Warning: This post contains spoilers for Yellowjackets season 2, episode 8!Sophie Thatcher offers insight into how a major Yellowjackets death affects Natalie. Yellowjackets tells the story of a girls soccer team who must fight to survive in the brutal wilderness after their plane crashes, with the show alternating between the past and the present. Thatcher plays young Natalie in the past as she and the other girls attempt to survive the wilderness. Juliette Lewis plays adult Natalie in the present, where she is still haunted by the trauma she endured.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Thatcher explains how Javi’s death in Yellowjackets season 2, episode 8 changes Natalie. After Javi fell through the ice into the freezing waters below, Natalie and several of her teammates let him drown, a brutal decision that will impact her teen self while also explaining a great deal about present-day Natalie. See Thatcher’s comments below:
“You’re like, ‘OK, so this is why she’s so f–d up.’ That feeling that I was waiting for and that I kept talking about waiting for was connecting the dots between the two. It always felt like younger Nat, out of everybody, had her s–t together. And I think this, Javi’s death, is the beginning of the unfolding of Natalie. She’s always been focused on survival and so determined. But this kind of taints her morality, and she becomes selfish. And it makes her just a different person.”
What’s Next For Natalie In Yellowjackets?
Natalie drew the Queen of Hearts card that meant she was supposed to be sacrificed. Travis tackled Shauna and told Natalie to run, giving her the opportunity to escape. Javi went after Natalie and was taking her somewhere where she would be safe, the caves where Javi survived for months. It was on their way there that Javi fell through the ice and Natalie let him die, so he could be the sacrifice instead of her. When Natalie returns to the cabin, she will have to face Travis.
She will have to deal with his grief and feeling betrayed, made worse by the fact that Travis saved Natalie from being sacrificed, and he had just reconciled with her. Present-day Natalie has spoken about the toxicity of her relationship with Travis, and this development will certainly contribute to that. Natalie is confirmed to survive the wilderness, but according to Thatcher, she is now a selfish and different person with tainted morality, meaning this may only be the beginning of ruthless choices she makes before she and the other survivors are rescued.
Javi’s death is what leads to Natalie being a self-loathing and self-destructive individual in the present. Along with Shauna, Misty, and Taissa, adult Natalie helped cover up Adam Martin’s murder, but is now at risk with the body being discovered by the police, and Shauna being a prime suspect. Natalie has also been encouraging her fellow survivors to finally talk about what they went through in the wilderness instead of hiding from it. Teenage Natalie is becoming more selfish, but perhaps adult Natalie will create a plan to save the group and become Yellowjackets‘ voice of reason again.
Yellowjackets season 2 releases new episodes Fridays on Showtime Anytime and Sundays on Showtime.
Source: THR
