Recap / Yellowjackets S 2 E 7 Burial

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

Note: The events of the episode are grouped by timeline, not by the order of scenes.

Short recap

Past:

The aftermath of Shauna's tragic stillbirth. The snow stops. Misty feels guilty for the baby's death. She overhears Mari plant doubts in the others about her and her role in Crystal's disappearance. After overhearing Melissa and Gen muse on possibly cannibalizing Crystal, Misty is determined to not let that happen. She fails to find Crystal, but she does talk the Coach off the ledge. To help Shauna, Lottie lets Shauna use her as a punching dummy.

Present:

At the compound, Shauna is made responsible for a kid (as in young goat) and arrives at some truths. Misty spends some time in a sensory-deprivation tank and things get trippy, with a singing version of Caligula giving her a pep talk. Van reveals to Taissa that she has cancer, and months to live. Lottie hallucinates a visit to her doctor, who she sees as the Antler Queen incarnate. The survivors drink, dance, and reminisce. Just then, Shauna gets a call from Jeff who tells her that Adam Martin's remains have been found by the police.

Long recap

Past (Before the credits)

At the cabin, everybody sleeps or is listless. Taissa begs Shauna, curled up in bed with her baby, to drink some water, but Shauna just turns her back to her. Lottie points out that it finally stopped snowing. Travis and others struggle but they get the cabin door to open. They go outside to collect snow. Taissa tries to get Shauna to go outdoors and get some fresh air and even offers to go with her. Shauna just curls up in bed some more. Taissa heads outside where the others scoop snow. Later, Shauna heads outside with her baby bundled in bear fur. She lays him on the ground, building a rock cairn on top. "It's you and me against the whole world."

Credits! A softer version of "No Return".

Past

Outdoors, Taissa is crying about Shauna's baby. Van tells her that everyone was hoping for the best, but even if the baby had made it, Shauna is too starved to produce milk. "I just think it's time we woke up." Taissa is shaken at this out-of-character behavior:

Van: I kept surviving all this shit that should've killed me, and I, you know, I just... I figured it meant something...You know, like it meant I had some kind of purpose in all of this, but, uh... Yeah. I'm not fucking seeing it, Tai.
Taissa: You helped me see... hear... and sleep, and I would be dead without you. I need you, Van.
Van: I need you, too. But I need to know why the fuck I'm still here.

Inside the cabin, the Coach looks out the window and hears the phone ring. He calls out to Paul, who is there in the cabin. Paul picks it up and says to the caller, "But... he isn't ready," then hangs up. Ben asks Paul if he is all right. The image flickers and distorts. Looking distressed, Paul utters words no one in a relationship wants to hear: "We need to talk." Ben refuses to sit down and demands to know who called and what is going on, because Paul's behavior is scaring him. Paul is scared too.

Ben: About what? I don't understand.
Paul: I know. I have to go. (sniffles) Where do you think you are, Ben? You had to have known you couldn't stay here forever. This was never meant to be your hiding place. It doesn't matter. What matters now is that you aren't welcome here anymore.

Ben is not OK with not being welcome in his Happy Place, "Wait. What did I do?"

Paul: You didn't do anything. It's just... It's just time. It's just time. I love you. We all love you, Ben.

The Coach heads outdoors and screams out Paul's name. Taissa asks if he is OK. The Coach lies that he is fine.

Outdoors, Misty is eavesdropping on her teammates' conversation. Gen wonders how things could have gone if Shauna had been at a hospital. Akilah points out they did the best they could and calls Misty amazing: "There's no way I could've kept my shit together like she did at the end." Misty is delighted to hear Gen agree, who marvels at how Misty "didn't even flinch." However, Mari is not on board with the admiration.

Mari: Well, that makes sense. You guys, I think she's even more psychotic than we thought. I'm pretty sure she did something to Crystal.

Akilah and Gen don't see how or why would Misty harm her only friend. Mari is all, duh:

Mari: Um, I don't know, because she's Misty? I mean, God, she tried to poison Coach Scott when she was supposedly in love with him. And think about it. Now that the snow has stopped, wouldn't you think that she'd be out there looking for her friend? That is, if Crystal really did just get lost in the snow.

Back inside the cabin. The Coach gets rid of his Beard of Sorrow. Misty gathers the others and convinces them to go out and look for Crystal, acknowledging how sad they all are about the baby, but Crystal could still be alive. The Coach agrees; since Javi was able to survive a few months out there, Crystal might still be alive after a few days.

Melissa: But what if the wilderness, like, took her? What if it took the baby, too?

Gen thinks, to Taissa's disbelief, that maybe it means it'll give them something back. Akilah credits "It" with making the blizzard stop. Melissa thinks that the trade (two lives so a storm ends) sucks.

Lottie: No, it doesn't work like that. It doesn't trade or haggle. It... The wilderness, it hears us. It gave us what we wanted. Shauna lived. Might do the same for Crystal.

Lottie leads them in her praying circle: "We hear the wilderness, and it hears us." The others repeat her words. Before heading out, Misty overhears Gen and Melissa talk. They both hope that Crystal is OK, but Gen does see the advantages of her not being found alive. Not that they want to eat Crystal, of course. Still, Melissa points out it would be disrespectful toward the wilderness to let perfectly good proteins go to waste. They still hope she's fine. Misty is disturbed and heads out.

Indoors, Van is stripping the bed, revealing the blood-soaked baby blanket Lottie gifted Shauna, complete with the wilderness's iconic symbol. Shauna flashes back to her nightmare of the team members eating her baby and angrily throws the blanket into the fireplace.

Outdoors, the girls search for Crystal, calling out her name. Lottie kneels at the tree altar and sends Akilah, Misty and Mari ahead. When alone with Taissa Lottie reminds her that she was the one who knew where to find Javi. Taissa claims she didn't know.

Lottie: And yet you still found him. Maybe you can find Crystal, too.
Taissa: Yeah, I don't think so. Ever since I started doing your circles and whatever, I don't sleepwalk anymore.

She thinks Other!Taissa is gone. Lottie does not, claiming it is a good thing she isn't.

The Snipe Hunt for Crystal continues, with Misty breaking down and acting the part of distraught friend.

Misty: I thought that I was ready for this, but I am just... I'm so afraid. I'm so afraid that when we find her, what if she looks just like Jackie did? You know, all... all blue and stiff, a little song frozen in her throat.

Misty claims to be unable to handle that sight after seeing the baby. Akilah shows some understanding, saying she gets how hard things are for Misty. Mari is less enthusiastic: "Yeah. Sure. You go on back, and we'll keep looking for your friend." Akilah sends off Misty back to the cabin, but instead, Misty goes back to the ledge where Crystal fell, determined to find her body before the others turn her into their next meal. Meanwhile, the Coach, now clean-shaven, has left the cabin but face plants on the snow. He gets up.

At the cabin, Shauna goes to the meat shed and calls out to where Jackie's corpse used to sit. "Jackie? I really need you right now. Please." She cries unconsolably.

Misty's search for Crystal/Kristen's body continues, complete with a montage of her digging around the snow with her nearly bare hands. Eventually, the chill forces her to stop. Crying, she apologizes multiple times, "I tried." She climbs back up and sees that the coach is WAY too close to the ledge. She asks him to step back, but he is not in a listening mood.

Coach: I'm not gonna keep losing everything.

She realizes he is serious and tells him to stop, ending with a "Don't you dare."

Coach: Misty. [...] Could you just push me off?
Misty: No. How could you even say that to me? Look, Ben, we need your strength. I mean, people are dying all around us, and life is so precious, okay? You can't just throw yours away.

Neither that argument nor the threat of cannibalizing his remains work:

Misty: I will savor every moment of it, e-especially your high-calorie butt meat. Okay? We will...
Coach: I don't fucking care, Misty.

She moves on to slander. When they get rescued, she will tell everyone "of our love story. Every last bit of it. I will... I'll tell them even worse, too. And I'll-I'll tell your parents that you were the one who impregnated Shauna, and that you-you tried to impregnate all of us. Are you listening to me, Ben?" Then she threatens to out him:

Misty: Okay, I will tell the whole world that you're gay!
Coach: (crying) Do it. Tell them.

With nothing left, she tries bawling and guilt-tripping, "I tried so hard, I swear to God. I tried so hard to keep the baby alive. I really did. I am sorry. Please, Ben, don't do it. [...] P-Please, Ben. I can't have another death on my hands.

It works. He takes a few steps back.

Shauna returns to the cabin and overhears Misty humming "Lightning Crashes", which is playing in the preceding scene at the cult compound. Shauna demands to know why she picked that song and where did she hear it. Misty's response that Crystal was singing it. In a rage, Shauna hits Misty, accusing her of killing her son. Natalie defends Misty since she did everything she could.

Shauna: No, shut up! You all fucking ate my baby! I saw you! You were covered in blood!

Taissa tells Shauna she's acting insane. Van tries to restrain Shauna, who bites Van and charges again at Misty. But Lottie plants herself in the line of fire and Shauna gives her a bloody nose. Calmly, Lottie tells Travis to take Javi to the bedroom and clasps her hands behind her back.

Lottie: Shauna... I know there's a lot of pain right now, but let it out. Shauna, we need you. Let it out.

Shauna punches Lottie twice in the face. Once Lottie is on the floor, Shauna moves on to kicking her and straddles her to pummel her with both fists. The others stare in horror but actively do nothing to stop Shauna. The beatdown scenes intercut with the present scenes of the survivors dancing and drinking. When Shauna finally stops, Lottie's face is swollen and covered in blood and she is unconscious. For a moment, she shows no signs of life until she starts coughing and choking. As the others minister to her, Shauna goes outside to look at her bloody hands and plunges them in the clean snow, noticing they are shaking uncontrollably. Kubrick Stare.

Present

At the compound, Misty passes a bowl for Van, Taissa, and Shauna to surrender their belongings.

Taissa: Really? I'm sorry, have you two joined a cult since we last saw you, or...
Lottie: We are an intentional community.
Van: What is the intention, exactly?

To the shock of the others, Natalie explains that about a week earlier, Lottie (rather, Lottie's people) stopped her from eating her gun.

Natalie: I had put walls up, and they're finally starting to come down because of this place. It isn't easy, uh, but now I understand that it's really what I need. You all need it, too. I mean, we brought some really dark shit back with us from that place, so maybe now we can actually start dealing with it.

Lottie shows the others a list of four treatments: Self-Care, Forage, Renewal, Guidance. At the compound, new people are often allowed to choose a treatment without a description, just whatever speaks to them. Van is all, thanks but not for her. Natalie exhorts her to give it a chance. Van tries to peace out, but Taissa pipes up to takes "Renewal." When asked to pick, Shauna, despite her "rational instincts" in red alert, goes for "Self Care." Van picks "Forage", leaving Misty with Lottie's favorite, Guidance. Lottie tells them to go outside and get started. She also instructs them to text the landline's number to whomever might need to contact them in an emergency, completely foreshadowing to the audience that someone will. "You're gonna be giving up your phones."

Taissa balks at that part, but Misty echoes what acolyte Rob told her in the previous episode: "Our devices leave us captive to other people's priorities. "Shauna can't really argue with that, so she turns her in. So does Van, claiming she hates it.

The compound's barn. Shauna is surprised to find that Self Care does not involve spa treatments and self-reflective questions, but rather, an acolyte unceremoniously planting an adorable kid (as in, baby goat) in her arms. She responds with a Big "NO!". Todd the acolyte goes on to explain what Self-Care means, "taking care of the goat for the rest of the day, and thus experiencing all the personal discoveries and sacrifices that go along with doing so." Shauna fixates on the word "sacrifices".

Shauna: So, you want me to spend the whole day looking after this goat and getting all attached, and then at the end of the day you're gonna ask me to slit its fucking throat or something? No. No, thank you.

But since the alternative is mucking out the barn all day, she reluctantly accepts caring for little Bruce.

The Float Room. It contains a sensory deprivation tank and clean swimsuits for the guests uncomfortable with nudity. Lisa is instructing a dubious-looking Misty to climb in when ready and close the door. Misty is not enthusiastic about being by herself "inside that water-coffin in the dark?" and doesn't get what is "Guidance" about that.

Lisa: The most authentic guidance comes from within.
Misty: Oh, sure. Sure. Uh, my soul holds the wisdom of the ages.

The sarcasm goes above Lisa's head "Bingo." Misty is still not into it, but Lisa reminds her that she has been in there for less than a day and has not actually participated in any treatment. Misty asks for a bathroom break and gets it.

Fed up with her chore, Taissa goes to talk to Lottie. She wants to get the warmup part over already and she does not see how painting a building with a makeup brush (which she throws). Lottie asks her what are those problems.

Taissa: I'm sleepwalking again. I need help.
Lottie: That other you... Mm-hmm. She always had a deep connection to the wilderness, and she had wisdom, too.

Taissa is not on board because her alter self seems to want to hurt her family, causing accidents and beheading family pets.

Lottie: She may not want to. She just doesn't want to be suppressed. She's still a part of you, Tai. She will always be a part of you.

Somewhere outdoors, Shauna is sitting by herself when Misty comes up to her and asks if Shauna's OK. Shauna explains that she's caring for herself and the goat which is supposed to be tied to a tree. Just then, she notices it chewed through the rope and wandered off. Fortunately, Misty has food in her pocket to use as bait as they search for Bruce. Shauna wonders why she is so invested in the kid's fate, since "Lottie's goons are just gonna make me kill him?"

Misty: Well, if it helps, you can just pretend it's your arty-farty lover. (chuckles) You seemed pretty quick to get stabby with him. (Shauna looks offended) Oh, it's not a criticism.
Shauna: Misty, that... He-he attacked me.

Misty claims to be just messing with her. Shauna does not have a sense of humor about it, claiming she is different from Misty since she does not think of killing as a joke.

Misty: (offended) Hey, news flash, I am the only person who took your killing with the seriousness that it required. I fixed that for you, and... (scoffs) you're never even grateful.
Shauna: I'm grateful, okay? I really am very grateful that your hobby seems to be figuring out how to be the perfect serial killer.
Misty: Why does everyone keep saying that to me?
Shauna: That... Well, because it's a fact.
Misty: Well, you're not that innocent, either.
Shauna: I know that, Misty. Do you think I don't know that?

Just then, they hear Bruce bleating. "Here is this dummy. Come here. Hey. Bruce. Oh, my God. Where'd you think you were going, huh? Not to a Mensa meeting, that's for sure. If you think I'm gonna carry you all day, you are delusional as well as dumb."

An acolyte comes looking for Misty,who is supposed to be in the tank. Misty goes with her after lying that she could not figure out how to lock the door.

Shauna is back at the barn with Bruce, asking Todd if anybody could check how "this dumb idiot" is doing after eating the rope. Todd reminds her that Bruce is under her care. Shauna is frustrated at the lack of help:

Todd: All the insight required resides within the self. The kid's care is entwined with your own.
Shauna: What did you say?
Todd: The kid. The baby goat? Your care is entwined with his.

Shauna simply wants to know if eating rope is harmful for goats, since with her phone confiscated she can't look it up. "So I'm just going off of stuff I remember from cartoons, and that's a huge problem. Because it is one thing if I stab this goat later, but there's no fucking way it's dying while I'm supposed to be watching it. So someone is going to make sure this goat is okay. Right now. Plea..." Todd refuses to take Bruce.

Indignant, Shauna goes off to Lottie:

Shauna: Lottie. Uh, my Self Care ends right here, right now, okay? I don't give a shit what the big lesson is gonna be. (sniffles) I'm not gonna kill this fucking goat. Okay? Fuck you.

Lottie, with a hint of "Duh" in her voice, tells Shauna she does not have to kill Bruce. Shauna starts crying. According to Lottie, caring for an innocent creature can give a person clarity. Shauna's tears are not about Bruce, but about the clarity:

Shauna: I think it's just that I've always kept my daughter, you know, Callie, like, at arm's length. I think just out of fear that she would... die, I guess. Or maybe that she was never even real to begin with. I don't know. I try to tell myself it's okay. That I'm safe to... to think of her as-as mine, you know, and to just be her mom. But I think something is broken, Lottie. I just can't do it.

The tank room. An impatient Lisa asks Misty to get in already and reassures her one more time that she won't get trapped. Misty finally gets in. She lies back in the water (glasses on) and the tripping begins. She pictures some disturbing scenes of marine life. She tries again and has visions of dolphins, her time with Walter, animated wings which transform into a life-sized, singing and dancing version of Caligula, for a music number:

Kick off your shoes, I've got a tune for ya
Bathe in the sound and sit right down!
Shake off your blues, I'll set the mood for ya
Lights out (Walter appears, in a top hat and tails) Now sit right down
Let your troubles melt away
And you'll be sitting pretty in the moonlight gaze
We'll tumble through the tulips
And dance on the graves
Of any motherfucker who gets in your way
(Walter dances with Caligula as animated emergency transmitter and syringe swirl around)
Sit right down; Sit right down, sit right down

At a dressing room, "Caligula" takes off his head, looking a lot like a certain well-know actor and playwright. Misty raves about his performance. He acknowledges it with a smug "I know," and asks her to talk to him:

Misty: Caligula, when people look at me, do they just see someone desperate for love? Just some murderer?
Caligula: When you look at yourself... what do you see?
Misty: I don't know.
Caligula: Oh, come on, try again. The truth is all around you. You refuse to see it. You're looking at the floor when you should look at the magic. How much do we all count on you? How many times did you get the ball over the goal line? Take it from a bird named after a Roman emperor who was also unjustly accused of heinous acts. You are not a murderer, Misty! You're a closer.

A lips-shaped phone rings. Misty picks it up to talk to Walter. Instead of speaking, Walter beeps out a message in Morse code from his Garfield phone. She thanks Caligula, who blows her a kiss.After getting out the tank, Misty sneaks to the kitchen to sneak a call to Walter. She gets his voice mail: "Didn't get me. But nice try."

Hi. I'm sorry if you've been texting me. Um, my friends and I decided to, like, unplug for a little girls' weekend, um, but I wanted to call you to say that you were right about the thing. And, um, well, as a woman, when it comes to trust, well, I... It can be hard for me to take that leap with someone. Um, but I'm growing and, uh, and-and... (exhales) I... I'm sorry. I should never have pushed you away like that. And-and I miss you. And your grandmother sounds really cool.

She ends with a lame "No, you hang up first!" routine.

Night at the compound. Taissa deposits her wedding band on a rock, not noticing Van sitting nearby until she speaks.

Van: I don't see how marrying that rock's gonna solve any of your problems.

Taissa is amused that Van is not "wandering the woods doing woo-woo shit like the rest of us?" After picking "Forage", Van went and foraged tequila from her truck. Taissa laughs and has some tequila. She can't believe she is once again "Making offerings to the dirt," as Van puts it.

Big Damn Kiss! They break it up. Taissa apologizes profusely:

Taissa: Of course I have thought about it, but I... It's just gonna be a long road before we... Well, before I can...
Van: I can't wait for you, Tai. (chuckling)
Taissa: I would never ask you to.
Van: No, I literally... I don't have that kind of time. I have cancer.

She describes her status: short version, she has months to live.

Van: Well, you know, like when someone says they have cancer, and then they say, "But it's the best kind of cancer to have," or... "They caught it really early." This isn't one of those times.

Taissa is not OK, "You're just deciding to tell me now?" Van brings up that it was Taissa who showed up at her door and she had no plans to share the news at all. After all, they don't know each other. "What would you have done if I'd contacted you out of the blue? Send me flowers through your office, or message me on fucking Facebook?" Van is not the type of person who wants others' pity. Just then, Misty pops up, calling them. Van orders Taissa to "Act fucking normal."

Lottie is with her doctor, citing the arrival of more of her old team members as proof that the 'It' wants them to be together.

Lottie: I feel it in my body. It's like, it's like something... that's deep and primal. I haven't felt that in years, and it feels... wonderful. (chuckles softly) And yet I also feel fucking terrified.
Doctor: Charlotte, when does self-repression serve us? Weren't you just saying as much to one of these old friends? It could be that this reunion strikes a primal chord with you because in the past, when you were with these other women, you were free. You were your truest, most authentic self. What is standing in the way of you embracing that again?
Lottie: We hurt each other. People died.
Doctor: Tell me, is there anything of value in this life that doesn't come with risk? Or loss? Or consequence?
Lottie: What? Are you saying what I think you're saying?

The image distorts again. Where the doctor sat, now sits the Antler Queen, speaking in a distorted voice

Antler Queen: You tell me. Does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?

Just then, Lisa knocks at the door, looking for her. Lottie realizes she is alone in her quarters and freaks out.

Natalie is talking to the others, as they covertly pass around Van's bottle of tequila behind Nat's back "...And talk about what we learned. "I hope you all got something unexpected out of today. I mean, I know we're not the types of people to just buy into bullshit... And this place definitely has some bullshit, I won't deny that... But I just think it's more about discovery and finding something within yourself that you never really knew was there. You know? Uh... Okay, so, who wants to get started? Shauna?"

Shauna: Mm, to be honest, I've kind of already gotten started. (holds up the bottle)

Natalie asks where did that come from and Shauna immediately names Van, ("Oh, you narc.") Misty calls it a pretty good tequila. Sounding like an indignant kindergarten teacher, Natalie lectures them about the point of the therapies being about being more present. Shauna asks her to chill out: "Natalie Scatorccio is telling us to not fuck around? Like... come on." She suggests they just hang out for a bit. Natalie relents. They sit down and Shauna talks about losing then finding her goat.

Lottie comes up and bluntly tells them that she thinks they should all go home. They protest.

Van: Lottie... come sit with us. Think about it like group therapy, except not bullshit 'cause there's booze.

Lottie tries to decline but Natalie gets her to agree: "We're all here. I think it might be time to stop resisting." A good hostess, Lottie brings out the good stuff. All but Natalie drink, and the mood is good. Natalie questions Misty about whether "that guy" is her boyfriend. After some initial reluctance, Misty gives in:

Misty: His name is Walter. Mm. We met online, so, you know, it's pretty new. So we haven't totally defined the relationship yet, um, but, you know, when you know, you know.

Van asks if he knows, which gets her an elbow from Taissa. Lottie is happy for Misty, who goes on to explain that Walter is not traditionally employed. "He's dedicated to his passionate pursuit of knowledge."

Taissa: So, where does he go to prison?

Misty announces that Nat slept with Kevyn Tan. This is old news to Shauna, who wants new gossip, but Lottie is shocked about Nat and the Goth kid from high school and wants details.

Natalie: Well, he wasn't Goth when we fucked. Ask Misty. She watched.
Misty: But that is not true. I did not watch those parts.
Shauna: Was she watching some parts?

Misty tries to change the subject, "So that first summer, do you guys remember when we were..." The good vibe dies. Van is not interested in a trip down memory lane to "our time in fucking oblivion".

Misty: No, you don't know what I was going to ask.
Taissa: How about we never find out?
Lottie: You know what, Misty? Maybe just later.

Misty is all, whatever. Natalie has what she calls a weird question about something she's been thinking about lately: How much do her fellow survivors remember. By her own admission, some of her memories are hazier than others. Taissa agrees. Lottie explains that as a "familiar cognitive response. In an ecstatic state, the human body can't hold memory that well.

Shauna: Well, if I'm, uh, repressing things I don't know about, I am very okay with never figuring it out.
Lottie: Yeah, that's fair, but... they always end up manifesting in some way, don't they? I mean, compulsive behavior, addiction, disease...
Van: Cutting your own bangs. Yes, Lottie, I know we're all deeply familiar with the terrible parts.

Taissa tells Van about a specialist at she knows at Johns Hopkins. Van protests. Live's "Lightning Crashes" starts playing. Even Natalie starts dancing at Lottie's request. Just then, they notice that it is snowing. They head outdoors and dance around a fire. There is even some howling. This scene intercuts with the scene in the past of Shauna beating down Lottie.

Todd the acolyte interrupts to announce that Shauna has an urgent call from her husband. Immediately she thinks it's about Callie. Turns out to be worse; Jeff tries to sound casual, but fails.

Jeff: Shauna. Hey. Do you, um, recall that missing man from your recent auto collision? Well, I have some difficult news. Uh, he's dead, and, um, the authorities... believe that they have found his r-r... remains, uh, buried at Hacklebarney State Park.

Shauna makes an Oh, Crap! face.

Tropes present in this episode

• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Lottie talks about repressed memories manifesting as "compulsive behavior (Taissa), addiction (Natalie), disease (Van)..." Van finishes with "Cutting your own bangs."
• Burn Baby Burn: Shauna throws the blanket Lottie made for the baby into the fireplace.
• Creepy Gym Coach: Invoked. Misty threatens to paint Ben as one posthumously (to keep him from killing himself), saying that when they get rescued she will tell people that he was the one who impregnated Shauna and that he tried to do the same to all of them.
• Crocodile Tears: Misty puts in the performance of a lifetime trying to convince Mari and Akilah that she's distraught over Crystal. They're really not buying it.
• Despair Event Horizon: Teen!Van is either approaching or has already reached a more muted version of the trope, reasoning that Shauna's baby wouldn't have survived long even if it had survived the birth, and her depressed acceptance that the whole group is doomed to starvation, which makes her previous survivals just seem cruelly pointless. (Adult!Van seems to be in a slightly more accepting version of it too.)
• Diegetic Switch: We cut from the adult Yellowjackets dancing to Live's "Lightning Crashes" to teenage Misty somehow humming along with the song, triggering Shauna's Rage Breaking Point. (The fact that the song is about a woman dying while another gives birth in a reference to reincarnation probably doesn't help.)
• Disney Acid Sequence: It takes Misty about 7 seconds in the sensory deprivation tank for her mind to go into a full-blown musical number starring John Cameron Mitchell as her parrot.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Taissa learns about Van's cancer. Van is upset at seeing the concerned face Taissa makes and rejects an offer of a referral to a specialist Taissa knows.
• Extreme Omni-Goat: Discussed Trope when Bruce the Kid eats a piece of rope, and Shauna is honestly unsure if this is this trope or an actual health risk.
• Five Stages of Grief:
  • Having been through Denial in the previous episode, Shauna goes through Depression (curling up in bed with her son and refusing to even drink water, hiding out in the meat shed and calling out to Jackie) and Anger (hitting Misty for humming "Lightning Crashes"). Lottie even encourages Shauna to take her anger out on her, submitting to Shauna pummeling her to a pulp.
  • As an adult, Van's reaction to her cancer diagnosis indicates Acceptance, or possibly Denial given how little she wants to talk about it. Meanwhile, Taissa goes straight to Bargaining, talking about how she can get her touch with somebody that she knows at Johns Hopkins.
• Forced Out of the Closet: While trying to talk the Coach out of killing himself, Misty threatens to do this post mortem. It doesn't work, as Coach feels this would be a favor.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: According to Caligula in Misty's vision, his namesake "was also unjustly accused of heinous acts", just like her.
• I'm a Humanitarian: While quick to state how they are "hoping" that she is alive; the survivors are starved to the point that Gen and Melissa both rationalize to each other how Crystal being dead wouldn't be a completely bad thing.
• Lonely Funeral: Shauna sneaks off from the others and builds a little cairn for her baby.
  Shauna: It's you and me against the whole world.
• Love Epiphany: Misty has one re: Walter.
  Misty: When you know you know, you know?
  Van: Does he know?
• Mad at a Dream: Shauna is angry at the other Yellowjackets for cannibalizing her baby, even though this is something that only happened in her fantasy in the previous episode.
• Misplaced Retribution: Shauna hits Misty, blaming her for her baby's death even though everybody else recognizes that Misty did the best she could. Lottie encourages Shauna to take her anger out on her, submitting to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown at Shauna's hands.
• Mood Whiplash: In the present, the women are drinking, dancing around a fire and having a great time, when Shauna gets a phone call from her husband. She is alarmed, thinking it is about Callie. Jeff announces that the police has found the remains of Adam Martin.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After Shauna hits Lottie, Lottie has Travis take his brother away and encourages Shauna to take out her anger on her. When Shauna's done kicking and punching her, Lottie is a bloody mess and lies seemingly lifeless for a few seconds before coming to.
• No, You Hang Up First: Misty does this when leaving a phone message for Walter, whom she's decided is now her boyfriend after previously having ditched him. Of course, since she's leaving a message, she is forced to play both sides before herself before hanging up herself.
• Safety in Indifference: Shauna confesses to Lottie that she has always kept Callie at arm's length because after her experience with losing the baby in the woods, she was always afraid Callie would disappear or never be real.
• Shout-Out: The red curtain behind Misty in her dream sequence is an obvious one to the Black Lodge scenes in Twin Peaks.
• Special Edition Title: The show once again brings in Alanis Morissette to sing the theme tune, but a much more muted version following the trauma of the previous episode.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Misty tries to do that after seeing the Coach is serious about taking his life. When threats of cannibalizing his remains, ruin his reputation or outing him don't work, she tries guilt-tripping and crying. It works.
• "They're Not Real" Reveal: Lottie is horrified to realize that her psychiatrist, who's been urging Lottie to embrace her visions and dig deeper into her memories, not only isn't real, but appears to her as the Antler Queen (an embodiment of the Wilderness) speaking in a Voice of the Legion.
  Antler Queen: Does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?
• The Topic of Cancer: Van confesses to Taissa that she has cancer. She doesn't specify what type, but apparently it was not caught early enough. Now she has months to live.
• Unnervingly Heartwarming: The reunited adults drinking and partying to "Lightning Crashes" is intercut with teen Shauna (paranoid that the others ate her baby) attacking anyone in arm's reach, only stopping when Lottie gives permission to take her anger out on her. In the present, the Yellowjackets see snow falling and go outside, dancing and celebrating around a campfire (with Shauna and Lottie even embracing) while in the past the survivors (half horrified, half excited) stand back and watch Shauna beat Lottie nearly to death. It…really shows how codependent and violent the Yellowjackets are.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Caligula the parrot gives a pep talk to Misty after she asks him if people see her as a murderer.
  You're looking at the floor when you should look at the magic. How much do we all count on you? How many times did you get the ball over the goal line? [...] You are not a murderer, Misty! You're a closer.