Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 8, “A Normal, Boring Life,” finally brings Hilary Swank into the mix, and she’s playing none other than Hat Girl, aka Melissa. Swank and Melanie Lynskey are electrifying together. Their scenes are a masterclass in tension and high stakes. Shauna’s mercurial nature had me on edge the whole time. “A Normal, Boring Life” presents entertaining narratives for both timelines and propels the overarching story in an intriguing direction.
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Yellowjackets, “A Normal, Boring Life”
We open with Teen Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) mindlessly scanning items as a cashier in a grocery store. Jackie (Ella Purnell) snaps her out of it. Of course, we know Jackie is part of Shauna’s psyche. Here, Jackie wears her infamous necklace and is purchasing boxes of hot cocoa, a fun callback to her death scene where she accepts a cup of hot chocolate. Jackie wryly tells Shauna that she didn’t amount to much.
After this, Shauna realizes the packages of frozen meat she was scanning are actually packages of human hands, ears and fingers. Yum. She also notices a host of moths inside one of the lights on the ceiling. Jackie remarks that they’re attracted to light.
Meet Kelly
In the present, Shauna (Lynskey) wakes up after presumably dreaming about what we just saw. She slips her knife up her sleeve before sneaking into Alex’s house. She hides in the closet, watching Alex with her daughter, Lilah (Aliyah Brooks). Suddenly, a woman Shauna knows intimately emerges — Melissa (Swank). Of course, the backwards cap gives it away for us. However, here, Alex knows her as Kelly. And they’re married.
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After Alex and Lilah leave, Melissa turns toward the closet, knowing someone’s hiding in there. She’s armed with a knife. There’s that Wilderness training. Shauna emerges, and the expression on Melissa’s face briefly shifts into one of terror. Still, Melissa suggests they both put their knives down. After all, they’re no longer in high school. They can act like sane adults. Shauna counters that Melissa married the daughter of the woman they killed and changed her name. That’s effed up. However, she admits that they can both keep their knives.
Meanwhile, Misty (Christina Ricci) leaves Shauna an incensed voicemail for abandoning her, Taissa (Tawny Cypress) and Van (Lauren Ambrose) at the hospital. Then, a doctor informs Tai that there’s unfortunately not much else they can do for Van. The doctor suggests that the next step is hospice. She offers to give Tai Van’s release paperwork while contemplating this big decision.
The Morning After
Once the doctor leaves, Misty offers her condolences. Tai tells Misty she can help her find the palliative care unit, but not because Van’s gonna stay here. Perhaps it’s time to appease It once again. In the ’90s timeline, Misty (Samantha Hanratty) wakes up after Kodiak nearly takes off her head. She finds her glasses. The lenses are cracked.
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Elsewhere, Kodi (Joel McHale) leads Travis (Kevin Alves) and Akilah (Nia Sondaya) out of the Wilderness to the rescue point. Akilah voices her reservations about this. After all, according to her vision, Ben was supposed to be their bridge home. Travis stops her and sets her straight. None of this is real. Akilah was simply huffing cave fumes. She’s no prophet. Neither is Travis. Like her, he was tripping on a substance.
The trio continues their trek. Akilah surreptitiously hangs bits of her sweater on tree branches, presumably so the others can track them. Sure enough, Misty discovers a purple thread on a tree branch. At the village, the teens pummel Hannah (Ashley Sutton) with questions. Is anyone still looking for them? What’s happening back home? Did Mulder and Scully finally get together? That last one was Van’s (Liv Hewson) most pressing question, and totally on brand for her.
Get Us Home
Hannah explains that she and Edwin were part of a research team. Kodi was their guide. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) asks if Hannah can get them home. Initially, she’s unsure, but then she adds that she can’t do it without Kodi. Then, Misty returns with news: she can find Travis, Akilah and Kodi. The gang departs to track them down. Shauna orders Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) to watch Hannah and Lottie (Courtney Eaton). Lottie’s still covered in Edwin’s blood.
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Later, in the present timeline, Jeff (Warren Kole) and Callie (Sarah Desjardins) have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Jeff spots the Joels. Well, technically, only one of them is named Joel. The Joels wave him over. Jeff tries again to forge a partnership with the hoteliers, but they assert they’re going in a different direction. Then, the Joels wave someone else over — the proprietor of FurnitureFam.net. Jeff is in shambles. Not FurnitureFam.net.
Thankfully, Misty pulls Jeff away from the awkward encounter with a phone call. She informs him about Shauna abandoning her at the hospital. Has he spoken with her? Jeff hasn’t, but this certainly puts him on edge. Misty refuses to elaborate on why the crew’s at a hospital, instead urging Jeff to let her know if Shauna calls him. Jeff reunites with Callie, clearly in panic mode. To be fair, it’s now his baseline.
The Truth
Meanwhile, Shauna and Melissa stand defensively in the latter’s kitchen, knives raised. Shauna asks Melissa if she’s still in love with her. Melissa laughs, claiming she never actually loved Shauna. So, it was for survival. We learn that the group attended Melissa’s funeral after they returned to civilization. Melissa explains that she faked her death. Apparently, all the police needed was a note, even without a body.
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She adds that she wasn’t like them. Melissa wanted to extricate herself from the Wilderness. She reveals that Hannah gave her the DAT tape and made her promise to give it to Alex. Once they returned home, Melissa kept a watchful eye on Alex. However, she never wanted Alex to get hold of said tape. She also never intended to fall for Alex, but here we are. Now, Melissa has a wife, a cool kid and she goes to church. She has a lovely little life.
Shauna reminds Melissa that Alex doesn’t know her real name. Melissa fires back that it’s still true love. Shauna doesn’t care about all that, though. She demands to know why Melissa sent her the DAT tape. We return to the ’90s timeline, in which Akilah stalls so the group can descend upon Kodi. Travis trains Kodi’s bow on him, too. They all return to the village. Kodi is bound by ropes and placed beside Hannah. Nat asks Kodi if he can get them home. He reveals it’s a six-day hike to the rescue point, but yes, he can.
Reservations
Shauna demands to know why Travis and Akilah left with Kodi. Travis insists they thought sending a smaller party for rescue would be more prudent. Then, they would’ve returned for the others. Shauna doesn’t look convinced. Nat urges the others to pack just enough for six days. They’re going home, y’all.
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However, not everyone is thrilled to leave. Lottie claims they don’t belong in civilization anymore. They’re products of the Wilderness. Nat ignores Lottie’s remarks and pushes the group to get a move on. In the present timeline, Melissa explains that she kept the tape in a safety deposit box. But having this in her possession weighed on her soul. Her therapist, Barbara, encouraged Melissa to let go of what was holding her back.
So, Melissa sent it to Shauna, along with a note to explain why, hoping Shauna would do the same. She wanted Shauna to let go of it all, too. Shauna claims there wasn’t a note. (Callie probably concealed it somewhere.)
Melissa reveals she hasn’t been sleeping since she learned of Nat’s death at Lottie’s compound. Shauna doesn’t buy it. She rattles off the list of perceived offenses against her: cutting her brakes, locking her in the freezer and the phone playing “Queen of Hearts” in the bathroom.
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The Last One Standing
Naturally, Melissa has no clue what Shauna is talking about. Then, Shauna accuses Melissa of killing Lottie. However, Melissa didn’t know Lottie was dead. Shauna believes the only way to keep her secrets under lock and key is to be the last one standing. Uh-oh. This is a turning point for her.
Later, Tai decides to kill a man with end-stage heart failure. Misty watches in confusion as Tai tries to place a pillow over the sleeping man’s face. Tai can’t bring herself to do it, though. It seems like our Tai is present here instead of Other Tai. In the ’90s timeline, Mari (Alexa Barajas) lets Hannah and Kodi bury Edwin. Suddenly, she imagines herself with a Slurpee in hand.
Meanwhile, Misty envisions she’s on a toilet with actual toilet paper at her disposal. Van pretends she’s lying on a fluffy comforter with plenty of equally fluffy pillows. Our girls are dreaming of home. Tai breaks the daydreaming by asking Van if they can still be together in the real world. Sure, they’ve been out here for a long time, but surely not much has changed in civilization. Van insists their relationship will remain the same.
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Tai pivots, asking what they’ll do about Hannah and Kodi. They can’t allow the adults to live. Kodi and Hannah know — at least partly — what they’ve done. Van brushes this off, asserting that rescue takes precedence now. While Van packs, we see Other Tai emerge, with the No-Eyed Man looming behind her. Creepy.
Moths
Elsewhere, Melissa (Jenna Burgess) airs her grievances with Shauna. Melissa almost died, and Shauna never checked on her. Shauna insists she was tracking down Kodi to kill him for harming Melissa. And the jury’s still not out regarding his death. Shauna hands Melissa her trademark hat as a peace offering. Then, Melissa asks Shauna what she wants to do when they return to society. Shauna spaces out as Melissa rattles off her bucket list.
Shauna spots a lone moth hovering above Melissa’s head — the same one from the grocery store dream that Adult Shauna has. Melissa snaps Shauna out of her vision, asking if she’s gonna take the knife sheath back with her. Shauna accepts it with a half smile.
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In the present, Shauna is still incredulous. She doesn’t believe Melissa’s story. Melissa claims she has “a normal, boring life,” but Shauna notes that marrying the daughter of the woman you murdered under a different name is decidedly not normal. Callie calls Shauna, but she ignores it. Melissa asks Shauna if Callie knows what Shauna is capable of. Elsewhere, Callie leaves a voicemail for Shauna. She wants to know where her mom is.
Freaky Little Four-Eyed Mushroom
In the other hotel room, Jeff leaves a voicemail for Misty, claiming he can help her. He’s desperate to know what Shauna is up to. Jeff mutters, “Freaky little four-eyed mushroom,” under his breath as he tosses his phone, and it might be the funniest line he’s said this season. My man. Jeff and Callie admit to each other that nobody’s after Shauna. She and the other Yellowjackets are severely traumatized from their time in the Wilderness. Jeff proposes they go home.
Later, in the ’90s timeline, the teens eagerly pack their belongings. Akilah grabs water for the animals. However, when she returns to the pen, she sees they’re all dead. She sobs. Lottie asks her what’s wrong. Akilah verifies that the animals are, indeed, still alive. Lottie inquires if Akilah had another vision. Girl’s hungry for those Wilderness morsels.
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Meanwhile, Nat delivers Ben’s belongings to the plane wreckage, placing them in a seat. She wishes he was here to experience this moment. Then, Nat hears something creepy. She calls out to the Wilderness, defiantly insisting It won’t accompany them to civilization. This makes her statement years later about them bringing It back with them all the more heartbreaking.
Nothing Will Be Well
In the present, Tai sees Other Tai in the room with Van. Tai bangs on the door, begging for Other Tai to step aside. Other Tai taunts our Tai, claiming she can’t do what must be done. She doesn’t believe. In the ’90s timeline, the gang prepares to depart. However, Lottie declares she’s not joining them. If she returns to society, things won’t be “well.” And she’s truly herself out here. Shauna and Tai decide to stay as well, admitting that something about this doesn’t feel right.
Nat claims they’ve all gone insane (accurate) and decides to leave with the others anyway. Unfortunately, Shauna doesn’t let them go. Side note: Thatcher has never been more like Juliette Lewis than in this episode. Well done.
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Jeff and Callie check out of the hotel, but not without Jeff having a mic drop moment with the uppity Joels. He admits his wife is crazy. However, haven’t the Joels ever loved an unhinged woman? Plus, Jeff really is the best person for this job. But if they can’t see that, oh well. Callie looks proud of her dad.
Stir the Pot
Meanwhile, Melissa tells Shauna the unvarnished truth: Shauna loves to stir the pot to feel alive. She’s the orchestrator of her own problems. And she doesn’t want to feel alone; she wants everyone else to be miserable with her. Ouch.
Suddenly, Shauna breaks Melissa’s arm. The two of them wrestle on the floor as Shauna attempts to pin down Melissa. Melissa punches Shauna in the face. As blood pours from Shauna’s nose, she bites Melissa’s arm, removing a hunk of skin. Then, Shauna gets Melissa to consume her own flesh, threatening to expose her true name to her family if she doesn’t.
“You really are insane,” Melissa says before, you know, eating her own arm.
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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