Yellowjackets
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Kids die, Henry.
They die all the time.
Tragically, children and infants do die more often than most of us would like to think.
In a year full of brutal television,Yellowjacketsdelivers one of the most heartrending episodes to date.
It is titled Qui, but it might as well be called A Tale of Two Shaunas.
The story explains a lot about who Shauna is as a person today.
The episode opens with a flashback to Coach Ben showing a birthing video in health class.
(I guess he was their gym teacher, too?
How weird is it that gym and health class were thesame thingin the 90s?
Is that whats still happening today?!
But I digress.)
No one is paying attention except for Misty.
Why is there no clear birthing plan?
Why didnt Misty teach everyone else what she knew in case of an emergency?
Do they even have any soap left?!
chorus leads us to believe that were in for a wild and entertaining ride.
Things immediately go wrong.
At one point, Nat reminds Shauna that women have been having babies for millions of years.
Nature is certainly on the brain for the rest of the survivors.
Travis yanks the bear skull off the wall, and Lottie directs him to spill blood on it.
The rest of the girls offer up tokens, including small buttons and locks of hair.
Shortly after Mistys return, we see Shauna give birth to a baby boy.
But plenty of cues indicate that this moment is not based in reality.
All the Yellowjackets are there, greeting her with a sea of smiles and cheering her on.
This time, as everyone rejoices, the needle drop doesnt lie.
Elliot Smiths Pitseleh plays over the moment.
Shauna immediately has trouble breastfeeding her son.
Shes desperate for it to work, and the dire reality of the situation starts to settle in.
Theres no nearby drugstore where she can grab a can of formula; shes it.
The hyperfocus on breastfeeding is apt in a show that focuses on cannibalism.
The act of nourishing and sustaining another human using nothing but ones body is intimate and powerful.
(See also: The controversial conclusion of John SteinbecksThe Grapes of Wrath.)
Sophie Nelisse is a wonder in this scene as her unbridled enthusiasm makes Shaunas joy palpable and accessible.
She delivers every time.
Tai gently breaks the news to Shauna, who cannot believe what she is hearing.
She just fed him!
Its a haunting beat that lingers far after the screen fades to black.
When Shauna and Callie are called in for questioning by the cops, its clear that shes on tilt.
When the sleazy Saracusa starts pushing buttons, everything comes tumbling out.
Shauna admits to having an affair with Adam, but then she cant stop talking.
I never wanted to be a mom, she admits.
She loves them, but her love is complicated and thorny because she has never confronted her trauma.
An overhead shot of the meeting space shows that its been configured to mirror the mystery wilderness symbol.
Misty loving her celebrity status in the cult is so hilariously on brand.
So, Tai will get Shauna out of this Adam Martin mess, right?
Jeff rocking out to Fuck the Police by N.W.A.
I might never stop laughing about it.
Lotties therapist continues to dispense very suspicious advice.
Does anyone else think that Lottie might be imagining her?
