Recap / Yellowjackets S 2 E 8 It Chooses

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

Short recap

Past:

Lottie is not doing well. Misty tells off Mari for being such a brat. Taissa makes Akilah realize that the latter's mouse Nugget is not just dead, but reduced to a dried-out carcass. Coach snoops in Javi's bag for the drawings Javi has made. After making his crutches more snow-friendly, he goes off in search of a tree and discovers the underground location where Javi must have hidden for months. Lottie tells Misty to not let her body go to waste if she dies. The others decide that Lottie cannot be the one killed, and instead draw lots to see who is going to be sacrificed to the Wilderness. Natalie draws the Queen of Hearts, a.k.a. the card of doom. Just before Shauna can kill her, Travis tackles Shauna, allowing Natalie to run off. As the other survivors chase after her, Javi reaches her first and tells her that he knows of a place she can hide. But as they make their way, he falls through ice and is allowed to drown. They pull his body out of the water, and Van proclaims that the Wilderness made its choice.

Present:

At the compound, Shauna shares the news of the police finding Adam Martin's body with the others. They also learn that Jeff was the blackmailer and that Misty killed Jessica Roberts. Van and Lottie are brought up to speed. Kevyn and Matt plus some other Wiskayok P.D. officers show up at the Sadecki household with a search warrant. Jeff has a nightmare of Shauna stabbing him. When Callie asks if she's like her mom, Jeff reveals to her about the baby brother that was born in the wilderness. Walter learns about the discovery of Adam Martin's remains and ALMOST contacts the police, but opts to pack his purple-est clothes. And Lottie tells the others that they need to give IT what it wants and offers them to pick out a cup of tea, one of which is mixed with a deadly amount of phenobarbital.

Long recap

Past

The cabin's attic: Mari and Misty are holding up the bruised and battered Lottie so she can pee. Mari notices blood in Lottie's urine. Misty worries it could be from a kidney infection, given how hard Shauna kicked her. As they lay down Lottie, Mari complains of the smell, saying that it should be Shauna caring for Lottie.

Mari: God, it's making my eyes water.
Misty: Oh, my God. Would you shut up about the pee? God. She is in danger, here. And after everything that she's done for us. But no, you have to be a little brat, just like you always are.

Misty sends Mari downstairs to empty the pan, but Mari drops it while climbing down the ladder and cries. Lottie flashes back to the beatdown. Akilah talks to her mouse Nugget about her plans for him when they get home: introducing him to her nephew; a trip to the beach for french fries soaked in vinegar and funnel cakes; and a tricked-out habitat with tubes and an exercise wheel. Taissa asks Akilah what is she holding. Akilah gets defensive, "He's mine!" and whispers to Nugget that "It's okay."

Taissa: That thing is dead, Akilah.

Akilah is confused. Taissa holds up Nugget, or rather, his dried-out carcass. Akilah cries and wonders about her sanity.

Credits!

Past

Van is watching Taissa, who is washing dishes and seems to get a little dizzy. She sees her reflection... and Other!Taissa's. She turns around to see Other!Taissa smirking at her. Van asks if she's OK, and Taissa fibs that she's just light-headed. Van brings Mari a leather belt she found in Jackie's luggage, thinking it could be protein. Mari licks it and drops it in the pot with a sarcastic "Belt soup. Yum." Shauna picks up a blanket at Gen's feet, who sarcastically tells her to go ahead. Shauna points out that the blanket is not in use and "Lottie's cold." Melissa gets on Shauna's case about only now caring about Lottie.

Van: Hey! Lottie took it from her to protect us. Don't let that be for nothing.

Off by themselves, Natalie and the Coach talk about whether Lottie's dying wouldn't be the worst thing, particularly if she is in pain. Natalie is disturbed by how much everyone has changed due to Lottie's "weird control". The Coach teases Natalie about being jealous, which she denies. Even Javi has "gone to the dark side"; the other day she saw him bowing to a symbol tree not far from the creek.

While Javi sleeps, the Coach goes through his bag and finds the drawings he has made, focusing on the one of a tree with deep roots.

Akilah almost puts Nugget's carcass in her mouth, but thinks better of it. While making belt soup, Mari hears dripping again. Others hear it too. Mari sees the walls drip blood and starts screaming that "They're dead!" Taissa tells her that there's no one there. Mari insists that "Their blood was dripping on the floor. You heard it." Van tells her it's just the hunger.

Misty sees Coach Ben with a really big knife and asks if she needs to be worried. He explains that he is just making his crutches a little more snow-friendly and he would not bother if he had suicidal ideation. She appears to accept his words, "Some fresh air can help clear the bad thoughts."

Travis sees Natalie offering Javi a pair of fingerless gloves. Javi smiles and leaves, leaving Natalie alone with Travis. He tells her she is a good person and apologizes for "ever making you feel otherwise."

Upstairs, Lottie is moaning in her sleep. Misty, who had been sleeping next to her, wakes up and asks what's wrong.

Lottie: If I die...[...] Don't waste my body. Promise me.

Misty tries to distract her, but Lottie insists.

The coach compares his map with Van's map of trees with the symbol and heads outdoors.

At the cabin, Misty tells the others what Lottie said to do if she dies: "to make use of her. To stay alive." Everybody worries about being without Lottie. Mari tells them not to. "The wilderness won't let her die." Travis points out that It may not want her to, but if she's starving, she'll not live.

Taissa: We need to find a way to stay alive. And it can't be her.

At the cabin, as Lottie tosses feverishly the others get the skull and place offerings. Van takes the deck of cards; she shows the queen of hearts with the eyes scratched out. Whoever picks that card is the Wilderness's chosen one. She shuffles the deck. Misty picks first, then passes the deck around. Akilah picks, followed by Van, Shauna, and Travis, who realizes that the odds of Javi picking the bad card are greater. Taissa and Melissa pick cards. Javi draws a card and runs off to hug his brother: "It's okay. It's okay. We're okay." When it's Natalie turn, she picks the Oh, Crap! card and goes to the center of the circle. Shauna has Natalie turn around and puts Jackie's heart necklace around her neck. Shauna raises a knife to Natalie's throat but Natalie turns back around and demands that Shauna look her in the eye. Shauna hesitates, and this allows Travis to tackle her to the floor. The other girls hold him back, but he punches one and orders Natalie to run. He tries to hold the door shut. Some of the girls hold a knife to his neck. The other girls run out, with Van grabbing a sharp stick, and chase after Natalie, howling. Javi sees what is going on and runs out. In the attic, Lottie seems to struggle between life or death, with pictures of the symbol flashing. Natalie hides from the other girls.

The Coach arrives at the tree with the symbol and sees an area where snow is melted. He uncovers a hole that leads to an underground cave. He is shocked at the huge space and the bones.

Back to the hunt. In the episode's final scene, Natalie continues to run and hide as the others hunt her down. Javi finds her and tells her that he knows of a place they can go that the others don't know about. The girls, weapons raised, close in on the pair, when without warning, the ice under Javi's feet cracks and he falls in. Van orders the girls to spread out so the ice doesn't break. Natalie yells at Javi to take her hand but Misty runs up and tells Natalie to stop. Javi sinks again. Misty warns Natalie that if she saves him, "the others will get you." Akilah says they can still get him out, but Van yells to wait. Javi splashes some more and screams for help, as the others ignore him. He eventually stops struggling. They pull out his body before it sinks. Misty confirms he is dead; Van makes an announcement:

Van: The wilderness chose.

Present

The compound. The mood is good and the women get refills on their drinks. Just then, Shauna arrives, looking worried. They want to know what happened, with Van joking that "Jeff did not come through on the phone sex?"

Shauna: Jeff, uh, just told me that the police, uh, found the body of our friend Adam Martin in Hacklebarney Park. It was on the news.
Natalie: Oh, wow. Shauna, that's...
Shauna: It's really fucking unfortunate.

Misty asks if Jeff is positive that they said "Adam Martin" (he was). Van, who is out of the loop, asks who is Adam Martin. Taissa lies that he is "just some guy Shauna knew." Shauna thanks Lottie for having her over,for the goat time, and "whatever the hell this was" but she feels she needs to be with her family. As Shauna leaves, Natalie suggests that staying might be a better plan, since they "have some stuff to figure out." Shauna insists in getting home and walks ahead. Misty nags at Natalie as to whether she made sure the grave was really six-feet down. Nat is pretty sure it was quite deep. Misty regrets not doing it herself. Van is still not to speed and does not get why they are so panicked, since the others don't seem to have known him well. Taissa denies that anybody except Shauna is panicked, or any knowledge about why Misty and Natalie are "all whispery." Van can tell Taissa is lying and wants to know if her friends were involved. Getting no response, she's all, fine, and then she grabs the car keys out of Shauna's hand and throws them quite far.

Shauna: Van! Are you insane?
Van: I'm starting to feel like it, yeah. We haven't seen each other in years, and clearly there's something going on here with you four that you're not being honest about. So no, nobody's going anywhere until you tell me and Lottie what's going on.
Lottie: And obviously it was important enough for Jeff to call you here. So, what, you both knew this Adam person well?
Taissa: Yeah. Shauna, why is Jeff the one calling you about this?
Natalie: Does he know something about it?
Van: About it? You guys fucking did this, didn't you?

Shauna finally cracks and admits to telling Jeff about the "Adam incident." A group What the Hell, Hero? happens.

Misty: I was very specific about my instructions. Why would you tell him?
Natalie: That was so fucking stupid.
Shauna: So Jeff can know what's going on.
Misty: Oh, my God. I am trying to protect you.

Lottie gets everyone to chill.

Lottie: Okay, ladies. We have a lot to discuss here, but out in public is not the place. I will meet you all up at the Sharing Shack. (Shauna lets out a Little "No"). Thank you. Now.
Shauna: Do we have to?
Natalie: You should.

The Sadecki household, nightime. Kevyn, Matt, and two police officers show up knocking. They have a search warrant. Kevyn tells Jeff that given Shauna's history with Adam Martin and his body being found, she is now officially a suspect. Matt is smug about it, "Well, let's get to tossing, boys." While they search the house, Kevyn has questions for Jeff. In Callie's bedroom, she is recording Matt as he searches through her dresser drawers.

Callie: So, who are we pretending to be today, Matt? Two more up, and you'll hit my panty drawer. Gonna take a sniff, creep?
Matt: Don't worry, there's only one deviant in this room. Nice try lying to my partner about how we slept together, by the way. It didn't work, but I applaud the effort.
Callie: The other just-as-problematic cop has your back. Congratulations.
Matt: (done searching) And who has yours? Mommie Dearest? Good luck with that in court.
Callie: All a jury needs to hear is how you, an old-ass man, seduced me, a teenage girl. (Matt searches the closet) How you... (lip quivering) preyed on a child.

This only seems to faze him for a second. "Oh, yeah? 'Cause I think when they get a whiff of how much of a liar your mom is, they'll realize that the psychopath apple doesn't fall far from the fucked-up, man-eating tree."

Kevyn and Jeff. Jeff asks if he should call a lawyer and Kevyn makes a crack about Sadeckis always asking about lawyers. "Makes it seem like you're hiding something." When asked, Jeff reveals that Shauna is at a spa with her girlfriends, describing it as one of those "new-agey spas, with the massages and the, you know, the sound baths." Kevyn is surprised; he'd thought that Jeff had kicked out Shauna after admitting to the affair. "So much for that, uh, that unconditional trust." Jeff claims they are figuring it out. Matt pops in and joins the session. They show Jeff some gnarly pictures of Adam's dismembered, decomposed corpse. They point how cleanly Adam's body was dismembered, with a serrated blade creating the marks on the bone, but the limbs were very precisely separated. Jeff claims that means it cannot be Shauna, since she is no doctor. Matt points out that Shauna's survival skills would come in handy. Kevyn, who is nowhere as smug as his partner brings up that whoever killed Adam "had the foresight to remove his head, feet and hands" and even scraped off his tattoo with what they think was a cheese grater. The only reason they were able to identify the body was that Adam was a bone marrow donor. Jeff calls it quits, which he can because he is not under arrest, and will not say another word without a lawyer. Kevyn tells him that he does not have to protect his wife, and he and Callie can still get out of the situation.

The compound. Lottie heads to the Sharing Shack, where the others are already:

Van: So, this is what you've all been doing with your lives? Chasing blackmailers and murdering lovers?
Shauna: Mm. Well, that's a little reductive. (sighs) I think we can agree that it's in everyone's best interest that Adam is, uh, gone.
Taissa: But especially yours, right?
Shauna: Right, 'cause I'm the only one here who has secrets that he was threatening to reveal.
Natalie: So you just decided to share more of our secrets with your fucking husband.
Shauna: I... (sighs) I was scared and... feeling really fucking crazy. I just needed Jeff on my side.
Taissa: We all need things we can't have, Shauna.

Shauna, indignant, asks Taissa if that was what she was telling herself when she reunited with Van and asks the pair how did they find each other again.

Van: That was easy. Tai just hitched a ride on an 18-wheeler to my place. That was totally normal.
Shauna: I thought you said that you had lost touch, that you didn't even know where she lived.

Taissa hedges that it's not hard to find that kind of information. Misty chimes in that she's had Van's address for years, and it would have been so much cheaper for Taissa to ask her instead of "outsourcing". Upon hearing the word "outsourcing", Taissa is all, no I didn't. But Natalie snaps to attention and demands to know what she means by that. When Taissa hesitates to tell, Misty jumps in and reveals that Taissa was the one who hired Jessica Roberts to look into all the remaining survivors. The others are shocked. Tai explains that she hired Jessica Roberts for "oppo" research. Shauna is appalled at the notion: "Have you forgotten what she could've found out?" Taissa justifies it as needing to know that they were not going to talk if someone made the right offer. After all, it's not like Shauna could not use the money.

Taissa: I mean, Natalie is a fucking drug addict. Look, I... I just needed to know I could trust you guys.

Natalie laughs bitterly at the irony, but Shauna worries about Jessica going "rogue". Misty reassures then that they don't need to worry about Jessica, "'Cause I took care of it. (scoffing) Like I always do." This gets her a Big "OMG!" from Taissa. "So, you're welcome."

Misty: Well, what was I supposed to do, let her go? I'd already held her captive in my basement for like a week.
Van: Sounds like your hands were really tied. Oh, wait, maybe those were her hands.
Misty: Look, the only reason I kidnapped her in the first place was 'cause I thought she was the blackmailer. I was... trying to protect us. Little did I know that, meanwhile, Shauna was being seduced by this adorable grifter whose only real intent was to get his mitts on her old journals and extort us.
Shauna: Why am I the only bad guy when Misty has been holding someone captive in her dungeon? And the FBI has been going around asking questions about Natalie.

Misty admits that the FBI was her, well, her and Walter. She tells the whole story of how they conspired to impersonate a federal agent to interrogate Randy in order to find out who had kidnapped Natalie

Van: (appalled) Misty, you are nothing if not proactive.
Misty: Thank you?

She goes on to explain that the interrogation was not very fruitful at first.

Misty: He was, like, paralyzed with fear, which is strange...(starting to connect dots) for an innocent man. And then he, he mentioned Jeff.
Shauna: I mean, they're best friends, so probably...
Misty: No, it was more like in a, in a worried way. Like... like they had done something that he was nervous about. And I didn't really give it much thought at the time, but there's another person who had access to those journals the whole time.

Taissa brings up Shauna's discovery of glitter inside her bedroom closet and inaccurate assumption that it was from Adam, "but, really, it makes a lot more sense if... it was from Jeff." Shauna shakes her head.

Natalie: Shauna, was Jeff the one who sent the postcard? Was your fucking husband the one blackmailing us?

Walter's very very nice house. He is assembling a gigantic puzzle with cats. His laptop beeps with notifications about a missing artist's body being found in Hacklebarney Park. He looks up the Wiskayok PD email address and starts writing them a message saying he has valuable information, but appears to change his mind.

The Sadecki household. Shauna's there! She tells Jeff that with everything that is going on, they needed to be together. "You're the only one who really understands me." They move in for a Big Dammn Kiss and he cries out in pain. Shauna has stabbed him in the stomach and her hands have transformed into electric kitchen knives. Shauna tells him to stop pretending he doesn't like this, calling it exciting when he asks why would he like it. Jeff calls it "fucking dangerous" and asks her to get rid of those things, but she can't. "These are a part of me. I thought you loved all of me, like I love all of you." She tells the terrified Jeff, his back now against the wall, to relax, "or you'll end up like Adam did... buried in the park, no head, no feet, no hands. Skin grated off like a rind of pecorino." She slashes his jugular, splattering a family portrait.

And Jeff wakes up from his Catapult Nightmare. He finds Callie in the living room, drinking a beer and claiming she could not sleep. Callie asks her dad if she is like her mom, not regarding Shauna's better qualities but in being "seriously fucked up." Jeff opens up to Callie about his wife's experiences in the wilderness. Callie is aware of Jackie's death, but Jeff tells her that Shauna also lost someone else. She was pregnant when the plane crashed:

Jeff: It was our baby. It was hers and mine.

Callie is heartbroken at learning she had a sibling. Jeff confirms she had a little baby brother. Jeff tells Callie that all of that is Shauna's burden and his to bear, "But you don't have to make it yours, okay?" He tells her that they are going to be OK.

Walter's house. He packs an overnight bag with his purple-est clothes.

The compound. Taissa accuses Shauna of lying to her. Shauna explains that she thought "that if you guys knew the truth, you-you might actually try to kill him." Taissa thinks that's insane, Van doesn't: "I mean, Misty "took care of" the person she thought was the blackmailer." Shauna goes on, saying that Taissa could have harmed Jeff while in her sleep. Taissa is definitely mad:

Taissa: You are not putting that on us. We put ourselves in danger for you. You've been using us!

Shauna is really sorry. She does not know what's going on with her.

Shauna: I guess I-I started seeing Adam to try to shake things up, or... And because I thought Jeff was... (sighs) It doesn't matter. Um, anyway, ever since then, I've been trying to fix... No. I have been telling myself that I've been trying to fix things and make the problems go away, but the truth is... I've just been doing stuff that makes it worse. I almost killed two just random people. I told my daughter everything, and now she's some kind of fucking accomplice? And I... I-I think I might've said too much to the police.
Misty: I knew it.
Shauna: I lied to you all because... I knew that if the tables were turned, like, if-if one of your spouses or whatever turned out to be the blackmailer, that... I probably would've fucking killed them.
Natalie: Thanks for your honesty, Shauna. You're not wrong. We're all pretty messed up. It's time we finally fucking talk about it.

Lottie does not agree, calling it something that therapies cannot fix. "Something" guided them all there; not guilt or some psychological need, but something greater, "and it has been guiding me, as well. First, I tried to ignore it. I tried to bargain with it. I tried to will it away, but... it's too powerful. And now we have to give it what it wants."

Shauna claims that none of that was real. Lottie makes her case:

Lottie: Do you feel like there is something inside of you, a feeling that you know is making you do that?
Taissa: It's no secret we're all a little fucked up, but Natalie's right, look at what we lived through.
Lottie: But you have to consider that it's been with us all along and we've been denying it, and that is why we're all so fucked up. And just like before, the only way to get ourselves out of this is to give ourselves fully to it.
Van: What exactly are you suggesting?
Lottie: We give it what it always wants. One of us.

Lottie places a tray of cups on the table. One of them contains the phenobarbital solution they use at the compound to euthanize animals. She claims it is quick and and painless. Misty brings up that it's also what the Heaven's Gate people used. Shauna accuses Lottie of "taking this whole, like, cult leader persona thing... a tad far," and their lives aren't that bad.

Lottie: Am I the only one that's been listening here? All right. Tai, you have pushed your entire family away. You killed your dog, and you almost killed your wife. Shauna, at this rate, you will lose your family, or worse. Misty, you did actually kill someone.
Misty: And it made sense. It was practical. I did it for the good of the group.
Lottie: And what good has it done? Natalie. Natalie is in so much pain, she tried to kill herself. Van, you used to be so full of life, and now it's like something has broken within you.

Van asks Lottie why doesn't she volunteer to drink it.

Lottie: You know that's not how this works. We don't get to decide. It chooses. And we'll know which one of us it is after we pick up a cup and we drink it.

Misty points out how convenient it is that Lottie know which cup is poisoned. Lottie tells them to shuffle them around and offers to pick last. "This is how we have always given back. It helped us survive then, it will help us survive now if we give it what it wants."

Tropes present in this episode

• Armor-Piercing Question: Natalie, after the group realizes Adam was not blackmailer:
  Natalie: Shauna, was Jeff the one who sent the postcard? Was your fucking husband the one blackmailing us?
• Dead All Along: Nugget the mouse, to Akilah's shock. He is not just dead, he has been dead long enough that just a dried-out carcass is left.
• Dies Wide Open: Javi falls through ice and is allowed to die by the others.

• Ear Worm: Taissa complains that "Lightning Crashes" is going to be stuck in her head for a while.

• Eating Shoes: Van offers Jackie's leather belt to Mari, hoping to add it to the soup as a source of protein.
• Face Death with Dignity: Natalie is chosen for the Human Sacrifice. Shauna orders her to turn around, puts Jackie's necklace on her, and is about to slash Natalie's throat. Natalie demands that Shauna look her in the eye. This gives Travis the opportunity to tackle Shauna and Natalie a chance to escape.
• Human Sacrifice: Starved to the point of mental breakdown and agreeing that Lottie can't be chosen, the past survivors choose their next food source and "offering" to the wilderness from everyone, save an absent Coach Scott, picking from a selection of playing cards. Teen!Nat loses but manages to flee with Travis and Javi's help, but the latter drowns in the ice-lake during the chase and now is accepted as the offering.
• Internal Reveal: Misty, Natalie and Taissa learn that Jeff was actually the blackmailer and not Adam. Natalie and Shauna learn that Jessica Roberts was actually hired by Taissa to see if anyone would talk and Misty reveals that she killed her. Lottie and Van learn everything that's been going on, basically the events of the first season.
• I Warned You: When Shauna confesses her misdeeds to the others, she ends with admitting she might have said "too much to the police", Misty pipes up with an "I knew it." Back in the Season 2 premiere, Misty tried to prepare Shauna for questioning by the police, complete with a cookie with "I want my lawyer" written in frosting.
• Irony:
  • In trying to help Natalie, after being marked safe, Javi ends up dying. And in trying to save Natalie, Travis dooms his brother.
  • Lottie in the present is proposing one of them sacrifice themselves as in the past. In the flashback to when they first did one of those, she's literally the one person who isn't involved and in fact offers her own body to be eaten if she dies.
• Kill the Cutie: More like "Allow the Cutie to die." Poor Javi.
• Lottery of Doom:
  • One takes place in the past. Whoever picks the queen of hearts card with crossed out-eyes is deemed to be the Wilderness's chosen one. Natalie ends up being the "winner."
  • At the compound, Lottie proposes one (whoever picks the cup with euthanasia drugs) in order to give "it" what it wants.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: For his efforts in saving Teen!Nat, Javi drowns in the lake, with Travis now genuinely having lost his brother and being stuck with the reality that the group is going to eat his corpse. Also, Travis was the one who saved Natalie, and Natalie stood by and watched his little brother drown.
• Quivering Lip: Matt and Kevyn arrive to the Sadecki home with a search warrant. As Matt searches Callie's bedroom, she records him and she threatens to accuse him of taking advantage of her during his investigation.
  Callie: All a jury needs to hear is how you, an old-ass man, seduced me, a teenage girl. (Matt moves from searching the dresser to the closet) How you... (lip quivering) preyed on a child.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • In the past, Mari and Misty help Lottie use the pee bucket. Mari complains about it should be Shauna doing this and that the smell makes her eyes water.
    Misty: Oh my God, would you shut up about the pee? God, she's in danger here. And after everything she's done for us. But no, you have to be a little brat, just like you always are.
  • Lottie delivers a group version to her fellow survivors:
    Lottie: Am I the only one that's been listening here? All right. Tai, you have pushed your entire family away. You killed your dog, and you almost killed your wife. Shauna, at this rate, you will lose your family, or worse. Misty, you did actually kill someone. (Misty claims to have done it for the group's benefit) And what good has it done? Natalie. Natalie is in so much pain, she tried to kill herself. Van, you used to be so full of life, and now it's like something has broken within you.
• Title Drop: Van asks Lottie why she doesn't just drink the poisoned cup herself. Lottie tells her that she knows this isn't how it works, that they don't get to decide, it chooses.
• Wham Episode: Natalie is chosen to be sacrificed to the Wilderness, but Javi ends up being allowed to die.
• Wham Line: Taissa upon finding Akilah talking to Nugget the mouse: "That thing is dead, Akilah."