Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 7, “Croak.”
The arrival of new wilderness characters inYellowjacketsclarifies two of season 3’s biggest mysteries. One of these mysteries revolved around the vision that Akilah (Nia Sondaya) had about Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger). She saw a gargantuan version of Coach Ben suspended in midair and acting as a bridge. DuringYellowjacketsseason 3, episode 5’s ending, Akilah, Travis Martinez (Kevin Alves), and Lottie Matthews (Courtney Eaton)save Coach Ben’s life since he is deemed to be the bridge to the survivors being rescued.
It is for this reason that Coach Ben is kept alive against his will, at least until Natalie Scattorcio (Sophie Thatcher) mercifully kills him. Before Akilah’s vision, another mystery introduced is the meaning ofTravis' drawing, which depicts a body and three individuals standing over it. When Lottie asks Travis what it is, he says,“It’s the outcome.“Now, the arrival of Edwin (Nelson Franklin), Hannah Finch (Ashley Sutton), and Kodiak (Joel McHale) inYellowjackets'1990s timelineexplains what Akilah’s visions and Travis' drawing mean.
Ben Being The “Bridge” In Akilah’s Vision Foresaw His Death Ritual Being What Attracted The New Strangers
Despite Coach Ben’s death, he still serves as a potential bridge home for the Yellowjackets. It is because of his death that the teenage survivors have a ritual where they eat him, and it is the smell of cooking meat that brings Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak to their camp. The timing of Coach Ben’s death is critical, though, because if he had been shot by"Other” Tai(Jasmin Savoy Brown), or died even just a few days earlier, the ritual would have happened before the wilderness newcomers were close by.
Every Death In Yellowjackets Season 3 Explained
From longtime characters to newly introduced individuals, there has been no shortage of shocking bloodshed in Yellowjackets season 3 episodes.
The opening ofYellowjackets, season 3, episode 7establishes that Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak only got to this area of wilderness a couple of days before Coach Ben’s death. He needed to be kept alive for those few extra days in order for the Yellowjackets to be found. As such,Akilah’s vision of Coach Ben being a bridge to the outside world did come true, although not in a way that she or any of the other characters could have ever imagined.
It Foreshadowed More Than The Outcome Of Coach Ben’s Fate
Image via Paramount+
While the body splayed out on the ground in Travis' drawing was always presumed to be Ben, it is only clear now that the three other individuals are Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak. Coach Ben’s body laying down foreshadowed Natalie having to prepare his corpse for consumption, along with being symbolic of the ritualistic feast where he is eaten. The drawing alsoforeshadows that it will be during the ritual that Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak appear, because they were drawn there by the smell of the fire and Coach Ben being cooked.
Edwin and Hannah were researching and recording a rare species of frog, with Kodiak being their wilderness guide.
What Travis said about the drawing being the outcome did come to pass. His drawing foretells the outcome of Coach Ben’s trial and ultimate fate, along with how this connects to Akilah’s vision. While the group wants to punish Natalie for destroying their bridge home when she decided to kill Coach Ben, she seemingly did exactly what was needed in order to make Akilah’s vision and Travis' drawing a reality.
Ben’s Death Could Have Been Their “Bridge” Home, But The Yellowjackets Have Already Ruined It
The Yellowjackets' Self-Sabotage Continues
Edwin, Hannah, and Kodiak could have simply rescued the Yellowjackets, with Coach Ben being the bridge who made it happen.Lottie killing Edwinensures that this will not be the case, as her actions ruin the bridge that Coach Ben’s death provided. With Hannah being brought back to camp and Kodiak being a captive of Travis and Akilah, many of the Yellowjackets still think they have a chance to be rescued. In addition to Edwin’s death, other established details confirm that this will not be the case, though.
The survivors ruining their best shot at escaping the wilderness and getting home is consistent with the show’s emphasis in both timelines that they are the real danger to themselves and to everyone else.
It is known that the Yellowjackets spend a second winter in the wilderness before being rescued. Hannah is also confirmed to die, and her death is seemingly the reason that Shauna Sadecki (Melanie Lynskey) is being stalked and threatened in the present day. The survivors ruining their best shot at escaping the wilderness and getting home is consistent with the show’s emphasis in both timelines that they are the real danger to themselves and to everyone else.
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The teenagers are far more dangerous than the newcomers, even when compared to Kodiak, and it does not take long for Lottie to make that abundantly clear. In the present, the survivors are responsible for the deaths of the adult Natalie (Juliette Lewis), Adam Martin (Peter Gadiot) and other individuals while also tearing their own families apart.The main characters are their own worst enemies inYellowjackets, including the way they sabotage possibly being rescued in the wilderness.
