Yellowjackets Season 3 Review – Has the Wilderness Lost Its Grip?

What Went Wrong with Yellowjackets Season 3? Full Review

Let’s not sugarcoat it—Yellowjackets exploded out of the gate with Season 1, bringing us a delicious mix of Lord of the Flies, psychological horror, 90s nostalgia, and just the right amount of cannibalism. It was dark, mysterious, and absolutely addictive. But by the time we land in Season 3, things feel… a little lost in the woods.

So, what went wrong? Or more importantly—did anything go right?

Let’s break it down.

Still Trapped, Still Messy – The Plot Rundown

Season 3 picks up with two timelines still running in chaotic parallel: the teenage survivors still out in the unforgiving wilderness, and their adult counterparts dealing with the trauma, guilt, and secrets they can’t bury—literally or emotionally.

We’ve got cave visions, dinner dashes gone deadly, a forest cult that may or may not be real, and some very creative uses of fire. Meanwhile, adult Shauna's storyline feels like it wandered in from a different series, Jeff is just trying to be the moral compass (bless him), and Tai might be… possessed? Evil? Sleep-deprived?

This season juggles so many plotlines that it occasionally forgets to actually move them forward. There’s suspense, sure—but a lot of it fizzles into confusion. New characters are introduced, old ones are bumped off, and you're often left wondering why you should care.

Character Arcs or Character Chaos?

Let’s be real: this show has always been character-driven. But Season 3 starts to feel like it’s playing musical chairs with its cast.

• Shauna (Adult): Still making bad decisions, still somehow at the center of it all. Her scenes felt more frustrating than dramatic this time around.
• Tai & Van: Their chemistry is solid, but Tai’s duality plotline has lost some of its edge. Van remains one of the season’s most grounded characters—until, well… that twist.
• Misty: Easily the MVP of the adult timeline. She's still creepy, but with added vulnerability that makes her oddly likable.
• Walter (Elijah Wood): Criminally underused. Elijah deserves better.
• Callie: Surprisingly solid arc, and her final moments? Genuinely shocking.

In the teenage timeline, Natalie continues to steal the show, Misty tones it down in a good way, and Lottie’s culty vibes are stronger than ever. But a lot of the supporting characters get thrown into the mix with little context or payoff.

The Season's Core Problem: Focus

The biggest issue with Yellowjackets Season 3? It’s trying to juggle too much and ends up dropping most of it. The show has always thrived in chaos, balancing trauma, survival horror, and slow-burning mystery across two timelines. But where previous seasons felt tense and intentional, Season 3 often feels like it’s just... meandering.

We’re talking emotional fallout, murder, fractured friendships, supernatural horror, mental illness, cults, family tension, and new characters all squeezed into eight episodes—and most of it barely gets time to breathe. The result is a narrative that’s unfocused and bloated, like a series that’s more concerned with stretching out its mystery than telling a compelling story.

The dual timelines—once the show’s most exciting feature—now feel like they’re working against each other. The teenage storyline still has moments of gripping survival drama, but the adult timeline stumbles. Some characters vanish for entire episodes, others reappear just to say something cryptic or vaguely threatening before disappearing again. It’s less intriguing, more frustrating.

And don’t even get us started on the supernatural elements. They’re hinted at—again—but never explored in a satisfying way. Instead, we get vague visions, creepy cult rituals, and ominous talk of “the wilderness,” with no real progression.

It all starts to feel like the writers are stalling for time, padding the plot so they can stretch it into more seasons. But in doing so, they risk losing the urgency, mystery, and emotional core that made Yellowjackets such a standout series in the first place.

Yellowjackets, You Okay?

Look, we still love this show at its core. The atmosphere, the performances, the 90s needle drops, the mystery of what happened out there—all that’s still here. But it’s dulled. Blurred.

Season 3 feels more like a transitional act than a fully realized arc. It has powerful moments and shocking turns, but they’re buried under a heap of pacing issues, underwritten new characters, and a narrative that seems unsure of where it's going.

⭐ Land of Geek Rating: 3/10

A frustrating step backward for a series with so much potential. Still worth watching for the performances and atmosphere—but Season 3 leaves us hoping for a major course correction in Season 4.

✅ Pros:

• Great performances (especially Misty and Natalie)
• Some emotional payoffs for long-running character arcs
• Gorgeous cinematography and eerie tone remains intact

❌ Cons:

• Scattershot plotlines and inconsistent pacing
• Too many new characters with too little purpose
• Feels like filler between better seasons
• Lack of focus weakens both timelines

🧠 Will Season 4 find its way out of the narrative wilderness? Only time (and the next blood offering) will tell.

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