[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 1 finale of Yellowjackets.]We got our answer to one of Yellowjackets Season 1’s most burning questions; what happened to Jackie (Ella Purnell)?
In Episode 10, “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi,” Jackie refuses to give thanks for the bear they’re eating and snaps at the rest of the team for what happened during the party in Episode 9, “Doomcoming.” The moment turns into a heated and deeply personal argument between Jackie and Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), one their relationship will never recover from.
Shauna blames Jackie for everything that happened because Jackie stole Travis (Kevin Alves) from Natalie (Sophie Thatcher). That leaves the door wide open for Jackie to reveal Shauna’s biggest secret to the group; Shauna was sleeping with Jeff behind her back and he’s the father of her unborn child. Jackie asks Shauna, “How could you? You were my best friend. You don’t even like him,” a comment that gives Shauna the opportunity to finally tell Jackie how she really feels about their friendship.
“You’re so obsessed with yourself, I’m surprised you're aware other people even exist.” When Shauna points out that Jackie gets everything she wants all the time, Jackie jumps back in with the ultimate in sickening Queen Bee comebacks, “You’re so f*cking jealous of me you can barely breathe.” Shauna corrects her, “I feel sorry for you because you’re weak, and I think that deep down you know it. I’m sure everyone back home is so f*cking sad to be losing their perfect little princess, but they’ll never know how tragic and boring and insecure you really are, or how high school was the best your life was ever gonna get.”
When Jackie demands Shauna leave the cabin, Shauna refuses. She stands her ground and suggests Jackie’s the one who should leave. She does, sleeps outs, it snows overnight and Jackie freezes to death.
While on an episode of Collider Ladies Night, Melanie Lynskey who plays the 2021 version of Shauna took a moment to address that shocking season finale reveal. We began by discussing when Lynskey first learned about Jackie’s fate. Clearly, it’s a detail that would need to be kept top secret, but it’s also a plot point that heavily informs all of 2021 Shauna’s behavior.
“I was told about it earlier on because I always knew that the plan was for Jackie to not make it past Season 1 and I knew that Ella had a one season contract. So I knew that that was the plan, but at a certain point I started asking a lot of questions about, ‘Well, how exactly? What exactly happens?’ And they said, ‘Ohhh,’ you know, they were a little vague. And then I said, ‘You need to get really specific,’ because especially when she started appearing in front of me, I needed to know — you’d have a memory. You’d have a specific memory of the last time you saw that person’s face, dead or alive, and so they told me. So I knew for a long time.”
Lynskey also explained how that information influenced her own performance:
“I think there’s a certain tragedy about never being able to repair that relationship, that is all-encompassing. I think the grief of her imagining that Jackie’s there is something that literally stops her in her tracks. It made it easier for me to play those moments where I’m chasing this ghost or this image of this person because all she would want was to be able to go back and repair that, to go back and be a better person, a different person, a better friend, somebody who was honest from the beginning. It’s her life’s biggest regret. I think she thinks she’s a terrible person, mostly because of this.”
So after a whole season of staying silent, and almost always obediently standing in Jackie’s shadow, Shauna finally stands up to her. But now, given what happened, does 1996 Shauna immediately lose all of that newfound confidence? Here’s Lynskey’s take:
“That’s my understanding. I feel like part of that is for Sophie to decide and whatever they write for next season, but I think it takes a lot of that away. And it’s also kind of a lesson for Shauna. The first time you stand up for yourself, talk about actions have consequences. You stand up for yourself and say, ‘Actually, f*ck you. I’m not happy about this situation,’ and then you never get to say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. That was a bit harsh. Let’s talk about it again.’ It’s a lesson for her that if you ask for what you want or you stand up for yourself, bad things happen. I think that’s something she holds on to for the rest of her life.”
Eager to hear more from Lynskey on her experience working on Yellowjackets? We’ve got loads more from where this came from! Stay tuned for Lynskey’s full Collider Ladies Night interview dropping right here on Collider tomorrow.
Yellowjackets Finale: Melanie Lynskey on How The Jackie Reveal Impacts Shauna - Collider
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