SPOILERS are forward for Yellowjackets Season 3, Episode 3: “Them’s The Brakes,” now out there to stream with a Paramount+ subscription with Showtime.
Yellowjackets can’t cease, gained’t cease tripping us out with scenes that lean into the magical realism aspect of the present, and the most recent episode to air on the 2025 TV schedule was no exception. Throughout Season 3’s third episode, three members of the Yellowjackets had wild hallucinations earlier than sharing the identical one which included a cameo from Ella Purnell’s Jackie. I’ve definitely been interested in what the scene meant and why Akilah, Van and Shauna specifically had been chosen to be featured within the hallucinations.
Fortunately, when Selection spoke to the episode’s director Jonathan Lisco, he broke down the reasoning behind every character’s inclusion within the wild sequence which he stated was influenced by the late, nice David Lynch. Let’s break it down.
Why Was Akilah In The Hallucination Scene?
Let’s begin with Akilah. The character performed by Nia Sondaya since Season 2 is without doubt one of the most good-natured individuals who actually doesn’t perpetuate as a lot drama and depth as a few of the different characters. When Lisco spoke to the hallucination sequence, he stated this of her inclusion:
I really feel like we’ve portrayed Akilah as being virtually like a baby of nature. She loves the animals, she’s very near the Earth, she loves the backyard. And so, in fact, within the sequence, all of that turns very darkish for her at first. There’s a Bacchanalian-like lust for the blackberries, however then they wind up twining round her legs and pulling her into darkness of the Earth, virtually just like the darkness that’s typified within the present.
And hey, solely Akilah would suppose up a llama speaking to her. This makes loads of sense, particularly contemplating the emotional weight of the 2 different characters within the scene.
Why Van?
Liv Hewson’s Van has gone by way of loads all through the sequence, together with making an attempt to be there for Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Taissa by way of her sleepwalking bouts which have included her consuming grime. Right here’s how Lisco continued:
With Van, clearly, she’s stoic, she’s sturdy, humorous. Let’s discuss it from Liv’s viewpoint: They’re enjoying a personality that’s stoic and is making an attempt to push aide the truth that they had been left for lifeless on the airplane in Episode 2 of Season 1. However now, all of it comes again to hang-out them. I don’t know in the event you seen this, nevertheless it’s Javi’s hand, it’s the cabin man’s hand and it’s Laura Lee’s hand, all getting back from the lifeless to bind them into the chair and say, ‘No, you possibly can by no means bodily escape this trauma. It can outline you for the remainder of your life.’
Between her near-death expertise on the aircraft itself, to her face harm and the current burning of the cabin, Van’s a part of the hallucination positively appears tied to her trauma.
I additionally didn’t notice Javi’s hand was there. I’m getting chills.
And, What About Shauna?
That brings us to the inclusion of Shauna, who positively appears to have one other sturdy arc this season.
In her personal hallucination, she’s swimming in a lake when she sees a younger boy who appears to be her son, whom she misplaced whereas giving start. As Lisco defined about her piece of the scene:
Shauna has misplaced a child. It’s maybe one of the traumatic issues somebody may undergo. She’s solely a 17-year-old girl within the wilderness, and now, she begins swimming towards this phantom little one on the banks of this lake. And never solely can she hear the infant — really, it was a 7-year-old boy, however that’s inappropriate — she’s swimming towards him and by no means can get shut sufficient to avoid wasting him, and by no means can get shut sufficient to hug him. After which, from that aerial shot, she’s really pulled again, as if to say that she is perhaps complicit in what occurred, and maybe she by no means wished to have the infant within the first place.
Ugh, so heartbreaking.
I can say confidently I’m not prepared for the trauma this season is about to inflict on me and different followers. Between the trailer hinting at one main character’s demise to nonetheless mourning Juliette Lewis’ conclusion on the sequence final season, or one main thriller being name-dropped, there’s loads to look out for this season. Now, these hallucinations have revealed and reiterated the demons these characters maintain and probably haunting futures for them.
You’ll be able to take a look at CinemaBlend’s Yellowjackets interviews, and look ahead to extra episode breakdowns each week right here on the positioning.