Recap pages are Spoilers Off per policy and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned
So what happened?1996
At the cabin, the girls are having a fun moment dancing to the music from a Walkman. The music player stops working and Percussive Maintenance doesn't help. The player stops being their biggest worry when they hear spooky sounds. Coach Ben sends them all to sleep. In the morning, Misty sexually harasses the coach before he wakes up, but gets caught. He snarls at her, "Do not fucking touch me, Misty. Do you understand?"Jackie is woken up by Natalie, who has no time for Jackie's whining about cramps. Everybody's cycles have synced and they are having their periods at the same time. Jackie finds all others busy at chores and nobody particularly glad to see her. Mari sends Jackie off for more water rather brusquely. At the lake, Jackie finds an out-of-it Lottie in water up to her waist, who just says she thought the water would be warmer. She returns and Shauna comes up to her, bringing up that her period is late. Jackie dismisses it as the byproduct of stress, "Well, lucky you're a virgin or we'd really have to worry." About that…
Taissa (whose attraction to Van appears mutual) catches Shauna dipping a DIY sanitary napkin in deer blood. Shauna lies to Jackie that her period came after all. Shauna also decides to teach Jackie how to butcher a deer but Jackie is grossed out and not interested. Shauna warns her that people are noticing that she is not pulling her weight and to get with the program.
Jackie's idea of contributing is to propose to the group that they hold a séance, joking that the dead guy can give them some advice. Misty offers Coach Ben special tea.
Later, the girls set up for the séance by placing candles along the existing marks of the attic floor. They agree that the “symbol thing” on the floor is totally séance-y. Jackie invokes the "keeper of this wild and hidden place” to talk to them via a blindfolded Shauna, who is holding a pendulum. Questions are asked, such as whether their school principal having an affair with a teacher (yes), and would they have won Nationals if they had not crashed (a "no" response greeted by boos and laughter).
Downstairs in the cabin, Laura Lee (who is skipping the séance on account that "the occult is nothing to be messing with") and Taissa the skeptic are hanging out, alongside the Coach. Laura Lee is studying flight manuals, figuring that if her grandfather could fly a Cessna, she might be able to fly the plane at the cabin. Taissa just rolls her eyes at the idea.
More questions for the spirit: Misty asks if the person she likes likes her back and gets a yes. Javi asks if "Are we all gonna die out here?" The answer is ambiguous: either a number eight or an infinity symbol.
And then the séance goes to hell. A wind blows and Lottie starts screaming her head off. The other girls panic as it is obvious that Lottie is not OK. She is crying and muttering in a strange voice "it wants" and "Hungry" and something more alarming: "It's in you already." Then she starts muttering in French, even though according to Jackie, Lottie does badly in the French class they share. Jackie, despite also not being fluent, manages to interpret some of what Lottie is saying; whatever "it" is, it wants blood. (Mari: "Not the word I want to be hearing right now.")
Lottie adds that they must spill blood or else. She gives no clue as to what "else" is, but bangs her head against her window, cutting herself.
Downstairs, Laura Lee begs the coach to stop whatever is going on, but he projectile vomits. So she goes upstairs with her Bible: "The power of Christ compels you! Begone, Satan! The power of Christ compels you! Lottie! Lottie, stop!" She hurls her Bible at Lottie. Upon being hit, Lottie snaps out of her state and yells at Laura Lee in her normal voice. Everybody else is still shocked.
While the girls are getting ready to sleep, the Coach confronts Misty and accuses her of poisoning him. She admits to having feelings for him. He switches tactics: he lies through his teeth and tells her that he returns his feelings with an scary intensity. But she is a minor and a student, and he is her teacher, and that is a line he cannot bring himself to cross. So he asks her to keep it a secret so he other girls don't get jealous.
At the cabin, talk turns to the "ghost" and whether it is still there in the attic. Taissa tells them to stop with the nonsense. Determined to prove a point, she heads to the attic to sleep, even though nobody is eager to join her. Despite Jackie dismissing the events as unrelated to their séance, Shauna goes to join Taissa. Taissa, who has put two and two together, asks Shauna "How far along are you?" She agrees to keep it a secret, but reminds Shauna that the truth will come out if they stay there too long.
Present:
At the Sadecki home, Shauna is distracted. Callie tells her mom (as opposed to asking) that she will be going into the city with some friends for Halloween. Shauna tells her daughter that’s not going to happen; Callie is going to stay home and hand out candy. Shauna’s got a date…er, a book club meeting. After Jeff and Shauna discuss their differing approaches to disciplining Callie, he proposes joining her for book club. She dissuades him from that with a flimsy excuse.Kevyn calls Natalie to tell her that he's got the file on Travis, whose toxicology report shows he was clean at the time of his death. He rather awkwardly proposes they see each other again. But Natalie cuts the conversation short to talk to Misty, who is calling from work. Natalie asks Misty for help in the form of her contact who is a hacker, to get the whole file on Travis's death from Kevyn. Just then, two kids in Halloween costumes come in to Misty’s patient room and complain of the smell. Misty switches off her patient’s monitor to fake a Code Blue and scare the children away.
The Abara-Turner home. Polls show that Taissa is not doing well against her rival. She is regretting not kissing up to Diane Rafelson (the potential donor from episode "Bear Down"). Simone is being supportive of her wife, when their moment is interrupted by Biscuit growling and barking. Taissa hears a howl, peeks out the window and sees a wolf. She heads outside and finds somebody scrawled "SPILL" on her front door.Later, Simone, Taissa, Sammy and Biscuit (in an adorable hot dog costume) return from trick or treating. Simone is reconsidering her earlier suggestion of taking the high road regarding Taissa's opponent. Taissa finds a can of red paint under Sammy's bed.
Natalie's. Misty arrives with a cheesy aroma diffuser for Natalie and bad news. Her hacker contact is upset that he was on the dark about stealing a police file, so he wants to meet in public to "discuss" terms. They meet with Stallion99 (his username in the chat room). Stallion99 wants in their operation in exchange for giving them the file on Travis. He reconsider after Misty spills gas on his crotch and Natalie takes out her lighter, making it clear he better surrender the file or else she'll light him up and gladly go to jail for the deed.
Simone and Taissa ask Sammy about the can of red paint under his bed. He shakes his head no. They promise that they won't get mad if he tells the truth. He insists that he didn’t paint anything on the door and that "The bad one did it. The lady in the tree." Taissa and Simone think he is lying.
Shauna and Adam arrive at a dance club. Shauna feels too old for the crowd. She relaxes and has fun, until she thinks she sees a teenaged Jackie. She follows "Jackie", who turns out to be Callie, dressed up in a Yellowjackets uniform from Shauna's closet. They are both surprised as hell at seeing the other in a club. Adam pops in and asks if everything is all right. Shauna, incensed at learning her daughter is high on Ecstasy, grabs her and prepares to leave, declining an offer of a ride from Adam.
Simone and Taissa are talking about the toll Taissa's campaign is taking on herself and on Sammy. Taissa wonders if all the time and effort for a campaign she is not likely to win is worth it. Simone is supportive of whatever Taissa chooses. Taissa decides she will announce her withdrawal the next day.
Natalie and Misty study photos from the autopsy and the crime scene. Misty points out the smudges on the floor that look like wax and connects them, forming the Arc Symbol. Natalie knows that Travis didn’t believe in anything like that and would not have put the symbol there.
True to her word, Shauna has taken Callie someplace to sober up. Shauna admits that yes, Adam is her lover. Callie suggests that he might be interested in Shauna due to her past with the Yellowjackets. Then she asks Shauna a tough question: "When did you fall out of love with Dad?" Shauna can only say that things are complicated and that there is baggage. Callie brings up that they never talk about Jackie. Shauna tells Callie the story behind the Yellowjackets uniform she is wearing: Jackie's parents had given it to Shauna for Jackie's 40th birthday, as a Tragic Keepsake. Callie is sorry her mom had to go through that whole experience.
Callie: No. But, Mom, but you're not. You're so not fine. Do you think I can't see that?
The outside of the Abara-Turner home, the graffiti behind a tarp. Taissa thanks the reporters for coming and gets ready to announce her withdrawal. She starts out by mentioning Bathurst's "worthy campaign", but she hallucinates again and sees a gaunt man with long hair and empty eye sockets. That is enough to change her mind about quitting the race. She pulls off the tarp covering the words "SPILL" and blames it on Bathurst opponents lapping up his rhetoric. As she reaffirms her commitment to staying in the race, Simone is horrified.
Next morning, a hungover Callie tries to extort her mother. She wants her curfew removed and other privileges in exchange for not telling her father about seeing her mom with Adam. Shauna explains the likely outcome: having to use Callie's college fund to pay a divorce lawyer, spending weekends with a lonely dad, and watching him date girls her age. Then she deftly puts Callie on the spot so that she is forced to confess to the previous night's shenanigans to her dad. Jeff starts to lecture her but she walks off in the middle of his speech.
Natalie's. Taissa shows up per Nat's request. Natalie shows her the pictures from Travis’s murder scene and how the wax residues show candles were arranged in the shape of the Arc Symbol underneath his body. Then they both get an anonymous text, featuring the Mysterious Symbol:
Do not discuss with your teammates.
I will know."
Taissa calls Shauna and tells her to come over. Natalie learns that Shauna already knows about Travis's death because Misty called her. This makes Natalie furious ("That conniving, poodle-haired little fucking freak?") and she tells Shauna to get there NOW, because they have a big problem.
Tropes present in this work
- Armor-Piercing Question: Callie asks Shauna, "When did you fall out of love with Dad?" during their conversation.
- Blackmail Backfire: Callie gets it big time when her attempt to blackmail her mother over her boyfriend backfires thanks to Shauna pointing out everything from how expensive divorce attorneys are to how Callie's life will be ruined living with her newly single dad.
- Break the Haughty: Callie is finally knocked down a peg when she tries to blackmail her own mother to get freedom to do whatever she wants; Shauna fires back that the money for an expensive divorce lawyer will come out of Callie's college fund, and her future will likely involve unpleasant weekends with her father before he starts dating women her age.
- Call-Back: Taissa laments rejecting Diane Rafelson, the woman from "Bear Down" who would have endorsed her if Taissa had just revealed the truth about her time in the wilderness.
- Call-Forward: When Shauna says that Adam does not know anything about her Yellowjackets past. Callie brings up the possibility in "Flight of the Bumblebee".
- Chekhov's Gun: Misty brings a tacky owl ornament to Natalie's place, along with the photos from Travis's death. The owl turns out to have a hidden camera planted in it.
- Condescending Compassion: When Natalie calls to ask about Misty’s hacker contact, Misty’s response makes it clear she is not happy with the way Natalie treated her: "I haven't heard an apology yet. (scoffs) But in light of everything you've been through, I will forgive you.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Subverted. Misty attempts to touch Coach Ben in his sleep and tries to pass it off as readjusting the blankets, but he is furious and orders her to never touch him again.
- Everyone Has Standards: Callie seems genuinely ashamed when she's told she's actually wearing Jackie's old uniform as a Halloween costume, assuming it had just been her mother's.
- Evil Is Petty: When Misty is at work, there are two kids trick-or-treating who complain about the antiseptic smell of the facility. So when they ask for candy, she freaks them out by switching off her patient's monitor and faking a Code Blue.
- Homage: When Laura Lee resorts to throwing her Bible at Lottie, it resembles Hilary Faye throwing hers at Mary in Saved!.
- I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Coach Ben invokes this to keep Misty at bay; pretending he has feelings for her but is afraid of acting on them if she gets too close to him.
- Informed Flaw: For Lottie: she starts muttering in Gratuitous French during the séance. Jackie, who is in French class with Lottie, says they both suck at it. This confirms that whoever (or whatever) is in control of Lottie's actions, it is not her.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Misty is spying on the other three via hidden cam. When she hears Natalie call her a "conniving, poodle-haired, little fucking freak?", she only becomes upset when hearing herself called "poodle-haired".
- Mutually Assured Destruction: Invoked by name when Shauna tells Callie how her threat to tell Jeff about Adam will play out.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Shauna uses deer blood to fake her period and hide her pregnancy.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. The girls make do with DIY pads that need to be boiled after each use.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Natalie and Misty coerce Stallion99 (the hacker who got Travis's file) into giving them the information via a threat of setting his gasoline-soaked crotch on fire. He complies and calls them crazy. Natalie proposes Misty date him. "You should ask that guy out. You two have so much in common."
- Perfect Poison: Subverted. Misty poisons the Coach's tea. He throws up and knows instantly what she tried to do. It's not said if she wanted to kill him for rejecting her or just to weaken him so he'd be forced to rely on her more.
- Pet the Dog: Shauna and Callie have a conversation where Jackie comes up. Shauna tries to minimize her experiences by saying that everybody goes through hard stuff and that she's fine. In a rare moment of kindness and insight, Callie tells her the truth: "No. But, Mom, but you're not. You're so not fine. Do you think I can't see that?"
- Secret-Keeper: Taissa is at the moment the only one aware that Shauna is pregnant. She points out that it is not going to stay secret forever.
- Shout-Out:
- Callie mocks her mother for dressing up like some character nobody recognizes to pass out candy. Shauna retorts that the right kind of people would know who Daria is.
- Shauna makes up a title for her book club: "The Girl in the… Train Window"
- At the dance club, Shauna complains about the silvery mask she temporarily dons: "I feel like I just look like I fell off a Fifty Shades of Grey bus tour."
- Laura Lee tries to expel the evil presence from Lottie by quoting from The Exorcist
- Spotting the Thread: Taissa figures out there's only one reason why Shauna is the only one of the girls not having her period...
- Sweeping the Table: Sammy tells his moms that the "lady in the tree" was the one who painted "SPILL". They do not believe him, so he sweeps all his Halloween candy off the table.
- Tragic Keepsake: The Yellowjackets uniform that Callie found in Shauna's closet was not her mother’s. Jackie’s parents gave it to Shauna on what would have been her 40th birthday.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Misty offers special tea to the Coach. He ends up throwing up.
