YELLOWJACKETS Season Finale Recap: (S03E10) Full Circle

Melody McCune

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The Antler Queen stands between the teens as they sit around a roaring fire in the snowy woods at night on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle,” is a wild finale that finally answers the question of Pit Girl’s identity. We literally come full circle from the pilot. Callie killed Lottie. Tai and Misty decide to take down Shauna. More importantly, Nat contacts the outside world to initiate rescue. Now we know why the adults credit Nat as their savior. It’s a propulsive, action-packed outing that lays the groundwork for Season 4 (fingers crossed we get it). 

RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Yellowjackets episode, “How the Story Ends”

Yellowjackets, “Full Circle” 

We open with Lottie (Courtney Eaton) dreaming in her hut. She sees the Antler Queen in the cave, a bright light emanating from behind her. Meanwhile, Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) sicks her crew on Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) in the name of doing a routine hut search. Hannah (Ashley Sutton) is already adjusting to being Shauna’s most devout follower. Misty (Samantha Hanratty) emerges from her quarters, asking Nat if she’s okay. Nat whispers to Misty to get the eff away from her. Oh, the Juliette Lewis jumped out here. 

In a flashback, we see Nat confront Misty after learning the latter has the plane’s transponder. Understandably so, she hurls expletives at Misty. Misty asks if Nat will tell the others. Nat pivots, wondering if this will help them get home. Misty reveals that Van has the sat phone and is attempting to fix it. Perhaps they can use parts from the transponder. Back in the present, we see Kodi’s head on a spike, his face full of arrows. Aw, look at our teens with their hobbies. 

Adult Lottie sits in a morgue while holding hands with her teenage self.
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

My Will Is Your Will

Meanwhile, Lottie stands before the Antler Queen. “I am ready. My will is your will,” Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) says. Lottie screams. A series of images flash across the screen, including Lottie standing in front of the antlers in the cabin in Season 1 and the cabin burning at the end of Season 2. Hmm. Did Lottie set fire to the cabin to bring them all closer to It? 

RELATED: Yellowjackets: A Buzzing Recap of Season 2

After this, Adult Lottie wakes up in the morgue to Teen Lottie. In a panic, she asks if she missed it. Teen Lottie reassures her that she didn’t miss anything. “Are you ready to meet her?” Teen Lottie asks. She leads Adult Lottie down the underbelly of the apartment complex, the same place we saw in Lottie’s baptism vision in Season 1. She even wears Laura Lee’s gown. We hear a baby crying. She ascends the stairs lit by candles until, well, everything vanishes. Lottie hesitantly asks if It is there. 

In the present, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Taissa (Tawny Cypress) drive to a spot in the woods so the latter can bury Van. Van’s body is rolled up in a rug. Taissa refuses to let Shauna help her. She digs a hole, but before she drops Van into it, she consumes Van’s heart. How very Wilderness of her. Tai vows to remember all of it — including her. 

A Killer Revealed 

Elsewhere, Misty (Christina Ricci) visits Callie (Sarah Desjardins) at the high school. Misty confronts Callie. Why? Because Callie killed Lottie. Mothers and daughters share mitochondrial DNA. Callie explains what transpired that led to her inadvertently killing Lottie. 

RELATED: Yellowjackets Season 3 Trailer Puts the Pedal to the Metal

After Shauna kicks out Lottie, Callie notices the DAT tape is missing from her dresser drawer. She tracks down Lottie at the penthouse, where the latter lives with her father. She sees Lottie emerge from the stairwell. Lottie leads her back there, where all the lit candles adorn each step. 

Then, Lottie claims that Callie is a child of It — a child of the Wilderness. She explains that It undergirds everything. It is the pulse of life. Shauna acts coldly toward Callie because she’s envious. Lottie adds that Shauna was the most connected to It out of all the survivors. Callie isn’t just there for the tape; she’s curious. She also feels the pull of It. Lottie declares she’s waited 25 years for Callie’s arrival. Terrified and put off by Lottie’s proclamations, Callie pushes Lottie down the stairs. RIP. Callie grabs the tape before fleeing.

Callie, a white teen girl, kneels over the body of Lottie, a middle-aged woman. They're at the bottom of a stairwell lit by candles on each step in a hotel. Callie looks emotional.
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Not Like Your Mother 

In the present, Callie tells Jeff (Warren Kole) about what she did. Jeff comforts his daughter. Callie worries she’s just like Shauna. Jeff reassures her that she’s not and apologizes for not doing more to shield her from Shauna. They embrace. 

RELATED: Yellowjackets Season 3 Adds Hilary Swank to Cast Roster

In the ’90s timeline, Misty asks Van (Liv Hewson) how the sat phone maintenance is coming along. Suddenly, they hear Akilah (Nia Sondaya) screaming. Everyone ventures into the animal pit to find Akilah sobbing uncontrollably over the animals. They’re all dead. Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) comforts her. Akilah reveals that it’s just like her vision. 

Lottie believes they got too arrogant. It is no longer pleased with them. So, it’s time to offer themselves in the form of another hunt. Shauna agrees. Nat tries to back out, but Shauna’s intimidation works its magic. Shauna tells the group they’ll draw cards in the morning. Tai and Van discuss the card draw in their hut. Tai asserts they must rig the draw to ensure neither of them picks the Queen of Hearts. Then, she proposes they rig it so Hannah, who’s not one of them, selects the Queen. Ouch.

Van looks panicked as she holds a deck of cards while standing in the middle of a makeshift village in the snowy woods on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Queen of Hearts 

In the present, Shauna arrives home to find Jeff and Callie gone. Their closets are empty. Callie’s phone is also disconnected. Serves her right. In the Wilderness, the teens (and Hannah) gather in a circle to commence the hunt. Shauna notices something amiss as Van shuffles the deck and everyone draws cards. Shauna moves to stand between Tai and Mari (Alexa Barajas) to mess with the selection process. Unfortunately, Mari draws the Queen. 

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Mari lunges for Shauna’s knife before the latter shoves her to the ground. The others reflexively grab Mari to shield her. However, Shauna and Lottie start counting, signifying that Mari should run. Travis (Kevin Alves) pulls Shauna aside and asks her if she’s ever wondered whose reality they’re in. He believes some of his thoughts are Javi’s and Jackie’s thoughts. Travis mentions “the slumber party makeouts” and “the jealousy.” Tai pushes him away. Lottie steps in, insisting that it’s “not him.” He’s blasted on rotten berry juice.

Mari looks worried while standing in the middle of the teens' makeshift village in the snowy woods on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Then, in the present, Shauna visits Misty. She asks what Misty did to send her family running for the hills. Misty tells Shauna that Callie killed Lottie. Callie probably told Jeff. She urged Callie not to go to the police, though. Next, Misty advises Shauna to leave before she decides to get a restraining order against her. 

Pit Girl Runs 

In the Wilderness, Mari removes her clothes to blend in with the snowy trees. She has on the same nightgown as Pit Girl. Shauna asks Tai to stick with her. We hear the other girls howling around them. Then, Shauna turns on Tai, accusing the latter of rigging the draw. She gets in Tai’s face. Tai cuts an imposing figure, towering over Shauna. She orders Shauna to back off. I love seeing someone give Shauna a taste of her own medicine. 

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Meanwhile, Nat grabs the sat phone. Gen (Vanessa Prasad) informs Tai that Van hurt her ankle near the ravine. Tai accompanies her, leaving Shauna alone. Hannah approaches Nat from behind. Nat pushes her against the tree, her weapon at the ready. Hannah insists she’s on Nat’s side. She’s only appealing to Shauna to survive. She wants to go home, too.

Akilah and Melissa wear furs and mismatched clothing while standing in a makeshift village in the snowy woods on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Akilah taps out of the hunt and ventures into the cave, where she finds Lottie. Lottie prays to It, claiming she’ll give It whatever It needs. Lottie tells Akilah that it must’ve hurt to do what she did. We see a flashback of Akilah poisoning all the animals to trigger another hunt. 

All Your Fault 

Lottie made Akilah believe she could see things, but Travis told her the truth. This is all fake. Lottie insists the Wilderness is in them now. Even if they go home, they’ll bring It with them. Akilah reaches for a rock. She claims this is all Lottie’s fault. Side note: We never see Akilah emerge from the cave. I need a prayer circle for my girl, STAT. 

RELATED: 12 Buzzing Questions We Need Answered in Yellowjackets Season 3

Meanwhile, Mari trips while running through the snow. She cuts the bottom of her foot. Elsewhere, Van reunites with Tai and Gen. Gen admits she lied to protect Mari. Mari is her best friend. Shauna sees a trail of blood from Mari’s foot in the snow and follows it. Mari runs into Lottie, who tells her she’s been here before. “You could let it be different,” Lottie says. Mari shouts at Lottie to eff off before fleeing. Unfortunately, Mari doesn’t see the pit. She falls into it and onto the wooden spikes. RIP to a real mean girl queen. 

The teens wear furs and mismatched clothing while brandishing weapons and running through the snowy woods on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Then, Melissa (Jenna Burgess) thwacks Shauna with a tree branch before straddling her. She tries to choke Shauna but can’t go through with it. The horn blows, signifying the end of the hunt. Mel gets off Shauna. Shauna coldly tells Mel that she knew the latter would be boring. 

Join Forces

Next, Van, who we now know has on the pink converse, peers into the pit at Mari. We see her fingers twitch. In the present, Tai and Misty have coffee together. Tai admits that she’s recovering her lost memories from the Wilderness — those blocked out by trauma. Shauna relished in the hunts and the cannibalism. She fed off their pain. Tai blames Shauna for Nat and Van’s deaths. She proposes that she and Misty join forces to ensure that Shauna isn’t the last one standing. Misty agrees. Outside, Walter (Elijah Wood) watches them. 

RELATED: How Yellowjackets Depicts Trauma Responses Through Its Main Characters

Later, in the ’90s, Tai embraces Van as she cries about Mari. Van never intended for one of them to die. Shauna orders her subjects to strip Mari of her clothing to prepare her for the feast. Oh, and to bring her Mari’s hair. After they string up Mari, Shauna asks Nat to do the honors and make the first cut. 

Taissa and Misty sit in a booth across from each other in a restaurant during the evening on Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10, "Full Circle."
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

In the present, Shauna heats up a Hot Pocket in the microwave. That’s her feast. She gets a text from Jeff claiming he and Callie need space and to leave them alone. Then, Shauna sees Melissa’s letter as it pokes out from under the fridge. Apparently, it slipped out of the envelope after Callie opened it. The letter boasts an apology for making them all think she was dead. Mel also explains why she sent Shauna the tape and her hope that Shauna will forgive herself. 

Terrible, Thrilling Things 

Next, Shauna rips up the letter before dumping it down the garbage disposal. She sobs as she remembers killing the rabbit in her yard, stabbing Adam Martin and biting Melissa’s arm. 

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Then, Shauna starts journaling again. We hear her thoughts as we flashback to the ’90s timeline. The others dress Shauna as the Antler Queen. Now we know the locks of hair on her garb belong to Mari. Everyone sits around a roaring fire as they eat Mari. Yum. 

Adult Shauna claims she’s tried for years to remember the Wilderness. Now that it’s coming back, she realizes that they all enjoyed the terrible, “thrilling” things they did. That was their big secret. No, homegirl, YOU enjoyed all that. Shauna writes that she was a warrior. Her hope is to tap into that again. Shauna wants to become that warrior — that queen. 

Natalie, a white teen girl, cries while talking on a sat phone as she sits at the top of a snowy mountain range in the Canadian wilderness during the day.
YELLOWJACKETS Season 3 Episode 10, “Full Circle.” Photo credit: Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Help Is on the Way 

Later, Shauna confronts Nat, asking her if she played a part in the rigged draw. When Nat doesn’t respond, Shauna removes her head covering to see it’s Hannah. The other girls grin. They helped Nat escape. Shauna screams for Nat. We see Nat on a mountain with the sat phone. It now has a piece from the transponder. Nat calls for help. Finally, someone answers. The man claims he can hear her.

Rescue is on the horizon. 

RELATED: Read our Yellowjackets recaps

Yellowjackets is now streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. The season finale will air on the SHOWTIME network on Sunday at 8 pm EST/PST. 

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Melody McCune
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