YELLOWJACKETS

When I heard the general story of Yellowjackets – a high school soccer team must survive in the Canadian wilderness after their plane crashes – I thought I knew what I was in for. So much so that last year I watched the first two episodes and quit watching because I thought I could predict where it was headed. Boy was I wrong. Thanks to my friend Taylor whose taste in television always tends to parallel my own I picked it back up and I’m glad I did. Because it’s everything I thought it’d be and so much more.

I was thinking female Lord of the Flies meets the Donner Party and elements of those things exist. It’s also Mean Girls on a mountain, but the intricacy and complexity of the story and the writing elevates the material, making it infinitely compelling. The fragile relationships of the teammates are approached with nuance and the plot is veiled in a thick layer metaphysical mystery that bounces between the 1996 plane crash and the survivors in the present. The pacing is perfection, drawing you in bit by sublime bit. It’s a wild ride, surprising and unexpected in the greatest of ways.

The ensemble cast is absolutely stacked with talent. The present day adult cast is comprised of Hollywood legends who are well matched and often outdone by their younger, teenage counterparts. Melanie Lynskey is a standout as Shauna as is Sophie Nélisse as her younger version. Both actresses convey a deep sensitivity that helps to moderate the character’s less admirable behaviors. As a 90’s kid Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci are my queens and they are their usual badass selves as delinquent Natalie and insane wannabe Misty. That their adolescent analogs Sophie Thatcher and Samantha Hanratty are able to mimic their levels of intensity and pathos is a true testament to the younger actors’ immense ability.

Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown both endow the driven, ambitious leader Taissa with passion and intelligence. As far as the teenagers whose adult doppelgängers have yet to appear, Courtney Eaton walks the line between psychosis and psychic energy as looney Lottie. As the practical, level headed Van, Liv Henson demonstrates maturity and vulnerability while recovering from one terrible injury after another. And as queen bee Jackie, Ella Purnell is the one you love to hate as her metaphorical princess crown slips from her head and is obliterated by the dire circumstances.

Season two is underway with its third episode premiering later today. Jump on this fascinating, fast moving train now. Sign up for a Showtime free trial and get caught up in this intriguing and brutally real story of what happens when the social hierarchy is based on survival rather than superficial popularity.