We officially have confirmation that Yellowjackets Season 4 will end the show later this year, and that leaves fans time to speculate on the biggest theories for the final episodes. Despite the revelation that Mari is Pit Girl, Yellowjackets Season 3’s teen timeline ends on a high note, with Natalie successfully making contact with the outside world. In the adult story, Van’s death drives a rift between Misty and Tai and Shauna, raising the likelihood of a showdown between the remaining survivors — and potentially teasing another hunt.
Videos by ComicBook.com
There’s a lot to wrap up in Yellowjackets Season 4, a worrisome prospect considering its initial five-season plan. The show must answer the many questions still lingering from its first three chapters. And the biggest theories offer possible ways it could go, though only time will tell if there’s any truth to them.
8) Lottie’s Dad Orchestrated the Plane Crash
A popular Yellowjackets theory that’s been making the rounds since Season 1 is that Lottie’s dad orchestrated the plane crash that kicks off the series. And this could technically be revealed in the final chapter. This speculation stems from the Yellowjackets taking a private flight paid for by Lottie’s father — an odd detail to include without a larger reason behind it. Lottie’s relationship with her parents is obviously strained, too, and some believe they tried to get rid of her by setting up the crash. As skeptics point out on Reddit, however, it seems a bit extreme to kill an entire team of girls when he could have more quietly removed Lottie from the picture.
And we do get to see Lottie’s dad after her Yellowjackets Season 3 demise. He’s no longer sound of mind, and at one point, he mentions paying off the police to ensure they don’t challenge something being an accident. It initially seems like a reference to Lottie’s adult timeline fate, but it could just as easily be about the plane crash. Even if he isn’t responsible for the plane’s failure, Lottie’s dad appears to be hiding something. Perhaps he held up the search for the girls, which would be nearly as terrible.
7) The Yellowjackets Leave Akilah in the Wilderness
One of the biggest theories about Yellowjackets‘ ending centers on Akilah being left behind in the Wilderness. And considering that Nia Sondaya is becoming a series regular in the final outing, it’s looking more likely that this could prove true. Fans on Reddit and TikTok believe that Akilah might be left behind after the girls are rescued. To be fair, this does seem like an obvious but promising storyline for the teen timeline.
The main foundation of this theory is one of Akilah’s visions, during which she comes back to find an empty camp. And as of the season 3 finale, she’s nowhere to be seen after Lottie confronts her in the caves. Sondaya’s series regular status would suggest she’s still alive, but it’s possible she’ll avoid the girls going forward — especially since she’s the one who killed the livestock before the Pit Girl hunt. If Akilah does stay behind, it’s possible she’s still alive in the adult storyline too…though the surprise adult survivor twist is starting to get a little old. (I’m still not convinced that Jeff sent the “wish you were here” postcard though.)
6) Walter Has It Out for the Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets has yet to solve the mystery of Walter, but there’s no way Elijah Wood’s character is really just a well-meaning love interest for Misty Quigley…right? There are too many oddities about him, and the show focuses on the character entirely too much to make him unimportant. He’s even seen driving a car in Yellowjackets Season 3 with the license plate “NOTWLTER,” and he seems to be collecting evidence on the survivors. It’s unlikely Walter has appeared in the adult Yellowjackets’ lives by chance. Most theories assume he’s there for a more nefarious purpose: revenge.
The speculation about why Walter wants revenge ranges. Some Redditors believe he’s related to Kodiak or the birders from Season 3, which would also give him a connection to Melissa. (The idea of the pair working together has also been floated on Reddit, as they look like they could be siblings, and Melissa knows too much after being out of the loop.) Of course, it’s just as possible that Walter is a relative of one of the other dead Yellowjackets or even connected to Adam in some way. Whatever his motivation, he seems to have it out for Shauna, and he’s committed to stirring problems between the Yellowjackets. In Season 4, we may finally learn why.
5) Lisa Is Natalie & Travis’ Daughter
One theory that continues to surface ahead of Yellowjackets Season 4 is that Lisa is the daughter of Natalie and Travis (though Redditors have also suggested she could be Lottie and Travis’ child). Like Walter, Lisa’s role in the series remains a mystery. While every character doesn’t need a reason to be there, the show keeping Lisa around past Season 2 suggests her story isn’t over. And it seems overly generous of Lottie to give her $50,000 for her traumatic experience with the cult alone. It’s possible Lottie’s treating this as hush money, but it could have a deeper meaning.
This is especially true when you consider that Lottie took money from Travis’ back account before his Season 1 death, and that could be where her deposit to Lisa is coming from. She’s interested in Shauna’s daughter, so it would track for her to be intrigued by Natalie’s as well. And knowing Natalie’s history with addiction, it would make sense for her to put a teen pregnancy up for adoption. The revelation that Lisa is hers adds another layer to their connection throughout Season 2, and it’s compelling, even if I’m not entirely sold on it.
4) The Teen Yellowjackets Murdered Someone When They Got Home
If the Yellowjackets aren’t in purgatory, the things they do after returning home are still all too real — and their actions go beyond what we’ve seen so far. When Shauna’s being blackmailed, adult Tai tells her that someone’s after her, not just because of what happened in the Wilderness but due to “what [she] did when [she] got back.” Clearly, there’s a reason Melissa went into hiding, too. And fans have been speculating on what Tai could be referring to, with several coming up with an obvious explanation: the Yellowjackets, or at least Shauna, killed after coming home (via Reddit).
We already know that adult Shauna’s capable of it, and it would make sense if someone threatened to tell the real story. The teens are going to have some serious explaining to do once the rescuers arrive, and anyone who can’t get behind their lies will become a threat. This would add some tension to the post-rescue storyline, which is all but guaranteed now that Molly Ringwald has been cast as Van’s mother.
3) The Adult Yellowjackets Are in Purgatory
Lost fans may get deja vu from this Yellowjackets Season 4 theory, but the plane sequences when Natalie and Van die demand explanation — and the notion that the adult survivors are in purgatory offers one. What’s particularly noteworthy about these scenes is that only a couple of the characters get them. Travis and Lottie do not, but Natalie and Van both reconnect with their younger selves before leaving it all behind. And teenage Van even tells her adult counterpart that “surviving this was never the reward.” And notably, both Natalie and Van choose mercy and humanity over killing before they die…which could explain why they’re being flown off to what’s next.
There are some issues with this Yellowjackets theory, including the fact that it would downplay the entire adult storyline. If there is a “purgatory,” it seems more likely to be in the metaphorical sense, dividing the characters who have grappled with their trauma from the ones who haven’t. But if the series goes the supernatural route, a true purgatory wouldn’t totally be out of the question. Whether Yellowjackets can pull off the whole “they were dead the whole time” twist is another story.
2) There Are Parallel Realities Throughout Yellowjackets
Rather than leaning into the Lost twist that never was, Yellowjackets could go “full lost,” as IGN puts it, and reveal the existence of parallel realities. There are a lot of strange details that don’t add up throughout the Showtime series. And while they could be attributed to the girls’ trauma, fumes from the caves, or even the food they’re eating, it’s possible they’re indicative of a bigger and trippier twist. The series might be offering glimpses of timelines where the girls all lived and all of them died because both exist, with the show hovering somewhere in the middle.
There are early hints at this, like Natalie seeing all the girls dead inside the plane when she overdoses, which could be a glimpse of another timeline. Season 3 also leans into this, with all the shared visions and dreams, as well as the fact that they often see and hear things that don’t appear to be there. Again, this could indicate that they’re hallucinating…but they could just as easily be glimpsing something stranger. Whether it ties into purgatory or is its own sci-fi twist remains to be seen.
1) Misty Will Be Yellowjackets’ Final Girl
Yellowjackets Season 3 sets up a showdown between the adult characters, and while all of them have proven they’re survivors, many theorists believe that Misty will be the last one standing. Misty would be the perfect choice for the show’s final girl, as being the lone Yellowjacket remaining would be a cruel irony for her character. Misty’s entire arc revolves around desperately trying to fit in, so being left alone would be the true punishment for her, whereas death serves that purpose for the others.
Adding fuel to this theory is the fact that Misty has made more sacrifices to the Wilderness than anyone — which, by the survivors’ logic, means it shouldn’t come after her. As one Redditor notes, Misty is the one who destroys the black box, resulting in all the deaths that follow. She also acts as the glue keeping the characters together for some of the adult timeline, leading to more sacrifices…and thus, more favor from the Wilderness. It’s too soon to say if Misty sees Yellowjackets through to the end, but she seems like the most likely to make it to the end of Season 4.
What are your Yellowjackets theories for Season 4? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image via HBO
