It’s Time We All Admit The Truth About Jackie In Yellowjackets

There is an undeniable truth about one of the main characters of Yellowjackets, Jackie Taylor—a girl the narrative often portrays as selfish, stuck-up, and mean. Yellowjackets has a diverse cast of characters, with the soccer team girls bringing their own set of survival skills when their plane inevitably crashes in the wilderness. However, Jackie Taylor, the team captain and the most popular girl at school, has a much harder time adjusting to the wilderness. She struggles to hunt and prepare food, carry heavy items, and pitch in physically the way the rest of the girls have.

Jackie is the popular girl who gets everything she wants, thinking the entire world revolves around her. Her self-centered behavior meant her demise was only a matter of time. Although Shauna is devastated, most of the plane crash survivors in Yellowjackets are unsurprised about Jackie’s death. Jackie Taylor struggled a lot in the wilderness despite her peers’ beliefs. They might consider Jackie an inconsiderate friend, but she did her best under the dire circumstances. Not only was Jackie not a bad friend, but some of the girls behaved much more poorly towards her than she deserved.

Shauna Was The Bad Friend In Yellowjackets, Not Jackie

Shauna, Jackie’s Best Friend, Was The Girl Jeff Cheated On Jackie With

The other soccer team members took Shauna’s side during Shauna and Jackie’s big fight, considering Jackie selfish and a terrible friend. However, Shauna was the one who slept with Jackie’s boyfriend—he had cheated on Jackie with her best friend multiple times. Jeff and Jackie had been together for three years, and Jackie planned on losing their mutual virginity together. Shauna also got pregnant with his baby behind Jackie’s back, with her deception much more of a betrayal than anything Jackie did to her.

It’s important to note that Jackie Taylor is not entirely innocent; she said some mean things to Shauna that night, and she had no business sleeping with Travis. Although Natalie and Travis had already broken up, they still had feelings for each other, and Jackie and Natalie were teammates. However, Jackie being a bad friend to Natalie and even Shauna does not excuse Shauna’s behavior. Shauna betrayed Jackie, and Jackie saying a few mean things in response does not compare. That is why Jackie’s ghost haunts Shauna for months after her death – she still carries the guilt of betraying her best friend, physically and emotionally.

The Rest Of The Characters Were Horrible To Jackie Before She Died In Yellowjackets

The Girls Ousted Jackie In The Wilderness

The truth is, Jackie Taylor struggled much more with adapting to the wilderness. Laura Lee relied on her faith, Misty prided herself on her medical skills, Coach Ben was a good mediator, Shauna prepared food, Natalie hunted food, and the other girls pitched in any way they could. The only other person who arguably struggled like Jackie was Lottie. Lottie began having visions and dreams after she ran out of her medication, arguably to help her cope with the trauma. However, Jackie had nothing. If there was ever a person who could not survive the wilderness, it was Jackie Taylor.

She was simply not built for that life at all. Although Jackie could have tried to contribute more and be more supportive, most of the time, she did her best. Furthermore, the other girls were mad at Jackie because she was the only one who could call them out for their behavior when they were high on mushrooms. The events that occurred during the full moon were not even Jackie’s faultv— Misty was the one who found the mushrooms and planned to use them for Ben, but they ended up in the broth that almost everyone had.

The result of the mushrooms was almost catastrophic — the girls almost killed Travis. Since Jackie was sober, she was the first person to see the descent into madness. Yet, Jackie is blamed for what happened because she slept with Travis. Jackie died believing her teammates hated her and her friendship with Shauna was a lie. However, the ending of Yellowjackets season 2 proved Jackie was right. Going into Yellowjackets season 3, the girls now willingly participate in cannibalism, and in the present day, most of them still believe in the paranormal as an excuse for their actions.

Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets is a thriller and drama television series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. The series stars Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, and Ella Purnell. The plot sees a high-school Soccer team from New Jersey returning home from a National Tournament in Seattle. As they make their way back by plane, there is an unfortunate crash that sees them stranded in the Canadian wilderness.

Cast

Juliette Lewis , Sophie Thatcher , Warren Kole , Jasmin Savoy Brown , Tawny Cypress , Steven Krueger , Christina Ricci , Ella Purnell , Sammi Hanratty , Sophie Nélisse , Melanie Lynskey

Streaming Service(s)

Paramount+ with Showtime

Writers

Ashley Lyle , Bart Nickerson