‘Yellowjackets’ Season 1 Recap: All The Wildest Moments To Remember Before Season 2 Premieres

The buzz is all around ‘Yellowjackets’ season 2. Ahead of the show’s return, here’s a refresher on all the major things that happened in the first season.

Yellowjackets season 2 is one of the most highly-anticipated shows of 2023. The first season became a phenomenon and an instant hit for Showtime. From the nostalgia element to the jaw-dropping twists to the endless Reddit theories, Yellowjackets has everything you’d ever want in a show.

It’s been over a year since the first season premiered, and so much went down. With countless shows to watch, you might be wondering, what happened in Yellowjackets season 1? What do I need to remember before watching season 2, especially with two timelines involved? HollywoodLife has your bases covered.

The Plane Crash

The 1996 Wiskayok High School girls’ soccer team was on their way from New Jersey to Seattle to compete at nationals when their plane crashed in the Canadian wilderness. Several members of the soccer team died in the crash, including Coach Martinez. Coach Ben Scott was badly injured and Misty was forced to amputate his leg. Given the remote location of the crash, the Yellowjackets weren’t found for 19 months.

The first season began to explore how the team survived out in the wilderness in the initial months after the crash. Even after 25 years, the survivors were still grappling with what happened out there.

Misty Destroyed The Black Box

The plane was broken off into pieces in the crash. After taking control in the immediate aftermath of the crash, Misty relished being needed by everyone. In the final moments of episode 2, Misty stumbled across the plane’s black box, which could help search and rescue locate them. Instead of bringing it back to the survivors, she destroyed it, therefore making it even harder for anyone to ever find them.

When HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Samantha Hanratty, who plays young Misty, she said Misty’s decision “definitely was a move that she made purely because it’s the first time that she’s ever mattered, and she’s so caught up in that mindset of wanting so badly to just keep this dream world going. She’s not even thinking about the repercussions of what that might look like.”

Shauna’s Pregnancy

Out in the wilderness, Shauna soon realized she was pregnant when she never got her period. Shauna attempted to give herself an abortion in the woods. Tai found Shauna and agreed to help so she wouldn’t be alone. Shauna decided she couldn’t go through with the abortion. She broke down in Tai’s arms about not wanting to die. Shauna was well aware that having a child in the wilderness with no medical interference could kill her.

Shauna’s pregnancy was even more complicated. Shauna was pregnant with Jeff’s baby. Shauna had been sleeping with Jeff, Jackie’s boyfriend, behind her best friend’s back. Jackie eventually found out the truth about Shauna and Jeff, which resulted in a massive fight between the two best friends.

At the end of season 1, Shauna is still pregnant. However, there are many theories about what happened to the baby since the child clearly is not alive in the 2021 timeline.

Jackie’s Death

The season 1 finale ended with the shocking death of Jackie. After a huge showdown between Jackie and Shauna in front of everyone, Jackie decided to sleep outside for the night. When Shauna woke up the next morning, she knew something was terribly wrong. She looked outside and saw snow on the ground. She ran outside and found Jackie had frozen to death.

“I think she’s going to have a really hard time afterward because even though things were going sour with Jackie, I don’t think they’ve even ever really had such a big fight before,” Sophie Nelisse told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY about how Shauna will react to Jackie’s demise. “So for it leading to her death, I think she’s just going to put all of the pressure on her shoulders. She’s going to be even slightly traumatized probably afterward.”

Javi Ran Away

Laura Lee attempted to fly the plane she found in the woods, but it exploded in mid-air. The survivors began to believe they were all doomed, so they decided to have a Doomcoming party. Misty’s obsession with Coach Ben was still in full force, and she was planning to poison him with mushrooms. However, Mari stumbled upon the mushrooms and put them in the stew.

Soon, almost everyone was tripping on these hallucinogenic mushrooms. Jackie slept with Travis after finding out about Shauna and Jeff. At one point, Shauna had a knife to Travis’ neck and was about to kill him in some weird sacrifice before Natalie stopped her. In the midst of the Doomcoming chaos, Shauna told Javi to run. He hasn’t been seen since.

The Antler Queen

Who is the Antler Queen? That’s one of the biggest questions Yellowjackets fans have after the first season. At the beginning of the series, there’s a scene involving some of the survivors surrounding the Antler Queen in the midst of a brutal winter. They are all covered from head to toe, so no one can be identified. The only person seen is Misty, who takes off her head covering.

Also in the pilot episode, a mystery brunette was seen running through the woods. She fell into a trap and was later slaughtered for food. Most everyone thought the brunette was Jackie, but now we know for certain that Jackie was not the mystery girl. During the Doomcoming party, Lottie can be seen wearing the Antler Queen headpiece, but we don’t know for sure that she’s the Antler Queen just yet. At the end of season 1, Lottie appeared to sacrifice a bear heart to the woods and muttered, “And let the darkness set us free.”

Samantha revealed in our EXCLUSIVE interview that she had been told who the Antler Queen was at the beginning of the season. “I’ve been told very few things, but I did get told who the Antler Queen was when I filmed the pilot. Now, that could have changed. They change things on us all the time, so that could have changed. But for now, I’m just going to do my best to be a good actor, and not say anything I’m not supposed to,” she said.

Shauna Killed Her Lover

In the 2021 timeline, Shauna started having an affair with the handsome and mysterious Adam. However, when Shauna believed that Adam was the one blackmailing her and the other survivors, she killed him. But everything was not as it appeared. Turns out, her husband Jeff — yes, that Jeff — was the one blackmailing Shauna and the survivors to try and save his furniture store.

After discovering that Jeff was behind the blackmailing, she protected him by sticking to her initial theory that Adam was behind everything. Misty, Natalie, and Tai helped Shauna get rid of Adam’s body.

Nat Was Kidnapped

Nat was devastated after finding out about Travis’ death and was convinced he didn’t take his own life. In the final moments of the season 1 finale, Nat was about to kill herself. Suddenly, members of a group wearing necklaces featuring the mysterious symbol the girls found in the woods broke into her motel room and kidnapped Nat. As she was being taken away, her friend Suzie called about Travis’ bank account. She discovered who had emptied his account. “Who the f**k is Lottie Matthews?” Suzie asked, revealing that Lottie was alive and well in the present timeline.