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Yellowjackets has been remarkable in many ways until now. The show has managed to make a perfect pilot episode with a great hook. Since then, it has built on and on with the layered mystery. It has also treated the simultaneous timelines in a really craftful manner. But one of the things that absolutely stands out is the character development in the show.
It is perhaps too early to understand how well the characters are built. But it is certainly not too early to comment on the direction Yellowjackets is taking. With the fourth episode, this became more evident as one of the characters, Natalie (played by Juliette Lewis), is explored from past to present.
Many glimpses of other characters' past have also been shown. Natalie was perhaps the first to be explored in detail in the fourth episode.
Nightmares and guilt
Natalie is shown to be a burnout. A bright student who has nearly given up. She is into drugs and is anti-social in general. Before this episode, it was never really shown as to why she was the way she was.
This episode of Yellowjackets explores Nat's past trauma with an abusive father. Her father was an alcoholic and frequently beat her mother. One day he confronted Nat about bringing in a boy at their house.
When he starts beating Nat's mother, Nat points a gun at him. But he snatches it away, and while talking to a shaken Nat, he falls down, and the misfiring gun kills him.
To this day, Natalie witnesses nightmares, and her dead father keeps saying, "You've got blood on your hands." It is not clear if this is an indication of something more than just the past.
Natalie and Travis
Natalie is extremely upset when Travis (Kevin Alves) turns up dead in the previous episode. She also rushes out looking for him. This connection is unexplained, and this episode dives into it.
Natalie and Travis go back to the time when they were reeling from the plane crash. They are shown to be target practicing on some cans with a gun they found in the old cabin. Travis and Nat initially get on each other's nerves, visibly upsetting both of them.
However, as Natalie helps Travis dig Coach Martinez's grave for a ring, Travis tells her his history of being bullied. They later share a joint, and Natalie tells her history to Travis. They bond over this. A bond that lasted until Travis' death. As indicated by Natalie, they helped keep each other off drugs indicating their friendship continued after the events of the jungle.
This also explains why the older Nat is going headfirst to discover the identity of whoever is behind the threats and the possible murder of Travis.
What about the other characters of 'Yellowjackets'?
Many character stories have not been explained. But it is not unlikely that certain episodes will focus on other characters and explain their story.
All the characters are being built slowly, but the individual focus on one of them is certain to come again in the near future.
Future episodes of Yellowjackets will unravel more of the secrets that are being built right now. Till then, hang tight.
