Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 7, “Croak,” kicks both narratives into high gear. Hannah and Kodi in the ’90s timeline probably wished they had left well enough alone regarding the teens. Meanwhile, science proves to Misty that Shauna killed Lottie, and Van’s illness takes a turn for the worse. It’s an exciting, well-paced, action-packed outing.
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Yellowjackets, “Croak”
We open with bullfrogs croaking and screeching. Yes, screeching. This is 100 percent what the teens are hearing and, like at the end of last week’s episode, communing with. Hannah (Ashley Sutton) and Edwin (Nelson Franklin) are scientists researching frogs and filming them in their natural habitat. Right now, they’re recording some good old-fashioned frog f*cking. It’s mating season, y’all. Kodiak (Joel McHale), aka Kodi, their gruff guide to the woods, smokes a cigarette while watching the display. Edwin sticks a frog in a jar.
Later, Hannah listens to the frogs’ mating sounds and grins. Edwin expresses gratitude for their work-related trek to the wilderness (not “Wilderness,” though). Kodi shoots a rabbit with his bow. After cooking it, he tells the others the “Wilderness provides.” Oh, if you only knew, pal. Edwin refuses to partake, citing that the group before them has hidden rations (the ones with “KUH” on them, which the late Ben found). He doesn’t trust the guide. How did he get all those scars?
It’s Mating Season
Later, the trio hangs out in their tent while it rains. Kodi produces a blunt, which he and Hannah proceed to smoke. Edwin observes the frog in the jar. We learn that Hannah and Edwin, who are a couple, are in the Canadian wilderness to observe Arctic Banshee Frogs for their mating season.
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Hannah and Kodi, now high as kites, try to call Miss Cleo with the sat phone. They wrestle with the receiver until Kodi sits on the antenna, snapping it in half. Edwin reminds them that the sat phone is their lifeline. Now, they can’t use it.
The following morning, Edwin voices his concerns regarding Kodi. They don’t know this guy. When they ask questions, he offers joke answers or gets cagey. Well, he is Jeff Winger (and Frank Shaw). Edwin’s worried they’re going the wrong way. Hannah refuses to part ways with Kodi, though. They don’t know the wilderness. That evening, Edwin offers proof that Kodi isn’t who he says he is. He shows Hannah Kodi’s shirt, which has “Erik Cheong” sewn into it. Hannah reminds him that Kodi could’ve purchased it secondhand.
BBQ Ben
Suddenly, our trio smells something cooking nearby. Little do they know it’s BBQ Ben. Hannah turns on her recording equipment as they draw closer to our titular teens’ village. “Testing, testing,” she says. Travis (Kevin Alves) and Akilah (Nia Sondaya) spot the interlopers first. Then, Lottie (Courtney Eaton) screams, “No!” The other teens stop dancing and screeching. Van (Liv Hewson) realizes this is their way home.
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Edwin says “Hello” before it dawns on him who they are. However, Lottie buries an ax in his head before he can finish his sentence. Edwin dies instantly. Nat (Sophie Thatcher) yells at Lottie for killing him, while Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) looks gleeful. These disparate reactions are so in character. Hannah and Kodi flee. On their way out, Kodi fires an arrow, which lands squarely in Melissa’s (Jenna Burgess) chest. Nat urges the others to bring Hannah and Kodi back without harming them.
Before she leaves, Shauna demands Mari (Alexa Barajas) help Gen (Vanessa Prasad) patch up Melissa. “If she dies, you die,” Shauna threatens. Lottie smears Edwin’s blood on her face while feasting on his brain and chanting to herself. Homegirl’s not even on this plane anymore.
The Tape
In the present timeline, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) listens to all this on the tape. She fast-forwards to Hannah’s emotional message for her daughter, Alex. We learn that, like Shauna, Hannah had a teen pregnancy. Shauna finds Hannah’s obituary online. Jeff (Warren Kole) knocks on the bathroom door, asking how long Shauna will be in there. He decides to use the public bathroom in the hotel. Shauna advises him and Callie (Sarah Desjardins) to stay put while she leaves … again. Callie eavesdrops on their conversation and researches missing person cases in Canada in the ’90s.
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Elsewhere, Misty (Christina Ricci) barges into Taissa (Tawny Cypress) and Van’s (Lauren Ambrose) hotel room. She confronts Tai about meeting Lottie on the day she died. Tai claims it was personal and irrelevant. Plus, this doesn’t mean she killed Lottie. Tai adds that it’s obvious whoever mailed the DAT tape to Shauna is the one who murdered Lottie. “What tape?” Misty asks.
Next, in the ’90s timeline, Hannah gets separated from Kodi while they run from the Yellowjackets. Shauna and Nat decide to go one way while Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Van go another. Hannah catches her hair on a branch, ripping out a hunk of locks before hiding behind a log. She records a farewell message for Alex.
Heading to Richmond
In the present, Shauna runs into Tai, Misty and Van at the hotel. She reveals she’s heading to Richmond, Virginia, where Alex resides. She believes Alex has been targeting her as vengeance for what happened to Hannah. This includes cutting her brakes, locking her in the freezer, sending her the tape and leaving the phone in the bathroom with the “Queen of Hearts” ringtone. Shauna plans to have a civilized conversation with Alex. Ha! The others decide to join her because, let’s face it, Shauna’s track record is iffy.
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Later, the women listen to Hannah’s message to her daughter while on the road to Virginia. Misty wonders who brought the tape back from the Wilderness and why Alex waited 25 years to exact revenge. Tai remarks that the only ones who got close to Hannah were Melissa and Gen, but they’re dead.
Then, Shauna stops for gas. Misty heads inside the convenience store for snacks while Van asks Tai about her meeting with Lottie. Tai discloses the truth. She asked Lottie for context regarding what she told them on the night Nat died. “The Wilderness is pleased with us.” What does that mean? Tai addresses resuming the hunt to protect Van. After all, she’s on the mend. Her tumor stopped growing.
Drive Him Toward Sh*t Ridge
In the ’90s timeline, Tai and Van stumble upon Hannah and Kodi’s campsite. Van releases the frog in the jar. Upon seeing the sat phone, she enthusiastically dials her mom’s number. However, it doesn’t work, and she and Tai see the broken antenna. Tai remarks that at least they have supplies for the village. Van counters they wouldn’t need them if they could use Hannah and Kodi to go home.
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Meanwhile, Travis and Akilah run into Misty (Samantha Hanratty), who suggests they drive Kodi toward “sh*t ridge.” Instead, Travis claims he and Akilah will fire a few rounds in Kodi’s direction, and Misty can get him from behind. Elsewhere, Shauna finds the locks of Hannah’s hair on the branch, pocketing them. Hannah emerges from behind the log and turns herself in to Shauna and Nat.
Nat reassures her they won’t hurt her, but Shauna’s pissed at Kodi for firing an arrow at Melissa. Hannah reveals she has medical supplies at her campsite. Then, in the present timeline, Misty, Tai, Shauna and Van play “I Spy” while on the road. Misty finds a receipt from Shauna’s venture into NYC on the day Lottie died. After this, Walter (Elijah Wood) calls Misty to disclose crucial info: the sample she gave him from Lottie’s fingernails matches Shauna. It’s her DNA.
A Deadly Turn
Misty frantically texts Tai and Van that Shauna killed Lottie. Noticing how strangely the others are acting, Shauna demands to know what’s wrong. Suddenly, Van starts vomiting blood. Uh-oh.
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In the ’90s timeline, Kodi spies Misty and shoots an arrow at her. She ducks, falling to the ground and breaking her glasses. Travis and Akilah confront Kodi, who slips and falls backward off the cliff. Thankfully, he catches himself. Travis offers the butt of his gun for Kodi to use to pull himself upward. He begs Kodi to take him and Akilah back to civilization.
Later, in the present, Shauna takes Van to a nearby hospital. Tai informs the front desk that Van has metastatic cancer and that she’s her wife. Tai follows Van and the nurses. Misty tries to join them, claiming she and Van share an intense trauma bond that’s akin to sisterhood. She cracks me up. While Misty and Shauna sit in the waiting room, Misty confronts Shauna about Walter’s findings. She accuses Shauna of murder. Shauna denies the validity of the accusation.
On Fire
Instead, Shauna bails, leaving the others at the hospital. Tai sits with Van by her hospital bed. Tai vows to remain by her side. Van sees her younger self, also in a hospital gown, in the Wilderness. Teen Van holds a torch. She claims they never cheated death; it was always an even trade. Teen Van sets the hospital bed on fire with Adult Van in it. Adult Van screams. Van and fire, y’all.
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Then, Van sees Other Tai, who has dirt smeared across her lips. Other Tai reassures Van, claiming she won’t let them take her eyes. Van realizes she was right. “How long has it been you?” she asks Other Tai. Other Tai claims this isn’t the end for them, and Van won’t die. Van wants to speak with regular Tai, though. “But I’m the one who can save you,” Other Tai says.
In the ’90s timeline, daylight breaks. Lottie is still hunched over Edwin’s corpse while using his blood as finger paint. Gen and Mari decide to push the arrow in Melissa all the way through. It’s pretty gruesome. Then, Nat, Shauna, Tai and Van return to the village with Hannah in tow. Hannah introduces herself properly. I bet she regrets her curiosity by now.
What Are They Hiding?
Later, in the present, Jeff panics because their hotel room might have bedbugs. Callie asks him about frog scientists going missing in the Canadian wilderness in the ’90s. Could the Yellowjackets be responsible for their fate? Jeff read Shauna’s journals. However, he reassures Callie that there’s no way the two groups interacted then. Callie is unconvinced, though.
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Elsewhere, Shauna parks outside Alex’s house in Richmond, Virginia. She puts her butcher knife in the passenger seat. We see a woman close the blinds. Shauna plans to wait there all night for her. That’s not problematic behavior at all.
Yellowjackets drops new episodes every Friday on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and airs on the SHOWTIME network every Sunday at 8 pm EST/PST.
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