REVIEW: ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3 Episode 10 – “Full Circle”

And with that, we let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, we get answers and forward movement in Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 after a long, arduous season slog. Despite an optimistic start, Season 3 fell to the same issues that ran amok in Season 2. While overall stronger and streamlined, “Full Circle” hits us with a massive, dead-on-arrival moment that nearly circumvents any goodwill the later mystery reveal gains. It is, like all of Season 3, uneven and frustrating.

Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) death has haunted the back half of the season. Both due to the characters trying to figure out just who the murderer was, but also because, with how haphazardly it was written, we had to wonder just how far out they planned it. And, based on the reveal of her killer, it would seem not much. Misty (Christina Ricci), spurned on by her hatred of Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), probes the case further before realizing that it was Callie (Sarah Desjardins) who killed Lottie. She says it was a mistake, but the flashback paints a gray picture.

Callie confronts Lottie to learn more about their time in the wilderness and asks her if her mom loves her. But by this point, Lottie is fully committed to the will of the wilderness, believing that Callie has the special IT factor in her that chose the rest of the prior team. Lottie grabs her, Callie shoves her away, and Lottie falls to her death. What an anti-climactic end.

This reveal in Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 sours the rest of “Full Circle.” One, because we don’t care about Callie, no matter how important the series tries to set her up to be. And, quite frankly, Desjardins isn’t up to the challenge of carrying this story. It’s a convoluted way to progress Shauna’s story. The only interesting part is Jeff’s (Warren Kole) reaction. Kole is heartbreaking as he plays Jeff’s dawning horror when he learns the truth, and his swift decision to remove the two from Shauna’s pull is the smartest thing a character has done on this show in ages.

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 makes frustrating choices. 

But again, all of this is designed to orchestrate the moment when Shauna is finally alone without any backup. Something that could have been achieved by Jeff making the same decision sans Callie being a murderer. Shauna and her reckless, entitled decision-making have been setting her up for some fall for a while now, and the finale delivers. But not every step along the way works.

However, we understand Tai’s (Tawny Cypress) rage as she buries Van – and then eats her heart, because why not? Despite being Shauna’s number one supporter since the wilderness days, she’s reached her limit. By introducing Melissa (Hilary Swank) back into their lives, Tai sees it as Shauna sentencing the love of her life to death. She and Misty make for a formidable pair at the end, realizing that all of the bad things they’ve endured recently are due to Shauna.

And we see how this tracks back to them as teenagers. Teenage Shauna has become a walking, talking poke in the eye in Season 3. She was once one of the best characters in the show due to her tumultuous, co-dependent relationship with Jackie (Ella Purnell). We empathized with her throughout her pregnancy, and Sophie Nélisse was extraordinary in displaying the character’s heartache when she lost him. She was complicated and prone to cruelty, but there was depth to what made her tick.

But the finale sums up the worst aspects of this version of the character, which then carry over into the modern-day story. Because her cruelty is without restraint, her eagerness to bring back the game that would have them hunting one another down is nauseating. And Nélisse isn’t nearly as effective as this snarling bully.

We finally learn who is the ‘pit girl’ from the series premiere.

Van (Liv Hewson) demonstrates her humanity when she pushes back against rigging the game despite Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) asking her. While she ultimately relents, aiming to target Hannah since she isn’t “one of us,” Shauna catches wind. She plants herself between Hannah and Mari, making Mari the target and the pit girl we first saw at the beginning of the series.

Considering Mari was the only remaining character we cared about who we know doesn’t survive, it’s hardly surprising. But Alexa Barajas, even at Mari’s worst, has always had a charismatic, realistic presence. Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 cleverly mimics the Season 3 premiere, where she’s hunted, but this time, it’s not a game but for sport. And her loss means death. That they inject any tension into the sequence when we know the inevitable outcome is commendable. Even though we know she’s doomed, her takedown of Shauna and her vigor in trying to survive make us root for her.

The biggest reveal, however, is that during all of this, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) makes her escape with the radio to try and reach a call for help. That’s how the season ends, with a warbling voice saying, “I can hear you.” In this moment, we are given the potential end of these horrors for those desperate to go home, while also the beginning of Shauna’s hell.

Shauna mourns a life past in the Season 3 finale.

Because she loves the wilderness and being the Antler Queen. For a moment, the episode throws us, of course, as Shauna breaks down in the present, realizing how alone she is. Lynskey is wonderful and disorienting in her heartbreak. For a moment, we think she’s mourning a family that (rightfully) abandoned her. But no, it’s because she’s furious over her lack of control, influence, and power. She loved the wilderness because there she had purpose, and people had to listen to what she said.

Shauna’s breakdown, Mari’s death, and Natalie’s potential salvation are what the finale needs. Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 starts weak with Callie’s forced storyline and the messy yet understandable shifting of alliances. But at the very least, we finally have some answers.

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 fittingly ends on an uneven note. Ardent fans of the series—or completionists—will undoubtedly return for a fourth season. But the slow-burn reveal of mysteries, added questions, and bizarre narrative decisions will make it hard-won. At its best, it’s thrilling, can’t-look-away TV. At its worst, it makes us want to read the cliff notes once it’s over.

Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 10 is available now on Paramount+

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