Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7 Review

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7 serves as one of the show’s most experimental to date, as both timelines truly connect in a compelling way.

This review contains minor spoilers for Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7.

Episode 6 saw Shauna, Van, and Tai finding out what was on the tape left on Shauna’s doorstep earlier in the season, with the contents not sounding good for our mains at all. “Croak” follows up on that thread and introduces us to the individuals who stumbled upon our survivors. Through those mysterious folks and the cassette tape, we see the teen and adult timeline plot lines begin to intertwine.

Writers Alisha Brophy & Ameni Rozsa take the time to introduce us to the hikers and guide portrayed by Nelson Franklin, Ashley Sutton, and Joel McHale who we last saw appear before our survivors out of nowhere as they are “honoring” Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) and have feasted on his flesh. I will not go super in depth on them but just know that each of these strangers plays a major role in this episode. They also provide an answer to one of the season’s big questions and to be frank, you are not prepared for this answer in the slightest. 

Both timelines revolve around the hikers and mysterious tape in some way. The teens, thanks to a fully unhinged Lottie (Courtney Eaton) are sent on a near-episode long hunt for these visitors, where they make a couple different discoveries that could impact their present as well as their future. That is where the adult timeline comes in, as we find that Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) is very unnerved by what is on the tape and fully convinced that the blackmailer ties back to the hikers. She is determined to figure out what is going on and ultimately is forced to bring Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Van (Lauren Ambrose), and Misty (Christina Ricci) along. This leaves her husband Jeff (Warren Kole) and daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) once again questioning what Shauna is not telling them. 

The idea of an episode long hunt in the teen timeline is intriguing and actually moves the overarching narrative forward in compelling ways. There is additionally a ton of tension involved here and even some gore. We fully find out what is on that tape and why our leads are so afraid of it as adults. Before we get to that point, we have to discover what happens to these hikers and why on earth our survivors do not get the hell out of the woods. They clearly do not get rescued until around the next winter, so what or who keeps them there with this opportunity to go home at their fingertips. 

My guess is that Lottie and Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) will play a role in keeping everyone in the woods. Both have clearly lost it and are drunk on the power they are currently experiencing. Lottie started exhibiting signs of this last week and goes fully off the deep end in Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7. Courtney Eaton has a minimal amount of screen time but does so much with it. She gives such a captivating, confusing, and chilling performance that ranks among the best we have seen in the series so far. When you watch Nélisse’s work as Shauna, you likely will not rank it among her best ever but she has another moment that is certain to make viewers uneasy. 

As for the adults, this is kind of a road trip episode as they seek answers related to the tape and encounter an unexpected obstacle along the way. I loved seeing our surviving foursome of Shauna, Tai, Van, and Misty together, even if it was only briefly. We also get a better sense of Tai’s battle with her darker half this week, which is a plus. The writer’s room is demonstrating an ability to pick and choose what they reveal; here, they once again give us enough content from both timelines to keep everyone coming back. This entire tape/blackmail saga has created a common thread between both eras. Events in the past are now actively catching up with our characters in the present, and that fact should be equal parts compelling and horrifying. 

Then there is the matter of Lottie’s death, which Misty and Shauna are still at odds over. I love seeing Melanie Lynskey slowly begin to let out Shauna’s disturbed side in Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7 because that is this character’s most authentic self. We have seen it in the teen timeline and for several seasons, Shauna has tried to push that part of herself down. She has to face the truth at some point and it should be awesome to see what happens once she does. Her portrayal at her worst is also such a contrast to how Lynskey acts during interviews and whatnot, where she appears to be the absolute sweetest person ever to walk the earth. Seeing her bring Shauna and all her various complexities to the screen has been such a treat. Though we still do not know who killed Lottie, this week does deliver a prime suspect and it should not be much of a surprise, given how things have played out in both timelines. 

I am going to turn things back to Callie for a minute. Remember how I wondered in my review of the premiere what would happen if she got too close to figuring out what went on in the wilderness? During Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7, she finds out something that could lead to her unraveling it all. Callie is not stupid, her mother knows that, and the teenager is not going to stop either. She desperately wants to be close to Shauna, but for reasons obvious to us, her mom will not let her walls down. While knowing the truth could put Callie in danger, if Shauna does not come clean, she could lose her relationship with her daughter forever. Callie is obviously growing frustrated and as she finds out more from other sources, the tension with her mom is bound to get worse.

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7 is a great set up for the final three episodes of the season. Writers Alisha Brophy and Ameni Rozsa experiment and give viewers a high stakes’ chase in the teen timeline mixed with information that is sure to come into play soon, if it has not already with the adults. There is a definite balance this week and not one plot line feels like it got the shaft in either era. Hold on tight, because we could be in for an even crazier ride from here.

Season 3 Episode 7 of Yellowjackets is now available to stream with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan.