Yellowjackets: Will Coach Ben Suffer Jackie's Fate?
The second season of Showtime's Yellowjackets is well underway and in some pretty grim territory despite the series being only three episodes into its sophomore run. Episode 2, "Edible Complex", saw the surviving members of the Yellowjackets soccer team finally turn to cannibalism when the episode culminated in the team consuming the body of the deceased Jackie (Ella Purnell) — though one survivor didn't take part in the taboo feast. Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger) turned away and went back inside the cabin rather than participate despite being weak and hungry himself. It was a notable moment in the series, one that put a fine point on the difference between Ben and the rest of the survivors and now, after Episode 3, "Digestif", fans are starting to wonder what Coach Ben's fate will ultimately be — and if he will be the next character to end up like Jackie.
"Digestif" saw viewers get flashbacks of Ben's life, but they aren't flashbacks in the true sense. A delirious Ben is instead actually imagining what his life would have been had he chosen to stay behind with his boyfriend Paul, embracing his sexuality and his life rather than remaining closeted. It's a sad moment and it also further shows how much of an outsider Ben really is. While part of Ben's position as an outsider comes from his being the only adult among the survivors, this shift from a figure of authority to someone more fragile puts him in a similar position that Jackie was in towards the end of Season 1.
As fans will recall, Jackie was the team captain, though her leadership was always tenuous. Once in the wilderness, Jackie wasn't an especially effective leader or all that productive of a member of the emerging society among the survivors. It ultimately led to the blowup between her and Shauna that, unfortunately, led to her freezing to death and then in Season 2, led to everything else. If Ben is unable to acclimate to the shifting dynamics in the wilderness — or if he continues to go further inside of himself as his hallucinations seem to be hinting may happen — it's not impossible to imagine that he could end up dying as well. Given the scarce food situation, Coach Ben could starve and he's already at a disadvantage by not having eaten Jackie, something that gave the others some sustenance. If Ben does die, well. It's also not a stretch to see the survivors consuming their coach as the lean winter rages on. After all, we don't actually know Ben's fate in the present storyline. Anything is possible.
New episodes of Yellowjackets hit the Showtime app on Fridays and new episodes air on Showtime on Sundays.
What do you think? Will Coach Ben end up like Jackie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!