Recap / Yellowjackets S 2 E 1 Friends, Romans, Countrymen

Recap pages are Spoilers Off per policy and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned

1996: Two months have passed since Jackie's death and winter has definitely settled in. Before the sun comes out, Natalie and Travis get ready to go out again. The preparations include submitting to some ritual courtesy of Lottie. Natalie is skeptical but Lottie is convinced of its effectiveness since they keep coming back. After they leave, she draws a very familiar stick figure on the window.

1998: An official holds a press conference. While the cause of the crash has not been determined, "The crash site was over 600 miles north..." The journalists cut in, demanding to know how many survived. Before the official can answer that question or say where exactly did they crash, the journalists run off toward the girls who are coming in. The girls huddle under their hooded parkas and do their best to ignore the journalists hounding them with questions. Cut to.. Lottie and her parents at a doctor's office. She has not said a word since returning, hardly eats and doesn't sleep. Lottie is subjected to ECT; afterwards, she comforts another patient at the clinic, telling her "They can make you better. The same way that they helped me."

Present: Our first sighting of the adult Lottie. In a flowing yellow dress, she addresses a crowd, all of them wearing purple.

Lottie: The truth is, nobody can help you. I certainly can't. There's only one person who can really give you what you're looking for. You. (nods of approval) Your truest, most authentic self. That's why you're here. So I can introduce you. Right now, there is a version of you that knows exactly who you really are and what you really want. A primal, elemental self.

Opening credits.

Present:

Misty makes Shauna practice in case she is questioned by the police, with Misty casting herself as the police. She starts asking typical questions then swerves into asking about Shauna and Adam's sex life. Shauna has had enough, but Misty thinks they were just getting started. Shauna did terrible; the only thing she should have said was, "I want my lawyer". Misty is expecting Taissa and Natalie to show up too, but Shauna tells her that most likely they won't show up. Misty suspects that they might have forgotten about something in their efforts to cover up after Adam's death. When asked if she got rid of Adam's belongings, Shauna says yes.

Taissa goes to an animal shelter and picks out a dog named Steve. The clerk gushes over Taissa's election win. Back in her car, with a different dog on the passenger seat, she talks to her campaign manager.

Misty checks a website for citizen detectives. A fellow sleuth has been looking into Adam's disappearance and noticed that his credit card activity went from things like insurance and cable to charges for lingerie, nice restaurant, mini-golf. "Come on, people. We all know where this is going. It's always the husband. Unless, that is, it's the mystery lady friend." Misty is rattled but tells herself that the poster is grasping at straws.

The Sadecki home. Shauna arrives with groceries to find her daughter watching TV with boyfriend Kyle. Callie acts bratty toward her mother and sends off Kyle, making an excuse. Shauna asks how things are going with the boyfriend. Callie snarks she might have to break up with Kyle, "unless I get lucky and he just disappears." She grabs the bull by the horns about Adam's disappearance. Shauna is acting like everything is normal and "Dad deserves to know what is going on, okay?" When told that Jeff already knows, Callie accuses her of being "fucking selfish". Shauna calls Jeff at the furniture store. He brags about how well he has been doing in sales, but she tells him about her diaries and Adam's belongings (yes, she lied to Misty about getting rid of those), which include a key to his studio. She has no idea what is in there.

Elementary school, end of school day. Little Sammy Abara-Turner encounters his mom Taissa in the parking lot and is excited about the dog. Simone runs in, telling their son she needs to have a little talk with Taissa. When the kid is out of earshot, the freaked-out Simone tells Taissa she found "that...thing" in their home, but Taissa acts like she does not know what Simone is talking about. Simone delivers an ultimatum: either Taissa steps down from office and seeks treatment for whatever the hell she's got, or Simone will go to the press. And Taissa won't see Sammy again.

Misty goes to the motel where Natalie was staying and asks the clerk about the woman staying in room 135. He is not interested in helping her and makes it clear that it is a no-tell motel and all about the discretion. Misty thinks something might have happened to her. After some not-so-veiled threats, he spills the goods: Natalie took off in the middle of the night, leaving cash for the bill.

Adam Martin's studio. Jeff and Shauna enter the space to find it full of portraits of Shauna, some of them in the nude. They are going to have to get rid of them. After Shauna denies posing for Adam, all the sexy artwork leads to sex right then and there. Once done, their attention turns to the business of getting rid of the paintings without being noticed. Shauna grabs some paint thinner and starts scrubbing away at her face in a portrait until it is unrecognizable as her likeness.

In Natalie's hotel room, Misty is distraught at the thought of her "best friend" Natalie abandoning her. She notices the splinters around the doorframe and realizes somebody broke in. But where the heck is Natalie?

Cut to... Natalie, lying on a bed, both her wrists secured in restraints, screaming to be released. An acolyte wearing purple comes into the room with a dinner tray and Natalie demands answers. The acolyte claims the restrains were for her protection, saying "We were afraid you were gonna hurt yourself." Natalie notes the woman's Arc Symbol pendant and convinces her to undo one of the restraints so she can eat.

The Sadecki home. Jeff and Shauna burn Adam's belongings and her journals in their grill. Jeff has even brought out some franks so if the neighbors see the smoke, they can claim to be grilling hot dogs. In the process of getting rid of the evidence, they nearly set fire to their tree.

The former Abara-Turner home, now just Turner. Taissa catches herself sniffing at one of Simone's old shirts. Then she notices a little bit of blood on the floor. She follows the trail, just like Simone did, and finds the altar with Biscuit's head, Sammy's broken doll, and the Arc Symbol. Freaked out, Taissa gets a hold of Steve and promises to do better by him.

Dinner at the Sadeckis: Jeff tells a joke but forgets the punchline. Callie sniffs at the dinner offering of hot dogs and goes off to grill herself a veggie burger. Jeff jumps up to do it for her.

Back at wherever Natalie is being kept captive. The acolyte comes back to Natalie's room to get the tray and put Natalie back in restraints. Natalie sweet-talks her into doing it on her own instead of asking for help but when she gets close enough, Natalie attacks her with the fork, grabs the keys and escapes. She finds herself in a compound with people in a drumming circle. Some guards spot her and chase her. She runs off. Finally, she comes across a group of people in white robes and animal masks. The one unmasked individual disrobes and lies down on the ground, where the others prepare to shovel dirt on top. Natalie, armed with a branch, sees they are being led by Lottie, of all people and clubs one of them in the head. Lottie tells her followers to calm down, that Natalie is her friend. Natalie bristles and demands to know why the hell she shouldn't bash in Lottie's head and drop it in the hole. Lottie's answer? She has a message for Natalie... from Travis.

At the Sadeckis' Callie looks in the grill and finds the scorched but recognizable remains of Adam Martin's driver's license.

1996

Shauna is in the shed with Jackie, playing MASH and scoffing at Jackie's prediction that she will live in an apartment in New Jersey, be a stay-at-home mom, have a million dollars and be married to Jeff. Nevermind that Jackie has been dead and frozen solid for two months.

Morning in the cabin. Van has been sleeping up in the attic with Taissa, their wrists tied together to help Taissa with her sleepwalking, but Taissa worries about Van getting hurt. Mari, who is cooking, brings up the elephant in the room. "Are we just not gonna talk about how she's out in the meat shed all day with dead-ass Jackie?" The girls speculate as to what they are talking about. Gen, the team member formerly known as Yellowjacket #1, snaps at "Crystal" to stop humming.

Back in the shed, Dead!Jackie interrogates Shauna about how she got together with Jeff. Answer: at a party where the cops came in and started rounding up people. They ran off into the woods. At the time Jackie and Jeff were fighting over her refusal to have sex with him, and he was messed up about that. Dead!Jackie makes Shauna confess that she kissed Jeff. There is some shoving, and Jackie's frozen body falls over, her ear breaking off. Shauna freaks out and stuffs the ear in her pocket. Cut to... Shauna back at the cabin, her pregnant belly visibly bigger, holding a tray of meat cuts and announcing she had to cut back the rations again.

Natalie and Travis search for Javi or game. Travis freaks out at the sight of a frozen Javi buried in the snow, but it is really the frozen remains of a fox. He has hopes he will still be alive. He thinks they should try getting out earlier and farther in future outings. Natalie keeps her doubts about Javi's survival to herself.

Dinnertime! Misty is shooed away from the food, per the "rules" and is sent off to fetch water despite her complaints that it's cold, it's not fair, she did it the day before. No one cares. Outdoors, Misty encounters Crystal singing "The Glory of Love" (another Beaches reference) and tells her to shut up. Crystal is a theater club geek with enough self-awareness to realize that her singing annoys others. She offers to teach Misty to sing. A bond starts to form.

Cabin. The coach and Natalie go over the map they have developed from her hunting trips with Travis. No game, no sight of Javi. They both come to terms with how unlikely it is that Javi is still alive. Later, Natalie and Travis are hanging out in front of the fireplace. Travis starts with "I know you think that he's dead but..." but he is cut off by his own hyperventilating. Lottie comes over and helps him get his breath back: "Your brother's alive. I know he is." Travis regains the ability to breathe normally and is visibly aroused. Natalie tells Lottie to stop talking to Travis and giving him false hope. Lottie says that "There's no such thing as false hope. There's just hope."

Taissa wakes Van up and bites the other girl's lip, drawing blood. Van reassures Taissa that she is never going to be scared of her and whatever is going on. They kiss and exchange shy "I love you".

Final shot: Shauna pulls out Jackie's ear from her pocket and bites into it.

Tropes present in this episode

• All There in the Manual:
  • Lisa, the name of the acolyte played by Nicole Maines, is not spoken onscreen in this episode.
  • Walter is also named in the credits, although in the episode all you hear is the voice of Elijah Wood, who is identified only by his "citizen detective" handle of "PuttingtheSickinForensics."
• Amateur Sleuth: Misty checks a website for "citizen detectives" after helping dispose of Adam's body. Somebody has posted their discovery about Adam's disappearance, pointing out changes in his credit card usage (charges for lingerie, nice restaurants etc.) and speculating on the meaning.
• Bottomless Bladder: Despite an Implied Death Threat, the motel clerk still refuses to give Misty any info about Natalie. So Misty pulls out her final card, which makes him yield:
  Misty: Well, you should know I have two days off from work, an abnormally large bladder, and the latest Nora Roberts novel in my purse. So, huh... (sitting down) I'll just wait.
• Buried Alive: Lottie's self-help course apparently involves being voluntarily (and, one hopes, non-fatally) buried alive.
• Chekhov's Gun: Rather, Chekhov's Ear. When Shauna stuffs Jackie's broken-off ear into her pocket early in the episode, you know it will come back. And how.
• Dead Person Conversation: Shauna is in the shed talking to Jackie, whose corpse has been stored in the shed since she froze to death. Dead!Jackie interrogates Shauna about how she got together with Jeff and calls her out for betraying her best friend.
• Electroconvulsive Therapy Is Torture: In 1998, Lottie's behavior after her rescue (she's Dumb Struck, hardly eats, has trouble sleeping, etc.) worries her parents, so they take her to a psychiatric clinic. In the clinic, during her ECT session, Lottie is sedated but is still seen convulsing on the table.
• The "I Love You" Stigma: After Van wakes up to a somnambulist Tai biting her, she writes "I ♥ U" on Tai's arm in her own blood, then teases a still freaked-out Tai for not saying it back.
• Impaled Palm: The woman acolyte who came in earlier to bring dinner to Natalie returns to restrain Natalie again. Natalie pretends to cooperate, but instead attacks her with a fork and stabs her hand, incapacitating her. The keys are stuck on the woman's hand with said fork.
• Implied Death Threat: Misty is worried that something happened to Natalie. The clerk at Natalie's motel is not interested in helping:
  Clerk: Things happen to all of us.
  Misty: And some of those things can be worse than others, depending on our choices, Larry Frankowski, 65 Union Street, apartment 2B. Remind me, Larry, is your Social Security number #138-00-2671 or is it... (scoffs) No. (laughs) I'm pretty sure that's it.
• Internal Reveal: Taissa had blamed herself for Biscuit's disappearance, thinking she left a gate open while sleepwalking. Simone confronts her about "that...thing". Taissa doesn't know what is going on until she goes home and finds the same grisly altar with Biscuit's head that Simone found in the previous episode.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Jeff and Shauna go to Adam's studio and find it full of portraits of her in various mediums and styles. They proceed to have sex with their clothes still on.
• No-Tell Motel: The surly motel clerk describes it as having bad water pressure, no cable or Wi-Fi and an ambiance that is "a heady mix of imminent tragedy and broken dreams." The only selling point is discretion. Even if law enforcement inquires, the clerk has a lousy memory and bad handwriting.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: A fairly dark Shout-Out to Shakespeare: "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..."
• Raging Stiffie: Travis appears to have a panic attack. Lottie gets him to calm down, but something else is evident, to Travis's embarrassment.
• Remember the New Guy?: Three previously unnamed (and in two cases unseen) background characters in 1996 get both names (Gen, Crystal and Melissa) and personalities.
• Spanner in the Works: Shauna and Jeff vandalize Adam's portraits of Shauna so that she is unrecognizable. Afterwards, they burn his personal documents and Shauna's journals in their grill. Jeff is thorough enough to bring hot dogs so that if any neighbor sees smoke, they can justify using their grill in November. However, Callie, who suspects something is up with both her parents, finds the still-recognizable remains of Adam's driver's license.
• Telegraph Gag STOP: Walter, the citizen detective who posts the theory about Adam having had a secret girlfriend, phrases the first few bits of his message on the messages board in this format, saying that he managed to get a hold of Adam's credit card records. "Don't ask how. Stop. Definitely no mail fraud involved. Stop. Wink. Stop." "Oh, my God. Enough with the telegram bit," mutters Misty and the next line of his message is his commenting that he feels like the telegram bit has run its course.
• Time Skip: In the 1996 timeline, two months have passed since Shauna found Jackie frozen to death. A time skip to 1998 shows a press conference and the return of the survivors, followed by Lottie being put in a clinic and receiving electroconvulsive treatment.
• Yellow/Purple Contrast: Our first sighting of adult Lottie in the series is her, clad in flowing goldenrod yellow, addressing a crowd at a wellness retreat/cult compound. As for her audience, they are all wearing different fashions, but all are in light purple.
• Wham Line:
  I have a message for you. From Travis.
• Wham Shot: The visibly pregnant Shauna in 1996, after hallucinating a conversation with Jackie, popping Jackie's frozen ear in her mouth.