Recap / Yellowjackets S 2 E 4 Old Wounds

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 survivors set up a contest, Lottie vs. Natalie; whoever brings food by sundown will be the winner. While they wait, Mari asks Akilah to help her find where that dripping noise that only Mari seems to hear is coming from. In the process, Akilah finds a mouse and decides to make it a pet. Lottie makes a blood offering. She has a vision of the plane Laura Lee took and nearly freezes to death. As for Natalie, she manages to find a moose under ice. Even with other survivors helping her, the moose ends up sinking and Natalie has a Heroic BSoD. She and Lottie end up making up. Van maps the locations of places where Taissa has found trees and they form an incomplete version of the symbol. When they go to the location that would complete the symbol, they find Javi.

Present:

Lottie visits her doctor (who went on sabbatical) asking to have her meds increased because she is having visions again. The substitute tells her to reframe the vision. Misty and Walter take a road trip to find out more about the "purple people" who abducted Natalie. Other!Taissa goes to Jessica Roberts's place and retrieves the file with information collected on her team members and spend the night at a bed-and-breakfast. Taissa "wakes up" with her car's gas tank on empty and hitchhikes to a store run by Van, of all people. Shauna and Callie confront each other about the lies. Jeff is not happy to learn that his daughter is aware of Adam's death. Natalie goes with Lisa to the latter's home and tries to intervene when Lisa's mother berates her. They end up at a bar (with Natalie not drinking) and bonding over suicidal ideations. Lottie has a vision of a queen of hearts card with the eyes crossed out. She does some bloodletting on an altar at the compound, hoping it is enough.

Really long recap

Past

In the first scene before credits, it is nightime. Taissa is sleepwalking (alternately, Other!Taissa is behind the wheel). Van calls Taissa's name and gets her to wake up with a gasp. Van has found another tree with the symbol. "Something in you knows that these trees are here." Taissa wants to go back to bed. Van persists and suggests they talk to Lottie, believing her capable of tapping into the unnamed thing. Taissa refuses with an irate, "It's none of her fucking business," and goes back to bed.

At the cabin, Misty and Crystal sing "Rainbow Tour" while they sweep. Travis looks miserable as he eats a soup with bird beaks. Akilah is happy to see Shauna come in, because she's tired of starling soup. But Shauna is very angry:

So who's the thief? Someone stole some bear meat from the shed. I guess they think they deserve more than the rest of us, which... at this point, is pretty fucked. If anybody, I'm the one who should be taking some more, except I'm not because I'm not the fucking worst. So which one of you is?

No one fesses up, to Shauna's disgust.

Mari whispers to Akilah that it was probably the Coach: "He thinks he's so much better than us."

Coach: I didn't take the fucking meat. Okay? And in case you forgot, not exactly nimble in the snow. But you know what? If it had been me, what exactly would you do about it? Would you eat me?

Mari gets up and stalks menacingly in Coach's direction. Natalie tries to intervene in Coach's defense, but now Mari has a new target for her anger: she blames the lack of meat on Natalie and her skepticism about Lottie. "Lottie tries to bless you for the hunt, but half the time you're MIA. Or when you do show up, it's like you're practically holding your nose. " Natalie protests that she and Travis are the only ones even trying to find food, while everyone else just sits on their butts.

Mari proceeds to credit Lottie for the birds that went kamikaze into the cabin. Akilah supports Mari; the bird suicide happened when Shauna's blood dripped on the symbol that Lottie made. Shauna expresses doubts.

The Coach: Yeah, you see, that's what we call a coincidence. Okay?

He explains away the birds as being either disoriented or diseased. But Misty points out that nobody got sick after eating the birds, so they were not disease-carriers. Van brings up the bear that Lottie killed; no one could call THAT a coincidence. All this just affirms what Mari is saying about Lottie being responsible for the only food they have had in months.

Fed up with the nonsense, Natalie proposes a one-on-one contest between herself and Lottie: "We both go out, just her and me, and then at the end of the day, we see who makes it back here with more food." Travis objects that it is not fair, since Lottie is no hunter.

Natalie: According to them, she's better than a hunter.

Lottie looks very uncomfortable. But the competition is a go. Misty announces the rules of the competition:

Okay, so one-on-one means no assistance of any kind. If you get a kill, just leave it where it is and we will come and help you bring it back. You, yourself, have to be back before sundown, or you're automatically disqualified. If you're not back by then, we'll come out and we'll find you.

She proposes drawing cards to see who gets the only gun, but Mari smugly points out that "Lottie doesn't need a gun." Outside, both girls nod to each other and head out in different directions.

Lottie wanders around, somewhat aimlessly. She closes her eyes and hears rustling. She pulls out the knife and encounters the symbol.

Lottie: Fuck me.

Natalie hears rustling as well. She finds a set of hoof prints and follows them, shotgun ready.

Inside the cabin, Mari hears again a dripping sound again that nobody else does. She tries to convince Akilah, busy reviewing a study guide to the SAT, to help her look.

Mari: News flash: you don't have to take the SAT.
Akilah: I do. Because when we get back, I'll still be a junior.
Mari: Okay, fine. But can you please just look with me?

They split up and Akilah checks the pantry, where she finds a mouse. Instead of screaming at it, she speaks to it in soothing tones and puts it in her pocket. When Mari asks Akilah if she found anything, Akilah lies and says she didn't.

Lottie finds the tree stump altar and falls to her knees in front of it. She cuts her palm and lets the blood drip freely in front of said stump. Away from her, Natalie spots something poking through ice. She goes off to investigate and is stunned by what she finds.

At the cabin, Van is showing Taissa how she has mapped the trees Taissa has led her to and placed them on the map Coach Scott made. All the symbol trees are marked with tacks. She connects the tacks with string, forming an incomplete version of the symbol. Taissa doesn't see whatever it is Van sees; to her, they are just a bunch of "random points", and any kind of shape can be made from them. Van is incredulous that Taissa does not see what she does.

Taissa: Look, I understand you're trying to help me. And I'm grateful, but... it's possible that this is all just meaningless.
Van: Yeah, it's possible. It's also possible that I am right. And if I am... then there should be a tree with a symbol on it, right here (points at the lower area of the map). Will you come and look for it with me?

The coach opens a paperback copy of The Magus but tosses it aside. Flashback to a happier time with Coach and boyfriend Paul. Ben finds a box and inside it, a photo album with pictures of Paul and another guy. Paul appears amused at Ben's discomfort: "Oh, this one. Took me to a bakery for breakfast and selected me a bagel from the day-old bin. You'll be shocked to hear we didn't last." Ben still seems uncertain, so Paul asks him if he does not have a box of sentimental, "mostly... meaningless things". Ben does, but his box is related to his soccer achievements: trophies and old cleats, nothing involving romantic "history".

Paul: That's exactly what this is. It's history. This is my past. And you, Ben... mm, you are my future.

The flashback to a happy moment ends. Natalie runs up to the cabin, announcing she found a moose "frozen in the surface of the lake. I'm gonna need a lot of help to get it out of there."The Coach hands her an ax and instructs everybody to dress as warm as possible. In a case of Skewed Priorities, Mari complains that they are breaking the "no assistance" rule. This gets her a "Oh, my God, Mari, this is FOOD," from the coach. As Natalie says, the moose could keep them fed until spring.

Everybody except the coach, Akilah, and Mari heads out to help. Mari calls out to Misty, appealing to her as the one who set the rules and threatening to tell Lottie. But Misty is unfazed: "Go for it. Tell her I didn't want us to fucking starve."

Akilah hopes Lottie's okay. Mari says (either because she is sure or to convince herself) Lottie is OK.

Speaking of Lottie, her hand still dripping blood, she finds the old plane, all in one piece. Inside is Laura Lee's teddy bear and cross necklace, both intact. She opens a trunk that reveals a hatch and a ladder. She climbs down a ladder that takes her to an elevator. She steps out the elevator to find herself at the mall. The salesperson from Old Navy even asks her if she wants to try on some clothes. Then Lottie hears girls laughing and finds her teammates sitting at a food court table, with Laura Lee at the head, eating Chinese food. Compared to her, they all look fresh and clean; Van's face is free of scars. Laura Lee even thought ahead and ordered for Lottie, "You look hungry." Just as Lottie is about to start eating, Laura Lee tells her to wait.

Laura Lee: Don't you think you should say something first?
Lottie: Uh, I-I didn't think that I'd have to.

Laura Lee notices that Lottie is shivering and Van tells her about a coat on sale she saw. When Lottie says she does not have her credit card, the others laugh and Natalie reminds her about her shoplifting habit. Laura Lee tells Lottie that they need to get her out of there. As snowflakes fall around Lottie, she pleads to stay since she just got there.

Laura Lee: (firmly) Lottie. If you don't get warm, you're gonna die. You have to go.

Lottie begs to stay, but Laura Lee shouts at her, "Go! Go!" and pushes Lottie, who falls down... and lands on her back on the ground as snow falls around her. Too weak to get up, she collapses.

Natalie, Travis, Misty and Crystal are chopping at the ice where the moose antlers are poking out. They finally get through and the moose is clearly visible through the ice. They tie a rope to its antlers and all seven start pulling. Just when they start making some progress, they slip and the moose sinks again, its weight pulling down Natalie into the water. She is forced to let go of the rope and watches the moose sink. Travis pulls her out and she wails in anguish but Travis shushes her and tells her it's gone. He comforts her when she keeps crying out that they need the moose.

Back at the cabin, Natalie is in a tub and Shauna pours hot water on it. "Hey. I'll be right back, okay?" Mari and Akilah come in with Lottie, who is barely conscious. They found her passed out "right where the hunter's plane used to be" after following a trail of blood. All the girls turn their attention to the thoroughly-chilled Lottie. Natalie, fully clothed, orders the others to take Lottie to the back where the tub is and she herself helps Lottie step into the water. When Natalie and Lottie are by themselves, Natalie bandages Lottie's hand and apologizes, blaming herself for the whole mess. Lottie manages a "Good game. You fucking loser." With Lottie OK enough to talk trash, Natalie returns the favor and they shake hands.

Outside the cabin, Van and Taissa have not found the symbol where Van thought it would be. Taissa suggests they head back since it is getting dark. Van takes one last look, and noticed a patch on the ground where the snow is melted. They hear rustling and Taissa chases after a dark running figure. She tackles the figure. It is JAVI. He resists, apparent unable to speak or to recognize them. They bring the poor boy to the cabin. Travis can't believe his brother is alive. Natalie tries to fade into the background.

Hey. It's me. It's your brother.

Javi is fairly unresponsive. Mari takes this as another sign of Lottie's ability, since she was the one who had said Javi was alive. Not reading the room, Misty tries to start a cheer, but is interrupted by the lack of enthusiasm in the others. Van brings up that "Lottie knew he was alive, but Taissa knew where he was." Taissa tries to deny it, but Van tells her to stop it, "There is something deep inside of you that is connected to all of this."

Present

In the first scene before the credits, Taissa has a flashback to a phone call she had with Jessica where the detective points out "Some of you guys just love living off the grid." Taissa watches through a haze as Other!Taissa rises to action. O!T goes to Jessica's place, lets herself in, and retrieves a file labeled "Yellowjackets". She then glares at Taissa, who wakes behind the wheel of her car, with an empty gas tank and no idea where she is. The file in the passenger seat is open to a section with a photograph of a storefront. She gets out of the car and starts walking.

Morning at the Sadecki household. Jeff has just heard Shauna's cover story of how a tow company just happens to find their stolen minivan on the side of the road. He decides to believe her or at least not call her out. Callie shows up and tells her parents that she is hanging with her friend Ilana that night, as opposed to asking if she can. Shauna responds neutrally with a simple "Good to know."

Jeff interrupts Shauna's attempt at small talk by dropping a bombshell: he overhead the cops talking at the gym, and they know about Shauna's affair with Adam. He avoids mentioning that he actively confronted Kevyn about questioning Shauna.

Shauna: How would they know?
Jeff: You did spend a lot of time with him. Like you said, public places. Small town, Shauna.
Shauna: You're right. I should've just run around in a ski mask. Also in public. Blackmailing people. (walks off in a huff)

Lottie's cabin at the intentional community compound. She is getting ready to go out in business casual (white top and sweater, trousers), as opposed to her regular flowing goldenrod dresses. Natalie stops by and notices the different look. Lottie explains saying she is going to the bank. Natalie wants the car keys, claiming she is going to go "help Lisa run the Farmer's Market booth." Lottie points out that Lisa normally does that with someone else, and Natalie does not strike her "as someone with... enthusiastic honey-selling skills. "

Natalie: Actually, I thought it'd be a good time for us to bond, also since she forgave me for... stabbing her in the face.

Lottie agrees reluctantly, but tells Natalie to let Lisa drive. "She never gets to and... she needs the practice."

Walter Tattersall's car. From the passenger seat, Misty calls Taissa's Senate office number. Apparently, neither Taissa NOR Shauna are returning Misty's calls. Misty leaves another voice mail for Taissa, "I'm getting really worried that you're not calling me back. Either of you." She announces that if "Taissa and Shauna have both been kidnapped," she is going to be "very, very annoyed."

Walter: I'm sure they're just busy. They're all lucky to have you. It's pretty rare to have a friend who's relentlessly got your back.
Misty: Thank you.

As a distraction, Walter offers Misty her choice of whatever music she wants to listen for the rest of the trip. He shows her a large box full of cassette tapes with soundtracks to musicals. Far from being excited, Misty gets angry.

Misty: Well... It all makes sense now. [...] Why you sought me out. Why you're helping me. You certainly did your homework.

Walter is confused. Misty tells him to drop the act and accuses him of being "one of those Yellowjackets obsessives. And I'm honored that I seem to be your favorite Yellowjacket, but I am not gonna tell you anything about what happened out there." She orders him to drop her off at the next town. But it appears that is not the case for Walter:

Walter: It's like I told you: I-I sought you out from Citizen Detective because I wanted to work with the brilliant investigative mind that is Agent AfricanGrey. And because you dropped a Sweeney Todd reference in one of your posts. Look, I-I don't care... Uh, no offense, because I'm sure it was a significant trauma, but... I don't care that you're a Yellowjacket. That was like 30 years ago.
Misty: Twenty-five.
Walter: And it's the least interesting thing about you.

Misty, still incredulous that Walter just happens to like musicals, lies that she does not really care about musicals, or what they listen to. He teases her asking if she does not mind if he puts on Starlight Express. She does mind: "Oh, let's tell the story of Cinderella, except every character's a train? Ugh. Enough already." Instead she picks the soundtrack to Evita and "Rainbow Tour" plays.

Lisa is driving, with Natalie riding shotgun. Lisa is surprised at Natalie's desire to sell honey with her. Natalie admits to needing a break from the compound, "Plus, I figured I owe you" for the whole attacking Lisa with a fork. As shown in the previously episode, Natalie is Easily Forgiven by Lisa. The conversation turns to the community's rules:

Natalie: So Lottie only lets you guys leave the compound once a week for the market and that's it?
Lisa: No, we're allowed to leave whenever we want, for as many days as we want, it's just Charlotte needs me to lead a lot of the workshops back at the compound, so I'm always busy.

Natalie thinks it is weird to even have such a rule about leaving whenever and for however long they want: "Almost like she wants to give the illusion of freedom so that you'll always come back?" Lisa gets defensive and says it is not a rule, just something Lottie says in her welcome speech.

Lisa: There are no rules at the compound, really.
Natalie: (scoffs) Are you kidding? Only what to wear, what to say, what meetings to attend...
Lisa: We do all of that because we want to.

The reason everyone wears purple is because people at the compound come from various economic levels, and "Charlotte wanted everyone to be equal there."

Natalie: She didn't ask you to give up anything?
Lisa: Only the bad parts. The unhelpful parts.
Natalie: What does that mean?
Lisa: Look, you don't take this seriously, I get it. I didn't either at first.
Natalie: So... what changed?
Lisa: Me.

Lottie is at her doctor's office. She finds it weird that her regular psychiatrist didn't tell her about going on a sabbatical. The doctor subbing for Doctor Graham assures Lottie that she is up to date on Lottie's file. She asks Lottie why she wanted to see her doctor five weeks before her scheduled semi-annual visit at a fixed time. Lottie wants the doctor to increase her meds. Instead of just pulling out a pen and a prescription pad, the doctor asks why.

Lottie: I started having... visions again. For the first time in... in decades. And it keeps happening. And it needs to stop. They need to stop. The last time, it was, um... became something different. Can't happen again. I've worked really hard. And I've built something that's... (exhales) it's helping people. It's helping me. Can't go back.

The psychiatrist suggests to Lottie that she "reframe the way you're thinking about these visions," because the stress of keeping them below the surface could make more of them come up, and to ask herself what are her visions trying to tell her. The answer is nothing, because they are not real.

At a shopping center parking lot, Shauna encounters Michelle, Ilana's mother. Shauna thanks her for having Callie over so often and jokes about paying Michelle for Callie's room and board. Michelle tells Shauna that Callie has not slept over at their house in weeks. As soon as she makes it home, Shauna starts snooping in her daughter's room. In a drawer, she finds condoms and most worryingly, what's left of Adam's driver's license.

Callie is walking home from school and texting. She agrees to meet at the Golf Spot (most likely, Jay a.k.a. detective Matt), when Shauna drives up next to her with an invitation to "go somewhere and, uh... have some fun." When asked where, Shauna doesn't know yet, but "That's what's fun."

A diner, Walter and Misty are about to get breakfast. Misty proposes they ask their server about the cult, since, "In small towns, everyone knows who and where the weirdos are. " Walter does not agree, since she could be one of them and give them false information. The discussion ends as soon as the server stops by their table with their orders and asks if they need anything else. Walter shakes his head at Misty and Misty sends the server away. Misty watches Walter put maple syrup and mustard on his eggs after wrapping them in a slice of ham. She is full of questions:

Misty: Um, well, I mean, how can you just be here? Do you not... have a job?
Walter: Oh, no. I haven't had a job in years. I'm a millionaire. A multi-millionaire, technically.

Misty does not believe him, but he goes on:

Walter: Remember that scaffolding company that got sued a few years back when their beams came loose and caused a torrent of bricks to hit that poor guy who was walking under it? Well, he had to have a metal plate put in his head, and settled in court for six million dollars.

Misty declines the offer to see the event on YouTube, and asks the server if she knows about "the cult with the purple people," despite Walter's hesitation. "We are wasting time." Per the server, the folks in purple are awful tippers and sell their honey at the Farmer's Market every Tuesday. Since it is a Tuesday, Walter and Misty decide to visit the Farmer's Market.

An exhausted-looking Taissa is walking along a highway when a truck stops by and the driver offers her a ride after learning she is heading west. She demurs, but it turns out the driver recognized her and even voted for her. She accepts and apologizes, since she normally does not or head out in public looking disheveled. Apparently that endears her to the trucker.

Trucker: If state senators can have a bad day, so can all of us, huh?
Taissa: Where were you when I was coming up with campaign slogans?

He is embarrassed when she finds his novelty pen featuring a pinup lady whose swimsuit falls off when the pen is held upside down. She is all, "How much do you want for it?"

Lisa and Natalie stop in front of a residence. Natalie jokes about how "shitty" of a farmer's market it is, but it is the home of Lisa's mom. Lisa wants to see her pet fish, the 14th Gilly, but her usual selling partner never lets her stop anywhere besides the bank or the market. She asks Natalie to not tell Lottie about the unscheduled stop.

Natalie: (makes a "zip it" gesture) Oh, so there are no rules, but you're not allowed to see your family?
Lisa: Uh, no, it's not that we're not allowed, it's that Charlotte doesn't think it's a good idea. She says that our anchors are at the compound. Not out here.
Natalie: Riiight.

Inside, we see a glimpse of Gilly in his tank as Sybill, Lisa's mom, brings in tea. She is glad that her daughter's home, and her bedroom is just like she left it!

Lisa: I'm not actually here to stay. Just... came to see the 14th Gilly and... say hi and... let you know that I'm doing really great. And that I'm happy. Right, Natalie?
Natalie: (Smirking) Great. And happy.

Upon being asked, Lisa admits that she not taking her medication anymore, "but I got help to ween myself off of it. And I feel a lot better. It's not cloudy in here anymore.

Sybill: It wasn't cloudy before.
Natalie: Well, I don't know, maybe it was because...
Lisa: Don't.

Sybill says she can always tell that Lisa is depressed, even when her daughter can't see it. Lisa retorts that yeah, depression is "kind of a forever thing, but I'm doing real work. I'm confronting the feeling and not numbing it. That's the routine. Confront, acknowledge, let it go." Sybill scoffs at that not being a "real" routine. Natalie intervenes by pointing out that if Lisa's routine works for her, what does it matter? This earns her a not-really-a-request to step out so Sybill can speak to her daughter in private.

Shauna is driving with her daughter, who has nothing but questions as to why they are in the outskirts of town, "And where even is here? No bars? Seriously, where are we?"Shauna stops the car, steps out, and has her daughter step out. She confronts Callie about her lies about sleeping at her bestie's: "Is there anything else you've lied about that I need to know?" Callie explodes and throws her mom's question back at her: "And second, is there anything you've lied about that I need to know?" She reveals that she found the charred remains of Adam's license and demands to be told the truth: "Did you... kill that guy? Did Dad?"

Shauna agrees to no more secrets and confesses: "Yes. I-I killed Adam. But he was blackmailing my friends. My-my teammates. Oh, fuck, no, actually... That's a lie. Adam, uh, was not the blackmailer. But at first I thought that he was, so..." Callie freaks out.

Callie: So, you... you killed a person? Like an innocent person who did not deserve to die.
Shauna: I... Yeah. (sighs)

Callie lays all the blame on this on her mother, but Shauna points out that Jeff is not exactly an innocent party; he was the one blackmailing the team. She agrees with her daughter's assessment that everything about the situation sucks.

Callie: So you're saying that... he's the reason that this entire thing happened and that you're now a murderer?
Shauna: No. No, no, no. You... I mean... Yes, kind of. But he's not a bad person, okay? He's just a bad criminal.
Callie: But why did he think that he could blackmail the Yellowjackets for money?
Shauna: Because they did, they... We did things out there that... we're really ashamed of. And...(breaks off)

At this point, Shauna shuts down "Maybe one day I can talk to you about it, but for now, um... can that just be enough?" Callie accepts this. Shauna makes her promise not to tell. Callie promises.

Still at the home of Lisa's mom. Natalie is looking at wall pictures of a smiling Sybill next to her unsmiling daughter. Staying out of sight, she eavesdrops on the other two, who are still arguing. Sybill says that she knows what to do when Lisa makes another suicide attempt. Lisa says she has not had suicidal ideations in three months, and if Sybill can't see that, Lisa is going to take Gilly and cut ties. Sybill insists that Lisa's problems are not over just because she is now a "cult's responsibility"

Sybill: You can't take care of yourself, honey. Let alone a fish.
Lisa: He's a fish.
Sybill: That you will kill. Not by forgetting to feed it, but by opening your arteries and leaving it alone to starve.

Natalie interrupts their argument, accusing Sybill of only caring about herself, "You don't even see what you're saying and doing, how it's affecting her...

Lisa: You're not helping! (Sybill walks out of the living room) I'm sorry I disappointed you. I love you even when you try to control me. But I'm okay now! Bye, Mom.

Lisa exits, leaving Natalie alone in the house. Back in the car, Lisa apologizes for snapping at Natalie and "I didn't mean to make it into... whatever that was, but..." In response, Natalie, who'd been making odd faces, opens up her mouth and spits the very much alive Gilly into her water bottle. "Here's your fucking fish."

At the farmer's market, Walter and Misty ask one of the sellers if this is where the "purple people", dba Sunshine Honey, are. The seller is not sure where their compound is, but offers some vague directions. "[T]hey're up in some rural area. Like next town over. Off Route 19, somewhere." Back in the car, Misty tells Walter to get to Route 19, right now.

Walter: Whoa, whoa, it's getting dark. We don't know what we'd be up against. We'd be at a disadvantage.
Misty: We'd have the element of surprise.
Walter: If I'm a cult leader, I'd like you to think you had the element of surprise.

She agrees to his suggestion of spending the night at a nearby bed-and-breakfast.

A bar. With Gilly in front of them, Lisa confesses to Natalie that she is afraid she is going to kill the fish and asks her if she thinks Lisa can keep him alive. Natalie does not know:

:Natalie: I have no idea. But fuck what your mom says. If you want to kill yourself, then kill yourself. But it doesn't look like you do, today. So, I think that fish is gonna survive the night. And the rest... worry about it tomorrow. Right?

Lisa, who was in the room when Natalie herself was about to shoot herself, asks her if she still wants to kill herself. Natalie pushes away her drink and answers, "Not today."

The desk at the B and B. Walter gives his name as John Lange. When the concierge asks if it is just for one room, he gets conflicting responses. Misty gives the final answer: two rooms, please, and hers under an alias as well. They accept the keys and go to their rooms. Montage of the two of them following nearly identical rituals, putting the TV remote in a zipper bag, checking for bugs, getting ready for bed, and setting their phones to suitable sleeping music.

The Sadecki household, dinner preparations. Jeff and Shauna start talking at the same time, and she tells him to go on. He apologizes for being judgmental earlier in the morning.

Jeff: I'm trying to, like... get over this... affair and take the high road, it's just... I'm not, I don't, maybe I'm not fully... over it. And I'm sorry.

Shauna accepts his apologies as well and apologizes herself:

Shauna: I know everything is... a lot right now and there's stuff we don't know and... there's stuff to be scared of, but I really think we're gonna be okay. Our family, I mean. The-the three of us.

Jeff agrees at first, then asks what Shauna means by "the three of us". Shauna admits she told Callie everything, simply by confirming Callie's suspicions, and says Callie's OK. This gets a Big "WHAT?!" from Jeff:

Shauna: Yeah, Jeff, I know but, you know, she-she was okay. I think she was worried and obviously a little scared, but she understood.
Jeff: It's like we only get one shot at this thing. You know, like we only have one kid. And as parents, it's part of our job. We have to protect her, we have to shield her from making the same shitty mistakes we made, Shauna. To throw our fucking bodies in front of her if that's what we have to do. And, what, you're telling me you... you've made her an accomplice.
Shauna: We are lying to everyone, okay? Everyone we know. I don't want to do that to our own daughter.

Right as Shauna is speaking, Callie shows up, meekly asking if she can help cook dinner. When asked about her plans to go to Ilana's that evening, Callie confesses that she has not been going to Ilana's but rather, "going to the park with a friend and... drinking. But, um... I'm not gonna do that anymore. Sorry." Her offer to help is accepted.

Lottie's quarters. She is looking at cards with gratitude affirmations ("I am grateful for my passion & drive", ...for my healing journey") and has a vision of a queen of hearts card with her eyes crossed out.Lottie goes off by herself, knife hidden in her hand and drops to her knees by a tree stump. She cuts her hand and lets the blood drip. She prays, "Can this... just be enough... please?"

In the final scene of the episode, Taissa is dropped off by the trucker in front of a store called "While You Were Streaming". She goes in. A customer is being served by a familiar-looking redheaded woman at the register. The audience gets a good look at her still visible facial scars. She has trouble believing Taissa has come to her store, but Taissa plays it casual with a "Hey Van."

Tropes present in the episode

• Anger Born of Worry: On top of Natalie's disappearance, Misty's attempts to contact Taissa and Shauna remain unsuccessful. Her frustration is evident in the voicemail she leaves at Taissa's Senate number.
  I'm getting really worried that you're not calling me back. Either of you. Don't make me come looking for you.
• By "No", I Mean "Yes": Shauna's reaction to Callie calling her on being a murderer.
  Shauna: No. No, no, no, no, no. I mean, sure... mmm... Yes.
• Dream Tells You to Wake Up: Dream!Laura Lee ordering Lottie to wake up - complete with Theme Music Power-Up - because she's freezing to death.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the flashback to coach's relationship, a set of antlers can be seen on display in Paul's apartment, right over Ben's head.
• Hope Spot: The moose. Enough food to easily sustain them for months, sitting right there... and virtually impossible to pull out.
• Lost Food Grievance: Justified, as they are starving and there is no game. Shauna complains that somebody has been stealing meat. Fingers are pointed at the Coach, who points out that with only one leg, he is not nimble.
• Magic Versus Science: The girls explicitly set this up as a contest: Lottie's magic vs Nat's gun, who brings home the most meat? Turns out, neither. So far.
• Missed Him by That Much: Misty and Walter would have ran into Natalie at the farmers' market if Lisa hadn't asked Natalie to come to her mother's house with her.
• The Mountains of Illinois: When Taissa meets the trucker, one can see the majestic Rocky Mountains in the background. In New Jersey.
  • It's Pennsylvania.
• My Beloved Smother: Lisa's mother wastes no time trying to convince Lisa that she's too unstable to survive outside of her mother's home.
• No Medication for Me:
  • Lisa proudly announces to her mother that she has weaned herself off the medication for her depression. Sybill, her mother, is not happy with her daughter's decision or with her choosing to live in an "intentional community".
  • Lottie, by contrast, asks her therapist for more medication to quiet the visions. Her therapist instead encourages her to explore them.
• Palm Bloodletting: Lottie does this in both timelines - apparently once to try and persuade the Whatever to send them something to eat, and once to try and stop it from asking more.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Natalie delivers one to Lisa's mom when Sybill tells her daughter that she is going to kill her pet fish after she opens her veins and it starves to death. Lisa asks Natalie to stop with her help.
  Natalie: What the fuck is wrong with you that you can't let your daughter be happy? You say you're her mom, but you only care about you. You don't even see what you're saying and doing, how it's affecting her...
• Road Trip Plot: The official synopsis for the episode frames it as being this, and, indeed it turns out to be a road trip for all four of the original main adult characters.
  • Misty goes on with citizen detective Walter, seeking out to find Lottie's cult.
  • Natalie goes on a trip with Lisa, the girl from the cult that she stabbed in the second season premiere, and meets her controlling mother.
  • Shauna takes her daughter Callie out into the middle of nowhere to try to get some answers from her about where she's been going when claiming to be with her friends. In return, she ends up telling the truth to Callie about having killed Adam and Jeff having blackmailed the Yellowjackets.
  • Taissa goes on a trip, runs out of gas and ends up hitchhiking, eventually making her way to a store run by adult Vanessa.
• Shout-Out:
  • Walter offers Misty her choice of music for the road trip, letting her pick from a large box of cassettes, all musicals. Two are worth noting: Starlight Express, which Misty scoffs at for being Cinderella, but with trains; and her pick, Evita's "Rainbow Tour", the same song Crystal and Misty were singing in the past. Walter also mentions Misty's reference to Sweeney Todd in the Citizen Detective website.
  • Misty registers at the bed-and-breakfast as "Lady Mallowan". Agatha Christie's second husband, Max Mallowan, was knighted for his achievements in archeology, allowing her to use the style "Lady Mallowan".
  • Van's video store is called While You Were Streaming, after While You Were Sleeping which she regaled the others with in season 1.
• Skewed Priorities: When Natalie announces that she needs help recovering a moose from the ice, Mari complains about Natalie breaking the no-assistance rule. She is called out for caring more about the rules than about possibly getting enough food to sustain them until spring.
• Speaking Up for Another: On her way to the farmer's market with Natalie, Lisa stops to visit her mom, Sybill, and her pet fish, Gilly. The visit starts out OK, but Sybill is not happy to hear that Lisa is off her medication. Eventually, Sybill tells Lisa that she is going to kill Gilly after she opens her veins and it starves to death. Seeing how agitated Lisa is getting, Natalie directs a "The Reason You Suck" Speech at Sybill in Lisa's defense, asking her if she does not see how her words are hurting her daughter.
• Special Edition Title: For this episode, the title song is sung by Alanis Morissette.
• Unwanted Assistance: When Lisa and her mom are arguing, Natalie tries to intervene in Lisa's defense. Lisa outright tells Natalie she is not helping, and Sybill (Lisa's mom) actually asks her to give them some privacy.