Yellowjackets Season 3 Review: TV's Best Survival Thriller Returns Weirder And Wilder

"Yellowjackets" might draw viewers in with its premise, its mysteries, and its pitch-perfect imagery and soundtrack, but what keeps us coming back has always been the characters. Yes, fans get caught up in every little potential clue as to what really happened to the girls out in the wilderness, and yes it's fun to speculate about who's still alive and what's set to happen next — but we wouldn't stay if it weren't for these girls, these women, and the way they contend with the show's dark, horrifying heart.

In the first four episodes of the show's third season, released to press ahead of the February 14 premiere, "Yellowjackets" reminds us that it has always been a character show, leaning into the weirdness of its situation to give its stellar ensemble room to play with all manner of emotions, quirks, and psychological thorns in their respective sides. It also, crucially, remembers in these opening episodes that it should never be afraid to get truly weird with things. The result is something on track to be the wildest, weirdest "Yellowjackets" season yet, even if the series can't quite escape some plots that might be wearing a bit thin.

The end of the show's second season left "Yellowjackets" standing on a precipice in both the past and the present. Back in the wilderness, after succumbing to cannibalism, the girls had to flee their cabin when it caught fire, while in the present day, a return to their savage ways at Lottie's (Simone Kessell) retreat led to Misty (Christina Ricci) accidentally injecting Nat (Juliette Lewis) with fentanyl, killing her almost instantly. Everything was in free fall, and now we get to see how everyone landed.

And as it turns out, things seem okay at first. The girls in the wilderness are doing better now that the weather has warmed up and they're able to gain some perspective and comfort, while in the present day the surviving women — including Lottie, Misty, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), and Van (Lauren Ambrose) — mourn Nat and, basically, try to move on. Everyone's doing their best to make a new normal out of the chaos in both the past and the present, but this is "Yellowjackets," so of course that can't be true for long.

In the wilderness, Nat's (Sophie Thatcher) status as the group's new leader is in question, particularly as the other girls discuss the lack of evidence surrounding what might have happened to Coach Scott (Steven Krueger), and they dig deeper into what it is that the woods might want from them. And in the present day, still fresh off Nat's death, the remaining five women start to realize that they're being targeted by yet another mysterious figure.

Despite the gear shift in tone that marks the start of Season 3, this is still a show that comes out of the gate swinging blades at its audience. "Yellowjackets" creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson have lost none of their sense of madcap momentum in between seasons, and within minutes we're reminded that not only are things still scary, but there are still plenty of juicy subplots to contend with, from Walter's (Elijah Wood) self-insertion into the Yellowjackets' lives to Tai's ongoing mental health issues to Callie's (Sarah Desjardins) ongoing curiosity about her mother and her mother's friends. All the things we love about "Yellowjackets" are back right from the beginning, so the question becomes: what's next?

The answer, occasionally and to its slight detriment, is at least a bit more of the same. When "Yellowjackets" Season 3 is at its weakest, it's leaning on story territory it's already explored in great detail, from secret messages from anonymous shadow figures to the girls in the wilderness squabbling over the direction in which to take their community. Some of this is just unavoidable from a plot standpoint; it's part of the machinery of the show, and at no point does it feel like "Yellowjackets" is ever completely repeating itself. Still, it's something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Even these minor weak spots, though, can't get in the way of the true heart of the storytelling, exemplified by the show's darkly comic writing and characters we just can't stop watching. "Yellowjackets" has always been a mystery story, but the best part of the mystery has always been the characters investigating what their experiences did to their hearts, minds, and souls, and Season 3 is a return to that exploration. Christina Ricci in particular gets a wonderful arc in reckoning with Nat's death, while Melanie Lynskey remains the cast's unofficial leader as Shauna wrestles with her own daughter getting closer to the truth, and perhaps Shauna's own savage nature. Back in the wilderness, the cast is just as extraordinary, particularly Sophie Nelisse as young Shauna, Eve Hewson as young Van, and Sophie Thatcher as young Nat. "Yellowjackets" has often used the sequences set in the past as metaphors for the hell of our teenage years, and in Season 3 it begins to explore, in a delightfully self-referential way, what it feels like when you realize you might be moving on from your high school friends. The young cast rises to meet that emotional moment with the kind of intensity fans of this show crave.

But what's most exciting about the new season, at least so far, is how that intensity is directed in some truly weird ways. Whether they're exploring hallucinogens in the past, covering up crimes in the present, or just generally reflecting on how dark their lives are, the women of this show are thrown headlong into dark visions and dream logic that even the first two seasons haven't matched. The mysteries of the wilderness creep ever closer, and Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson do a fine job balancing out clues with mapping out the emotional truths of what these characters are going through. Sometimes that means a mysterious package arrives in the mail, and sometimes it means the trees start screaming. On "Yellowjackets," both are valid paths.

Despite the occasional meandering slowdown, "Yellowjackets" has lost none of its savage allure in Season 3. Its characters, its juicy storytelling, its violence, and its black comic heart are all still here, warm as freshly spilled blood, ready to hook us all over again. One of TV's best shows is back, and it's still a bloody great time.

"Yellowjackets" returns to Paramount+ with Showtime on February 14.