would be playing. It was already confirmed she'd be a recurring character if the show is renewed for s4. She has to play an already established character, aka a survivor. I don't think they'd just introduce a new character like that so far in the story and make her part of the regular cast.

It's very possible that Melissa had to fake her death. We know she will get close to Hannah, and Hannah is definitely going to get killed. The other survivors would probably assume Mel will reveal the truth, so to protect herself, she'd have to fake her death. She is probably the one who sneaked the tape (Hannah might have given it to her). There is a lot of reference to the Princess Bride with Melissa, so it does feel like foreshadowing about her faking her death and coming back later for revenge.

And the synopsis for ep8 mentions a teammate coming back and making Shauna spiral. Given we know Hilary is going to be there, it's probably her. In the trailer she's saying "Does she know what you did? what you are capable of?" If this is Hilary talking to Shauna, then she does know her personally. This isn't a new character. This is Melissa coming back for revenge. For what Shauna did. As foreshadowed by ghost Jackie. What Shauna did after coming back was trying to kill Melissa to silence her.

Why wait 25 years? Personally, I think Melissa would have rather stayed hidden and never seen Shauna again and let them believe she's dead, but with Nat's death, the group possibly being on the news, she got reminded of them. She might even have gone to Nat's funeral and saw Shauna, and all those feelings she got came back and she impulsively decided to start following her around. We do see a blonde woman (prob Hilary) at the bar right after the funeral, watching over them. And later seemingly the same woman outside Shauna's house.

I think ep8 will answer a lot of our questions, but I'm almost 100% convinced Hilary is playing adult Melissa, and she's there to get revenge on Shauna. I don't think she was responsible for the breaks or the freezer, nor did she kill Lottie. But her actions will definitely make her the new prime suspect.

[marikamlp]

Thoughts on ShaunaHat so far

Spoilers up to S03E06!!!

Before I say anything, I want to point out that I do not hate on anyone shipping them or enjoying their dynamic. I think everyone has their own right to ship whoever they like and I'm glad you guys have content to enjoy!

That being said my issues or, more so, concerns with ShaunaHat are purely narrative. Because what does this relationship mean for the narration? Well, it's definitely a confirmation of Shauna being bi. It has also given us a confirmation of JackieShauna (And I love it, I'm a number one JackieShauna shipper). However, I do feel like writers might just be spirling a bit too much into fanservice. I have recently read an article by Abby Monteil on Them (which I'm linking for anyone interested in reading the whole thing) and the author stated there something I am myself wondering: "How many Shauna-Jackie fics did these writers read before deciding to give Melissa vocal cords?" For me, the relationship between Melissa and Shauna is very random and something no one was expecting because Mel had like one line in season two and was one of the unimportant, randomly spawned extras.

This season some girls that have not been of interest before, seem to be getting bigger roles, especially Mari and Akilah. And I'm not mad about it. Mari's and Akilah's stories are interesting and help shape their character. I'm not even that mad about some of the fan service, it's funny like with Tai and Van's comments in episode 6 and sometimes it's a nice wink to the audience like with Mari and Pit Girl parallels (and I still believe it was a confirmation and a wink to reward the viewers and not a middle finger to the viewers) or even episode 3 Jackie reveal. It's not big things that influence the narrative really but a good way to acknowledge the viewers.

However with Melissa... do we really know anything about her beside the fact that she likes Shauna? And do we even know if she really likes Shauna or if this is some ploy? What are her thoughts on what is happening? Misty said that "Melissa can swing both ways" and honestly, yes, because I don't think there are any clear answers on her views and personality. She only appears in relation to Shauna and she usually says what Shauna wants to hear, instead of having her own voice (which I guess could be a point if she's supposed to be a new Shauna to Shauna's Jackie but it is taking away from the depth of the character). I'm still giving her a chance that there will be a turning point that will explain her actions beyond the idea of her wanting to score Shauna. Melissa barely stands as her own character. She seems to be playing a lady Macbeth role so far, encouraging Shauna and manipulating her actions (notice how she's giving Shuana compliments for being this chaotic and deadly and how she makes Gen vote against Ben first even though Shauna's screaming at other girls isn't doing much). If she does stay in this role, then maybe we will get some development for her. But I can't help but think Melissa was chosen as Shauna's new girlfriend, acolyte and servant because the writers have spent too much time on Reddit, watching edits and reading fanfiction during the hiatus, and they wrote it in to appeal to the viewers.

All in all, I'm not going to make any final opinions until the final of the season airs, but so far I've been getting a feeling that we're getting more of writers trying to appeal to their viewers than real hints and answers for the mysteries happening which is giving a feeling that they... might not know what they're doing. I am glad they are engaging with the fan base, I just hope their original idea for the show and story won't turn into a fanfiction.

[marikamlp]

Natalie's Leadership Analysis

S03E06 SPOILERS!!!

I think Natalie was always doomed to fail as a leader and her downfall was just a matter of time. Yes, she was good with practical stuff. Yes, girls prospered under her leadership, but she couldn't influence the group. Even before the crash Nat was "only a junkie", disregarded and often somewhat bullied by the other girls. But she was also "so completely herself" to quote Jackie. She was always at the core going to stay Natalie and in the Wilderness, that is exactly what doomed her leadership. Nat killed Ben because giving him mercy was what Nat would have done. Keeping him alive would have been what the other girls were doing, solely for the benefit of themselves. The act of killing Ben was a mercy kill and a selfless act that the other girls were not capable of. Because Mist too in some twisted Misty way loved Ben, but she wanted Ben alive because she couldn't take Ben dying, and she was willing to keep him alive despite his misery, unlike Nat who couldn't watch him suffer. And no, Nat never did what was good for her, that's what the other Yellowjackets were doing, she did what was right for Ben.

It is also very important to mention all of the parallels between Jackie's leadership and Nat's leadership. Jackie lacked practical skills that would be helpful to guide girls and she was unwilling to give into the Wilderness and let go of all the social standards, but Nat never had the influence that would make girls listen to her nor did she know how to execute her role and power as a leader. They really are two sides of the same coin. Natalie is clearly uncomfortable in her new role as we can see during the trial. She takes off the antler crown and the antler queen attire, and in the end, during voting, she no longer holds any attribute of the power and is just one of the other girls. She also doesn't seem to grasp the power her words could have. She is the queen, she has the final say, yet she is easily pushed off to the side as Shauna starts screaming and she doesn't do anything, because she never was supposed to be in that position. Lottie pushed her into it, but Nat was never truly chosen by the Wilderness, she was supposed to die, and she tricked the fate even if only temporarily because in the end she was always doomed to die.

Another great example of comparison between Jackie and Natalie and their power and influence is of course, the whole MariShauna fight, which reflects back to the fight Tai and Shauna had back in the pilot during the party. Nat tries to resolve the fight during the feast, giving Shauna and Mari house arrest, but it doesn't seem like either of them listens to it. Neither later, when Nat asks girls to look for Mari, all of them except for Misty disregard her and Tai and Van decide to do it on their own. Shauna doesn't even listen to her in such a simple thing as listening to Van's performance, and Nat seems at a loss how to talk to her and convince her. Jackie on the other hand has no problem putting her foot down during the party and she doesn't even have to look back at girls to know they are following her despite the eye rolls and their reluctance to do it. Same as later with "saying one nice true thing about every other girl", none of them want to at the beginning, but Jackie takes the initiative and they follow. Natalie disregards Jackie's leadership tactics and even thinks such matters as arguing within the group are not worth her impact

But Jackie is herself an example that those things do matter out there as well.

Now with Shauna in charge, I think things are about to go down the rails very fast and a lot of girls, especially those who are opposing Shauna's leadership, will die or suffer. Shauna seems to be immediately after being handed leadership, trying to be the leader she knew Jackie to be and actually use her tactics of calling out to team spirit and trying to make everyone feel needed, as part of the group.

But in the end, she's still Shauna. Shauna suffered so much that she has partly lost her core self from before. Unlike Nat, who was always going to be herself no matter what anyone else thought, which means she also in the end cared more about Ben than losing her status. And I don't personally think Shauna will be a good leader either. Though she will be a brutal one, willing to do anything to survive, like with Allie's leg. We know they didn't tell Jackie because she would have been against it and Nat was against it.

However, both Jackie and Nat had to fall because yellowjackets are like a bee hive. And other queens need to die so the other bees survive. "It's not brutal, it's nature"

[marikamlp]

Yellowjackets Ace Attorney spin off when?

Can't be the only one who thought of this after that episode

[marikamlp]

Reason, Desire and Madness - Tai, Other Tai and the Man with No Eyes Analysis

Spoilers up to episode 5 of season 3 of Yellowjackets There is a lot of discussion about whether or not the show is supernatural. Depending on which way you swing, you could interpret the duality of Tai's personality and the role of The Man with No Eyes differently.

For me, Tai is interesting because her whole person is the embodiment of the dichotomy of human nature that is as old as time: reason and desire. Plato in one of his dialogues, Phaedrus, wrote that:

"Let us note that in every one of us there are two guiding and ruling principles which lead us whither they will; one is the natural desire of pleasure, the other is an acquired opinion which aspires after the best; and these two are sometimes in harmony and then again at war, and sometimes the one, sometimes the other conquers"

Of course, that duality of nature is true for each and every girl. All of them out there in the Wilderness give into their desires and instincts and when we see them as adults, they seem to be having a harder time adapting back to following their reason and taming their desires, as they were able to act freely in the Wilderness. And it seems like they miss that freedom and yearn for it.

But with Tai it is very explicit as even in the Wilderness, Tai does not accept her duality. Which is why we have other Tai. Tai is the symbol of reason - she's practical, she has characteristics of a leader, she's able to make hard calls and strives to win by any means necessary. We see that in many ways. For example, even before the crush, she is ready to oppose Jackie and freeze out a weakling to ensure the team's victory. Jackie too acknowledges Taissa's drive and determination.

This side of Tai also defies the Wilderness and worries about what there is rationally to worry about.

Other Tai on the other hand is much more primal, animalistic and acts purely on desires. She eats dirt and climbs trees like a wilding, something not fully human. It was quite commonly believed in ancient Greece that following your Reason made you fully human while giving into the desires was downgrading you to an animal. That Tai is also a clear believer of the Wilderness as we can see in the scene when she's starting to chant the prayer "we hear the wilderness and it hears us" in the adult timeline in season 3. She is also able to act on Tai's desire to be with Van - she does what Tai wants to do. After all, in the adult timeline, it is Other Tai that kisses Van. The desire is deprived of reason and so a person who follows it will not be thinking rationally or worrying about social expectations.

Tai's nature seems to be fighting all the time which is why we often can't tell when exactly Tai is switching to the other Tai. We do know that Sammy can tell, and he most likely can tell better than Tai or us as the viewers. Other Tai often takes control in sleep as that is when Tai's consciousness can't actively fight off that part. But once Tai starts going to prayer circles, the sleepwalking stops as she's starting to accept the wild nature of herself. At least partly.

But that brings me to the subject of The Man with No Eyes. He is of course associated with Taissa but more so the Other Tai I think. He shows her the symbols on the trees, and we know she saw him when her grandma was dying. I don't have a full explanation of this, but whenever Other Tai acts, Tai can't remember it. It's not an uncommon view of the state of Madness. We can definitely associate it with the relation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But also with the rage of madness of Heracles that was described by Euripides. Heracles was cursed with madness by the goddess Hera and in turn has killed his whole family. However, he did not recall any of it.

Tai's eyes also say a lot about when the other Tai is taking over, they get more angry. We can see the Madness speaking through them

In case of Heracles, his son too first observed his father's state of possession through the change in his eyes

"Messenger: Victims to purify the house were stationed before the altar of Zeus, for Heracles had slain and cast from his halls the king of the land. There stood his group of lovely children, with his sire and Megara; and already the basket was being passed round the altar, and we were keeping holy silence. But just as Alcmena's son was bringing the torch in his right hand to dip it in the holy water, he stopped without a word. And as their father lingered, his children looked at him; and lo! he was changed; his eyes were rolling; he was distraught; his eyeballs were bloodshot and starting from their sockets, and foam was oozing down his bearded cheek"

I think the eyes and the lack of them in No Eyed Man play an important part in explaining why Tai might not remember her most horrid actions like eating Jackie or killing her dog. When Tai first saw The No-Eyed Man, it was when her grandma was dying and her grandma was scared of that figure (now question if it was truly the same figure is a whole other discussion topic) and so, Tai has somewhat associated his presence with evil. But he lacks his eyes and they enable us to see our actions. I would think here of the Three Wise Monkeys: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. If Tai is not present at all during Other Tai's actions, then maybe the No Eyed Man is truly protecting her from viewing the horrors she's committing. At least things that seem like horrors to people following Reason but not so much Desires. Tai sees no evil, so she is spared from the evil, such as eating her teammate.

So is the show supernatural or no? Both! You can interpret it however you like and this will still make sense really. Especially if you take into consideration that in Ancient Greece the state of Madness that was also associated with lack of reason, was often viewed as a gift from gods: poets who created their works in a maniac state were considered by Plato the True Poets, Oracle of Delphy was mad and spoke some sort of gibberish but she had a gift from a god Apollo and a "sickness" of love has been given to people by the God Eros. And whatever was given by the gods, could not have been bad. But of course, no out of the world entities that influence Lottie or Tai have to come to play for Tai's state to still make sense.

[marikamlp]

Pit Girl Feast Analysis (season 3)

Possible spoilers I suppose

Before this season is over and we all know for sure who is who during the feast, I want to make my contribution to the analysis of who is who here. (This is a long post but bear with me, please)

My analysis will not include Misty because, obviously, we all know she is playing the so-called "Overseer" in the original script, who prepares food off-screen.

So let's start off with...

Tai

Tai is a pretty easy one because we were pretty much told who she is during the promo for the panel in Brazil

There are two characters that are wearing pretty similar outfits. The one on the left and the one in the middle on the right photo. However, only one of them is wearing the green gloves. So the one on the left would be Tai.

Melissa

I do think Melissa survives at least up until Pit Girl feast. And I think Melissa is the bunny costume, as both the bunny and Melissa's character in the winter BTS photos from season 3 are the only ones wearing the Yellowjackets uniform

But I also find it very interesting that Melissa is wearing a mask that is visibly resembling a rabbit given Shauna's history with rabbits in the adult timeline and their connection to Jackie.

Gen

In the BTS photo, Gen seems to be wearing the same kind of raccoon fur and green bandana as the middle character in the second photo. It's definitely an interesting choice to make Gen a survivor for that long given how unimportant she has been up until this point but I think it also makes sense since she seems to be on Shauna's and Melissa's side. And it makes sense because I think that...

Shauna is the Antler Queen

Since season 1, Shauna has been struggling with envy and greed for power. And I love her, but she is a queen of blaming others for her falling to the background. We know she's been angry at Jackie and blaming her for putting Shauna in the shadow. And she seems to be doing the same with her envy over Natalie's position. However, Natalie is clearly not doing well as a leader, girls are not really listening to her and she seems to be unable to actually grasp how to execute the power that is connected to her position. And we know that these scenes will take place in the near future:

Which for me seems like Shauna will question Natalie's leadership, and she might actually rise to the power and take up the position as the new leader.

I've also got a photo proof for that:

I don't think that any of the other characters' outfits seem to fit this closely to the Antler Queen's attire.

Van

She's a hard one. I'm somewhat sure and unsure of my choice at the same time. The BTS photo of Liv is not really showing much however I feel like the little part of the shirt is looking a bit similar to the shirt of the "Hunter" (Now I know this name does not fit Van and I agree but let's remember this is the name that has been used to describe this character in the scrip of the Pilot episode, I don't think it was ever set in stone and as we have seen with Javi, all of the girls take on the "hunter" role during the hunt)

But what's more, look at the hunter's shirt. It seems to be looking like the one Van is wearing both in season 3 and season 1 and might also be in season 2 but I don't remember it from season 2 so don't hold me up on that:

We can also see Travis wear that shirt in season 2

but I think it's mostly associated with Van's character or at least she's the one wearing it the most.

My last proof is the face mask sweater pattern. Because in one of the teasers for season 3 I believe, we can see Van wearing a sweater with the same pattern as the one on the face mask:

Misty has also worn a sweater with a pattern like that, might be the same one to be honest

But again, we know who Misty is already, as it was revealed in the pilot episode and Van is the only one who has been seen wearing both the face mask and the shirt of the "Hunter" throughout the series. And also in season 3, and I wouldn't take that for granted.

Travis and Lottie

Both of them are a question mark for me. There are only two places by the fire left and I do not think Nat is present for the feast and I will discuss that in a while. So solely based on the similarity of the hair, I would put Lottie as the pink hoodie character

Which would leave as with this seating:

Where is Nat?

We do know that Nat is one of the survivors in adult timeline so she has not been eaten and sacrificed to the Wilderness. But I think she might not be a part of the cult. Shauna has a history with throwing people out and even though Nat doesn't die the way Jackie did, I think she will be exiled to survive on her own as Shauna's punishment for Nat. Which would explain why her outfit in the BTS photos from what little angle we get seems to be looking more civilised and less culty than other girls

Now, does that mean there are 9 survivors or does it mean Pit Girl is in fact not the last sacrifice? I don't know honestly, and I think we might not find out during this season. We can only wait, watch and speculate.

If you've gotten this far, congratulations and thank you for indulging me