#i know lottie and nat are foils

[grendelsmilf]

i still find it so interesting how jackie is (was?) largely defined by her niceness, her friendliness. she's not the strongest, or the smartest, but she can bring people together. so when she is mean to the other girls, you notice it. she's mean to taissa when she feels like her position as leader is undermined; she knows that taissa is just as much of their leader as she is and it scares her. she's mean to shauna when she finds out about jeff; understandable considering what a huge betrayal it is (at least on the surface). but the girl she is by far the meanest to is nat.

and there is no good reason why anyone should be mean to nat. she is kind of treated as a punching bag, and taissa especially resents her because she doesn't like the idea of nat threatening the team's performance with her day-drinking or whatever. but nat is by far the kindest, sweetest, most compassionate, genuine member of the team. even as an adult you can see that she might be jaded and grieving and ruthless, but she's still at her core a good person. young natalie especially though is someone with a very strong moral center and uses those guiding principles of kindness to define who she is.

she's more mature, capable, and sure of herself than the rest of the group, because before ever landing in that forest, she's had a much harder life than the rest of them. we see that van probably doesn't have the best home life, but the rest of them are living comfortably. even if they don't have great relationships with their parents, they still live in middle to upper class households. nat grew up in a trailer park with a father who horribly abused her and her mother (until the day she witnessed him accidentally shoot his own face off). these circumstances made nat more resilient, braver, and more empathetic than the other girls.

and i think jackie recognizes that, whether or not it's a conscious recognition. she knows that nat is everything she herself is not. nat is confident in herself whereas jackie is terribly insecure and relies on external validation to uphold her own identity. where nat comes from poverty, jackie grew up in a huge house. where nat is comfortable having sex with boys, jackie is too repressed to have sex with her longterm boyfriend because she's terrified of having to confront the fact that she won't actually like it. natalie expresses herself through alt/grunge fashion, music, and culture, whereas jackie is as preppy as it is physically possible to be. natalie is jackie's perfect opposite: a poor outcast who is nevertheless comfortable enough in her own (hetero)sexuality to present in a (gender) non-conforming way and not care what others think of her to jackie's rich popular prom queen soccer captain who is debilitatingly insecure and sexually repressed, conforming perfectly to society's expectations of her to the point that she'd rather die than explore the possibility that she might like girls.

jackie has negative interest in travis, but she breaks him and nat up and steals him from her anyway. and the thing is, nat doesn't even care. she forgives jackie. when lottie locks jackie in the closet (ha), nat is the one who comes to her rescue. when travis apologizes to nat for sleeping with jackie, she says it doesn't matter to her. jackie is horrible to nat, but nat is genuinely mature enough that it doesn't even bother her. jackie wears her insecurities on her sleeve, and nat sees right through her. she doesn't put up with jackie's bullshit, but she's also gracious enough to not gang up on jackie with the rest of the girls, even though she's the only one who actually has any right to be mad at her. nat is generally apart from the rest of the team, not only because she's an outcast, but because she's simply above their petty dramas.

jackie doesn't have a good reason to be mean to her. she's the kindest, sweetest girl on the team. but jackie is mean when she feels threatened, and nat's existence threatens her very identity.

[rose-colored-lottie]

“you were always It’s favourite”

and

“there is no It. It was always just us.”

“is there a difference?”

is quite crazy (and gay) when you think about it

[jackietaylorsversion]

Soulmates.

I was in a discord server earlier, and we got to talking about the Yellowjackets as soulmates, and I thought I'd share those thoughts here, just a nice little put together catalogue of all those thoughts put together. I might add to this, too, as more pairings and relationships come to me.

For the record, I want to point out that I think that all of these characters are soulmates, far beyond ship dynamics, far beyond romance. What makes up the insides of one makes up the insides of the others because they are all the same: teenage girls trapped in either growing or decaying bodies. Their souls are all mated to the others in some way or another.

Tai and Van are a pair. Two separate souls that are a part of a matched set, like socks. They can be worn mismatched, certainly, but they really are at their best together. Tai gives Van a purpose. Van calms Tai's "demons." They can exist without each other, live without each other, love without each other, but they just are at their best together.

Lottie and Nat are that sort of star-crossed soulmates, doomed soulmates. There's a red string of fate but its severed somewhere in the middle. They can be good for each other, laugh and smile and hold each other close. They can be the worst of each other, holding knives to each other's throats, laughing in the face of it. They're the epitome of a missed chance. What kind of missed chance? That's up for you to decide.

Misty and Nat are the kind of soulmates that don't seem like they'd match, but they work so good together. The believer and the skeptic (though who is who changes with the circumstance, the belief, the skepticism). Orange and blue. Salt and sweet. Chaotic good and lawful evil. They're diametrically opposed but in a way that makes sense, in a way that works together. They each feed off of what makes the other their opposite. One is running, the other is chasing. Of course one would die at the hand of the other.

Lottie and Laura Lee are the kind of soulmates where each thinks they are the worshipper while the other is the god. A prophet, a believer, a worship under the sun. Souls that just burn brighter around each other (and that pun was unintentional the first time but very intentional with the emphasis). Both want to help the other. Both want to hold the other. They are belief without boundaries personified. Each is Icarus. Each is the sun.

Tai and Shauna are soulmates in a way that recognizes "That is my person." Two people that have so much in common, who understand each other, who both recognize the want in the other. They have an understanding and a care for each other that's fierce. I see you, you see me, ad it might not be pretty, but we will be honest with each other. Especially as the two of them have aged; time has not erased their understanding of one another.

Jackie and Nat are soulmates in a way that isn't explored a lot in the show but has been discussed, from what I've seen, really well. Foils. Two sides of the same coin. Opposites. Rich girl, poor girl. Prude, slut. There are certain stereotypes around both of them that, from a glance, seem to play out. One only needs to look deeper to really see it. Unfortunately, from the show, we never really see the two of them see past their expectations of each other.

Jackie and Shauna. Two heads, one heart. I don't know where you end and I begin and all that. We've been there, we've done that. We know it by heart. They're not a pair because a pair implies separation, and there is none. You can cut out your heart, and you can even replace it, but it's never the same. They're two shattered halves of the same fucked up whole. When one piece is gone, the hole cannot be filled properly ever again. There are some species of worms that, when worm cut in half, can keep living as two separate entities. That does not negate the fact that it was once one whole creature. They're unhealthy together. They're unnatural apart. One did not live long enough to remedy either of these facts.

(If Jackie's heart was still beating, I know it would beat in time with Shauna's. I hope Shauna ate it to feel it beat with hers one last time.)

[danisbrainrot]

i had this idea myself but i’m too lazy to write it so i thought i’d share and i know u wanted to write something about natalie 😛

natalie getting her hair cut (maybe even bleached) by one of the yjs ‼️‼️ came to me in a dream but i haven’t been bothered to write it

lottie matthews x natalie scatorccio

I had to do my babies!! thank you for the ask, I was dying to write for nat!! this is an au where they crashed but lottie didn't get sent to switzerland, but moved in with natalie.

snip snip snip. the scissors felt natural in lottie's hands, but the danger of her hands holding such a weapon that close to natalie's neck worried her. she felt her hands shake as she began to overthink, before sucking in a deep breath and taking a step away.

"you alright?" natalie's keen eyes watched her through the mirror, concerned at lottie's reaction. "I swear, if my hair is above my ears again—"

lottie shook her head swiftly, "no, no. I'm not making that mistake again. . . just shaky," she replied. natalie snorted, absentmindedly playing with the ring lottie had gotten her for her birthday.

the pleasing sounds of scissors making their way through natalie's hair comforted the blonde. "my regrowth getting pretty bad," she commented. lottie hummed absentmindedly, which nat took to mean agreement. "I mean, not as bad as when we were rescued. . . but I think I should get it done again," lottie bit her bottom lip in concentration, ignoring what nat was saying as she focused on fixing the blondes split ends problem.

it was silent for a minute longer, even lottie's breath was bated as she pulled out a long strand of hair before snipping it off. "sorry, what were you saying?"

"nothing. since when were you such a good hairdresser?" natalie teased, a wide grin on her face.

lottie sighed, shaking her head, "I gave all my dolls haircuts," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "your roots need touching up, I've got foils but they might be dodgy," natalie snorted, shaking her head.

"thanks, lot. but I think I'll get that done by the pros," natalie teased, playing with her hair, amazed at the new feel. lottie smiled, proud of her work.

"you know what my payment is," lottie teased, jumping up on the kitchen counter, crossing her arms across her chest.

natalie rolled her eyes, sighing but getting up. "if I'd known you'd shrink out of your chores, I never would have asked you to move in," she joked, opening the dishwasher.

lottie raised a questioning eyebrow, "you would have let my parents send me to switzerland?" she asked, eliciting a chuckle from natalie.

"probably would've chased right after you," natalie retorted, opening the top cabinets to put away the cups.

lottie smiled softly, knowing that it was a sweet lie natalie told her. in fact, lottie was sure natalie only asked her to move in because she still felt some kind of need to protect her—as if she didn't leave her leadership behind in the wilderness.

"I hope you're okay with pasta for dinner, because that's all I know how to cook," natalie announced, snapping lottie out of her thoughts.

lottie rolled her eyes, and shook her head, "wow, I gave up switzerland, land of the meatballs, just for pasta every night," she sighed teasingly.

"after the shit we went through, I'm shocked more of us didn't go vegetarian. sometimes I see a piece of meat and. . ." natalie paused, realising that she wasn't joking anymore and instead leading towards dangerous territory.

the two had tried to avoid talking about the wilderness beyond silly jokes. it felt too real. like their trauma was haunting them—that the people they'd eaten were lingering around their house. the time they'd spent in those woods had such a profound impact on them, on their relationship, it was inconceivable that they could ever live without each other.

some nights, when the nightmares made them jolt, lottie finds herself flinging out of her bed and into natalie's arms—even though they both know damn well why she shouldn't be there. natalie was dating travis, and lottie wasn't mentally stable for a relationship yet. but still, that didn't prevent them from sharing a bed every so often. . . they convince themselves it was a perfectly normal thing for friends to do.

lottie sighed, watching natalie bend over to take out the cutlery holder. "did you hear tai's a vegetarian now? must have the same thought process as you," lottie mumbled. natalie chuckled again, looking at lottie in disbelief.

"that'll last three weeks. she loves pork ribs just a little too much," natalie teased, chucking the cutlery in the drawer, not bothering to check if it was in the right slot.

"are you sure you don't want me to redo your roots?" lottie asked abruptly. it would sound like a purposeful topic change to anyone except natalie, who knew the brunette was having her own conversation in her mind.

"okay, if you insist. but I'm not doing your laundry, that's where I draw the line," she joked, her mouth cracking up into a toothy grin.

lottie rolled her eyes, "like I'd let you in my room, I've seen you eyeing my pilgrim hat" she teased.

natalie licked her lips, "why would I want that when it looks better on you?" lottie felt her cheeks heat up, but before either of them had time to realise what that could mean, she quickly added, "nevermind, I might need it after you're done with my hair."

lottie snorted, rolling her eyes at the implication. "shut up. i'll get the foils now." a soft smile appeared on nat's face as she watched the brunette leave with a bounce in her step.

[bandydear]

I just wanna say I really appreciate your take on Ben in the jackienat roommates fic and how it ties into a larger theme of queer people finding community with each other - homes with each other - when they don’t have their blood family to fall back on.

Finale Irony Voice: you know Ben… always trying to do right by the kids.

Yeah! Ben was always part of what I pitched to my friends when this idea was forming. This makeshift family of the “outcasts” from the Cabin (which includes Lottie, though her addition so early came as a surprise).

Ben balances out the trio in an interesting way of being both the only guy and the oldest. He can provide a lot more context to the queer history at the time, being a gay man who lived through the AIDs crisis…

Plus, Ben’s problem is inaction—which foils with Jackie and Nat. Jackie takes too much action without thinking and Nat takes action then freezes when it counts. So having Jackie push those two into being more decisive is a really good push. Ben and Nat ground Jackie, Nat and Jackie loosen Ben up, Jackie and Ben make Nat feel safe. Then a wildcard is added to the mix in chapter (redacted). I really hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Thanks for asking! I love getting to talk about this.

[redwhale]

Quick Yellowjackets thoughts so I can clear my head – once I watched the final episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it’s going to be hard to shift mental gears back!

SPOILERS:

Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!

Like a lot of folks, I spent the episode in the present timeline narrowing down who was going to die – and was heartbroken when I realized all the evidence towards Nat kept building. There was an instant around the campfire when I realized Nat had no one in that moment. Shauna had Jeff and Callie there for her, Misty had Walter, Van had Tai, and Lottie had her people and her belief. In the next scene, Lottie in the past gave over the leadership to a shocked Natalie, and I heartbrokenly realized it was done. Oh, Nat, my darling. I think I'm still processing.

I’m absolutely shattered for the loss Adult Nat and Juliette Lewis, but I adore from a narrative structure and perspective to see a character’s arc coming to a close in the present day as the younger version of the same character begins the next step in their arc. I love that that I know where Natalie as a character begins and ends, but I’m still missing the in-between. As Yellowjackets as proved many times this season, one of its great strengths are plot revelations that completely recontextualize existing scenes.

I was holding it together well with Nat dying, until Adult Nat began to cry on the plane. It was such a raw performance from Juliette Lewis that I had an involuntary little sob with her. Lewis will be dearly, dearly missed.

Whether you prefer the supernatural or the rational reading of the show, how heartbreaking that Natalie was back on the goddamn plane in the moments before her death. And whether ‘It’ is real or not, seeing Natalie's final moments accepting ‘It’ before her death and letting it in was hard. I so wish she’d been free from that.

I know a lot of people had predicted Natalie saving Lisa and dying in the process, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have been correct, as it means the focus of Natalie’s arc was solid. Nat, you were the best of them.

It was riveting watching Young Nat’s transition from shock and discomfort to giddiness and joy at become the leader.

It was also fascinating seeing Young Misty be the one to give Lottie hardcore cannibalism survival pep-talks: the group needs to do this and believe this to survive. Pep talking the messiah, as you do, though Lottie passed on her crown quickly.

There were so many great theories after 2.08 that the one who survived the hunt became the next Antler Queen, but now that Lottie has passed the leadership torch to Nat, I presume she becomes the Antler Queen in a static role. She also now has a fascinating foil in Coach Ben, who was surrounded by antler imagery all season. Is he an antagonistic foil to Nat, or a potential sacrifice?

Coach Ben, I still hope you live on to this day. I’m so intrigued where that leaves his character now, with his intention to kill the girls by burning the cabin. Does he still live on in the cave? Will we still follow his POV in the past? Does Nat figure it out what happened and the group goes hunting for Ben in vengeance?

Van continues to be a walking bundle of complex ambiguity. In the present, I think part of her was genuine in wanting to take responsibility over Lottie, but she also wanted another chance at life and her cancer going into remission. The weight in the final look between Adult Lottie and Adult Van sure was something.

I loved seeing Shauna in the past wanting to be the leader, and not being chosen, and how that entangled into her blaming Jackie for feeling invisible, but realizing that feeling didn’t end with Jackie’s death.

I’m fascinated to see how Nat dying affects Misty, especially by Misty’s accidental own hand. Misty is the main character we have the least amount backstory for, so I’m curious if next season Misty coping with Nat’s death might reveal more about her past.  (I'll also always carry a torch for Misty/Nat.)

I wonder if there will be a bit of a timeskip in the present day next season, eg. Simone and Sammy, Van’s cancer, Shauna/Jeff/Callie trying to go back to normal lives, Lottie recovering, everything surrounding Kevyn, Misty dealing with the loss of Nat. Tai is the only character for me it would be a little jarring to do a time skip with, but I feel like it would benefit the rest of the cast.

There were two spoiler-y behind the scenes pictures for two potentially different storylines that didn’t get used this season. I won’t spoil here, but very curious if they were filmed and will be used later, or were cut entirely.

Both the younger and the adult casts were absolute powerhouses all season. Can everyone win an Emmy?

It’s hard to beat S1 because it’s so brilliant conceptually and in execution, but I thought S2 was a very enjoyable (and stressful) follow up. Ep.9 was a solid end of the season for me, with enough resolved to feel satisfied for now, but with plenty of questions to still be answered. My big hope was that the Adam Martin storyline would fully come to a close. I know we saw Walter tying up as much of that subplot as he could, but we still have the question of why had Martin made all those paintings of Shauna…. so I’m still wary whether that storyline has been fully resolved yet. It may be intended by the showrunners that he painted them all in the time he knew Shauna… but given his Yellowjackets yellow-blue keys, the time some paints can take to dry-? Hopefully some post-finale interviews give clarity there. I’d be happy to be done with the subplot, though.

Off to catch up on other people’s thoughts and watch the final episode of Mrs. Maisel. From cannibalism to comedy!

[jollyreginaldrancher]

Yellowjackets s2e6 thoughts and guesses

Misty does not get paid enough for this

Bet they all wished they paid more attention during that class

God it's nice to see them at school living normal lives

And Van was just as funny back then. If anything ever happens to her I will die.

Honestly kind of excited to see Misty meet Lottie. I didn't care much about this plotline between Lottie and Nat or Misty and William but now that Misty and Nat and Lottie are intersecting I am very interested.

But I wanna get back to the baby that probably won't be.

Lottie saw Misty and shat herself. That is canon. She poooed all over her pants.

Misty is here to get her girl-nay, wife- back.

Lottie asking Misty to stay and Sleep!Tai sweeping definitely-not-dying Van towards some mystery location...are the yellowjackets gonna gather at Lottie's compound?

Shauna Shipman is not gonna get that mother of the year award anytime soon

Poor Misty. You amputate one leg and all of a sudden you're assigned group medic. Poor girl is suffering so much right now. Shauna too, yes, but also Misty.

The good news is that the baby's coming. The bad news is it could be coming for a WHILE... And we're giving birth mediaeval style... In a blizzard...

I feel like Shauna talking shit about how she's gonna have to have her baby delivered by Misty is gonna bite her in the ass. Karma is gonna get all of them for being shitty to Misty, I suspect. I feel like in a life or death scenario you really ought to put more respect on someone who can prevent your death, like Misty or Nat. If this show has shown anything it's that it's brutal and that shit always hits the fan, so I just know this is going to be traumatic as fuck.

I'm all for Taissa telling Lottie to fuck off. Shauna is clearly disturbed by her antics and she's the last thing she needs right now. I'm still sure they're going to be all culty, but I question whether it's Lottie that will be the leader of their cult. Tai has power and command of the girls but not faith. They acknowledge her intelligence and strategic superiority but nobody believes in her. She hasn't proven herself in the wild. And she's more of a wildcard than Lottie with the sleepwalking. Van is definitely the one with the most influence. She was the one that sort of started the Lottie cult. She was the first believer and the one that spread the gospel so to speak. But she's more of a behind the scenes influence than a cult leader. She doesn't take charge, she leads by following.

There's Shauna but she's too disconnected and she doesn't really have a clear aim. She serves as a mirror and a foil for Jackie and Jackie represented their old life and it could be Shauna representing the wild but again, so far while she hasn't been a follower she also hasn't been a leader either. And like while she doesn't abide by Lottie's terms she's not actively trying to thwart her like Nat or Tai either. She's a more subdued nonbeliever.

This leaves Nat I guess. I could see her taking power. She is stronger than she gives herself credit for and she has had a few successes. For example she has successfully hunted and kept them alive for so long. The pelts and antlers and all those things they use in their rituals all come from Natalie. She stood up to Lottie and stopped the drunken near-sacrifice of Travis. And there was something else that slipped my mind. She did have that vision of Misty before they crashed and shows Lottie is not the only one who sees these things so maybe it's not all Lottie's schizophrenia. And Nat is constantly challenging Lottie's authority. While she didn't win that showdown, she didn't lose it either so maybe Lottie isn't as all powerful or maybe Nat is on her way up or maybe they'll face off again. Future Nat doesn't seem to trust Lot either so I'm guessing she never bent the knee for her, and it was someone else that was their leader. Maybe even Misty. Or maybe Nat.

Did Nat really lose her shooting mojo or is she drunk? Or maybe it's the emotions.

That girl has a point though, Nat didn't kill Travis.

Nat's self loathing is real though. God I hope she doesn't try to kill herself again.

My babies!

I thought they would have left already.

Interesting Van doesn't admit she let Tai kiss her. 🥺 I'm guessing because she doesn't want to guilt Tai. She did it because she thought it was the real Tai and they would get back together and she finally came for her but when she realised it was her she was hurt, and now she's lashing out because she knows Taissa has a family and she knows she shouldn't have dreamed of this but she wants it so bad 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 and that's why she can't go with her. Because she can't handle another rejection like that. But it's Taissa so she HAS to go and she can never say no to her and she hates that she has no choice because she knew when Taissa walked in she wouldn't be able to stop her from taking whatever it is she wanted because she's still so deeply in love with her that it makes her mad that she's so weak and I know I'm writing fanfiction at this point but I can't help it.

Taissa saw the bills

Taissa knows something is up with Van too

I am dying from the suspense

Also I love how Taissa was this entire scene. So needy and apologetic. All the fight has been knocked out of her and she's just rolling with whatever Van wants right now. She's just vibing. "Sure I'll stock those shelves babe, whatever you want." 🥺

Aside: I took a picture and flipped it and those weren't just normal bills, they were medical bills 😭 this unfortunately confirms my suspicion that Van is sick. If they kill her off I will die. I'm gonna start believing in Lottie's gods of the wilderness if that's what it takes to keep my baby Van alive 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Misty is traumatised and I can't blame her.

Ben is like a fish out of water here guys, I don't think he can help much either.

Was it Akilah who mentioned having a sister who gave birth? That's probably your best bet right now.

Akilah just got promoted 😅

For real though that blood does not look good. I am not an expert but even I know that's not a good sign.

Yeah women have been giving birth for eons but they've also been dying while giving birth for eons and the main reason they're not dying so much anymore is because we now have hospitals and healthcare and did Akilah really just pet her pet rat for courage? Fuck, Shauna is gonna get infected as fuck and I don't see the baby surviving either.

If I didn't know Shauna survived this I would think she was a goner.

Van looks shocked. Like "I've never seen one open that much 😶‍🌫️"

Travis now is not the time to redecorate

Oh no, nevermind, they're not redecorating, they're doing arts and crafts

I still don't know if Lottie's therapist sessions are real or a hallucination. The things she says scream hallucination.

Lottie's going off the deep end here. She's spiralling. She's using all these coincidences (although they're not coincidences, they're just a pattern of other people spiralling as well due to their shared trauma) as evidence to support her biases and basically whatever happens she's just got her mind made up to worship the old gods of the woods and stuff.

If they heal Van though maybe she should. Like at this point I'd be willing to pray to everyone I could think of as well. I can see why she might be able to convince Van to join in. And with Taissas's sleepwalking I can see her influencing her also. Shauna is just a pile of trauma and guilt and resentment. They're all really easy to manipulate at this point. Misty would go along with anything to feel accepted and Nat...well future Nat was suicidal and easy to brainwash too.

Ma'am that's not an entity, that's trauma.

Ben's maladaptive daydreaming is honestly lowkey relatable. But I'd never admit it.

Are their clothes way too clean or am I just so slovenly that their clothes look relatively too clean for this scenario?

Yeah newborn babies look all kinds of fucked up, don't read into the fact that this one's head is purple. And the placenta IS supposed to come after isn't it?

Is no one gonna check in on Misty?

Spoke too soon.

Am I now going to ship Lottie with Misty? Probably not. But would I welcome the idea of Lottie joining Misty and Nat? Also still probably not. But maybe..

Oh thank the woods, Misty is checking back in. I didn't have much faith in Akilah if I am being honest. Not after she turned into this gif

Honestly I would probably trust Misty with my life at this point. My anxiety went down 30% my skin is clean, my crops are watered, we've got this!

Shauna I love you but adult Shauna is getting in the way from young Shauna giving birth and honestly I know they're setting up other stuff but I couldn't care less about adult Shauna right now.

Van and Tai can cut in at any point they want though and I would simply thank them.

Van is too proud to ask Tai for help even when she's doing exactly the thing she needs help with 😭😭😭😭😭

It makes Tai dolling out for Nat's rehab stays even sadder cause she's willing to pay to help them but Van is just so adamant on going alone and not having to feel like she owes Tai anything -especially Tai but also anyone else- that's she's willing to crash and burn before she asks again.

Like how badly did Tai hurt her? How bad did she let her down that she's learned that not only can she not depend on her but she can't even think of asking her for help? 😭😭😭😭😭

For a second I thought Misty called Van's landline and I was like "omg she knew Tai was gonna head straight there" but then I realised it was Tai's mobile.

Anyway Taissa literally just covered up a murder with Misty so that whole "I don't have time for you now" line felt like a joke.

Van's reactions are everything

And so is Misty

Even teen Tai's starting to cave into the cult stuff. This goes beyond plausible deniability.

Is it over? Did it happen?

Oh god is this a dream?

Is she dead? 😭

Wait, no, is the baby dead?

This has to be a dream right? The show is too horrible for this to be real 😭

Is the baby dead? Did they eat the baby?

It's trying to make this seem like a happy thing, with everybody smiling and Shauna looking content but I am so terrified, I feel like I aged twenty years just now because I am positive that baby doesn't make it and she gave birth to it, only to watch it die and I am suffering right now seeing those smiles on their faces because I know this shit is NOT going to last.

Van drove Taissa ☺️

The adult TaiVan vibes are immaculate.

Van acting like she didn't have a choice as if she couldn't just let Tai uber there or just lend her her car or do one of like a dozen possible scenarios that don't involve her sitting in a hunk of metal with the love of her life and going away for the weekend while her business and the rest of her life is spinning out of control 😭

Van's really calling Lottie a diagnosed schizophrenic right now and deriding her like she wasn't the first to think she was psychic back in the woods. Oh how the turn tables.

Tai calling her out for also living in the past like she didn't run so far from it she looped the fuck back to her shadow self pressing against Van in the night and smooching the crap out of her.

Oh wait she doesn't know she did that. She doesn't even know Van kissed her back. Honestly don't blame Can for being cranky either. If my ex girlfriend's shadow self felt me up the other night and now I had to chill with her I'd be pretty volatile too.

"I get my needs met"

Van reads sexy fanfiction. That's the only thing that can mean. That's the only interpretation. If she's too proud to ask Taissa for a hand she is too proud to ask strangers on the internet for a handy is my theory, so I'm doubling down on the porn/fanfiction theory. The only apps she's on are chrome, where she can google sexy Willow X Tara fanfiction and sometimes even look at fanart of Xena and Gabriella getting it on.

Van don't lie, you didn't stop believing in love, you just don't want it with anybody else but Taissa 😭😭😭😭😭

Also way to keep things chill and casual Tai.

Like, her wife is lying in a hospital bed while she is making uwu faces at her ex and asking if she still believes in love and unicorns and stuff and she is so fucking whipped by Van it's not even funny.

Like does she even remember she has a kid? Cause I barely do. Sam who?

WHY DID SHE LOOK SADDER WHEN VAN SAID SHE MIGHT HAVE GIVEN UP ON LOVE THAN WHEN HER ENTIRE WIFE WAS IN HOSPITAL? I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS! WHY IS SHE EVEN MARRIED? WHY DID SHE BREAK UP WITH VAN? THEY ARE CLEARLY STILL IN LOVE WITH ONE ANOTHER! WHY IS THIS SHOW DOING THIS TO ME? WHY IS IT BREAKING MY WHOLE HEART? WHY ROES VAN HAVE TO MAYBE BE SICK?

If Lottie's cult doesn't fix Van's illness I'm gonna take those antlers and shove them all the way up her ass

Nat doesn't want fish, she wants Misty's cat.

Watch them release the fish into the wild and see it become the final boss

I can't even focus anymore between the lesbians and the baby. How are they even gonna feed it? That poor girl is starving! She can't make milk.

Oh god. Poor Shauna. Going through all this alone.

Words cannot express how little I wanted to see Jeff right now.

At least we get to see Tai and Van again.

Not Misty talking Nat up to Lottie's cultists 😅

This feels like character development on Nat's part but I haven't been paying much attention because I've been getting distracted by the baby and Tai and Van.

Like I'm watching but my brain is loudly talking over Nat and stuff. Like was she jealous of the guy Misty was with or was she deflecting? Is Shauna's baby going to starve? Is Nat having a rare moment of self-awareness with Misty? Is Tai going to just kiss Van for realsies and admit she never got over her?

Shauna's teen mom bits are genuinely heartbreaking. I feel genuinely bad for the real life baby they cast as Shauna's baby cause of all that crying they're making it do.

I feel so bad for this poor girl.

Adult Shauna I can do without right now. I love Melanie Lynskey but again, there's just too much other stuff going on right now for me to care when I know that nothing will probably come of this investigation cause tv shows like to maintain the statues quo. I can maybe focus on 2-3 things at most and adult Shauna's police investigation debacle is very low on my list of priorities.

I just want to slap the rapey moustache off that cop's face.

God I love Shauna. And Melanie Lynskey.

Like you go into a scene like 'here we go again' and you're just waiting for the next scene but damnit they really get you immersed in this show, even with the bits you didn't want to pay attention to or the bits you thought would be filler.

Honestly, credit to the showrunners.

Callie really got her mother's genes. Not the physical appearance ones, but the genius manipulation ones.

I'm pretty saw this was a Reddit post... Did Lottie manage to feed the baby though?

I'm actually starting to like Callie now?! Maybe?

I guess I was right about them all converging at Lottie's compound. Shauna just got the go ahead from Jeff.

Nat continues to be the softest, squishiest marshmallow.

The baby stuff is harrowing.

Both Nats are the softest squishiest marshmallows.

Poor Tai really thinks this is a resolution but I know they got picked up for another season so this is definitely not going to be the fix she thinks it is.

It's cute that Van is acting like she's not gonna follow Tai to hell and back, let alone a wellness centre reunion.

Did Shauna really beat them there?

Also Van has exactly the car I should have expected she would have.

That reunion was so freaking cute.

Nat and Shauna hugging. All their facial expressions. Van's joke about Nikes that went over my head. Misty and Tai hugging (even though they make all those jokes about her they still have love in their hearts for little guy Misty). And my daughter Misty was so happy to see Tai and Van together 🥹 that's my girl right there

Why was Van looking at Lottie that way though. That better be about cultish activities and not lesbian ones.

Shauna smiling in her sleep though 😭

The baby was the one good thing keeping her afloat after Jackie's death 😭😭

Wait, tell me Nat didn't drug her.

They ATE the baby? Tell me it's another dream.

Oh no, it was worse than I thought. Or kind of exactly what I guessed but sadder. Cause we got that vision of her succeeding, having the baby and managing to feed it and then seeing everybody eat the baby and then we get to flash back to reality and the baby was never alive to begin with 😭😭😭

My heart is absolutely shattered. I dont even know how they can top this in the finale. I genuinely can't see this ending with them all alive and intact. Their facades are all cracking. Even Van's who hasn't been in the first season but has clearly been contending with her own demons. I'm guessing/hoping we will get some flashbacks of her to make up for the episodes she was missing later on though.

Anyways what an episode. And what a way to end the episode. I'm pretty speechless right now.

[honeyslow]

Okay serious question for the lottienat fandom. You’re in the writers room. How would you play this season in order for the ship to be endgame. Like would you start from now or have some interactions pre crash/ during crash etc. I’m really curious so let me know!

um idk looking at things through the lens of shipping and being endgame or whatever can get so reductive so easily and it’s not something i’m interested in doing anymore at my big age like it’s all about Narrative and Themes and Parallels (and gayass acting)

but i mean simone and jules are already doing The Most in that regard and so far both timelines have nat and lottie as each other’s foils anyway like i honestly don’t think i would do anything differently

[citizendetective]

hi! re your lottienat questions: so the first level of the ship i personally find appealing is ofc the dynamic between a cult leader and a nonbeliever, esp when the show so prominently presents them as foils. the second level to it for me is the friends to enemies to lovers aspect of it if they did ever get together; it's just so fascinating to go from being genuine friends like lottie and nat seemingly were in the pilot (from the little interaction we get) to fucking despising the other/what they stand for but still having this knowledge of the other and even this care for each other at least on lottie's end, and even if they don't reach lovers status, the way lottie 25 years later after losing contact with natalie still cares about her so much in this DERANGED way that rivals misty and natalie has no qualms trading blows with her like they're 17/18 again makes me feel insane. then there's the "you never talk shit about someone unless they really deserve it" line in contrast with lottie, 25 years later, talking shit to/about natalie like it's nothing, but it being so underlined with love, which makes me need to know what nat did to become someone who deserves it because i think this show is so intentional about it's dialogue and characterization, and i can't imagine it's just a throwaway thing of lottie simply being meaner as an adult. so yeah basically i just think there's crazy tension and potential there, even if we've yet to truly explore it

i am very late to answer this but thank you anon, i really appreciate this answer and the detail!! i didn't see it before but i totally do. especially after this last episode -- like wowee ok

really their dichotomy in both timelines is really stark -- especially with how spiritual shit is getting in the wilderness. nat wants nothing to do with it and at this point i feel like she'll be lottie's very last follower, if ever (but not sure how she survives if she doesn't fall into line eventually?)

anyway i am very glad to understand more about this ship now and i am ON BOARD